Foo - Got my new video card: Failure

Well I installed my new Geforce 8600GT. Installation is pretty straight forward on the hardware side.
Software side seems equally easy. I do the restart after driving installation, everything seems fine. I now go to watch a DVD, as soon as it is about to begin playing, everything freezes. For a split second a see a blue screen -- like you used to see with the blue screen of death on Windows 98. Then my computer restarts.

Any ideas why?

What version of Windows?

winXP Professional 64 bit.

Download
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1655

Install
Run--delete all video drivers
Reboot
reinstall driver
reboot

try again

You PSU may not be up to snuff also

Does the video card require additional power from the PSU, usually using a floppy drive power cable plug?

well my PSU is 500W...

This card does not require an external power connection, it draws all it needs from the PCIE slot.

well my PSU is 500W...

This card does not require an external power connection, it draws all it needs from the PCIE slot.

Wattage doesn't mean too much if the amperage isn't up to snuff, primarily on the 12v rail which i'm almost certain is where video cards draw their power from (as well as the CPU).

What brand/model power supply is it? Personally i think your power supply is probably fine, but it is a valid point to look at.


Does the video card require additional power from the PSU, usually using a floppy drive power cable plug?

For what it's worth, most video cards today rely on a video-card specific power connection.

Antec Earthwatts, 500.

Wattage means a lot because it's delivery 12v...the rest is in amperes. THen again, it's possible that isn't delivering it's power.

So Winamp also crashed it. Basically anything except AIM and FIrefox crashes it. Also, trying to get into the control panel crashed it. I went into my BIOS, set onboard as my primary video, switched monitor plug to that, and the comp would not even start. It wasn't until I physically removed the video card from my computer that I was able to start. ANd now, here I am, onboard video and stable.

A friend of mine offered to try the video card in his rig, just to isolate variables. I guess I'll have more information tomorrow.

Antec Earthwatts, 500.

Wattage means a lot because it's delivery 12v...the rest is in amperes. THen again, it's possible that isn't delivering it's power.

Wattage means squat...

Wattage=voltage X amperage

Where are those watts coming from? You want the bulk of them from your 12v rail.

In other words, the 500w power supply delivering 30amps to the 12v rail > the 500w power supply delivering 10 amps to the 12v rail.

My power supply, a 600w sparkle, is pumping nearly 400 watts to the 12v rail. Your 500w Antec is only pushing 200w through your 12v rail.

I'm not convinced that is your problem, but i also don't know what else you've got running on that computer. Your video card isn't drawing as much power as it needs from the PSU at all times and so if you don't have enough juice to it, when it does try and go get it, your CPU/RAM/Video card is likely to fail.

Have you tried to uninstall all the video drivers as i previously suggested?

I am reluctant to uninstall all video drivers because I still have onboard video, and this works. I don't want to take that away, if your suggestion doesn't work. After I have tested my video card on my friends rig, I'll give your suggestion a shot.

I am reluctant to uninstall all video drivers because I still have onboard video, and this works. I don't want to take that away, if your suggestion doesn't work. After I have tested my video card on my friends rig, I'll give your suggestion a shot.

:rolleyes:

Sometimes you make me want to pound my head against a wall. Then i remind myself that it's your headache, not mine ;-).

You don't need video drivers installed to get video. Windows uses generic drivers in this case. Your video will look like crap and you'll be limited to resolution, but you can still boot into windows.

You should never keep old drivers installed for hardware that has been replaced. Your asking for a headache.

I know you don't need to have the drivers to run, but I don't even want the hassle of dealing with it until I have at least confirmed that there is nothing wrong with my card. This just means that I have to wait one more day -- BFD

Fair enough.

For your sake, it may be less of a headache if the card fails in your friends system too.

I'm definitely hoping for a failure in my friends system...
That means I get to get an RMA from NewEgg, a simple process. If it works in his system, then it's time to do some troubleshooting, not necessarily easy.

