Went Over To The Dark Side & It's HELL

[Mike]

After a really bad experience with a brand new MSI FX5700 <3 weeks ago> I
RMA'd it for a refund. It was my 4th NVIDIA card and thought it was time
for a change. I purchased an AIW 9800 PRO. I ran the Det removal tool
before I installed the AIW. Where do I start? The Catalyst drivers
installed fine, but none of the extras installed. Media Center etc., all
error'd on installation. I tried to uninstall, but got error'd to death. I
uninstalled the card and ran the Catalyst removal tool and it error'd on
un-installation and now the new drivers won't install. This refresh rate is
killing my old eyes.

Also when the card was installed it was running at 4xAGP and not 8. Even
the FX5700 ran at 8X.

Can anyone help? I'd hate to have to reformat......................again!!!

System specs:

3200+ Barton
1GB RAM
MSI/K7N2Delta-L

TIA,
Mike

 

[Pluvious]

After a really bad experience with a brand new MSI FX5700 <3 weeks ago> I
RMA'd it for a refund. It was my 4th NVIDIA card and thought it was time
for a change. I purchased an AIW 9800 PRO. I ran the Det removal tool
before I installed the AIW. Where do I start? The Catalyst drivers
installed fine, but none of the extras installed. Media Center etc., all
error'd on installation. I tried to uninstall, but got error'd to death. I
uninstalled the card and ran the Catalyst removal tool and it error'd on
un-installation and now the new drivers won't install. This refresh rate is
killing my old eyes.

Also when the card was installed it was running at 4xAGP and not 8. Even
the FX5700 ran at 8X.

Can anyone help? I'd hate to have to reformat......................again!!!

System specs:

3200+ Barton
1GB RAM
MSI/K7N2Delta-L

TIA,
Mike

Go over to Omega's site and pick up his drivers instead of the ones
you got on the CD.

http://www.omegadrivers.net/

He has seperate DL's for the Media stuff as well.. (scroll down more)

Pluvious

 

[Pluvious]

After a really bad experience with a brand new MSI FX5700 <3 weeks ago> I
RMA'd it for a refund. It was my 4th NVIDIA card and thought it was time
for a change. I purchased an AIW 9800 PRO. I ran the Det removal tool
before I installed the AIW. Where do I start? The Catalyst drivers
installed fine, but none of the extras installed. Media Center etc., all
error'd on installation. I tried to uninstall, but got error'd to death. I
uninstalled the card and ran the Catalyst removal tool and it error'd on
un-installation and now the new drivers won't install. This refresh rate is
killing my old eyes.

Also when the card was installed it was running at 4xAGP and not 8. Even
the FX5700 ran at 8X.

Can anyone help? I'd hate to have to reformat......................again!!!

System specs:

3200+ Barton
1GB RAM
MSI/K7N2Delta-L

TIA,
Mike

Also check out his HELP section for more info:

-=-=-==-=-=--=-=--=-=---=--=-=-=-=-==
PROBLEMS WITH XP REFRESH RATES

This problem is about WinXP not applying the refresh rates and is
always stuck at 60Hz no matter which resolution or Refresh rate you
choose. This is how to fix it:

1- Make sure you monitor is identified as Plug & Play or WinXP is
using your Monitor driver.
2- Right Click an empty space in your desktop and click PROPERTIES, in
the display properties, click the followings: SETTINGS, ADVANCED,
DISPLAYS, MONITOR. On monitor attributes, you will see that "USE DDC
INFORMATION" is marked, and you will also see that the maximum
resolution and refresh rate for your monitor are selected. Uncheck
"USE DDC INFORMATION" and press APPLY. Now you can select ANY refresh
rate supported by your monitor.

If the control "USE DDC INFORMATION" is grayed out, here's a fix:

1- Download and install the latest PowerStrip.
2- Run it, it should Autodetect the problem and fix it automatically.
3- Close and uninstall PowerStrip (if you desire)
4- Restart your PC.

When you return to XP the monitor controls should be enabled.

