Resolution trouble Vista 64-bit 7900GT

[boomerang]

I'm a little frazzled, it's been a long day so be gentle with me.

I'm moving from XP to Vista 64-bit.

I was unable to get 1440x900 on my Hanns-G. No 64-bit drivers although my understanding is that it's video card related. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, selecting any of the 3 refresh rates available ( 60, 70, 75) did not make 1440x900 available. Did I need to reboot?

The Vista install by default installed an older driver version (sorry, I did not make note of it), so I downloaded and attempted to install the latest from Nvidia. This resulted in a blue screen with jaggy angled lines. Nothing recognizable to see or click. I power buttoned off, booted to Safe Mode and rolled back the drivers. It booted to a desktop.

Thinking I was a dummy and forgot to uninstall the previous drivers (duh), I attempted to do so and was presented with the same jaggy lined screeen.

I've managed to boot back into Safe Mode with networking (took two attempts) and am posting from there now. What do I have to do to get this thing running?

I'm not certain it will boot normally at this point but am going to try after I post this.

Edit: I uninstalled the driver from Safe Mode and now have a Standard VGA Graphics Adapter which seems to be the ideal spot to be. When trying to install the latest from Nvidia, I get a dialog box telling me I'm not running a 64-bit operating system. This is getting quite frustrating.

 

[BernardP]

Be sure to have the latest Vista 64-bit driver on hand:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winvista_x64_163.75.html

Boot into Safe Mode

Go to Control Panel and uninstall all NVidia Video Drivers

Run Driver Sweeper: http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=driversweeper

Reboot (you will now be on the default Windows video driver), run the 163.75 installer.

Reboot

If you have a picture on the monitor, then you will be left with the simpler problem of enabling a custom 1440x900 resolution (more about this later)

Do I understand correctly that you installed Vista over the existing XP OS? If all else fails, you will have to try a clean Vista install, after formatting the drive. If you have only an Upgrade version of Vista, this is not directly allowed, although there is a workaround:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5932

 

[boomerang]

First off thanks for the help. I'm posting from XP now. I'm installing Vista on a spare drive. No upgrade, clean install.

So much has happened that it's hard for me to remember all the steps I went through. But my first uninstall was not from Safe Mode. I can follow the steps you outlined. I'm no rookie at this, which is in part why I'm so worked up.

What do I need to do for this "custom" resolution. I've been running 1440x900 on my XP install for some time.

I ask now, because I'm putting Vista to bed until tomorrow. I've had enough for today.

Edit: Which version of Driver Sweeper do I want? I mean, will I be able to actually install a program from Safe Mode in Vista? Do I want the binary version?

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: boomerang
First off thanks for the help. I'm posting from XP now. I'm installing Vista on a spare drive. No upgrade, clean install.

So much has happened that it's hard for me to remember all the steps I went through. But my first uninstall was not from Safe Mode. I can follow the steps you outlined. I'm no rookie at this, which is in part why I'm so worked up.

What do I need to do for this "custom" resolution. I've been running 1440x900 on my XP install for some time.

I ask now, because I'm putting Vista to bed until tomorrow. I've had enough for today.

Edit: Which version of Driver Sweeper do I want? I mean, will I be able to actually install a program from Safe Mode in Vista? Do I want the binary version?

There is a section in the Nvidia Driver CP where you can create, test and enable custom resolutions. Once this is done, the resolution is available to be selected. If 1440x900 is the native resolution of your monitor, it should work right away.

If 1440x900 is a lower-than-native resolution, you have to select "videocard scaling" so that the required scaling is done in the videocard. To use videocard scaling, a DVI connection is necessary.

it is also possible that when you sort out the driver mess, the 1440x900 resolution will be available by default.

Use the Installer version of DriverSweeper. I don't see why it would not install in Safe Mode, but you don't have to. What has to be done is uninstalling the current drivers in Safe Mode. This is to make sure that the uninstaller is not unable to uninstall a driver file that is currently used. (Think about the last sentence only when well rested...)

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: BernardP

Originally posted by: boomerang
First off thanks for the help. I'm posting from XP now. I'm installing Vista on a spare drive. No upgrade, clean install.

So much has happened that it's hard for me to remember all the steps I went through. But my first uninstall was not from Safe Mode. I can follow the steps you outlined. I'm no rookie at this, which is in part why I'm so worked up.

What do I need to do for this "custom" resolution. I've been running 1440x900 on my XP install for some time.

I ask now, because I'm putting Vista to bed until tomorrow. I've had enough for today.

Edit: Which version of Driver Sweeper do I want? I mean, will I be able to actually install a program from Safe Mode in Vista? Do I want the binary version?

There is a section in the Nvidia Driver CP where you can create, test and enable custom resolutions. Once this is done, the resolution is available to be selected. If 1440x900 is the native resolution of your monitor, it should work right away.

