SOLVED!! PLEASE help me troubleshoot my 9700 pro!!!

[mcurphy]

Well I did the format and reinstalled everything and the PC is running like a dream now! Thank you very much everyone who contributed help and advice to me on this!! Also, I just posted my highest 3DMark score so far at 14634! That's not too bad is it? Considering nothing is tweaked or OC'd yet


I just got a BBA Radeon 9700 pro and installed it with no problems. I previousley had a PNY GF4 ti4600 installed in this system, so I uninstalled the drivers, shutdown the PC, installed the 9700 pro, and booted. I then installed the newest Catalyst drivers from ATI's website according to their directions.

The problem I am having is that my computer freezes when running 3DMark2001 and on the PC game GTAIII. I can't get through a full round 3DMark AT ALL. GTAIII only freezes once in a while. After GTA freezes and I have to hit the restart button, I've messages that say either their is a driver issue, or that the application is trying to request a C++ runtime something or another and it isn't allowed. I even unistalled the drivers and reinstalled them, but I am still having the same problems! I haven't noticed any major problem when running just Windows XP and a browser or two.

Any suggestions??

Here's some system specs:

Resolution is 1024x768 at 75Hz & 32bit color
Gigabyte SINXP1394 Mobo
P4 2.53b
1024 RAM (4x256 DDR266)
Zalman CNPS7000-Cu HS/F
2 X 30 GB Maxtors 6E030L0 ATA 133 drives in RAID-0 array.
Maxtor 6Y120P0 ATA 133 120.0 GB @ 7200 RPMS (XP Pro SP1 installed on this drive)
Antec TrueBlue 480watt PSU
Server case with 5 fans


The PC has not been overclocked since I installed the 9700 pro.
I am completely lost here so any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,

Mcurphy

 

[McArra]

Try latest MB drvers. if that doesn't help try reinstalling 3dMark and see if that works, if so do the same with GTA.
Hope this helps, good luck

 

[Mem]

I would uninstall your Control panel then drivers reboot into safe mode and follow readme file instructions in the Driver Cleaner 2 utility ,remove all Nvidia and ATi files(using Driver cleaner) after that reboot back into normal mode and reinstall your drivers,btw it also recommends you run cab cleaner and SP1 cleaner just the once only if you have not done so also in safe mode just before(included in the Driver Cleaner Utility) you run driver cleaner in safe mode.


Disable fastwrites in Smartgart tab in ATi Control panel and BIOS may also help,better off then on.


So you would run cab cleaner in safe mode,then SP1 cleaner,then driver cleaner and reboot back into normal Windows desktop and install drivers etc.

The next time you use Driver cleaner again you won`t need to run driver cab cleaner or SP1 cleaner.
Note Cab Cleaner is Integrated into Driver Cleaner (access through tools menu).If Windows hardware wizard comes up hit cancel(should come up twice only).

 

[mcurphy]

Thanks for the great tips! I really like the Drive Cleaner suggestion, I was thiinking that maybe those pesky NVidia drivers might be lingering. I am going to work through a few of these suggestions and I will post the results. Hopefully I can get some results from 3DMark2001 to post!!

Mcurphy

 

[GrumpyMan]

Have you checked your fan on the card, it could be failing. I've read a couple of posts where this is happening. Pretty easy to replace. If the fan is OK then Mem's tips should fix you right up.

 

[mcurphy]

Well I went through and did everything suggested in the first two posts, step by step. I was pretty pumped when I actually got through everything and passed all the tests in 3DMark scoring over 14,000. I thought for sure it was fixed.....but I am still having issues with gaming, and now can't get 3DMark to run a full cycle again. GTAIII is still freezing after 30 minutes or so of play and I had the same issue with Madden 2004.

Thank you GrumpyMan for the new suggestion! I am going to try and get a replacement for the fan. Do you have any further advice such as brand, should I replace the Heatsink as well? Links to any good HSF? Is it any more difficult to replace the Heatsink on a GPU than it is on a CPU? Can I use the AS3 I left over from my build last April?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions there! I just typed out what came to mind right away.

Thanks for the advice and tips, Please keep them coming guys!

Mcurphy

 

[Mem]

mcurphy,maybe few BIOS tweaks like disable all video shadowing,disable video ram cacheable,disable fastwrites,AGP aperture size set to 128mb,disable system bios cacheable and try slower ram timings.Leave PCI slot 1 emplty if possible(nearest to AGP slot).