I get this feeling that I am looking at a hardware issue. I hope I'm wrong :(

I had the same with my GE Card, I emailed support they gave me the instructions to disable all the video drivers and a software driver cleaner.

I have posted the reply from XFX.

Start the system and tap F8 before Windows starts. Select Enable VGA from the Advanced Startup Menu. Download the latest driver from http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp and save them to the desktop then download the professional driver cleaner from http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745 and install the cleaner. Uninstall the current video drivers through the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs utility in the control panel. Reboot into safe mode by pressing F8 repeatedly after the POST screen but before windows loads. Use the driver cleaner to clean only the NVIDIA and ATI (if present) drivers and repeat this step a few times to completely clean the drivers out. Install the latest drivers from the desktop and reboot into windows normally. If you still do not get a display in Windows than try the card in another system and another card in this system. Please double check that your serial number is registered correctly and verify that your profile has your current contact phone number and mailing address that someone will be able to sign for a package in case we need to escalate this for RMA evaluation

dust your pc out.

check the event log for the save dump error , or run the minidump through windows debugger.. you may have corrupted something with the driver install ... one thing to try is to run "sfc /scannow"


also you say you have onboard video try going into the bios and disabling it then boot it up, and make sure the first video is not set to auto specify pcie if you can. bios's are different. what PC do you have?

winXP Professional 64 bit.

May be obvious, but, are you sure you installed 64 bit drivers?

And, always skip the drivers on the install disc and download the latest ones from the manufacturer.

May be obvious, but, are you sure you installed 64 bit drivers?

And, always skip the drivers on the install disc and download the latest ones from the manufacturer.

You can't install drivers from a different OS.

You can't install drivers from a different OS.

:rolleyes:

Perhaps I wasn't being clear enough.

You are using a 64 bit OS (XP PRO x64, the OP said). Make sure you are using 64 bit drivers FOR THAT OS.

Skip the install disc and install the most current build driver FOR YOUR 64 BIT OS.

Manufaturers are always revising drivers. it is usually guaranteed that the driver on the Disc that came with the card is NOT the most recent applicable driver. And yes, they typically revise all their drivers, not just come out with new ones for a different OS.

This is why, whenever you buy ANYTHING that is computer related and requires a driver, ALWAYS check the manufacturer's site for the latest driver. Cards, MOBO, Router, Monitor, ANYTHING. THis should be the FIRST thing you do.

Antec Earthwatts, 500.

Wattage means a lot because it's delivery 12v...the rest is in amperes. THen again, it's possible that isn't delivering it's power.

So Winamp also crashed it. Basically anything except AIM and FIrefox crashes it. Also, trying to get into the control panel crashed it. I went into my BIOS, set onboard as my primary video, switched monitor plug to that, and the comp would not even start. It wasn't until I physically removed the video card from my computer that I was able to start. ANd now, here I am, onboard video and stable.

A friend of mine offered to try the video card in his rig, just to isolate variables. I guess I'll have more information tomorrow.

I have the same card and same power supply. I'd say you have a driver issue.

Try the latest driver:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp64_169.21_whql.html

You should never keep old drivers installed for hardware that has been replaced. Your asking for a headache.

Sorry, I have to disagree with this one. You should always keep old drivers. You never know when you may need to rollback. Run the latest, but keep the old ones around just in case. Don't delete them. Sometimes software conflicts happen and you may be forced to run a less-than-latest driver.

Also, go through the card manufacturer's site. Not the maker of the chipset. (XFX rather than Nvidia, or whoever the card is branded under.) They may have custom drivers.

:rolleyes:

Perhaps I wasn't being clear enough.

You are using a 64 bit OS (XP PRO x64, the OP said). Make sure you are using 64 bit drivers FOR THAT OS.

Skip the install disc and install the most current build driver FOR YOUR 64 BIT OS.

Manufaturers are always revising drivers. it is usually guaranteed that the driver on the Disc that came with the card is NOT the most recent applicable driver. And yes, they typically revise all their drivers, not just come out with new ones for a different OS.

