Funky desktop problem on G400 OEM.

[cpld005]

Ok, been running the card for 2 weeks with aproblem here and there, but this one's a tuffy. I have a PIII 450 on an Intel SE440BX-2 motherboard, blah blah, anyways, here's the problem, sometimes when I boot up the system, after clicking on something or whatnot the card goes nuts and the whole system freezes. It's happened ever since I got the card and installed the 5.13XX drivers. Any ideas? turning Bus Mastering off seems to have fixed the problem for now. I am hoping it's the card since I have a retail on order and I can give the OEM to my roommate or whatever, but if it's a problem you'r all seeing I want to cancel the order and look elsewhere for a video card option. BTW, the Viper V770 I replaced the G400 with worked flawlessly on the same system, so it's not my system.

[M Ragsdale]

Have you done a complete uninstall of your V770 drivers and programs, or any other vid cards you are running. Check your registry for any entries pertaining to those previous cards, and delete them. Sounds like Diamond's In Control utility is causing a conflict.
Matt

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Is this some kind of bust?
Yes, it's very impressive.


[This message has been edited by M Ragsdale (edited 07-13-99).]

[cpld005]

The first thing I did when I got the G400 was to format and start over again. When it happened the first time I unistalled the drivers as per the instructions on Matrox web page and reinstalled, that caused enough problems, reformatted and reinstalled again 5.13XX, same thing, funky screens and lockups. It will go days on end without any problems at all, then poof! there goes the lockups again, and it's never at the same point or time. I don't know maybe it's just a bum card.

[M Ragsdale]

Maybe its not, though. Different Vid cards stress different parts of your system quite differently. Maybe you have a conflict, maybe one of your sticks of ram took a shit. It's happened before. The only way you can know is either try different drivers, or exchange your card. Turning bus mastering off tells me it is something that is related to some other piece plugged into your mb.

------------------
Is this some kind of bust?
Yes, it's very impressive.

[cpld005]

OK, I tried one other thing, it's totally extreme, but it appears to have fixed it.
System Specs when the system would crash:
Intel SE440BX-2 MB
Adaptec 2940U2W SCSI controller
9GB Seagate Barracuda HDD
SB LIve Retail
3COM 3C905TX Ethernet Card
Plextor Ultraplex SCSI CD-Rom.

I chucked all my scsi stuff out of the system and replaced it with IDE hdd's and CD-Rom's and now everything works perfect.....(fingers crossed) so far. I am going to run like this for a few weeks and see if the problem is duplicated, if it is ok, I will be talking to Matrox about what the problem is.

[cpld005]

Well, that lasted all of 5 minutes. I guess it's time to say goodbye to the G400 and hello to another TNT2 .

[M Ragsdale]

Before you go and do that, make sure there are no IRQ conflicts. Some NIC cards don't play nice, and sometimes the sb16 emulation on your Live! can cause conflicts, look and see if there are any.
Matt

------------------
Is this some kind of bust?
Yes, it's very impressive.

[cpld005]

I checked device manager and there are no conflicts with anything in the machine, I wish I had another motherboard tot ry out cause I really do NOT want to give up on this card, but I loose work and money when it's not functioning properly. PLEASE HELP ME I DON"T WANT TO GO BACK TO A TNT!

[M Ragsdale]

I know that your card should work fine in this motherboard. ALBPM has the same mobo. and a G400, and he has no problems with the same drivers. I don't think that the video drivers are causing your problem.
Let's get some more info on your system:
List all of your peripherals, your RAM, etc.
Try taking out the NIC and remove it from your device manager, boot into safe mode and del any referances to your NIC and delete all duplicate entries of anything else that may be in there, reboot, and see if it works better....I just have a gut feeling. Let me know.
Matt

------------------
Is this some kind of bust?
Yes, it's very impressive.

[cpld005]

I just tried exactly what you suggested and the same thing, this time in 3Dmark it locked up and the corruption happened way worse then it ever did before. A TNT'n I shall go (grrrrrr) . And worse yet I just checked my receipt and I will be charged a 7 day restocking fee. Bummer.

[M Ragsdale]

Have you tried using different RAM?
Matt

------------------
Is this some kind of bust?
Yes, it's very impressive.

[cpld005]

Unfortunately I do not have other ram to try, besides I don't think that's the problem cause everything was fine with a Viper V770, I'm starting to beleive that the card it's self is defective cause the situation seems to be getting worse, another thing I noticed last time I opened up the case is that the card it's self is a hell of alot hotter then it was when I first got it. With bus mastering off the card is cooler and the desktop is stable. Who knows, i'm tired of trying to make it work so it's going back this weekend.

[M Ragsdale]

That reminds me of one of my good friends, he bought a V550, after having an ATI Rage Pro, and he was having all kinds of problems getting the damned thing to work right. He did a fresh format, still nothing. So he says "well the ATI worked before, so it must be the V550." and sends the card back. Two weeks later he starts getting corupted registries, corupted files, and come to find out his RAM was bad the whole time. He replaces his RAM, and everything works great. He bought another V550, and it worked flawless.
Like I said before, just because a different video card works, does not mean that the video card is the problem, although it can. I suggest getting the card returned if you really think it is defective (yes, the G400 runs very hot, this is VERY normal), but trade it for another G400, and see if it works. I am betting you have other problems, because this card should work in your system, if it is set up properly.
Matt

------------------
Is this some kind of bust?
Yes, it's very impressive.

[M Ragsdale]

One other thing...Have you tried it in your room-mate's computer?
Matt

------------------
Is this some kind of bust?
Yes, it's very impressive.

[cpld005]

I asked him but he said no, He doesn't want it to crash his system. I can try one more thing, I have a Dell Percision Workstation at work I can pop it in to see if it displays the same behavior, if it does then I know it's the card cause that system is Intel compatible to the bone.