Please God help me now!

[macdade]

Hello,

I have a REALLY REALLY annoying problem that I have been trying to fix for a damn long time. My pc randomly freezes every few minutes and the pixels go all strange in some lines and then the computer usualy refreshes and unfreezes after 20 seconds or so.

This never happens when I play games (half life 2, warcraft 3)
This never happens when Im watching a video clip.
(Basically it happens when browsing folders/internet)

If I unplug the molex power connector on my video card my computer does not freeze and runs fine apart from the 3d card not running 100%.

I have the newest Nvida drivers, I have tried old drivers, the drivers that came with the card, beta drivers, current drivers.. same thing with all of them.

I have tried using several different monitors.

I have tried turning off Fast write and tried altering various other BIOS settings that have worked for similar problems but none of these have helped me.

I have formatted the computer several times and I have the same problem each time.

I have updated all the windows updates, didnt help

I have tried plugging a power supply from another computer to the 3d card (apprently the power supplys can be inadequate)

None of these things have made a difference.

I have taken my card back to where I bought it and they tested it along with the rest of my PC and said there is nothing wrong with my hardware.

Please! SOMEBODY show me some love and help me out here. Buying a new system is out of the question for me.

My specs:

Pixelview 6600GT 128mb
Asus k8v-x motherboard
corsair 2x256mb ram
80gig seagate sata hard drive
400w raidmax case
dvd rom.. etc

Please help me, any expert advice would be extremely appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
Matthew

 

[MegaWorks]

Originally posted by: macdade

Please! SOMEBODY show me some love and help me out here.

BUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!

Are you overclocking?

 

[hans030390]

bad card? have you tried another video card?

 

[TourGuide]

Originally posted by: hans030390
bad card? have you tried another video card?

It looks to me like you have a hardware problem somewhere. My vote is with hans - bad video card. Time to RMA - have fun there.

Can you say 2 months without a vid card?

 

[macdade]

the shop tested the card and it 'said' it was working fine. I tried my friends card in my machine and it seemed to work ok.

what does RMA involve exactly?

If my card works ok in another computer could it be some kind of compatibility issue with my motherboard or something? Could somebody link me to a file for Asus K8v-X motherboard? I have tried some hyperion driver or something but it wouldnt install.

 

[rogue1979]

Turn off fastwrites. One of my 6600's had a slight glitch now and again, and sometimes an occasional lock up. Turned off fastwrites in the motherboard bios, and now it is bullet proof.

 

[macdade]

Turn off fastwrites. One of my 6600's had a slight glitch now and again, and sometimes an occasional lock up. Turned off fastwrites in the motherboard bios, and now it is bullet proof.

Read my first post..

I have tried turning off Fast write and tried altering various other BIOS settings that have worked for similar problems but none of these have helped me.

And this isnt occasional this makes the system unusable unless I i take out the molex connector plug.

PS; no, I have not overclocked anything.

 

[2Xtreme21]

Does the fan work when the molex connector is in?

 

[JackBurton]

PLEASE LORD, give macdade the power to play games again! For all that is good in this world!

^ Don't worry man, help is on the way.

 

[kmmatney]

I had a VERY similar problem with my 6600GT. I had it paired with an ASUS A7N-266E Socket A motherboard. My desktop would freeze while browsing the web or folders. I got a new PSU (the monster I'm using now) and it didn't help. The card would just not work with my motherboard. I ended up swapping out my motherboard with my son's Biostar board, and all works well, except that I had great on-baord sound with my Asus board, and now I have a crappy sound on the Biostar.

Edit: I also had your same symptom, where unplugging the Molex card made the card run stable, but at slower speeds. Once the Molex connector was back on, my motherboard could not handle the card. I bet if you try the card in another system it will run fine...sucks.

Edit 2: Maybe you can trade in the card for a 9800 Pro - I think those work a little better in AGP systems. What was your last video card? In my case, I had a Ti4200, which ran great.

 

[macdade]

Cheers JackBurton brother, im having gaming withdrawals >.<

Yeah the fan works with the molex plug in.

kmmatney: Yep your right! I tried the card in my cousins computer and it ran fine. I guess that the motherboard/video card combo is just incompatible (which is kinda disturbing because when i purchased the parts i specifically asked if they would work fine together and they said told me it would run like a dream.)

So if they told me that, then it should be their responsibility to replace the card or motherboard yeh ?

 

[Buz2b]

Originally posted by: macdade

So if they told me that, then it should be their responsibility to replace the card or motherboard yeh ?

In a nutshell; No. The problem you're having is probably a difficult one to be duplicated. I'd bet you could find others using the same MB/video card combo with no problems. Sometimes it is just something on either piece of hardware that just doesn't "connect" like it should.
Has it been long since they sold you the parts? You should definitely chew on them for a while about getting a replacement for either the video card or the MB. My bet is that if you replaced one, the system would be fine. And, not that I'm suspicious or paranoid, but I'd find an inconspicuous place on that video card to place a small black dot with a marker before handing it over for them to replace (if they will). At least then you can be sure they don't "swap" it out with the same card. Ok, so I am a bit paranoid but it happened to me once long ago with a stick of RAM that a shop said tested fine. They "replaced" it twice but I caught them on the second turn. Gee, and the second replacement seemed to work just fine. Imagine that?!!?

 

[macdade]

Originally posted by: Buz2b

Originally posted by: macdade

So if they told me that, then it should be their responsibility to replace the card or motherboard yeh ?

In a nutshell; No. The problem you're having is probably a difficult one to be duplicated. I'd bet you could find others using the same MB/video card combo with no problems. Sometimes it is just something on either piece of hardware that just doesn't "connect" like it should.
Has it been long since they sold you the parts? You should definitely chew on them for a while about getting a replacement for either the video card or the MB. My bet is that if you replaced one, the system would be fine. And, not that I'm suspicious or paranoid, but I'd find an inconspicuous place on that video card to place a small black dot with a marker before handing it over for them to replace (if they will). At least then you can be sure they don't "swap" it out with the same card. Ok, so I am a bit paranoid but it happened to me once long ago with a stick of RAM that a shop said tested fine. They "replaced" it twice but I caught them on the second turn. Gee, and the second replacement seemed to work just fine. Imagine that?!!?

heh funny you should say that! ... I got faulty ram when i purchased the system in December and I took it back for them to test with a dot on it like you said. They said the ram was fine and charged me to have the ram tested but i looked later and they had swapped the ram! I have made 9 trips back to this shop and paid to have all my hardware tested twice for ONE system so im not going to stop chewin them as you say until I have a working pc.