If 1440x900 is a lower-than-native resolution, you have to select "videocard scaling" so that the required scaling is done in the videocard. To use videocard scaling, a DVI connection is necessary.

it is also possible that when you sort out the driver mess, the 1440x900 resolution will be available by default.

Use the Installer version of DriverSweeper. I don't see why it would not install in Safe Mode, but you don't have to. What has to be done is uninstalling the current drivers in Safe Mode. This is to make sure that the uninstaller is not unable to uninstall a driver file that is currently used. (Think about the last sentence only when well rested...)

I follow you.

Please don't think I'm arguing with you because I'm not. I was poking around on the Nvidia site, and they have a tutorial on installing drivers in Vista. Supposedly this install has a routine to automatically uninstall the previous drivers. My first attempt was to just run the install on the new driver package. That's when everything took a nosedive. I don't know if the driver download got hosed, or what.

I'm laughing to myself right now, because I'm thinking maybe I should install the latest drivers for my motherboard first. Everything looked cool in Device Manager but there are 64-bit Vista drivers at the Asus site with some very recent dates.

Regardless, I'm going to start with a clean install and try to follow the steps by the book this time.

Thanks for the help. If you think of anything else, I'd be welcome to hear it.

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: boomerang

I'm laughing to myself right now, because I'm thinking maybe I should install the latest drivers for my motherboard first. Everything looked cool in Device Manager but there are 64-bit Vista drivers at the Asus site with some very recent dates.

Regardless, I'm going to start with a clean install and try to follow the steps by the book this time.

Thanks for the help. If you think of anything else, I'd be welcome to hear it.

Good idea, despite your temptations... Problem solving 101: try only one thing at a time!

 

[boomerang]

Well, I'm in Vista. Latest drivers installed. I'm at 1440x900. With the latest Nvidia drivers installed that resolution showed up as predicted. I can't bump the refresh rate up without the display going bonkers. I'm at 60 Hertz.

I also must run at 16 bit color or once again, the display goes bonkers.

I'm pretty much convinced it's a monitor issue. Without 64-bit drivers for the Hanns-G JW199DP, it looks like I'm screwed. At least I believe this to be the problem.

Edit: Cancel that.

I found the right combination to get it working. When it's hosed to the point I can't recover, I must boot pressing F8 and choose "Enable Low Resolution Video 640x480. Once in Vista I must perform these steps in exactly this order.

Change to 16 bit color.
Change resolution to 1440x900
Ensure that the refresh rate is 60 Hertz.
Lastly, change to 32 bit color.

My XP install will only work at 75 Hertz. Silly me, I made an assumption that was what I needed here.

Whew!

 

[BernardP]

Good for you. 60 HZ is the standard refresh rate for LCD panels, so it is normal that it works at this frequency.

 

[boomerang]

Well, my success was short-lived.

After setting a few things up, I opened up IE and it instantly get messed up again. I see there are a few M'soft hotfixes listed at the Nvidia site.

They are installed, I am at 16 bit 1280x800 right now and I am afraid to bump it up. I had the hotfixes before though through Windows Update.

There is a form at the Nvidia site to report problems. I'll probably submit one. I was looking for older driver versions and couldn't find them. The latest is not really all that new, so if there were problems, I'd think they'd have been addressed already.

Very frustrating.

 

[BernardP]

Now could be a good time to update the motherboard drivers and see if they change anything.

 

[boomerang]

OK, here's what's going on.

This same problem occurs with a clean install of Vista 32-bit or 64-bit.

It happens with the 163.75 drivers, or with the 169.25 Beta drivers.

Chipset drivers have been updated first thing after the Vista Install. With either 32-bit or 64-bit, only one device needs drivers. Vista finds them on the web and afterwards the device shows up as; ATK0100 ACPI Utility. I need to do a little research on that.

If I leave the system idle, when the screen saver kicks in, I can bring the system back up and I have a desktop for a short time before the screen smears and I can do nothing.

I have a 19" LCD that is not a widescreen that I intend to hook up tomorrow and do a clean install again. I'll see what happens with the update to the 163.75 drivers. Both the widescreen I'm using and the 19" have DVI connectors. This should prove out something I would think. There's lots of variables here, but I'm hoping I can narrow this down to this HannsG being the culprit.

I can hook the widescreen up to my wife's computer too and see what happens. She's running Vista using onboard video.

I'm doing a little thinking out loud here. If anyone has some thoughts pipe in.

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: boomerang
I'm hoping I can narrow this down to this HannsG being the culprit.

Why you suspect the HannsG monitor, as it seemed to be working perfectly under XP? The monitor switch you are going to do will clear this out, but I won't be surprised if the HannG turns out OK.

