Powercolor 9800 Pro install problems.

Here is the system:

Windows XP Pro with SP1 and ALL available hotfixes/updates/patches.
Powmax 400W PSU
Seagate Barracuda 120GB HDD
1 DVD-ROM
1 Pioneer DVD Burner
Gigabyte GA-7VTXE Motherboard with the latest BIOS update (F9 from
Gigabyte's web site)
Motherboard Chipset
1. VIA KT266A(VT8366A) System controller north bridge
2. VIA VT8233 V-Link south bridge
3. RealTek ALC201A audio codec
4. 1.5 GHz PC2100 RAM
5. Further motherboard specs he
http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard...s_GA-7VTXE.htm

All other cards have been pulled.
Nothing is overclocked.
The former video card was the nVidia Geforce 4 MX (AGP version). I used a
driver cleaner to make sure all 'droppings' were removed.

The new card is the ATI Radeon Powercolor 9800 Pro (AGP version) OEM.
I did download and install the VIA AGP driver update. 4 in 1 update patch
from the Gigabyte website (version 4.51v).
I downloaded Catalyst 4.7 from ATI website.

Currently the system will boot into safe mode with 2D graphics. If I
uninstall the ATI drivers/Software the system will still boot into regular
mode with 2D graphics.

1. When I install the drivers/software and reboot, the system will begin to
start up. The Windows XP splash screen with the blue-dash status bar will
come up then the screen will go blank.

2. At this point I SHOULD get the blue Welcome to Windows screen and then
the desktop should come up.

3. What actually happens is the screen goes blank then the monitor looses
signal and the system reboots (or maybe the monitor looses signal BECAUSE
the system is rebooting).

4. When the system reboots I'll get the option to go to safe mode, safe w/
networking, safe w/ command prompt, last known working configuration, or
normal windows boot.


I have tried un/reinstalling drivers. I have pulled the card and made sure
that there is no dust in the AGP slot. The card IS seated properly. No
matter what I do, if I try to go into windows normally steps 1 - 4 above
will repeat everytime.

I also had an IT friend of mine check the BIOS settings to make sure
everything was set properly there he made a few tweaks but no help.

Here are some things that happened that I think should be mentioned.

When I first put the ATI card in and powered up, the fan/heat sink on the
ATI card was really loud (buzzing). At first I didn't think anything about
it because this is my first card with a fan/heat sink. And I'm always
reading about fan noise. When the system booted up (first time) Windows
came up and the cursor became an hourglass like the OS was finding the card
and preparing to install the drivers. Then the screen kind of 'melted' and
started to go black. I quickly shut the system down with the PSU switch in
the back. I pulled the ATI card. It was a warm but not very hot. It seems
the fan/heat sink was not secured to the board properly and when the fan
kicked in it made enough backlash for one of the pins on the heat sink to
come out of the board while the other pin stayed in. I pushed the pin back
in and properly secured the fan/heat sink to the board. Replaced the card
and rebooted (no more fan noise). During this episode the computer was on
for less than a minute. This includes the time it takes to boot up; not
just how long Windows was up. Could this have killed the board?

When I rebooted, everything was normal. Windows found the board and I first
installed the drivers from the CD-ROM using the Windows 'Found New Hardware'
wizard. When I rebooted, well, see 1 - 4 above.

After a little research I learned about updating the VIA chipset drivers. I
updated the drivers with 4.51 version and at this time I also updated the
BIOS. I also learned that I had not properly uninstalled the old nVidia
card & drivers. I then proceeded to do just that.

Rebooted… see 1 - 4 again.

After more research I learned that sometimes nVidia drivers can be stubborn
to remove. I downloaded a program to make sure the nVidia removal was
clean. I used the program in safe mode and removed the nVidia and ATI
drivers.

I Rebooted and reinstalled ATI drivers.

Rebooted… see 1 - 4 Again.

I did even more research and downloaded the Catalyst driver/software from
ATI. In safe mode I uninstalled ATI drivers. Rebooted and did not use the
'Found New Hardware' wizard. I canceled those windows and executed the
Catalyst drivers. The drivers installed with no errors.

Rebooted… see 1 - 4 Again!

After some investigation I learned that there was an IRQ conflict with the
NIC card. At this point I pulled ALL the cards from the system. The only
card left was the ATI. I also disabled the onboard sound through the BIOS.
Now there is now IRQ sharing/conflicts.

Rebooted… see 1 - 4 AGAIN!

The only thing I can think of is:

A: the card is fried.
2: There is some configuration setting that I am not aware of.
C: AGP slot has gone bad (unlikely because nVidia card was working fine).
4: This is all a really bad dream and the card hasn't actually arrived in
the mail yet (unlikely because no night terror can ever be this bad).

I am contemplating a format and reinstall of Win XP and/or a call to tech
support @ ATI. Just thought I would post here first.

If you have made it this far, thank you for your patience.