There are two BAD things you should know:
1- OpenGL games STILL have the refresh rate problem. (they will
default to 60Hz)
2- Your currently selected desktop refresh rate will be used for ALL
your games, no matter which resolution you use in the game. Ex. If you
choose a desktop setting of 1024x768x32@75Hz then any game, even
running at 800x600 or 640x480 will run at 75Hz.

I hope one day MICROSOFT fixes this BUG and make the
resolution+refresh rate system just like the one used in Win9x, where
each resolution had it's own refresh rate setting and games run
accordingly with it.
-=--=-=-=-=-=--=--==-==-=-=---=-=-=-=--=-=-==-=--==-=-=--=

 

[Mike]

Also check out his HELP section for more info:

-=-=-==-=-=--=-=--=-=---=--=-=-=-=-==
PROBLEMS WITH XP REFRESH RATES

This problem is about WinXP not applying the refresh rates and is
always stuck at 60Hz no matter which resolution or Refresh rate you
choose. This is how to fix it:

1- Make sure you monitor is identified as Plug & Play or WinXP is
using your Monitor driver.
2- Right Click an empty space in your desktop and click PROPERTIES, in
the display properties, click the followings: SETTINGS, ADVANCED,
DISPLAYS, MONITOR. On monitor attributes, you will see that "USE DDC
INFORMATION" is marked, and you will also see that the maximum
resolution and refresh rate for your monitor are selected. Uncheck
"USE DDC INFORMATION" and press APPLY. Now you can select ANY refresh
rate supported by your monitor.

If the control "USE DDC INFORMATION" is grayed out, here's a fix:

1- Download and install the latest PowerStrip.
2- Run it, it should Autodetect the problem and fix it automatically.
3- Close and uninstall PowerStrip (if you desire)
4- Restart your PC.

When you return to XP the monitor controls should be enabled.

There are two BAD things you should know:
1- OpenGL games STILL have the refresh rate problem. (they will
default to 60Hz)
2- Your currently selected desktop refresh rate will be used for ALL
your games, no matter which resolution you use in the game. Ex. If you
choose a desktop setting of 1024x768x32@75Hz then any game, even
running at 800x600 or 640x480 will run at 75Hz.

I hope one day MICROSOFT fixes this BUG and make the
resolution+refresh rate system just like the one used in Win9x, where
each resolution had it's own refresh rate setting and games run
accordingly with it.
-=--=-=-=-=-=--=--==-==-=-=---=-=-=-=--=-=-==-=--==-=-=--=

Thanks for your response, but the catalyst drivers won't install and I'm not
using the drivers from the disk. I downloaded the most current drivers from
ATI's site. I'm running on standard VGA drivers.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

I'm an Intel user, but...

Have you re-installed the mainboard (nForce 2) drivers?

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/driver/dvr/spt_dvr_list.php

At a guess, something has messed up the AGP drivers.

If that doesn't fix things, and you're running XP (it would have been
helpful to mention your OS), there's a middle ground: an XP repair
installation.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341

"How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP"

I've fixed some problems in the past with a repair install. It preserves
most applications and settings, although it's not guaranteed to do so.

Best of luck.

Address altered. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Newf !!!]

I jsut came over from nvidia as well. And while I'm happy with the
card, I must say the damn drivers are a pita to install. I have to try
3-4 times over before they install right. And it takes FOREVER to go
through the install, at least compared to nvidia which took like 2
mins tops.

I use driver cleaner, and make sure to install the video card as a
plain vga card first, then install the omega drivers which are the
ones giving me the best performance.

Good luck

 

[Pluvious]

I jsut came over from nvidia as well. And while I'm happy with the
card, I must say the damn drivers are a pita to install. I have to try
3-4 times over before they install right. And it takes FOREVER to go
through the install, at least compared to nvidia which took like 2
mins tops.

I use driver cleaner, and make sure to install the video card as a
plain vga card first, then install the omega drivers which are the
ones giving me the best performance.

Good luck

Good news. Next time you update the video drivers, it will be easy
then. Omegas are just as simple as double clicking and .exe. Keep in
mind, ATI updates their drivers once a month and Omega is always a
week or two behind in putting out the update.

