Radeon help needed

[EHM-1001 Robert]

Hi mates,

I recently upgraded my system from a Geforce 5700 to a Radeon X1950. I did not change anything in the system. I just replaced the card, installed the driver, and since then, nothing 3D application works. Windows and basic programs, even the Media Player works nice, but nothing 3D. Nothing! Even the own Ati Catalyst Control Center does not work at all. It starts 2 programs but soon later both exits from the memory. It is very annoying.

I tried to reinstall some games, like FS2004, but does not help. Neither works... I have DirectX9.0c installed, I think it was damaged somehow, but I cannot repair it, because the installer do not want to refresh it with the same version.

I am totally novice with Ati product. I downloaded the Driver, and the Control Center. What other software I need to run it ? I am desperate...need help.

Thank you.

P.S. the Forum recently forces me to login every day! As far as I know I did not change my system...any ideas on that ?

[EHM-2029 Sotiris]

First of all mate you need to get ATI Tools. Forget the Catalyst as it only makes problems....

Coincidentally, I upgraded to the 1950 from my 6800.
All is fine and actually much better than before.

First things first.
Uninstall your current DirectX and re-install. (If necessary open up your msn to send you some goodies....)

Then ONLY install the driver to all the catalyst malarkey.
Finally stick the ATI tools on it and you're good to go.

Promise!

[EHM-1703 Philip]

If that doesn't work, try using the Omega drivers:

http://www.omegadrivers.net/

When i was running ATI products, I always found these drivers to be a lot mroe stable and controllable than ATI's own.

[EHM-2029 Sotiris]

Three hours have passed since he started trying to fix it and I have not heard from him since.
Should I get worried???

[EHM-1001 Robert]

Hello guys.

"Somehow" I could fix it...with the original half-year old driver. I red on a forum that Direct3D problem is surely a driver error.

FS2004 is not better with 1 single FPS, but FSX is getting really really nice with the new GFX card. Not to mention the FPS games

[EHM-1617 Iain]

I'd side with Phil on using the latest OmegaDrivers - more stable, more customisable, better FPS
Other than that, check DirectX (use dxdiag and run all its tests), check OpenGL if you're using that.

Windows may still be remembering your old card and this might be having an effect. Try the following procedure to clear those memories:

***************
Make a system restore point.

Go Start > Run > cmd
Type at the prompt:
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
Press return
Type at the prompt:
devmgmt.msc
Press return again.

In the Device Manager window which loads up, choose View > 'Show Hidden Devices' and 'Devices by Type'

Under Display Adaptors, there may be entries for your old card. The symbol on these should be in very light grey, indicating that they are not currently connected. Uninstall those devices (right-click > uninstall) if you are sure they are no longer relevant. Note that it is usual to have multiple entries for each card - leave all the ones for your current card.

While you are at it, you might like to look under the other branches of the tree as well. Each time you move a device to a different port, it puts another entry in here and you tend to build up lots of old unnecessary ones. Remove them if you wish, but be careful.
***************
That took ages to write, I hope it's useful

Good luck,

[EHM-2155 Mariano]

When upgrading graphic cards, and specially if youre changing brands (cos youll switch drivers too), the correct way to do it is first uninstall the old drivers, restart in safe mode, run this free app called Driver Cleaner Pro (from guru3d.com), reboot, and then install the new drivers.

The other obvious solution is to reinstall windows but we all know how much work that is.

[EHM-1001 Robert]

Thank you guys. I think all info are useful. You can always learn new things. I became a very lazy user and forget many simple things in the past few years.

I tried to avoid anything related to Windows reinstall. For first, I realized that even Windows does not load up. Then I replaced the card again, and reduced the resolution to basic with the old card, and removed its old driver. And before the reboot, I put in the new card. By pressing it perfectly into the AGP slot, for 2nd or 3rd try, I reached to the state, that Windows started running, and I opened this thread

Then I tried DXDIAG, and realized Direct3D is bad...very bad. I red on forums, it must be a driver problem. So I tried several combinations of driver up and down installing I checked the Device Manager too, if I have multiple drivers maybe, but that was okay. I even tried to disable the onboard sound chip, because that helped for some users And somehow, the original "old" driver that came with the card started running fine, and now it is stable and fine. This new card is an Amper-eater, so the only thing to worry about now is my noname 400W power supply.

Thanx again for the tips. I will try to keep in mind them for future...who knows. My Windows install is some 3 years old now, but I felt this is NOT the right moment to reinstall it

[EHM-1001 Robert]

And now it is time for a real testing period...it is DAKAR time !

[EHM-2155 Mariano]

Rob you should reinstall it. Ive been around computers since i have a conscience and trust me on this one, a good running pc should get a format and fresh install each 6 months or so. I ran a windows copy for as long as 2 years but it all went wrong when i got my X52 joystick, it'd BSOD everytime trying to install the driver. Formatted and all went as smooth as a baby's bottom.

Having two drivers for the same thing is never good, they cause conflict and errors. I would recommend you a full defrag using a 3rd party software (like O&O defrag), error checking, and a full format. Youll notice the difference, trust me ^^

But anyways if you wanna keep the Windows install, I recommend that "Driver Cleaner Pro" tool. As far as I know its completely free and it can sweep old and unused drivers well. Do a restore point before though so you can go back in case it deleted any necessary drivers.

About the supply, yeah you should look into that, otherwise you'll have your PC shutting down unexpectedly or worse, running on low amperages which decreases the life expectancy of the components. I got a nifty 700W gamer edition power supply for under 80€ (and here in Portugal, electronic stuff is not that cheap), so you should get a good deal on those...

Best of luck and happy flying

P.D. sad that they canceled the real Lisboa Dakar event cos of terrorist threats hm? :S