Ghost in my machine...

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DrZeto

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Hi! I have a very frustrating problem. I have a dual-boot system with win2k and winXP. The system boots fine, both in win2k and winXP, but every second time the monitor refuses to turn on. It's like there is no signal trasmitted from the graphics card. I can hear the different fans work, and the power LED is turned on, but harddrive shuts down. The strange thing is that this really happens every second time i boot up, like clockwork. I tried playing some games the times it booted up correctly, but experienced lagging. The above described problem occured from one minute to another when I moved my computer to another place in the room. So that excludes a virus problem in my opinion.

So then I opened the chassi and removed the graphics card, then put it in place again. Now the system boots every time in winXP but doesn't boot up win2k at all. When I try booting win2k the monitor goes black during win2k startup screen. There are some minor graphical errors in the progress bar on the startup screen. The CPU and chassi fan are running fine but harddrive stopps working, as described above.

So, it seems it's a hardware problem, right? Or is it software related? If it is hardware, is it the graphics card or the motherboard that is malfunctioning? I've run some tests with Eurosoft PC-check but couldn't find any hardware problems. I'm really confused here, plase help...


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AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton)
ASRock K7S8X
Gainward GeForce4 Ti4200
1GB DDR RAM PC3200
 
First things first did you buy it from a vender, if so does it have a warranty that wont be void because of your tampering with the video card? Always exploit your Warranty!!

The first thing I of think is heat.

I am afraid that I donÂ’t know what you mean when you say:
“The above described problem occurred from one minute to another when I moved my computer to another place in the room. So that excludes a virus problem in my opinion.”
And I canÂ’t see why that excludes a virus problem. Please explain.
 
Warranty is long gone unfortunately :( About the virus thing, I agree, I should have been more clear. What I ment to say was that I scan my computer regularly for viruses with both NOD32 and different online scans. So according to the antivirus programs I didn't have a virus the moment before I moved the computer. Then I unplugged everything (including the ethernet cable), moved the computer, plugged in all the cables and the screen went black on first boot. So in my humble opinion this shouldn't be a virus caused problem.

Anyway, I think I've solved the problem, I went over to my next door neighbour and borrowed his Palit GeForce 6600GT 128MB. And YES! everything is woking fine now, the computer boots normally. So problem solved I guess :) Tomorrow I'm off to buy a new graphics card.

One thought though, when playing games like Empire Earth II and Vampires The Masquerade (Bloodlines) the 6600GT showes the same poor performance as the Ti4200. Shouldn't it be a huge difference between a generation 4 and a generation 6 graphics card?! Maybe the bottleneck is elsewhere, like my motherboard? Any ideas?
 
YEs you're probably right although bloodlines does run like a pig it should be smooth on a 6600 or above.

Use everest to get us some more details about your ram and your system temperatures.
 
Ok, I did a scan with Everest, and it generated 101 pages of info :eek: First time I use this prog. but I'll paste some of the info below, and if you want to know anything alse please let me know and I'll paste the info.

SPD Memory Modules:
DIMM1 - 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (2.5-3-3-8 @ 200 MHz)
DIMM2 - 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (2.5-3-3-8 @ 200 MHz)

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID - 62-P220-001368-00101111-040201-SIS$K7S8X220_K7S8X BIOS P2.20
Motherboard Name - ASRock K7S8X v3 (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)

Chipset Properties:
Motherboard Chipset - SiS 746FX
Memory Timings - 2.5-3-3-7 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

BIOS Properties:
System BIOS Date - 10/07/03
Video BIOS Date - 10/27/05
DMI BIOS Version - P2.20

Graphics Processor Properties:
Video Adapter - nVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT AGP
GPU Code Name - NV43GTAGP (AGP 8x 10DE / 00F1, Rev A2)
GPU Clock - 301 MHz
Memory Clock - 450 MHz

Temperatures:
Motherboard - 31 °C (88 °F)
CPU - 50 °C (122 °F)
GPU Diode - 40 °C (104 °F)
WDC WD2500JB-00GVC0 - 29 °C (84 °F)
WDC WD800JB-00ETA0 - 31 °C (88 °F)