Good Luck.

 

[jet292]

I had the same problem with my Radeon 9700 pro. I replaced the heatsink and fan with a ZALMAN Heatpipe VGA Cooler (ZM80C-HP) with the optional Fan (ZM-OP1 Slim fan) and Now mine works great. No more freezing while playing games. You can order them from Newegg.com. (fast service).

If you want to test to make sure that it is the fan/HS. Open up your case and put a fan infront of it while playing. Thats how i figured out my problem.

Hope this helps

 

[Paveslave]

Originally posted by: mcurphy
Well I went through and did everything suggested in the first two posts, step by step. I was pretty pumped when I actually got through everything and passed all the tests in 3DMark scoring over 14,000. I thought for sure it was fixed.....but I am still having issues with gaming, and now can't get 3DMark to run a full cycle again.

I had the same problem not but a week ago. Disable WRITE COMBINING and FAST WRITES in display properties, restart your computer and you should be good to go. Before I did this I couldn't even make it through one cycle of 3DMARK either. I had just installed the New CAT driver and by doing this it set the two settings back on and I didn't know it. At first I thought it was the driver itself, but after I figured it out I was fine. hope this helps.

 

[mcurphy]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Mem--I didn't see any advanced graphic tweaking options in the BIOS, but I'm pretty sure there's a way to access them. I need to check my manual and documentation to see what keys I need to hit for access. Also, The first PCI slot is empty, but I still decided to move my soundcard down to the bottom, so the card now has plenty of space for airflow.

jet292--Was that heatsink easy to install? It looks pretty complicated when just looking at the pictures on Newegg. Also, do you have a link to the slimfan that you used? Also, I didn't try opening the case and putting a fan in front of it, becuase I have an 80mm side fan on the case already that blows directly onto the card.

Paveslave--Thanks for the tip. I had the fastwrites already disabled, but where do I find the option for Write Combing? I didn't see anything in display properties that listed this specifically....Is that the "Wait For Vertical Sync" slider option in the OpenGL and Direct3D tabs? Should I slide it all the way to the left in both tabs if this is the option you are talking about?


Thanks for the tips guys, keep 'em coming! I think I will be replacing the heatsink for sure in a week or so if I can't get this issue resolved in any of these other ways. That will be my last resort, but it wouldn't be a bad option anyhow since I might OC this thing once I know it's stable.

Mcurphy

 

[Mem]

mcurphy,you`ve latest DX 9.0B installed(recommended)?

 

[jet292]

you can get the fan at newegg also, Just look under fans.

No, it was easy to install, very good instruction. You canalso go to there web sight,(www.zalmen.co.kr) they have a video that shows you how. I't took me about 30 min to install

 

[Paveslave]

Paveslave--Thanks for the tip. I had the fastwrites already disabled, but where do I find the option for Write Combing? I didn't see anything in display properties that listed this specifically....Is that the "Wait For Vertical Sync" slider option in the OpenGL and Direct3D tabs? Should I slide it all the way to the left in both tabs if this is the option you are talking about?

In display properties / Advanced settings / Troublshoot Tab (on the bottom)

Disable this and run a benchmark, you should make it through now. GL

 

[1ManArmY]

Godd luck and keep us informed

 

[mcurphy]

OK, I disabled the Write Combing and rebooted when prompted. Once I was back into Windows I started a run of 3DMark again, this time I completely lost the video signal. My monitor LED turned yellow and "Off Mode In 5 Seconds" appeared like it does on a normal shutdown. The computer was still running and I opened the case and checked the 9700 pro fan and it was still running. So I had to hit the restart button.

The computer won't load the Windows GUI now. Very strange. It POSTs fine and everything, and then the Windows boot up screen comes on with the little bar across the bottom and then when it goes to load my user logon screen, everything goes black. I rebooted several times and had the same result. I even tried booting into safemode and had no luck. So the next step...I put my old PNY GF2 32MB MX200 card in and it is not helping naything. I am getting the same black screen at logon result. I've also tried selecting "Load Fail Safe Defaults" and "Load Optimized Defaults" in the BIOS, but neither helps getting Windows to load.

