ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro problem; freezes computer/won't allow boot!

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Rawan AbuSalman

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Greetings,

I recently purchased a new PC (2.4 GHz Core 2 Quad, 4 GB RAM) and added the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics card.

I installed Vista Ultimate, and everything seemed to work fine, until I started experiencing some crashes; Out of no where, the screen either goes blank or scrambled bars are displayed, and the computer freezes (and if I was playing some music, it gets stuck in a loop)

I restart and everything works fine...

Then, after loading Counter Strike Source, I realized I can only play for about 10-15 minutes before the computer crashes again and I have to restart...

I've been coping with that problem until 2 days ago, when the OS wouldn't even boot; When I turn it on, the Vista logo that appears (before selecting your user and inputting your password) is displayed distorted (with bars all over) or the screen is blank, and I can do nothing... (it happened a couple times before but a few restarts solved the problem) not now though, I have restarted over 20 times to no avail...

I had no choice but to re-install vista, so I installed a fresh copy..and everything went back to normal, that is, before I installed the driver software for the card! I installed the motherboard drivers and everything was working fine..then I put the CD that came with the card and installed it, and the same problem appeared every time I try to boot up windows...

This is the 10th time I install a new fresh copy of vista, and every time I install the graphics card driver, same problem...

I even tried downloading and installing an earlier version of the driver (version 8.3), but to no avail...

I've wasted a lot of time on this problem, not to to forget all the work I have and was not able to do because of this problem...

Any help is much appreciated...

Regards,

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EDIT...

I went for around a week without installing the card driver...then did that and it worked for a couple of days, the same problem...I then booted into safe mode (only way to boot) went to device manager and disabled the video card...it has been working since then but that's just a temporary fix...graphics are bad and i cant load many apps, let alone games...

Thanx again...
 
Thank you for your reply...

At first, I thought it an overheating problem...and I tested that theory while playing counter strike source....

The thing is, at first, the computer would boot normally and everything would be normal, but occasionally, the screen will freeze and im forced to restart....but i noticed then when loading graphic intensive applications (like CS Source) it happens a lot faster...(i was only able to play around 5 to 7 minutes before it freezes....)

anwyas, once i opened the computer cover and directed the hair dryer (put on 'cold' of course) towards the graphics card...and surprisingly, I was able to play for more than 30 minutes...

But that was ages ago....now it wont even load windows!

(check the attached images)

I tried your suggestion...Unfortunately, since I have disabled my graphics card from safe mode (to be able to load windows) the ATI system tray tool installs but gives me an error that no ATI graphics were found...




 
Hmm hopefully someone a bit more savvy can give some input on this but ill give it a go :p

Give the card a good clean and make sure theres no dust in the fan or heatblock and nothing is obstructing it in the case. If you have another gfx card to test out that would be great since it would rule out or show if the card is faulty.

When you say it "won't even load windows" do you mean that the computer restarts? Bluescreens? Doesn't show a screen?

From the weird lines it looks that the card may be faulty.
 
actually it DOES load windows, i just cant 'see' that... it screen gets stuck at the windows vista logo...but it actually loads windows n 'shows' the desktop (but i cant see it)

i did clean it i doubt its that...it might be faulty...but then again, if it is, how come its working now? (even though its 'disabled' from device manager, my screen IS still connected to it...)

thanx again...
 
Hmm puzzling.

Try reseting your Cmos.

1. Turn of the power to your computer (unplug the cable from the wall)

2. Hit the power button on your computer (with the power still disconnected, this will draw all the power remaining in the psu out, preventing you get zapped)

3. Locate the battery on your motherboard (Silver coin thing)

4. Pop it out and tap the little connector (where the battery was) with something metal.

5. Put the battery back in and put the power cable back into the socket.

6. Switch on and post back with any news.
 
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