Argh! g400 lockups... help!

[Gus]

this prob is still not solved :-(

Since my matrox didnt work with BUS mastering enabled on my old computer, I recently bought a complete new athlon500, 128 mb ram, microstar ms6167 mobo, soundblaster live 1024... I thought it should work now, but nope...
Doesnt matter if i enable busmastering or not, sometimes the pc just locks up. the matrox "magic forest thing" techdemo halts during the load sequence. while playing a dvd, theres a lockup after 1-2 minutes... guess i'm a dumb newbie, but perhaps matrox is responsible for this. (kick me hard if not)
please help...

gus

"don't hit the newbie!"

[This message has been edited by Gus (edited 16 January 2000).]

[Scytale]

Have you tried if forcing AGP1X helps?

[Gus]

i finally fixed the dvd problem, i upgraded my matrox drivers to 5.5, dl'ed new sblive drivers and the new cinemaster program. now it works ok
i also installed unreal tournament, but it locks up... i wasn't even started yet, the game was still in the (2d)mainmenu so it's not a 3d issue I guess.
i don't know anything about AGP, plz explain! i'm willing to try antything that may work.. (except jumping out of the window several times maybe...)

gus

[Thundrchez]

What kind of power supply do you have? Is it on the AMD approved list?

If you go to the MURC utilities downloads and grab the PD 5 registry hacks, one of them is forceagp1x.reg. If you install this and reboot, your agp will be running in 1X mode. It might be 1% slower in 3d stuff than if it were in agp 2x mode, but it has made 3d gaming more reliable in some situations.

Once you start up UT, it is always in 3d mode. It may look as if it is only 2d, but to the hardware it is in 3d mode.

[Gus]

ive tried the reghacks, but it doesnt work. ive also tried disabling all hardware functions in config/system/prestations, but then the techdemo won't even start.
ive tried disbabling all hardware functions in matrox powerdesk menu too, (disable bus mastering, polygon accel, etc.) but nothing helps... HELP! this cant be a good sign i think

gus

[Gus]

btw, where can i check if my power supply is on the amd approved list? i've got absolutely no idea... is there a website or something to check this?

[paulcs]

Here's their list:
http://www1.amd.com/athlon/power

You really want at least 300 Watts.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[paulcs]

Power issues are common with all the newer videocards, and AMD issued an all points bulletin about power supplies when they released the Athlon. If you take a look at your power supply, and it says it's 235 Watts, you probably have two strikes against you.

Some non-Intel chipset users have had better luck with the 5.30 drivers as well.

We would never kick a newbie.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Scytale]

If the reg hack didn't help make sure to revert to default AGP mode (DefaultAGP.reg).

If the card has problems with both your old and new system the problem is likely to be caused by a common component (PS, RAM, G400 itself...).

[Gus]

I wish it was that simple... My old system didn't support BUS mastering (Way to go Compaq) so the system was terribly slow. The new system crashes whatever I do, while with my old pc it only crashed when i enabled Bus mastering. Man, I don't have the slightest idea what to do next. It's not AGP, BUS, IRQ, Drivers, or anything else... Isn't there a highly-intelligent hardware whizzkid that has a suggestion? I've also sent email to the matrox tech support, but I'm afraid they just say "we don't know dude"....

I guess I could always use my PC as a desktop ornament or something... :-(

[ALBPM]

This could also be a compatibility issue with the system memory. What type of modules are on your 128MB DIMM???? A friend of mine just replaced the memory on his Athlon system to fix these same symptoms.

Paul

[Gus]

Paul:
I havent got the slightest idea... How can I check? I will contact the store where I bought them next monday, is there a way i can see myself? I really hope this is the problem...

thanks in advance

gus

[ALBPM]

Pull it out and read what is printed on the modules. They should have a manufacturers name and some numbers printed on them. We may be able to track them down.
Also if you have a friend with PC100 or PC133 try their memory in your system to see if it solves the lockup problem.
I just did this last week with a friend at work who was having problems with his Athlon/K7M system. My PC100 worked great so he got his PC133 replaced to solve his problems.

Paul

[DickTheRick]

Ok I had exactly the same problem, my comp crashed whenever it wanted - in 2d and in 3d.
try it without your soundcard just to see if the problem still occurs. when I took my terratec xlerate (vortex 1) out of the system the lock-ups were gone. Now I don´t know what to to. I planned to use my SB live but there also seem to be problems with it...

------------------
If you can do it then do it...
Home system:
Asus K7M,Athlon 500, Terratec XLerate, Toshiba 8x DVD, SONY CRX100E CDR, ZIP 100 ATAPI, Terratec TerraTV+, Matrox Millenium G400 DH 32MB, EPSON Stylus Color 740, EPSON Perfection 1200 Photo Scanner, 3Com Fast Etherlink 10/100MBit, Promise Ultra 66, Maxtor 20 GB 5400 RPM, IBM 20 GB DJNA 7200 RPM, Elsa Quickstep 1000 ISDN, 128 MB PC-100 RAM, Logitech WheelMouse, Cherry GDDG81-3000 Keyboard with blue LED´s (looks pretty cool)
Windows 98 SE, Caldera Linux 2.3, BeOS 4.5 amdministered by System Commander 4.03

and a SONY F-400 19" FD-Trinitron Monitor.

[fds]

Gus,

Which version of Windows 9x are you using?
What interrupts are the cards using? (Right-click on My Computer, select Properties, go to the Device Manager tab then double-click on "Computer".) Are the sound card or the G400 sharing its IRQ with something?
Do you have any other add-on cards, like a network adapter or a TV tuner?

Are you sure you have the latest drivers installed for everything? (Preferably the latest non-beta.) For example first LiveWare! 3 for the SBLive! then on top of it the November driver updates.

Did you flash the motherboard's BIOS to the latest available?

What about Direct3D games other than UT?

Are OpenGL games working correctly? The Quake series, Hexen II, Sin, Half-Life, Heretic II, Kingpin, etc. With TurboGL and without TurboGL?

Is this related to 3D games only? Are simple DirectVideo games working correctly? Like StarCraft, Tiberian Sun, etc.

Just a final tip: if you don't want to spend a lot of time tuning stuff until your machine finally works correctly, it's always a good idea to go with Intel no matter what kind of bastards they are.

Don't give it up yet!


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primary sys: ASUS P2B-DS, Dual P3-500, 512 MB RAM, SB Live!, Pioneer 303, Yamaha 6416S, and of course a Matrox G400 MAX
secondary sys: Abit BE6, P3-500, 384 MB, SB Live! Value, Pioneer 303, and of course a Matrox G400 OEM SH 32 MB