HD 5450 can't run any OpenGL/Direct3D games

[bnot]

My ATI HD 5450 cannot run any game that uses OpenGL or Direct3D.

It doesn't matter what game, old or new, the display driver will freeze and crash within minutes or sometimes seconds. Then I'll get a VPU recovery window, saying how the driver had to be reset. Sometimes I do not get one at all and I'm forced to reset my computer.

I've tried many things to fix it, and yet can't find a solution. Changed drivers, set the clocking to normal, checked temperatures -- they're all fine.

I don't want to buy a new card because I'm almost 100% sure that it has something to do with the software, 2 years ago I had this card and it worked perfectly. It all started when somebody recommended me to update my drivers for better framerate, I should've never done that.

Back to the point

1) Any idea of what could be causing the constant crashes?
2) What ATI driver version would you recommend? The latest ones (13.1) just worsened the issue

Here are my specs

AMD Athlon II X2 3.0 Ghz
ATI HD 5450
4 GB RAM
Windows XP 32-bit SP2
PSU 500w

Thanks in advance

 

[smorizio]

i would start by running malware and anti virus sweep make sure your system is clean then put the missing xp service pack on. and make sure all your windows updates are done. then make sure your mb chipset drivers are up to date and download the june direct-x update. I would then use a drive sweeper and remove the beta drivers and then let amd web page install the xp drivers for the video card. i would also run memtest to make sure your system ram is fine and i look at the made and age of your power supply. if the gpu fan is working and the card is fine..then you may have a power issue when the card loads the system the ps may not be holding.

 

[bnot]

ok, thanks. I'll try all that.

 

[bnot]

Update: Tried some more drivers, older ones seem to make the games last longer until they crash. Unfortunately, when I try to install the oldest ATI drivers available (2008-09) they don't install correctly.