Cooling Fans:
CPU - 2344 RPM

Voltage Values:
CPU Core - 1.65 V
+3.3 V - 3.36 V
+5 V - 4.95 V
+12 V - 12.28 V
+5 V Standby - 4.97 V
Debug Info F - 90 FF FF
Debug Info T - 50 31 255
Debug Info V - 67 00 D2 B8 BF D5 E3 (01)
Debug Info I - 60 6012

CPU Properties:
CPU Type - AMD Athlon XP, 1846 MHz (11 x 168) 2500+
CPU Alias - Barton
CPU Stepping - A2
Instruction Set - x86, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE
L1 Code Cache - 64 KB
L1 Data Cache - 64 KB
L2 Cache - 512 KB (On-Die, Full-Speed)

CPU Physical Info:
Package Type - 453 Pin PGA
Package Size - 4.95 cm x 4.95 cm
Transistors - 54.3 million
Process Technology - 6Mi, 0.13 um, CMOS, Cu
Die Size - 101 mm2
Core Voltage - 1.65 V
I/O Voltage - 1.6 V
Typical Power - 53.7 - 60.4 W (depending on clock speed)
Maximum Power - 68.3 - 76.8 W (depending on clock speed)

[ DIMM1: 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM ]

Memory Module Properties:
Serial Number None
Module Size 512 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered
Memory Type DDR SDRAM
Memory Speed PC3200 (200 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 2.5
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings:
@ 200 MHz 2.5-3-3-8 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

Memory Module Features:
Early RAS# Precharge Not Supported
Auto-Precharge Not Supported
Precharge All Not Supported
Write1/Read Burst Not Supported
Buffered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
Registered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
On-Card PLL (Clock) Not Supported
Buffered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Registered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Differential Clock Input Supported
Redundant Row Address Not Supported

[ DIMM2: 512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM ]

Memory Module Properties:
Serial Number None
Module Size 512 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered
Memory Type DDR SDRAM
Memory Speed PC3200 (200 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 2.5
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings:
@ 200 MHz 2.5-3-3-8 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

Memory Module Features:
Early RAS# Precharge Not Supported
Auto-Precharge Not Supported
Precharge All Not Supported
Write1/Read Burst Not Supported
Buffered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
Registered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
On-Card PLL (Clock) Not Supported
Buffered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Registered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Differential Clock Input Supported
Redundant Row Address Not Supported

[ Memory Read ]
AthlonXP 2500+ - 1833 MHz ASRock K7S8X v3 SiS746FX

[ Memory Write ]
AthlonXP 2500+ - 1833 MHz ASRock K7S8X v3 SiS746FX

[ Memory Copy ]
AthlonXP 2500+ - 1833 MHz ASRock K7S8X v3 SiS746FX

[ Memory Latency ]
AthlonXP 2500+ - 1833 MHz ASRock K7S8X v3 SiS746FX
 
All looks about right.

To be honest i'm not sure how much of a performance kick you will get going from a gf4Ti to a GF6600 in bloodlines, I found myself that I couldn't really notice any difference between my 5700U and my 6800 in bloodlines.
However it must be said bloodlines is stupidly demanding for what it is.

if you're concerned you might try using 3Dmark and comparing your score with the online results, though that won't gaurentee there isn't a problem somewhere.
 
one thing I saw dude, get some fans in there, 122ºF thats pretty warm, my systems don't go much over 90ºF ... that could be a small part of your issue, also your monitor may be dieing... it happens.... check the cables, and make sure it is a secure connection on both ends
 
I did some 3dMark tests. According to the tests below (URL:s) the Palit GF 6600GT 128 Mb got:

3DMark05 - 3341 and 3166 points
3DMark03 - 7004 points

Techtree

ixbt

When I tested I got:

3DMark05 - 3051 points
3DMark03 - 7082 points

So what do you think, everything seems to be in order, right?

Ps. Jefe: I don't have a CPU fan, I got one of these:
Thermaltake And I've connected the chassifan to the cpu fan connector on the motherboard :)
 
well it is still runnin pretty hot man, you may want to look into other cooling methods
 
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