Guys, I'm having a "spontaneous rebooting" problem, and I THINK it might be related to my new AIW 9800 Pro. I tried doing web searches on this and see it's a common problem, even with this video card, and I cannot find the answer! I'm hoping other 9800 series users had this problem and found a fix for it.
All temps are cool. I DO NOT game, the rebooting happens only when doing something like scrolling a webpage, saving something to my HD (EITHER one of them), sometimes opening a file or folder. First there's usually a lockup, then about a second later the PC reboots. Incredibly, impossible as it seems, anything that I have saved to either HD right before this IS DELETED, MISSING after the PC reboots!!
This is on XP Pro, PC details are in my signature file under "Rigs" (the "P4 2.4C @3.4ghz" setup). The only thing different is I'm running 2x512mb Geil PC4000 now and since they are crappy sticks I can only get 3ghz out it now.
There are no memory errors. Memory voltage is 3.0v. I didn't change ANYTHING on the PC or BIOS other than changing the AGP aperture size in the BIOS to 128mb (that of the video card), after installing the card. I was using an AIW Radeon 7500, and I did not uninstall it nor the drivers because it uses the exact same driver package as the other AIW Radeon cards. I thought this MIGHT be the issue, but since so many others are having the problem, I doubt that's the cause of it.
I really have no way of knowing if it's a PSU issue, I can't find out how much current/wattage the AIW 9800 Pro needs over that of the AIW 7500. The rebooting does not happen very often, and since it only started after installing the 9800 Pro several days ago, I think it's pretty obvious it is one these: the video card not getting enough power; or, some settings in the ATI Control Panel options/Display Properties area that need to be changed that did NOT have to be changed when using the AIW 7500*; or, the AIW 9800 needing a newer driver version than that of the AIW 7500**; or, (and I doubt this one) not removing the 7500 and uninstalling all the 'ware prior to the 9800 install.
* Since I'm not a gamer, I have no idea what all those dozens of settings are in the ATI Control Panel. I don't know which should be enabled or disabled for this card and my usage.
** As with all ATI users, I had nothing but driver and MMC problems with every ATI version except for MMC 9.02 and Catalyst 4.10. So obviously that's why I stuck with those versions, if they work, don't screw with 'em. BTW, Catalyst 4.10 is the package "wxp-w2k-catalyst-8-062-040929a-018115C.exe" which includes "Display Driver 6.14.10.6483". I never even wanted to TRY using any versions later than 4.12 because ATI went and forced people to have install that .NET crap which adds yet another XP Service that has to be running always in the background. :| So as far as a driver issue goes, I'm really not willing to try anything later than 4.12, UNLESS someone can prove or knows for a fact that this issue will be fixed by the latest drivers, or a driver version later than 4.12.
Another thing, is that I have no "SmartGart" tab anywhere!! In my searches, some have suggested to turn off "Fast writes" for this issue, but that's in the SmartGart tab, so I have no way of turning that off or on! What happened to that tab?? :Q
Thanks for any and all info.
All temps are cool. I DO NOT game, the rebooting happens only when doing something like scrolling a webpage, saving something to my HD (EITHER one of them), sometimes opening a file or folder. First there's usually a lockup, then about a second later the PC reboots. Incredibly, impossible as it seems, anything that I have saved to either HD right before this IS DELETED, MISSING after the PC reboots!!
This is on XP Pro, PC details are in my signature file under "Rigs" (the "P4 2.4C @3.4ghz" setup). The only thing different is I'm running 2x512mb Geil PC4000 now and since they are crappy sticks I can only get 3ghz out it now.
There are no memory errors. Memory voltage is 3.0v. I didn't change ANYTHING on the PC or BIOS other than changing the AGP aperture size in the BIOS to 128mb (that of the video card), after installing the card. I was using an AIW Radeon 7500, and I did not uninstall it nor the drivers because it uses the exact same driver package as the other AIW Radeon cards. I thought this MIGHT be the issue, but since so many others are having the problem, I doubt that's the cause of it.
I really have no way of knowing if it's a PSU issue, I can't find out how much current/wattage the AIW 9800 Pro needs over that of the AIW 7500. The rebooting does not happen very often, and since it only started after installing the 9800 Pro several days ago, I think it's pretty obvious it is one these: the video card not getting enough power; or, some settings in the ATI Control Panel options/Display Properties area that need to be changed that did NOT have to be changed when using the AIW 7500*; or, the AIW 9800 needing a newer driver version than that of the AIW 7500**; or, (and I doubt this one) not removing the 7500 and uninstalling all the 'ware prior to the 9800 install.
* Since I'm not a gamer, I have no idea what all those dozens of settings are in the ATI Control Panel. I don't know which should be enabled or disabled for this card and my usage.
** As with all ATI users, I had nothing but driver and MMC problems with every ATI version except for MMC 9.02 and Catalyst 4.10. So obviously that's why I stuck with those versions, if they work, don't screw with 'em. BTW, Catalyst 4.10 is the package "wxp-w2k-catalyst-8-062-040929a-018115C.exe" which includes "Display Driver 6.14.10.6483". I never even wanted to TRY using any versions later than 4.12 because ATI went and forced people to have install that .NET crap which adds yet another XP Service that has to be running always in the background. :| So as far as a driver issue goes, I'm really not willing to try anything later than 4.12, UNLESS someone can prove or knows for a fact that this issue will be fixed by the latest drivers, or a driver version later than 4.12.
Another thing, is that I have no "SmartGart" tab anywhere!! In my searches, some have suggested to turn off "Fast writes" for this issue, but that's in the SmartGart tab, so I have no way of turning that off or on! What happened to that tab?? :Q
Thanks for any and all info.