PR

"Lydokane" wrote in message
...
Here is the system:

Windows XP Pro with SP1 and ALL available hotfixes/updates/patches.
Powmax 400W PSU
Seagate Barracuda 120GB HDD
1 DVD-ROM
1 Pioneer DVD Burner
Gigabyte GA-7VTXE Motherboard with the latest BIOS update (F9 from
Gigabyte's web site)
Motherboard Chipset
1. VIA KT266A(VT8366A) System controller north bridge
2. VIA VT8233 V-Link south bridge
3. RealTek ALC201A audio codec
4. 1.5 GHz PC2100 RAM
5. Further motherboard specs he
http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard...s_GA-7VTXE.htm

All other cards have been pulled.
Nothing is overclocked.
The former video card was the nVidia Geforce 4 MX (AGP version). I used a
driver cleaner to make sure all 'droppings' were removed.

The new card is the ATI Radeon Powercolor 9800 Pro (AGP version) OEM.
I did download and install the VIA AGP driver update. 4 in 1 update patch
from the Gigabyte website (version 4.51v).
I downloaded Catalyst 4.7 from ATI website.

Currently the system will boot into safe mode with 2D graphics. If I
uninstall the ATI drivers/Software the system will still boot into regular
mode with 2D graphics.

1. When I install the drivers/software and reboot, the system will begin
to
start up. The Windows XP splash screen with the blue-dash status bar will
come up then the screen will go blank.

2. At this point I SHOULD get the blue Welcome to Windows screen and then
the desktop should come up.

3. What actually happens is the screen goes blank then the monitor looses
signal and the system reboots (or maybe the monitor looses signal BECAUSE
the system is rebooting).

4. When the system reboots I'll get the option to go to safe mode, safe
w/
networking, safe w/ command prompt, last known working configuration, or
normal windows boot.


I have tried un/reinstalling drivers. I have pulled the card and made
sure
that there is no dust in the AGP slot. The card IS seated properly. No
matter what I do, if I try to go into windows normally steps 1 - 4 above
will repeat everytime.

I also had an IT friend of mine check the BIOS settings to make sure
everything was set properly there he made a few tweaks but no help.

Here are some things that happened that I think should be mentioned.

When I first put the ATI card in and powered up, the fan/heat sink on the
ATI card was really loud (buzzing). At first I didn't think anything
about
it because this is my first card with a fan/heat sink. And I'm always
reading about fan noise. When the system booted up (first time) Windows
came up and the cursor became an hourglass like the OS was finding the
card
and preparing to install the drivers. Then the screen kind of 'melted'
and
started to go black. I quickly shut the system down with the PSU switch
in
the back. I pulled the ATI card. It was a warm but not very hot. It
seems
the fan/heat sink was not secured to the board properly and when the fan
kicked in it made enough backlash for one of the pins on the heat sink to
come out of the board while the other pin stayed in. I pushed the pin
back
in and properly secured the fan/heat sink to the board. Replaced the card
and rebooted (no more fan noise). During this episode the computer was on
for less than a minute. This includes the time it takes to boot up; not
just how long Windows was up. Could this have killed the board?

When I rebooted, everything was normal. Windows found the board and I
first
installed the drivers from the CD-ROM using the Windows 'Found New
Hardware'
wizard. When I rebooted, well, see 1 - 4 above.

After a little research I learned about updating the VIA chipset drivers.
I
updated the drivers with 4.51 version and at this time I also updated the
BIOS. I also learned that I had not properly uninstalled the old nVidia
card & drivers. I then proceeded to do just that.

Rebooted. see 1 - 4 again.

After more research I learned that sometimes nVidia drivers can be
stubborn
to remove. I downloaded a program to make sure the nVidia removal was
clean. I used the program in safe mode and removed the nVidia and ATI
drivers.

I Rebooted and reinstalled ATI drivers.

Rebooted. see 1 - 4 Again.

I did even more research and downloaded the Catalyst driver/software from
ATI. In safe mode I uninstalled ATI drivers. Rebooted and did not use
the
'Found New Hardware' wizard. I canceled those windows and executed the
Catalyst drivers. The drivers installed with no errors.

Rebooted. see 1 - 4 Again!

After some investigation I learned that there was an IRQ conflict with the
NIC card. At this point I pulled ALL the cards from the system. The only
card left was the ATI. I also disabled the onboard sound through the
BIOS.
Now there is now IRQ sharing/conflicts.

Rebooted. see 1 - 4 AGAIN!

The only thing I can think of is:

A: the card is fried.
2: There is some configuration setting that I am not aware of.
C: AGP slot has gone bad (unlikely because nVidia card was working fine).
4: This is all a really bad dream and the card hasn't actually arrived in
the mail yet (unlikely because no night terror can ever be this bad).

I am contemplating a format and reinstall of Win XP and/or a call to tech
support @ ATI. Just thought I would post here first.

If you have made it this far, thank you for your patience.

PR


Two potentials (others will probably give you more):

1. PSU is not up to the job - what make and rating is it?
2. The board is toast - where did you get it from?

Shaun

I forgot to mention the processor is an AMD 1.6GHz

Thanks,

PR