Pluvious

 

[Augustus]

I jsut came over from nvidia as well. And while I'm happy with the
card, I must say the damn drivers are a pita to install. I have to try
3-4 times over before they install right. And it takes FOREVER to go
through the install, at least compared to nvidia which took like 2
mins tops.

I have the same experience. Love the cards, but switching drivers is a pain
compared to Nvidia ones. Like you, it takes 2-4 times before everything is
right.

 

[Sleepy]

After a really bad experience with a brand new MSI FX5700 <3 weeks ago> I
RMA'd it for a refund. It was my 4th NVIDIA card and thought it was time
for a change. I purchased an AIW 9800 PRO. I ran the Det removal tool
before I installed the AIW. Where do I start? The Catalyst drivers
installed fine, but none of the extras installed. Media Center etc., all
error'd on installation. I tried to uninstall, but got error'd to death. I
uninstalled the card and ran the Catalyst removal tool and it error'd on
un-installation and now the new drivers won't install. This refresh rate is
killing my old eyes.

Also when the card was installed it was running at 4xAGP and not 8. Even
the FX5700 ran at 8X.

Can anyone help? I'd hate to have to reformat......................again!!!

System specs:

3200+ Barton
1GB RAM
MSI/K7N2Delta-L

TIA,
Mike

You don't mention your OS and Im using W2Kpro so there may be slight
differances ....
1) Ive swapped between Nvidia and ATI cards at will and never had problems
with driver conflicts. I always use Add/Remove to remove the old drivers
before
shutting down / swapping cards and then rebooting / installing new drivers.

2) Sometimes there are registry settings left over and I use Regcleaner to
remove them
- also theres usually a inf file or hlp file left over but those are easily
found by
CTRL + F under c:\winnt and deleted - these measures are me just being tidy
and not because of any problems.

3) I have found Omega drivers to be a pain to install and uninstall so I
stay
clear of them and stick to official drivers only. Currently the best drivers
are the 4.4s
because Im playing Thief 3, Far Cry and Ground Control 2 and they all work
fine with
these drivers (plus Max Payne2, Painkiller, UT2004, Morrowind and Day of
Defeat)
but more recent drivers having shadow/lighting glitches which look ugly.

Lastly a word of advice when you find a driver that works with all your
games
- STICK WITH IT. ATI frequently screw up in a new driver what they fixed in
the previous.

Hope you sort it out okay and it shouldnt require a reinstall - only Mobo
changes require
a reinstall of the OS. Youve got a damn good card there and when you getting
it running sweetly
you'll be a happy man.

 

[Mike]

I'm an Intel user, but...

Have you re-installed the mainboard (nForce 2) drivers?

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/driver/dvr/spt_dvr_list.php

At a guess, something has messed up the AGP drivers.

If that doesn't fix things, and you're running XP (it would have been
helpful to mention your OS), there's a middle ground: an XP repair
installation.

Yep. XP. I reformatted and driver installation went smooth. Thanks.

 

[Mike]

death. rate

You don't mention your OS and Im using W2Kpro so there may be slight
differances ....
1) Ive swapped between Nvidia and ATI cards at will and never had problems
with driver conflicts. I always use Add/Remove to remove the old drivers
before
shutting down / swapping cards and then rebooting / installing new drivers.

2) Sometimes there are registry settings left over and I use Regcleaner to
remove them
- also theres usually a inf file or hlp file left over but those are easily
found by
CTRL + F under c:\winnt and deleted - these measures are me just being tidy
and not because of any problems.

3) I have found Omega drivers to be a pain to install and uninstall so I
stay
clear of them and stick to official drivers only. Currently the best drivers
are the 4.4s
because Im playing Thief 3, Far Cry and Ground Control 2 and they all work
fine with
these drivers (plus Max Payne2, Painkiller, UT2004, Morrowind and Day of
Defeat)
but more recent drivers having shadow/lighting glitches which look ugly.

Lastly a word of advice when you find a driver that works with all your
games
- STICK WITH IT. ATI frequently screw up in a new driver what they fixed in
the previous.

