Video scrambled in XP due to some chipset driver...

[Nebben]

I posted this on Computing.net as well and have gotten no help yet. Weird problem...

I'm working on my brother's computer, and having a serious problem:

I'm installing WinXP Pro with SP2 included, and everything works fine until after the setup ends and it reboots. When it gets to the WinXP logo screen, the little progress bar's video is scrambled while the rest of the screen is normal, and then once it enters Windows it's TOTALLY scrambled and unworkable.

I am almost positive it's due to a driver for either his videocard (ATI Radeon 9600 Pro) or his motherboard (Asus P4C800-E Deluxe) http://usa.asus.com/products/m...4c800-e_d/overview.htm. I am thinking it's the motherboard chipset drivers.

I had this problem before, when installing WinXP with SP1. That time, the installation worked fine, and then problem started when I installed drivers for the motherboard -- chipset drivers of some kind, I unfortunately don't remember exactly what. They came from the CD that came with the motherboard.

If anyone can help me please do, I am totally stumped by this. The only way I can work around it is to get a cd somewhere that doesn't include SP2 but he doesn't own one and neither do I, the only copy I own is an SP2 cd. The chipset driver causing this is apparently included in SP2.

His system:

Asus P4c800-E Deluxe
512MB RAM
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
Installing WinXP Professional SP2.

 

[mechBgon]

Does the computer do ok if you start in Safe Mode? If so, download these two items on a working computer and save them to a CD or a USB drive or something:

1) Intel's latest chipset driver for the i875P chipset You will want to install these and then reboot the computer before doing the video drivers. Reboot in Safe Mode if normal mode is scramblized.

2) ATI's latest Radeon drivers


If the problem persists, then start in Safe Mode again and go through the motions of setting the resolution and refresh rate to 800 x 600 @ 60Hz refresh, in the ATI tabs where it shows a picture of a monitor with an On/Off button. If your Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced panel has no ATI-labelled tabs, then just use the Adapter > List All Modes button to accomplish the same thing. Confirm the change to 800 x 600 @ 60Hz as if it actually happened, then reboot into normal Windows and see what happens.

Good luck

 

[Nebben]

I can't start in Safe mode, or VGA mode. They both behave the same way -- scrambled video.

Is there any way I can replace the drivers in the Windows installation after it's installed? I have his HD in my computer right now so I can back up some of his files before a format we're planning to do anyway, so if I know which files to replace I can do so now and hopefully fix this. I am not very knowledgeable with this kind of thing though, so I have no idea which files need to be replaced.

 

[mechBgon]

Do you have another video card you could use (temporarily, I mean)? A 1MB Cirrus Logic PCI peeled out of an old Compaq or whatnot, that would work

 

[Nebben]

I could probably find something to throw in, but I have a feeling it's not the video card causing the problem...

Because when we first built the computer, everything was fine until I put in the CD that came with the motherboard and installed the Intel chipset drivers. After rebooting, the video was scrambled.

I did the same thing again at a later point, forgetting about what had happened, and the same thing happened.

So while the symptom is the video, I don't think it's the cause, unless there's some conflict between the 9600 Pro drivers and the chipset drivers.

 

[mechBgon]

Right. And using a PCI video card will get the system usable long enough to update the drivers, if that's where the problem lies.

edit: A BIOS update might help too. What BIOS revision is it using? They go by a four-digit number starting with 10, such as 1019 is the latest one.

 

[Nebben]

So you think that it's a problem relating only to AGP video...

I'll give that a try.

One thing I don't understand, though, is that when I boot to safe mode the problem is still there. Doesn't safe mode load a default universal driver for everything? Why is it still doing the same thing?

 

[Nebben]

We haven't updated the BIOS since he bought the motherboard, which was about a year ago. So perhaps that might be a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[mechBgon]

Read the second-to-last post in this thread, it does look like a BIOS update is the answer. Good luck and LMK how it ends up

 

[Nebben]

Great

I'll do so tomorrow. Hope it works!

Thanks a lot.

 

[Nebben]

Okay... here's an update:

I installed the newest Intel Chipset drivers, and no change.

I can put in an old PCI card and everything works perfectly. When I put the 9700 Pro back in (Sorry, thought it was a 9600 earlier, it is actually a 9700 Pro) the scrambling comes back.

On a wild guess, I went into the recovery console and renamed AGP440.sys to something else -- and guess what, the video works fine.

However, I cannot install my ATI drivers at this point because it's missing that file. It tells me to try installing the standard video adapter drivers first, which I assume is the AGP440.sys that I renamed.

I installed the update from MS pertaining to this issue as was mentioned in the thread you listed, and it didn't change anything.

I am now running the newest BIOS, 1019.

Any ideas?

 

[mechBgon]

Now that you have a supporting BIOS, start Windows Setup again and let's see how it goes. You should know in about an hour if it's going to work or not

Otherwise, I have a nice PCI-slot Voodoo3 2000 that I could trade you for that 9700 Pro...

 

[Nebben]

I updated the BIOS before doing a clean format and install... nope

 

[mechBgon]

Bummer Are there any PCI cards in the system? Also, when you've got it running on a PCI video card so you can view this, go to Device Manager and expand Computer and tell me what it says. It should say ACPI Uniprocessor PC, is that what it's got?

 

[mechBgon]

Also, I've sort of assumed this... the video card has its auxiliary power cable plugged in, correct?

 

[Nebben]

Hm..

says ACPI Multiprocessor PC...

 

[Nebben]

And no, there aren't any PCI cards installed at all.

 

[Nebben]

Yup.

 

[mechBgon]

BTW did you try setting the resolution & refresh rate to 800 x 600 @ 60Hz, and what monitor is it? edit: actually, nm about the resolution & refresh rate, since it won't even do VGA mode or Safe Mode.

 

[Nebben]

I'm at 800x600, but I can't control the refreshrate in VGA mode, it just lists a grayed out default rate.

The monitor is an envision 19" something, I don't see a model number anywhere.

 

[Nebben]

Also --
When I rename AGP440.sys, in device manager "Intel(R) 82875p Processor to AGP Controller - 24d3" is listed as an exclamation mark, and there's no driver installed for it. So I assume that's what the file is a driver for. Unfortunately I have no clue what I could possibly do from here, or if there's a solution in there somewhere or I'm just stopping the symptom instead of the cause.

 

[mechBgon]

I'm running out of viable ideas too Do you have another AGP card you could try as a fact-finding step?

 

[Nebben]

I don't right now, but I can possibly get one to try sometime soon.

Other notes:

In Device Manager, there are duplicates of the processor, and I tried changing to both Standard PC and ACPI PC, both did nothing.

This is really frustrating. I'm thinking of just getting an SP1 cd and installing that and just letting him go without SP2 until someone at MS/ATI/ASUS can fix this.

 

[mechBgon]

You can order an XP CD from Microsoft, just explain that you need an XP RTM or XP SP1 (release-to-manufacture) CD because your computer is having the problem described in that one Knowledge Base article and you think you're going to need an XP CD that doesn't contain SP2 in order to get around it. The CD is just a piece of media to them, it's the license that they would want to charge money for really, so they would probably send it for free or for a nominal fee. Good luck!