Video pixelization, lockups, BSODs, etc. Help!

[brianblank]

A little background...I picked up a HTPC from a guy that was getting reassigned overseas. I took his machine and upgraded java and loaded Sage.

It worked ok for a few months and then the video card died (at least I think it was the video card). The original card was a ASUS AX600XT/HDTV/128, I could not find this exact card to replace it with, but I did find a AX600XT/TD/128M. I figured if I replaced the dead card with a similar card I could avoid some headaches.

I threw the new card in yesterday and have had nothing but issues, video locking up, BSODs during boot up (see attached BSOD pict), weirdly colored polygons all over the screen, pixelization (see attached pict), video dropping out completely, etc.

So my question to you all is, is my new card near death, is my MoBo going bad, is it something else? (If this is not the place to post this please point me in the right direction.)

Thanks for your advice,
Brian

Below are my HTPC specs (all this feeds a Sharp 9000 PJ):
Mother Board - ASUS P5AD2 Premium
CPU – Intel BX80547PG3200E. 3.2GHz, 1MB, 800MHz FSB, Socket LGA775
Memory – Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4. Matched pair 512MB x 2 DDR2 DIMM
Hard Drive – Seagate ST380013AS. 80GB 7,200, 8MB cache, SATA
Power Supply - Seasonic Super Silencer 460
Video Card – ASUS AX600XT/TD/128 built on ATI’s Radeon X600
Video Card Cooler - ARCTIC COOLING AVC-1000 VGA Silencer-VGA Coolers
DVD Drive – NEC ND-2510A BLK – dual-layer DVD Write
VFD - Matrix Orbital VK204-24 USB with blue filter
CPU Cooler - Zalman CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink
Griffin Powermate control knob
Fans – 2 Papst Ultraquiet 80mm x 80mm
USB-UIRT – IR Receiver
Wireless Keyboard - LITE-ON SK7551 Black PS/2 IR

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by brianblank

A little background...I picked up a HTPC from a guy that was getting reassigned overseas. I took his machine and upgraded java and loaded Sage.

It worked ok for a few months and then the video card died (at least I think it was the video card). The original card was a ASUS AX600XT/HDTV/128, I could not find this exact card to replace it with, but I did find a AX600XT/TD/128M. I figured if I replaced the dead card with a similar card I could avoid some headaches.

I threw the new card in yesterday and have had nothing but issues, video locking up, BSODs during boot up (see attached BSOD pict), weirdly colored polygons all over the screen, pixelization (see attached pict), video dropping out completely, etc.

So my question to you all is, is my new card near death, is my MoBo going bad, is it something else? (If this is not the place to post this please point me in the right direction.)

Thanks for your advice,
Brian

Below are my HTPC specs (all this feeds a Sharp 9000 PJ):
Mother Board - ASUS P5AD2 Premium
CPU – Intel BX80547PG3200E. 3.2GHz, 1MB, 800MHz FSB, Socket LGA775
Memory – Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4. Matched pair 512MB x 2 DDR2 DIMM
Hard Drive – Seagate ST380013AS. 80GB 7,200, 8MB cache, SATA
Power Supply - Seasonic Super Silencer 460
Video Card – ASUS AX600XT/TD/128 built on ATI’s Radeon X600
Video Card Cooler - ARCTIC COOLING AVC-1000 VGA Silencer-VGA Coolers
DVD Drive – NEC ND-2510A BLK – dual-layer DVD Write
VFD - Matrix Orbital VK204-24 USB with blue filter
CPU Cooler - Zalman CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink
Griffin Powermate control knob
Fans – 2 Papst Ultraquiet 80mm x 80mm
USB-UIRT – IR Receiver
Wireless Keyboard - LITE-ON SK7551 Black PS/2 IR

Regardless how close the model is you should clean out all of the ATI drivers for that card. Uninstall. reboot and make sure it comes back up with standard VGA drivers and install the latest either from ASUS or ATI. Sometimes the latest drivers ARE the problem so check the Internet for recommendations. You may need to download a utility like Driver cleaner or others that make sure they remove every reference of video driver to get a real clean install. Other than that make sure you have the latest DirectX from Microsoft installed (Dec 2006).


Gerry

[GbrNole]

check the card is seated properly and that the cooling fan (if it has one) is working properly. also make sure aux power is connected if necessary.

most of all though do as stated above since you're getting a failure with ati2dvag.dll which is a pretty common problem if you google it.

also disable fast writes if they are turned on.

[brianblank]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Regardless how close the model is you should clean out all of the ATI drivers for that card. Uninstall. reboot and make sure it comes back up with standard VGA drivers and install the latest either from ASUS or ATI. Sometimes the latest drivers ARE the problem so check the Internet for recommendations. You may need to download a utility like Driver cleaner or others that make sure they remove every reference of video driver to get a real clean install. Other than that make sure you have the latest DirectX from Microsoft installed (Dec 2006).


Gerry

Gerry - I installed the latest DirectX, I am in the process of going thru Windows Update to get all the latest stuff. I have downloaded Driver Cleaner and will do that next. I probably wont get to it until tomorrow night, I will update this thread with my progress.

Originally Posted by GbrNole

check the card is seated properly and that the cooling fan (if it has one) is working properly. also make sure aux power is connected if necessary.

most of all though do as stated above since you're getting a failure with ati2dvag.dll which is a pretty common problem if you google it.

also disable fast writes if they are turned on.

The card is seated, the fan is spinning (loudly, I can't wait to install the VGA silencer). I did not notice the atidvag.dll in the BSOD until you mentioned it. I have done a little googling, and hope that your and Gerry's recommendation of driver cleaner helps out. Excuse my ignorance, what do you mean by "fast writes"?

Thanks to you both, more info once I have run driver cleaner.

Brian

[Polypro]

One of the options with the AGP Bus was a property called "Fast Writes". Look for it in the ATI CCC and disable it.

P

[brianblank]

I ran drive cleaner and installed the latest drivers from ASUS. I could not find the "Fast Writes" in the CCC.

Everything looks ok on the windows desktop, but once I start Sage, I still have pixelization and refresh issues (I can see the video once the menus fade away, but the rest of the screen is black).

Gerry mentioned that the lastest drivers might be the issue. Any suggestions on where to look for the best/most stable drivers? I am fairly new to this so please excuse my ignorance.

Thanks for your help, I am looking forward to getting Sage running in my theater.

Brian