Display switches off and reset won't work

My pc has started doing something really weird recently. Sometimes it suddenly decides to switch the screen off and not do anything anymore. The fans still work, and so does the Ethernet, appparently - but nothing else seems to happen. Last time I saw something like this, the PSU was the problem - but I wouldn't naturally expect my 500W Akasa PSU to be causing that. I've been told it could be the BIOS playing up. It could even be my monitor, but I don't have a second one to test (problem occurs on both analogue and DVI). Now I don't know what to believe in

Motherboard: Abit AN8 Ultra
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3500+ Venice
Graphics Card: Hightech Radeon X800 GTO 256MB DVI/VGA
Memory: 2x512Mb Corsair Extra Value DDR400 (passes a full Memtest)
Hard Drives: Maxtor 80Gb IDE 6Y080P0, Maxtor 120Gb SATA 6Y120M0
CD Drive: OptoRite CDRW 52x
DVD Drive: LG DVD-RAM GSA-4163B
OS: Windows XP Professional SP2 OEM

 

First check the Power Options in Control Panel. Turn off Standby and Hibernation if they are enabled (Standby is really for laptops to save battery power). Change the "turn off" monitor and hard drive settings until you can rule those out. Don't have the times set to the same time or before the screen saver is set to activate. If you are using a non-standard screen saver, use a Windows type until you can rule that out as a cause.

You need to check these first, it will be no use to go changing hardware if the problem is in the settings.

Matt

 

The only setting in Power Options was to turn the monitor off after 45 mins, but it does this all the time no problem. I've just done a CMOS clear through the jumper, and everying seems to be running smoothly... *crosses fingers/toes/face*

 

nope, it's still happening. This time I was playing music and 10 seconds afterward, it just looped the last few milliseconds of it over and over

 

Let's try drivers next. Get and install all the most recent drivers that are available at the Abit website for your model. (BTW, you stated the m/b as an AN8 Ultra, I think it will be A8N).

Look for updated drivers for the graphics card. See what the manufacturer (Hightech?) recommends for your model (install the motherboard/chipset drivers first). I recommend that you go to Add/Remove programs and uninstall the current ATI drivers/software, then run the updated graphics drivers installation program before rebooting. Try not to install any unnecessary items (I don't use the graphics "control panel" and avoid installing it if possible).

The problem should not be in the monitor, IF the graphics are causing the freezes, the graphics card will be the source.

Open the case, startup and check all the fans are spinning freely, especially the fan on the graphics card.

Matt

 

tis fixed

Must have been some kind of weird driver issue, as it seems to have gone away. (Been running this PC over 2 hours straight without a problem) Although my Athlon64 driver claimed to hold 4GB of hard drive space , it was probably the catalyst driver, which is now on version 6, and running smoother than the sundae I just had . I've got to be less hysterical about things.

(the MB is an AN8 but the A8N spelling does look familiar for some reason)

 

Sounds promising

That sounds strange. I would run CheckDisk (see Help and Support).

Here's luck.
Matt

 

back to square ...two?

Well I spoke too soon, as it's still happening. This time though, I (accidentally) left it run on locked up a bit longer, and on the next restart was told the system had recovered from a serious error, and decided to send the error report this time. (Turns out I got a bluescreen of THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER,which obviously I couldn't see because my display driver died). I then followed its and other advice to completely disable hardware acceleration and run a memtest. I'm running that memtest now, and it's already completed 1 pass. I'm thinking of reinserting the card (and re-cabling the system while I'm at it since i made a mess last time).

 

Yes, reseat the connections. You can clean the connectors of the graphics card with a soft pencil eraser. Have plenty of light when you are making the connections, it is easy to misalign them. Push evenly on both ends of the card to seat it squarely. Reconnect cables so that they don't restrict airflow and will not loosen the connections if you bump them when you are working in the case (cable ties?)

Look for how to use the error reporting log in Help and Support, I am not familar with using it (and I am in Win 98 at the moment).

Matt

 

Well the rebuild went fine as far as I can tell. XP is back, running smoothly with no hardware acceleration. I decided to check the Event Viewer before testing to see if it still happens, and I found a couple that are a bit interesting:

Code:

Event Type:	Information
Event Source:	Windows File Protection
Event Category:	None
Event ID:	64002
Date:		09/03/2006
Time:		19:08:39
User:		N/A
Computer:	BEASTPC
Description:
File replacement was attempted on the protected system file c:\windows\system32\drivers\ati2mtag.sys. This file was restored to the original version to maintain system stability. The file version of the system file is 6.14.10.6587.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.


Event Type:	Error
Event Source:	ati2mtag
Event Category:	None
Event ID:	108
Date:		10/03/2006
Time:		18:56:22
User:		N/A
Computer:	BEASTPC
Description:
The driver ati2dvag for the display device \Device\Video0 got stuck in an infinite loop. This usually indicates a problem with the device itself or with the device driver programming the hardware incorrectly. Please check with your hardware device vendor for any driver updates.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 00 00 00 00 03 00 52 00   ......R.
0008: 00 00 00 00 6c 00 04 c0   ....l..À
0010: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........
0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........
0020: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ........

 

hardware acceleration = none
pc = just died

 

That is quite specific about the ATI drivers.