Assuming the HannG is not the guily party, I have also something else for you to check. It is a bit of a longshot, and hard to explain without a screenshot. Here goes anyway:

In the panel where you can set the custom resolution, there is an Advanced button. If you look in there, you will find a list of settings, two of which are supposed to be the native H and V resolutions of the monitor, although they are not exactly labeled that way. The problem is that this native resolution can be wrong by default, as if the driver can't read it correctly. Try to change it to 1440x900 (the native of your 19-inch widescreen), and saving it. Re-open the panel to make sure it is still there.

My wife had a problem with this on her work computer (22-inch widescreen with GeForce 6600)) and it would prevent setting any custom resolution. I am wondering if your problem could not be another manifestation of this wrong setting.

If my explanation is not clear enough, tell me, and I will ask my wife to send me a printscreen image of the NVidia panel in question and post it for you.

 

[iluv2fly]

Boomerang

I know what your problem is. I had the same problem with a XFX 7900GT.

It is a memory speed problem, that is incompatible with Vista believe it or not.

You can either use rivatuner to increase the memory speed by 10hz or you can contact your graphics card vendor an request an updated BIOS.

XfX sent my bios within a couple of hours

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: iluv2fly

Boomerang

I know what your problem is. I had the same problem with a XFX 7900GT.

It is a memory speed problem, that is incompatible with Vista believe it or not.

You can either use rivatuner to increase the memory speed by 10hz or you can contact your graphics card vendor an request an updated BIOS.

XfX sent my bios within a couple of hours

I can't thank you enough. I called EVGA and talked to their after hours tech support and they confirmed I need a BIOS revision. I have to wait until they open at 9AM PST to actually get the file.

Happy holidays, you've made mine much more joyous! :beer:

BernardP, thanks for sticking with me through thick and thin. You were always able to bring me back to earth when I needed it.

Edit: I thought I'd look around on the net and see if I could come up with the file and in the process I discovered NiBiTor. It looks like I can do it from within NiBiTor, but I'm just going to wait for EVGA.

 

[iluv2fly]

I'm glad I could help

 

[boomerang]

Their rep emailed me the BIOS update. He said they were having about a 50% success rate. Well, mine fell into the no joy percentile. The BIOS flash took, it just didn't fix the problem.

The good news is that I will get an equal or greater value RMA replacement. I've had the card 13 months and I don't know how long the warranty is, but it all sounds good to me.

 

[iluv2fly]

Good deal!!!

You are probably going to get a 7950 if they have any left. If not you might even get a 8800GT or GTS card

If you play with the frequency on both the core and the memory you will most likely get it to work.

But I would go for the replacement to, he, he,,,,

Let us know what you get

 

[Syntax Error]

You can get an upgrade from an RMA? Wow, let me know how THAT goes.

 

[boomerang]

Yeah, Ill try to remember. With the holidays, I'm figuring this is going to take a while.

I paid $15 for an Advanced RMA Purchase which includes a prepaid shipping label. Although they don't get into the particulars, it sure sounds like they ship my replacement first. I probably should have called to find out for sure.

I put a Zalman cooler on it to quiet it down. I hope it transfers to the replacement card. It's really nice and quiet. Glad I saved the original cooler too!

 

[BernardP]

Hmmm... The plot thickens...

Although I believe it's true, I can't imagine by which logic memory speed can have anything to do with Vista compatibility, and even less why the BIOS fix is hit-and-miss.

Vista is really a weird animal.

I am curious to see what model EVGA is going to send you back. It could be another 7900GT, since they might have some in stock from their Step-Up program.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[boomerang]

RMA is approved and it is a cross-ship. I'm glad I went with the $15 deal as I have no spare video card to throw in as a temp. Well, a couple AGP's, but they don't count.

I registered at their site. Submitted my RMA request through there. Uploaded my invoice to them too.

Submitted my CC number to cover the card in case I don't return mine through their site and got confimation back within a few minutes. Says the card will ship within two days. (Christmas is going to mess this up) The whole thing has been handled electronically without ever having to talk to a human being. Umm, I guess that's good?

I have to agree. I do not understand why a BIOS revision would only work 50% of the time and Vista being the problem. It's just strange.

But I'm ridin' the wave. To wherever it takes me.

 

[boomerang]

As i said I would, I'm reporting back. They shipped me a 7900GTO. It just arrived a short time ago. It barely fits in my case as the 6 pin power connector interferes with my HD cage. A 90 degree connector would be helpful. This sucker is huge!

Haven't tried it with Vista yet, but I'll post back with my results.

Edit: It works like a dream in Vista. I'm very happy with the service that EVGA gave me.

 

[iluv2fly]

Very Good!

Thanks for letting us know. Glad it worked out for you!