When I booted into Safe Mode with Command Prompt it goes through all the drivers loading, and the PC freezes right at this point everytime:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows\System32\Drivers\Mup.Sys

I'm not familiar with this driver, does anyone know what it is? Where do I go from here?? Please don't say format and reload Windows, I don't have a recent backup (really kicking myself in the ass right now) and I have a lot of pictures and Docs I really want to save.

Thanks for the help and advice! This has been the worst two days, but thank god I have a reliable PC still going on my network that I can access the internet and get help with!

BTW Mem, I reinstalled the DirectX 9 drivers from Microsoft yesterday when I was working on all the other tips above, so they should be good to go,

 

[Mem]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows\System32\Drivers\Mup.Sys

Hmm I had this error message problem last week,turned out in my case to be a bad stick of ram,I was blaming the drivers since I installed the CATs 3.7 at the same time one stick of my Crucial ram decided to go faulty(lucky Crucial have lifetime warranty),I couldn`t even get Windows to install at all.

Anyway have you tried F8 at startup and selecting "last known good configuration?".

Btw I was getting the good single beep post as well even with one faulty stick of ram.

 

[mcurphy]

Yes, I tried the "last known good configuration" as well. Do you think I should try to replace the RAM? I have 4 sticks of PNY 256MB DDR266 in there now. I also have 2 brand new sticks of 512MB PC2700 RAM sitting here that I was selling, but maybe I'll open them up and try them in the system if you think it is worth it.

 

[Mem]

You can try this ,bottom part about putting the XP CD in and trying the repair/recovery option.

 

[mcurphy]

Well I removed all 4 sticks of RAM and tried installing them one at a time. Still no booting into Logon screen with any of them. I don't think they could have all gone bad at the same time, so I am not going to open the new sticks I have. I also tried to use my WinXP disk and do the recovery option, but it won't work. I boot from CD and let the setup start, it loads a few files and then says "Starting Windows" and just hangs there. There was one option that says "Press F2 for ASR" Automated System Recovery. But when I choose this option, it tells me to insert my floppy labled Automated System Recovery. I don't have one of these floppys, and I'm sure it didn't come with my XP, so I am going to do a search and see if it is downloadable.

I am also going to do some searches on that Map.sys file. This seems to be the main culprit.

 

[Mem]

mcurphy,in my case the faulty ram had corrupted the "System32\Drivers\Mup.Sys" on my HD and caused havoc, even XP would not install,yours could be something different ,I was just throwing you a bone and trying to rule out some possibilities that I know of.

 

[Mem]

mcurphy for "automatic system recovery" try
this at Microsoft`s site. .

 

[mcurphy]

Finally booted!! I've spent the last hour or so doing backups of everything, so now I can fvck this thing up anyway I want

The problem with that pesky Mup.sys file has something or another to do with PCI cards/slots and USB ports. Also overheated RAM will cause problems with that file. I didn't find exactly what that file is for, but there was a ton of info on Google about it and people having similar problems to mine. What I gathered from all the material was to unplug all my PCI devices and USB cables. AND then WALAA, XP booted with no troubles. Maybe this was caused by me moving my PCI sound card down a couple slots to allow air to the vid card. Or maybe my RAM actually did overheat from all the benchmarking...(I ended up installing the two sticks of PC2700 after all) Or maybe I knocked a cable loose while I have been messing around in there.

But now everything is secure and running smoothly. Thank you for all the help Mem! I am going to go download that ASR file you linked so I have it in case of an emergency in the future.

Not sure if there is still a problem with the 9700, so I am going to try and run some benchies again.
Wish me luck!

 

[mcurphy]

Well I am still having trouble running benchies and games. I am having a lot of other strange problems as well such as my sound card won't work (windows media player all of the sudden says the wrong version is there than expected)), I can't connect to the internet through IE anymore (I am using Mozilla now), and a few other minor glitches are happening. I am begining to wonder if I might have a virus, I havent read up on the latest symptoms for the new one.

So I've decided a format and fresh install of Win XP is due. Hopefully this will clear all my troubles up!

Thanks for alll the help guys, I post an update on the results of the format


Mcurphy

 

[mcurphy]

Well I did the format and reinstalled everything and the PC is running like a dream now! Thank you very much everyone who contributed help and advice to me on this!! Also, I just posted my highest 3DMark score so far at 14634! That's not too bad is it? Considering nothing is tweaked or OC'd yet

 

[ronnn]

seems ok to me.