This is why, whenever you buy ANYTHING that is computer related and requires a driver, ALWAYS check the manufacturer's site for the latest driver. Cards, MOBO, Router, Monitor, ANYTHING. THis should be the FIRST thing you do.

You're really debating me on this huh? You cannot install a driver for a piece of hardware on an OS that the driver is not designed for.

XP and XP 64bit are not the same OS
You cannot install the same driver on both. It doesn't work...not the driver itself, but the install.


Sorry, I have to disagree with this one. You should always keep old drivers. You never know when you may need to rollback. Run the latest, but keep the old ones around just in case. Don't delete them. Sometimes software conflicts happen and you may be forced to run a less-than-latest driver. Never by choice, though...


There is a difference between keeping old drivers around and keeping old drivers installed. Also, i generally disagree with this sentiment, well, completely. The onboard drivers are going to be located on the disk that came with his motherboard. If the computer is a manufactured one, the disk that came with the computer will have it. Lastly, you don't need a video driver installed to get video. Thus, there is no reason to keep it installed.

When you install a new piece of hardware, remove the old one. There is no reason to keep both around and you're only putting yourself at risk for interference between the two.



Also, go through the card manufacturer's site. Not the maker of the chipset. (XFX rather than Nvidia, or whoever the card is branded under.) They may have custom drivers.

Um, no...they won't. In fact, more often than not they will just link you to Nvidia's website.

Sounds like ya really know what you're talking about though, i'll just keep my mouth shut.

Phantom, when that video card works in your friends PC, and you run the program i posted a few posts ago, and then reinstall the drivers like you're suppose to, and it works...let me know.

In the meantime, i'm going to try and not step on the toes of all these "experts"

In the meantime, i'm going to try and not step on the toes of all these "experts"

Wow. This person is an ass. Get over yourself.

I'm done.

Wow. This person is an ass. Get over yourself.

I'm done.

Your feeding misinformation. What gives? Where not talking about IT level cisco routers...we're talking about consumer grade graphics cards. It's pretty straight forward...

Again, I can tell you that I have a similar setup. I have that exact power supply and I have the 8600 GT from BFG. The first thing to try is the driver from the Nvidia site. I linked right to the XP 64-bit driver.

BTW, I'm employed as a test engineer, but I still wouldn't say I'm an "expert."

Again, I can tell you that I have a similar setup. I have that exact power supply and I have the 8600 GT from BFG. The first thing to try is the driver from the Nvidia site. I linked right to the XP 64-bit driver.

BTW, I'm employed as a test engineer, but I still wouldn't say I'm an "expert."

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you don't know what else he has installed in his computer. If, for instance, you have a CD-ROM and a single HD, the fact that you have the same PSU means nothing if he's got 3 drives and 5 HD's on an overclocked CPU...

Still, i generally agree that this is a drive issue. I stand firm, though, that the first step is to completely strip the system of video drivers.

The whole onboard video thing keeps haunting me. If the motherboard has integrated video, how would a new card NOT conflict with the onboard video chips? If two components are trying to do video they will conflict, and video being #2 in the boot sequence next to the RAM/HD test, Windows would fail. .02$ from someone who's never had an issue installing or reinstall a video card, but I've never had an onboard video either.

I agree with you there, but usually just uninstalling the Nvidia driver is enough. I'm running three hard drives, one cd-rom, and external soundcards and the like. Similar hardware means everything in testing. The easiest thing is to start with the driver as we both have said.

just learn to use it without a monitor.
problem solved.

The whole onboard video thing keeps haunting me. If the motherboard has integrated video, how would a new card NOT conflict with the onboard video chips? If two components are trying to do video they will conflict, and video being #2 in the boot sequence next to the RAM/HD test, Windows would fail. .02$ from someone who's never had an issue installing or reinstall a video card, but I've never had an onboard video either.

Most motherboards will automatically select one or the other.

Also, he should right click on 'My Computer' and click "Properties" then go to the "Advanced" tab and click "Startup and Recovery" then under System Failure uncheck "Automatically Reboot"

This will allow you to see that bluescreen so you can at least get a basic idea of where the problem can be found.

