WEIRD videocard problem. Help me decipher it! **UPDATED**

[NeoDaywalker]

My system specs:

A64 3000+ socket 754
Chaintech VNF3-250
512MB RAM
Geforce3 Ti200
120GB Hard drive

The problem: I can play any game without any issues, freezes or lockups. But when i exit the game im playing and load another one, i get this weird image clipping, my screen is almost cut in half. Its like the videocard is unable to draw the graphics. When that happens, the comp freezes and restarts. And when im back in WinXP, it says that there was an issue with the Nvidia display driver (im using the 66.93 ones). I tried to underclock the card and no luck, i still have the same issue. Note that this always happens when i exit a game im playing and then immediately start another one.

I checked my system for viruses using both Norton Antivirus and PC Cillin (both updated with the latest definitions) no luck. I use the latest drivers in everything i have on the system. As for my system temps, look for yourselves, i believe the are perfectly normal: http://users.tellas.gr/~ilias78/PSU%20temps.bmp

Note that other than the problem i mentionned, my system works fine 24 hours a day and without a hitch. Im supposing that the videocard is near its death and needs replacement, but i would like to hear additional opinions.

Thanks in advance

 

[Yilar]

Hey Neo,

I think you might at least try to upgrade your drivers. The 66.93 drivers are good drivers to some and horrible to others.. I'd say try the 71.80 or 71.81 which are both reported to give good results and no problems. I myself use the 71.81 drivers for my Geforce card and they work without any issues.. Be sure to clean your system thoroughly of any driver traces before upgrading. A good thread which explains how to do this is located here: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php...0bbe4d8b901872e0ff5624b&threadid=67799

Good luck and I hope this helps you out, let me know how it turned out for ya.

 

[NeoDaywalker]

Thanks for your advice Yilar, the problem seems to be solved now. Although im still cautious about it...lol.

I uninstalled the 66.93 drivers and installed the 71.81 ones. I ALSO reinstalled DirectX 9.0c because at some point my games would give me an error message concerning DirectX. Perhaps some files were corrupted and needed a fix.

Anyway things seem to be working ok now. I will update if something goes wrong tho

 

[Yilar]

No worries, glad I could help! And updating your Directx after a driver update like that is never a bad idea..

 

[NeoDaywalker]

OOOk the Direct X error message appeared again after a full week of non problematic gaming. Here is how the message looks like: http://users.tellas.gr/~ilias78/DX%20error.jpg

This problem seems to happen only with Battle for Middle Earth. On a sidenote, my mobo temps are mysteriously high at 29C. The card isnt overclocked in any way. Maybe the card is reaching its last breath? Or is it a game problem?

I dunno what else to do.