Hope you sort it out okay and it shouldnt require a reinstall - only Mobo
changes require
a reinstall of the OS. Youve got a damn good card there and when you getting
it running sweetly
you'll be a happy man.

Many thanks.

 

[Matt]

I have the same experience. Love the cards, but switching drivers is a pain
compared to Nvidia ones. Like you, it takes 2-4 times before everything is
right.

I just don't understand this personally. It seems like quite a few
people have this problem but I'm on basically my third computer using
the same 9500 Pro and I have yet to have any problems installing (or
reinstalling) the drivers. Maybe I'm just lucky? Though I can't seem
to win the lottery...

 

[Henrik Stavnshøj]

-snip-

3) I have found Omega drivers to be a pain to install and uninstall so I
stay clear of them and stick to official drivers only. Currently the best drivers
are the 4.4s because Im playing Thief 3, Far Cry and Ground Control 2 and they all
work fine with these drivers (plus Max Payne2, Painkiller, UT2004, Morrowind and
Day of Defeat) but more recent drivers having shadow/lighting glitches which look
ugly.

Lastly a word of advice when you find a driver that works with all your
games - STICK WITH IT. ATI frequently screw up in a new driver what they
fixed in the previous.

May I add two things:
1: I never had any trouble with Omega's drivers, they seem to install, and
unistall fine here. The same is the case of the official drivers btw.

2: I strongly second your motion to stick with well-working drivers.
Personally I always check here, and on Rage3D's forums, before I install an
upgrade.
That has saved me from trouble more than once.
Currently running Cat. 4.4's, since they came out ;-)

Rage3D is on http://www.rage3d.com
I find espc. their forums a very useful resource regarding ATI and drivers,
even some ATI driver developers come there.

And a note to all: _When_ you experience bugs and errors in the drivers _be
sure_ to forward them to ATI. They seem to have an enthusiastic team, that
really listen, and try to squeash the bugs as well as implement useful
features.

(And no, I have no connection to ATI, I just judge from what I have seen in
the Rage3D forums, and from their recognition of Omegas work.)

Henrik, Dk

 

[Mark Steen]

Good news. Next time you update the video drivers, it will be easy
then. Omegas are just as simple as double clicking and .exe. Keep in
mind, ATI updates their drivers once a month and Omega is always a
week or two behind in putting out the update.

Pluvious

It's not quite that simple. You have to uninstall Radlinker (if you
installed it with the Omega drivers) before installing new Omega
drivers.

 

[Mark Steen]

3) I have found Omega drivers to be a pain to install and uninstall so I
stay
clear of them and stick to official drivers only.

Maybe that's your problem. When using Omega drivers you don't
uninstall the old drivers when updating to more recent drivers. I've
been using the Omega drivers for quite some time and have had no
problems installing them ever, now using Omega CAT 4.7 drivers and all
is hunky dory.

 

[GTD]

I just don't understand this personally. It seems like quite a few
people have this problem but I'm on basically my third computer using
the same 9500 Pro and I have yet to have any problems installing (or
reinstalling) the drivers. Maybe I'm just lucky? Though I can't seem
to win the lottery...

I'm the same here. I had a 7200, upped to a 9700pro, it bit the dust
(my fault though), so I put the 7200 back in, eventually went to a
9800pro. every time i had to uninstall/reinstall drivers, as well as
upgrading drivers several times in between, and have NEVER had a
problem. I'm beginning to believe that those driver cleaner / det
destroyer progs aren't very thorough, seems lots of people have
problems wether they use them or not when going from nVidia to ATI.




You should start drinking prune juice and KY jelly cocktails right now,
that will make things a lot smoother.
-Felatio Love

 

[John Hall]

The fact that your card was running at 4xAGP is a clue. I'm wondering if
you have an Nforce 2 motherboard. And if you do, when you uninstalled all
of the Nvidia drivers, did you also uninstall the motherboard drivers. You
should NOT uninstall the motherboard drivers. Reinstall them and then
reinstall your ATI card. You should have no problems.

JK