Printable View
Allright let me make sure i have this correct:
restart in safe mode and try the games (not sure how to boot with safe mode on this computer :( )
Okay, i will check the videocard temps in a little bit as i just turned the computer on
i DID try agp 2x but did not 1x as it was not an option in the BIOS...no luck with that.
It says the 3.3v rail comes out as 3.39v...so im not sure if thats a problem or not..
thanks for hanging with me this far..
Those games wont work in safe mode becuse a standard VGA driver wont run them.
Use safe mode or change to a standard VGA driver before uninstalling the Nvidia drivers to make sure they get completely removed.
To enter safe mode hit the F8 key during boot device search and you should get an options menu where you will select safe mode.
Aternativly you can simply change display driver to standard VGA and reboot.
One youve uninstalled Nvidia driver through Add/Remove program, run detenator destroyer, reboot and install Nvidia drivers.
Windows will search for them automatically after the reboot.
If using WHQL drivers then just cancel the install procces, clear unknown devices from device manager and run the driver setup.exe
If using a non self installing driver package then make sure its extracted from zip form first, then just point the windows driver installer to that location.
Voltage looks good. Check the heat with your finger on the back of the video proccesor like i described.
I ran into a problem when i booted in safe mode...the mouse would not move :( is this supposed to happen? i dont think so..i tried it on two different mice.. one generic optical mouse and a generic ball mouse.. neither worked.. :(
I'm pretty sure Windows ME has support for USB in safe mode, but better safe to ask than be sorry, are both of those mice USB?
I forgot which operating system it was, but my USB mouse would not work under safe mode, only with PS/2 mice did it work.
could be a refresh rate problem. anyone got a link to that refresh rate program? the game could be trying to use a refresh rate not supported by his monitor and with that he could lock the refresh rate to 60 and see if that works.
Refresh Force, nvRefresh Tool, Refresh Lock...those are all refresh rate programs compatible with Nvidia video cards :).
That makes me think..could it be the monitor thats just not displaying correctly? this monitor is an old 14 inch Magnavox one that i paid $10 for 2 years ago... its maybe 5-6 years old? think thats the problem?
Oh, and GB_Cobbler... ever since i installed the new motherboard drivers, this computer hasnt locked up once :) thanks... ill keep you guys up to date as i get these tests working..
Oh, and also..i have noticed that this monitor is getting fuzzy due to its age... hopefully ill get a new nice 17 incher soon.
bump?
One more think i can think of. Some soundcards cause problems with some games.
Go to "control panel/sound&audio devices/audio/sound playback/advanced/performance" and turn down the level of hardware acceleration for the soundcard.
Maybe its time for a format :)
if you haven't tried it already, try reinstalling the games. sometimes games only run hardware initialization on the first run and assume that the hardware/drivers never change.
Okay, yesterday i put my finger on the PCB on the video card when the display started to act up (wasnt displaying fonts or anything at the blue bar) and after holding my finger on it for about 4 seconds it began to STING...not necessarily burn.. :-/ so then today i tried the audio performance lowering.. and went into Need for speed... and it amazingly got rid of the little display flaws that i saw in the menu of the game! :eek: however, it did not solve the big problem.. when i clicked "race" in the menu.. it just threw me back out onto the desktop...
I have one question... what exactly is a format? will i need to reinstall all of the pictures and other files on this computer?
thanks.. :) glad you helped me figure out some of this...
4 seconds doesnt sound to bad if your finger was pressed firmly to the back of the core. While its too hot for my taste it shouldnt be the problem till under 3 secs.
Since you say it started acting up when you touched it i'd be inclined to reseat the card. Push it in and out of the slot a few times to clean up the AGP contacts. It could be as simple as that.
Format is like an erase. You'll lose everything in that partition so start backing up ;)
Unfortunatly the only way to uninstall Win9x in the same directory is to format or use a dos utility to remove the windows directory. Otherwise it will install in another directory (windows000) and leave the old windows directory where it is. You can do that, then just delete it the old windows folder manually. I find it a bit messy.
XP writes over the existing windows directory so is easier to reinstall.
Before you do anything radical, make sure the windows swapp file is set large enough and you have enough free space on the drive. Some new games like CFS3 need at least 1GB. Your last symptom sounds like it could be from low swap file space.
You will find it in system properties/performance/virtual memory(or something like that). It should be ok on auto as long as you have enough free space. You can manually make it any size you like but be sure to never run out of drive space. If you do or all hell will break loose.
BTW dont forget you have you soundcard hardware acceletation turned off. some games wont work like that.
One more thing. When did you last run Scandisk? might want to do that again.
Has this problem been solved? I find that the format will be a last desperate measure to solve your problems, so don't do it unless you have tried everything else.