I would boot into Safe Mode. Go to Add/Remove Programs and uninstall ATI listing, then check in Device Manager that there is nothing listed for Display Adapter. When you reboot and if Windows asks for the drivers for the adapter, let it search the card's drivers CD, otherwise, if it cannot find the driver, click Cancel, then run the driver installation program when you are in Windows.

If the problem continues look at uninstalling and reinstalling the nVidia chipset drivers. The graphics drivers are dependent on good set of chipset drivers. The chipset drivers may have an uninstall listed in Add/Remove programs or could have an uninstall selection in the setup/installation program itself.
http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/down...E_ON_SCREEN=AN8+Ultra&pSOCKET_TYPE=Socket 939

The BIOS upgrades for that model contain improvements for VGA
http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/down...E_ON_SCREEN=AN8+Ultra&pSOCKET_TYPE=Socket 939
A BIOS upgrade is just a matter of following the instructions carefully. Read all the links at the top of that page.

Since there are BIOS upgrades related to graphics, I would recommend that you do upgrade, then follow the above in reverse: BIOS upgrade -> reinstall/update chipset drivers -> uninstall and reinstall graphics drivers. It may save a long battle the other way.

If you know someone that is familiar with BIOS upgrades, call them in to help, but as I said, it is just a matter of following the instructions carefully.

Matt

 

BIOS upgrade went fine, so did nforce4 reinstallation and ati driver uninstalling. I stayed on XP with software graphics for a bit, and it locked up. When I rebooted (which had to be from power off, since restart definitely did not work), I was warned about CPU frequency.

Should I just give up and reinstall Windows?

 

Suggest going into the BIOS and use the "Setup Defaults" or "Load Fail-Safe Defaults" setting. It is possible to get frequency setting problems after an upgrade. The CPU frequency problem should(?) be separate from the graphics problem and should only need resetting.

Don't give up quite yet. See if you can get it settled down. If it settles down change to "Optimized Defaults ".

The problem I worry about is that nVidia and ATI are rivals. nVidia will not necessarily be making their chipsets compatible for ATI graphics (one reason I have stuck with VIA chipsets). I have noticed some complaints about nVidia chipsets/drivers.

You have covered all the possible "fixes ". If the problems continue and the system is still under warranty consider returning either graphics card or motherboard and insist that they do not appear compatible.

Matt

 

Couldn't get the fail-safe defaults to load at all, no matter what I changed (just kept getting the message 'Error loading operating system'). I'm back on optimised defaults again.

I've had a thought: the display keeps switching off from the graphics card. Is the card getting enough power? It doesn't have any external power connectors.

 

"Error loading Operating System" might suggest to me that the OS is on the SATA drive and the SATA is not being enabled.
Has it stopped giving the CPU frequency error?

If you think power could be a cause, check the voltage readings in the BIOS. Disconnect as much added hardware as you can for a trial period. Check in the graphics card's manual for anything related to power.

If you think it may a fault in Windows, try doing a repair from the Windows CD before doing a reformat.
Information about the repair:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=52304.

Matt

 

The following post is blunt

Radeon 7000 PCI: Worked for over 5 hours straight.
X800 GTO: Faulty?
PCI Express slot: Faulty?

 

Still inconclusive I would say.

The X800 GTO will draw a lot more power.

The error log still suggests that the part of the drivers could not be installed and this is probably the source of the shutdowns. Whether it is due to the hardware or if it cannot communicate with the hardware would need to be tested and that means swapping with similar equipment.

Relating it to the problems I have faced...on a motherboard I purchased in 2001, the first day it refused to run the graphics card, changed from an nVidia to ATI, all was well, but since then it proved to only work with half the graphics cards I've tried. It has finally died and I put the reason for the graphics problems (and demise) down to faulty capacitors.

Have a look at this X700 problem:
http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?t=392595
I might wonder if all three of us have/had the same basic problem...capacitors.

Matt

 

I read the post, and it was a little... over my head. This has left me a bit stuck. Which capacitors are faulty? Is the gfx card likely to be the cause?

 

Sorry about the technical detail. Capacitors are the cylinders that stand off the motherboard, they are used for voltage regulation (don't quote me ). I have had graphics problem with my previous motherboard, we can not explain the problem you have and in that thread about the X700 he could not explain why a perfectly good power supply seemed to have trouble with his graphics.

Check the capacitors on your motherboard. If any look slightly bulged, discoloured or leaky then that will be the cause.

You will need to run the graphics card on another computer (or if it is under warranty ask the supplier to test it and send it back to you) . If it handles all types of tests it is OK. When I had my first problem, the supplier sent the graphics card back to the supplier here in Aus, it came back reported OK, it would still not work on my motherboard, the supplier sent it back again, this time they sent it to Tiawan. When it came back reported as OK, they gave me a different graphics card that worked, although I could see that the problem was in the motherboard and they should have exchanged that. I was without my new computer for over 3 months.

I don't know if a Windows/driver problem could be completely ruled out. The X800 will have a lot of different features to the 7000.

Testing the graphics card will be easier than testing the motherboard. I would look at checking the graphics card first, but if you suspect the motherboard, insist that they replace it (before you send the motherboard away, test for short circuits to the case/frame by running it outside the case on a sheet of cardboard).

Matt