Lock Ups W/ New System

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Guest

Guest
I just finished my first home built system. When I try to play either Q3F, Half-Life or Counter Strike the whole computer locks up. I can't even ctrl, alt, del to get out.

So far I have reinstalled each game, tried DirectX 8.0 and 7.0, and reinstalled Windows. I have my games on a separate partition but I wouldn’t think that would matter. I have also tried different setting in my BIOS. My current BIOS settings are:

-AGP Aperture Size: 64M (I have tried 128M as well)
-AGP 4X Mode: Disabled (I have tried enabled as well)
-K7-CLK.CTL Select: Default (only other option is optimal, which didn’t work)

My System:
900 T-Bird (not overclocked)
EPOX 8KTA2 MB (latest 4 in 1 drivers)
256MB RAM
VisionTek GeForce 256 32MB DDR (latest DET drivers)
Diamond Monster MX300 (latest A3D drivers)
IBM Deskstar 75GXP HDD
Windows 98SE

I really don’t know what else to try. If you have ANY suggestions please let me know. Thanks in advance.

-Chris
 
G

Guest

Guest
I agree with the guy above. Sounds like every time the 3d card kicks in the system kicks out. Could be the 3D card is bad, but most likely it is some problem with drivers and configuration. Seeing as I can't afford those fancy video cards :) I really couldn't tell you.

Boy am I helpful or what....
 
G

Guest

Guest
I recently put together a similar system except with teh ABIT board. I'm running w2k w/ the official 900mhz cpu runnign quite stable at 1000. Initially I had similar problems and cured it by moving the memory timing down a notch. I have corsair vs133. I am running the memory at 133mhz but had to set the timing to medium. I have agp 4x on and have not had any problems.

Also, what temp is the cpu running at? I had to struggle quite a bit with getting the pal6035 to fit straight and secure. If it is not exactly right the cpu would run in the 60's under full load. I fiddled around a lot until I hit what seems to be the sweet spot - 30C idle and mid 40's under full load (running seti or prime95).
 

phsstpok

Splendid
Dec 31, 2007
5,600
1
25,780
I have a very similar system and a stable. I am not a heavy game player but I do play and have never experienced a hard crash like yours. I have also run the 3DMark2000 Demo continuously (overnight) without problems. I do have problems with my visiontek Geforce256 SDR overheating in a closed case so I underclock the GPU and overclock the memory (for a slight net gain) or I run with the case open when I need more FPS.

However, I don't think that is your problem. Do you have a 300W power supply and are you using good quality memory? Crucial? Mushkin? I use memory from OCZ.Safeshopper.com but it was guaranteed to run 133Mhz, CAS2 and 150Mhz, CAS3.

Other than that here are tips I learned and use for claimed stability.

- latest Via 4-in-1 (you've done this)
- latest Via AGP driver I forget the version.
- USE 2X AGP, (4X gains are negligible <0.5% in my experience)
- Turn off AGP Fast Writes although supported by the Geforce 256 they don't help much.
- Use Detonator 3, version 6.31 drivers, the last official release.

My System

Duron @900 Mhz
Abit KT7
300 W PSU, I forget the brand but is was only $42 with case from www.nimbuspc.com
Visiontek Geforce256 SDR
OCZ Enhanced PC-133 memory
Maxtor DiamondMax 40 VL
Windows 98SE
Turtlebeach TBS-2000 soundcard and other old hardware.
 

phsstpok

Splendid
Dec 31, 2007
5,600
1
25,780
p.p.s.

Here are a couple of good resources.

http://go.to/kt7faq
http://www.geforcefaq.com/

Also, I left out one tip. Make sure there are no PCI cards in the slot adjacent to the AGP slot. If there is it will share an IRQ with the Geforce card and this is not good. (Well at least this is true on Abit and Asus boards. I do not know about yours).
 

phsstpok

Splendid
Dec 31, 2007
5,600
1
25,780
I saw this link in another message.

http://www.speedy3d.com/articles/amdproblems/index.shtml

I thought it was just another AMD bashing article at first. Turns out it is more of a Via bashing article but it is restrained and honest.

One thing the article mentions is series compatibility problems between Via chipsets and A3D sound cards. It mentions hard crashes within moments of starting 3D games.

You can quickly test this by pulling your sound card and checking your system for some semblance of stability.
 
G

Guest

Guest
I had a similar problem with my tbird 1000mhz, FIC AZ11. The problem is the Aureal Vortex2 sound card. With the newest drivers (2048) everything seemed to work just fine. If those dont wokr for you, try taknig the card out and seeing what happens.
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Try Det3 driver version 6.31. It seems to be the most stable. If that doesn't work, try unintstalling the soundcard and removing it. Vortex 2 cards have been know to cause problems w/Athlon systems.