The whole onboard video thing keeps haunting me. If the motherboard has integrated video, how would a new card NOT conflict with the onboard video chips? If two components are trying to do video they will conflict, and video being #2 in the boot sequence next to the RAM/HD test, Windows would fail. .02$ from someone who's never had an issue installing or reinstall a video card, but I've never had an onboard video either.

He should probably disable the onboard video. Technically, you can run as many video cards on the system as you want (thus enabling you to run as many screens as you want). But generally speaking, if you're not doing this, there is no reason to keep both on. However, as mentioned, it's not like there is an epic battle inside his computer that results in the fittest coming out on top as the victor... :), windows picks one and goes on.

I know next to nothing about the innards of my computer box machine. But, when my wife gave me a wide screen LCD monitor, I was forced to buy a video card to upgrade my on board video. Mine was plug and play. Shove it in the slot and turned on the computer and it worked. Or at least it did after I restarted the machine a bunch, made sure the card was plugged in, pulled out my hair and then realized that I had to connect the monitor to the NEW CARD, not the old plug in place for teh on board video.

I AM AN IDIOT.

NOTE TO OP: Are your sure your monitor is connected to the right card? just asking.

Welcome to the world of 64-bit Windows... ;)

I know next to nothing about the innards of my computer box machine. But, when my wife gave me a wide screen LCD monitor, I was forced to buy a video card to upgrade my on board video. Mine was plug and play. Shove it in the slot and turned on the computer and it worked. Or at least it did after I restarted the machine a bunch, made sure the card was plugged in, pulled out my hair and then realized that I had to connect the monitor to the NEW CARD, not the old plug in place for teh on board video.

I AM AN IDIOT.

NOTE TO OP: Are your sure your monitor is connected to the right card? just asking.

People have done that exact thing for many years. I remember in 1993, wondering why I was still getting 2D only video from a middle end SGI box (Indigo at the time) that just got a very expensive graphics subsystem upgrade... until I noticed that the monitor was plugged into the old card. One swap later, and that was fixed.

Well, as I expected, and as others expected, the card worked quite well on my friends rig. This was both disappointing and relieving. Disappointing because swapping out my video card is the easiest fix. Relieving because returning stuff is a pain.

My plan is as follows:

Study for Psychology exam tomorrow
Run Driver sweep, remove all video drivers.
Install driver from nVidia website, MSI simply refers you to Nvidia's site.

If this fails....

I'll see what that blue screen said, however I decide to go about that. Blue screen should give some indication as to what is going on. If I don't recognize it, I'm sure somebody here will. If in the off chance that nobody here recognizes it, I'm sure GOogle does.

And start replacing hardware.

Welcome to the world of 64-bit Windows... ;)

I cannot agree with any negative sentiment here. I've been running 64 bit since October, and have never run into an issue until now. Even now, who is to say it is the fault of xp64? Every modern accessory I've needed to use has 64 bit drivers available.

by the way, I was unaware that it would be possible to have hte computer not restart -- thanks for that.

I cannot agree with any negative sentiment here. I've been running 64 bit since October, and have never run into an issue until now. Even now, who is to say it is the fault of xp64? Every modern accessory I've needed to use has 64 bit drivers available.Well, "negative" is a personal judgement. What really counts is the numbers and whenever I make any proposal or implement any change in the systems, I must back it up with an approved testing procedure with quantifiable numbers (I manage a nation-wide network of over 10,000 computers for a $1.6bil/yr company).

It's just that the benefits of 64-bit Windows doesn't outweigh the hassles. Performance is one of the promised benefits and in real-world testing with real programmes that people actually use (rather than specialty synthetic benchmarks), you'll find that 64-bit Windows trails behind the 32-bit version. Especially if you're doing CAD due to the lack of 64-bit OpenGL drivers.

