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[G400] W2K won't boot after using 3D.

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  • [G400] W2K won't boot after using 3D.

    I've got something weird going on and I'm not sure wether it is a hardware or software problem.

    When I reboot the PC after I've used some hardware 3D-stuff (Games, demo's etc) Windows2000 hangs at the point when the videocard should switch to the Windows-resolution. Black screen, only reset helps.
    I can try to reboot all I want, or powerdown/powerup, it doesn't matter it always hangs.

    To solve it, I've to boot in VGA-mode, reinstall the drivers and overwrite the performance settings. But, of course, as soon as I use something 3D again the problem pops up again.

    Very annoying. I've tried PD 5.82, 5.72 and 5.52 (with full uninstall etc), but the problem remains.

    This might look as a software problem. But the weird thing is, this started when I replaced my mainboard. I had a defective Epox 8K7A (AMD 761 northbridge) and got a new mainboard. Although it is a newer revision (which is good, generally) the bord itself is the same.
    While the old board had its problems, this problem of not being able to boot never occured.

    So, is it some weird software problem or should I switch mainboards again?

    [edit]
    Although it happens without using 3D/hardware acceleation as well..
    [/edit]
    Last edited by Randy Simons; 12 April 2002, 07:55.

  • #2
    No the board is not the same... I'd be willing to bet that there is something either BIOS or chipset wise that's different and thus causing this problem... reinstall chipset patches etc
    "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -- Dr. Seuss

    "Always do good. It will gratify some and astonish the rest." ~Mark Twain

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    • #3
      Well, Windows didn't detect *any* changes after I switched the boards. It did when I swapped a G400 32MB DH for another G400 32MB DH..
      BIOS is identical, in both boards I flashed the newest BIOS. BIOS settings are very conservative. Nothing is overclocked.
      Apart from AMD AGP minidrivers (which I installed, of course) there are no other patches regarding the northbridge. As far as th (VIA) southbridge goes, only the PS/2 and USB ports are used on that.

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      • #4
        The very latest beta drivers from matrox' site cured this problem for me on my G450 in win2k.

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        • #5
          I already use the very latest beta driver (5.81.18), so that's no cure in my case

          Steve, do you also have a AMD761-based mainboard?

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          • #6
            I went through Matrox' forums. It seems that "fixes" for the Via chipset are more common than just the Via chipsets.

            -Aperture-size was 128MB, now at 256MB.
            -PNP-OS was "Yes", now I put it on "No" (weird, but Microsoft recommends this.)

            Until now (2 reboots, one after playing some UT for a while and one after letting 3DMark2001 run for some time) I have no problems.

            Fingers crossed

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            • #7
              Hm, this is becoming a monologue

              But the problems persists.. Once again, I stared at a black screen. But it seems I'm not the only one with this problem..

              Btw, the 3D/hardware acceleration part doesn't seem to matter much after all.

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              • #8
                Tried to update the G400 Bios ?
                Tried newer AMD Chipset drivers ?

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                • #9
                  Newest and newest.

                  I noted that when AGP "multiplier" is set to auto, it takes a second when booting up for the system to decide whether to user AGP1X or 2X. That's seems to be the time things freeze.
                  So, when locking the multiplier, not only the boot-time is faster (about 1 second ) but it seems to be much more reliable to me.

                  However, as said, I still had a black screen once, but I'm not entirely sure if I locked the AGP speed then...

                  Anyway, crusing the Matrox Forums, it seems to be a general problem. Usually it's fixed with the standard answer (get via 4-in-1, aperture size at 256MB, newest drivers/bios, agp1X etc etc) but obviously not always...

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                  • #10
                    I had something very similar under XP upgrading to the 5.82 drivers brought the infinite loop message. My cure was a re-installing win2k which doesn't help you much.
                    Have you tried adjusting the AGP driving values, Memory timings and voltages.
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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by The PIT
                      Have you tried adjusting the AGP driving values, Memory timings and voltages.
                      I can't change AGP driving values and I don't believe memory timings and voltage have anything to do with it. Besides, memory timings are rather conservative at the moment.

                      Anyway, I must say most (all?) problems are a thing of the past. The aperture size at 256MB, the PNP-OS set to NO and the AGP speed locked down at AGP 1X seem to do the trick. My system is running smooth as... well, think of something very smooth

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