help! my GF4 ti4200 128 keeps causing system instability

the gf4 range is a power ninja, it sucks up a bongload - so your default
300watt PSU may need replacing, thats just 1 thing.
As for your 'locked' bios, screw that - you should be able to get into it.
Perhaps its admin passworded?
And check your cpu heat - is it up to the 55-60c's? Thats too hot. Durons
will run hotter than pentium, so their fans need to be better.


"Frank Bradshaw" wrote in message
...

Hi there - I'm having a load of errors and problems on the computer
since I installed this card - it is definately the card at fault because
as
soon as I remove it and place the old one in, everything is fine. Okay,
here
is a breakdown of my system:

1.2ghz Duron;
Gigabyte 7IXEH motherboard
384 mb ram
twin 8gb hdd
1 x 52 speed cd
4 x 8 x CDRW
56k modem
Network card
Extractor fan on one PCI slot mounted above fan of video card
4 x AGP slot
Internal case fan
300watt PSU
XP Home

There was two major system crashes which XP recovered from which it
firstly
reported was a problem with Sentinal.sys (Which I then upgraded from
Rainbow
Technologies.) and next time, the Microsoft help site/error reporter said
it
was graphics card driver problem. I have installed the latest drivers, but
the problem seems to keep reoccuring.

In the bios heat monitor section, I did find the processor at 59degrees C
at
one point. I literally picked up the case fan and placed it near the
graphics card and the CPU temp dropped within a minute by 12 degrees C.

So heat is one problem and the other seems to be drivers.

My problem is this is a home built PC. I can't flash the bios as it says
it
is locked. I've updated the VIA drivers and the motherboard drivers to no
avail.

Should I just take everything out and buy a bare-bones pc with a better
CPU
and newer motherboard and plug everything in? Is it just that everything
is
just incompatible?

cheers

frank

My GF4 ti4200 runs fine on a 250 watt power supply

"Blaedmon" wrote in message
...
the gf4 range is a power ninja, it sucks up a bongload - so your default
300watt PSU may need replacing, thats just 1 thing.
As for your 'locked' bios, screw that - you should be able to get into it.
Perhaps its admin passworded?
And check your cpu heat - is it up to the 55-60c's? Thats too hot. Durons
will run hotter than pentium, so their fans need to be better.


"Frank Bradshaw" wrote in message
...

Hi there - I'm having a load of errors and problems on the computer
since I installed this card - it is definately the card at fault because
as
soon as I remove it and place the old one in, everything is fine. Okay,
here
is a breakdown of my system:

1.2ghz Duron;
Gigabyte 7IXEH motherboard
384 mb ram
twin 8gb hdd
1 x 52 speed cd
4 x 8 x CDRW
56k modem
Network card
Extractor fan on one PCI slot mounted above fan of video card
4 x AGP slot
Internal case fan
300watt PSU
XP Home

There was two major system crashes which XP recovered from which it
firstly
reported was a problem with Sentinal.sys (Which I then upgraded from
Rainbow
Technologies.) and next time, the Microsoft help site/error reporter
said
it
was graphics card driver problem. I have installed the latest drivers,
but
the problem seems to keep reoccuring.

In the bios heat monitor section, I did find the processor at 59degrees
C
at
one point. I literally picked up the case fan and placed it near the
graphics card and the CPU temp dropped within a minute by 12 degrees C.


So heat is one problem and the other seems to be drivers.

My problem is this is a home built PC. I can't flash the bios as it says
it
is locked. I've updated the VIA drivers and the motherboard drivers to
no
avail.

Should I just take everything out and buy a bare-bones pc with a better
CPU
and newer motherboard and plug everything in? Is it just that everything
is
just incompatible?

cheers

frank

"() ()" wrote in message
...
My GF4 ti4200 runs fine on a 250 watt power supply

But then again, what other hardware are you running?
The more hardware the power is consumed.

--
Les Ross
Certified by a
Professional

A good quality PSU will do fine, with the minimum recommended wattage for
the CPU. If anything, perhaps OP's PSU is just not very good
quality-wise.

-
() () stood up, at show-n-tell, and said:

My GF4 ti4200 runs fine on a 250 watt power supply

"Blaedmon" wrote in message
...
the gf4 range is a power ninja, it sucks up a bongload - so your
default 300watt PSU may need replacing, thats just 1 thing.
As for your 'locked' bios, screw that - you should be able to get
into it. Perhaps its admin passworded?
And check your cpu heat - is it up to the 55-60c's? Thats too hot.
Durons will run hotter than pentium, so their fans need to be better.


"Frank Bradshaw" wrote in message
...

Hi there - I'm having a load of errors and problems on the
computer since I installed this card - it is definately the card at
fault because as soon as I remove it and place the old one in,
everything is fine. Okay, here is a breakdown of my system:

1.2ghz Duron;
Gigabyte 7IXEH motherboard
384 mb ram
twin 8gb hdd
1 x 52 speed cd
4 x 8 x CDRW
56k modem
Network card
Extractor fan on one PCI slot mounted above fan of video card
4 x AGP slot
Internal case fan
300watt PSU
XP Home

There was two major system crashes which XP recovered from which it
firstly reported was a problem with Sentinal.sys (Which I then
upgraded from Rainbow Technologies.) and next time, the Microsoft
help site/error reporter said it was graphics card driver problem.
I have installed the latest drivers, but the problem seems to keep
reoccuring.

In the bios heat monitor section, I did find the processor at
59degrees C at one point. I literally picked up the case fan and
placed it near the graphics card and the CPU temp dropped within a
minute by 12 degrees C.

So heat is one problem and the other seems to be drivers.

My problem is this is a home built PC. I can't flash the bios as it
says it is locked. I've updated the VIA drivers and the motherboard
drivers to no avail.

Should I just take everything out and buy a bare-bones pc with a
better CPU and newer motherboard and plug everything in? Is it just
that everything is just incompatible?

cheers

frank

--
Strontium

"I thought I'd lost you, somewhere. But you were, never, really
ever there at all. And, I want to get free..."