Here's some articles with actual numbers so you can quantify the value 64-bit Windows is for you:

http://www.flexbeta.net/main/printarticle.php?id=122
http://www.hardocp.com/articleprint.html?article_id=765

Now there are areas where 64-bit Windows is a benefit. These are for the servers which are overloaded with the 4gb memory limit of 32-bit Windows. Oracle with massive 2-5TB databases will run much faster on a server with 64gb of memory compared to 4 as more data can be contained in memory. Even then most of the benefits is from caching rather than actual execution speed.

Why has 64 bit computing stalled? It seems like that industry is driven by planned obsolescence but 64 bit operating systems just don't seem to cut it. What's the hold up?

Why has 64 bit computing stalled? It seems like that industry is driven by planned obsolescence but 64 bit operating systems just don't seem to cut it. What's the hold up?

It's a three pronged battle

Hardware
OS
Software

Luckily the hardware often pushes the software and every new name brand CPU is now 64bit capable
MS and other "third party" OS's have given you the option to run in 64 bit
Software is what seems to be lagging. When 99% of the world isn't even attempting to use 64bit, what incentive do they have to invest in making it work?

It's coming along, but very slowly. I'm kind of hoping that the next MS release is 64bit...only...and built from the ground up...and not a pile of turd...and...and....it goes on

Well, I bought 64 bit because it was on sale. As I searched for a replacement Motherboard/RAM/CPU Combo last year, I found the dual core 64 bit stuff was the same price as everything else. I know I don't see any of the benefits.

How long was the card in before getting the blue screen? Were you gaming at the time? The reason I ask is because many people overlook the cards temp. Or should I say the cooling of the case they have placed the card in. Download nTune so you can monitor the temp of the card. I'm not sure if this is your problem but it is simple enough to check.

How long was the card in before getting the blue screen? Were you gaming at the time? The reason I ask is because many people overlook the cards temp. Or should I say the cooling of the case they have placed the card in. Download nTune so you can monitor the temp of the card. I'm not sure if this is your problem but it is simple enough to check.

Indeed...

This actually happened to me, i have to run my card @ 100% fan at all times or i get random lockups...

I've only used the 64 bit version of Ubuntu and a few other Linux distros and it is indeed difficult to get simple things like flash to work.

Why has 64 bit computing stalled? It seems like that industry is driven by planned obsolescence but 64 bit operating systems just don't seem to cut it. What's the hold up?As Timmy mentioned, you have to change the entire infrastructure completely through before 64bit-clean operation will be a reality. The hardware is simplest and it can operate in both modes without too much trouble, although at the cost of having to flush registers and make context switches. Problem with the OS and software is you have to develop all new tools, programming-aids and compilers. Heck, it's like wanting to fix up your car and having to go out and mine the ore and smelting it and casting and forging your own tools, just to change the oil!!! Not to mention having to make your own oil-rigs and drill for your own oil, it's a lot of hassle!

Fortunately, the UNIX world is always at the forefront of computing technology. IBM and SUN have developed 64-bit hardware, OS and matching software decades ago. :) In fact, Intel uses IBM PowerPC systems in their labs.... heh, heh... I got to see one of their operations that makes a RAID card and they've got an IBM mainframe monster with 1000 PowerPC chips!!! :eek:

In fact, Intel uses IBM PowerPC systems in their labs.... heh, heh... I got to see one of their operations that makes a RAID card and they've got an IBM mainframe monster with 1000 PowerPC chips!!! :eek:

I wonder why they don't mention that in their cute little ads.

PowerPCs are at a low level easier to program than x86 which does so much under the hood.

Intel, AMD, and Via have done a great job in keeping a platform, which should have died decades ago, current. I know all three would love everyone to move to something with a better fundamental architecture.

Personally, I wish MS would make Windows 7 with virtualization at its core, so Windows 7 can happily run on a modern chipset like Itanium [1], and users will have all their legacy apps, even their MS-DOS games.

[1]: Compared to 8 registers in x86, or 16 in 64 bit mode, Itanium offers 64 floating point, and 64 integer, making life a lot easier for an assembly programmer.

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http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/2447/15010ballpeinhammersg7.jpg