Artifacts (but not in safe mode!)

[Taris]

Hey guys,

Seems like I need your help again... This morning, my brother was playing World of Warcraft when the computer crashed. When he rebooted, the screen showed some artifacts. After the Windows loading screen, the monitor just went into power safe mode. I tried to activate safe mode and there were no artifacts there...

What I've tried:
-Removing the videocard drivers
-Reseating the videocard
-Reseating RAM
-Removing and thus resetting the CMOS battery.
-Checking if the fans are running (they are)
-Checking voltage:
VCORE 1.288v
3.3v 3.312v
5v 5.094v
12v 12.091v

I'm pretty worried. The strangest thing is that the artifacts don't appear in Safe Mode, which leads me to believe it is a software problem, do you agree?

And to think that I send back my 8800GTS because it showed artifacts. What a coincidence.

Please help me guys, I'm lost ... My specs stay the same, apart from the fact that the videocard in question is now a 7600GT again.

Greets,

Veliremus

[Mr. Chris]

In Safe Mode, the video drivers don't load, so the card is not working hard at all. But to answer, no, I don't think it's a driver issue. Have you tried an early set of drivers for the 7600GT? the latest and greatest may not be the best for that card.

Another possibility is the board is killing cards. Chris.

[Taris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chris

In Safe Mode, the video drivers don't load, so the card is not working hard at all. But to answer, no, I don't think it's a driver issue. Have you tried an early set of drivers for the 7600GT? the latest and greatest may not be the best for that card.

Another possibility is the board is killing cards. Chris.

I've not tried rolling back yet. But, why would the drivers, after months of good servers, suddenly fail?

That last possibility really concerns me... Is there a way I can test this? Anyway to tell my mobo might be failing?

[Mr. Chris]

Originally Posted by Taris

I've not tried rolling back yet. But, why would the drivers, after months of good servers, suddenly fail?

That last possibility really concerns me... Is there a way I can test this? Anyway to tell my mobo might be failing?

O.K., if the drivers didn't change, then like I said, it probably isn't a driver issue.

Does that card have a cooling fan? A lot of Nvidia model cards with fans have the default fan speed set way too low and the cards get hot, causing artifacts and system crashes. I use N Tune to set the fan speed on all my cards to about 90% so they stay cool while running Folding or gaming.

Without the proper test equipment, you can't really measure the voltages at the PCI-E slot to see if they are out of spec. If you have another card to use as a guniea pig, you can install it and see how long before it starts showing the same problem, if it ever does. If the card has an aux power connector, it could also be a PSU over-volting the card. And heat could also be a factor. Chris.

[Taris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chris

O.K., if the drivers didn't change, then like I said, it probably isn't a driver issue.

Does that card have a cooling fan? A lot of Nvidia model cards with fans have the default fan speed set way too low and the cards get hot, causing artifacts and system crashes. I use N Tune to set the fan speed on all my cards to about 90% so they stay cool while running Folding or gaming.

Without the proper test equipment, you can't really measure the voltages at the PCI-E slot to see if they are out of spec. If you have another card to use as a guniea pig, you can install it and see how long before it starts showing the same problem, if it ever does. If the card has an aux power connector, it could also be a PSU over-volting the card. And heat could also be a factor. Chris.

Last time I checked, the heat was fine (50-60 C at games I believe). It does not have a powerconnector, so that's probably not it.

I don't have another card to test it with, unfortunately...

I'll install the newest (haven't tried that yet) drivers, and then nTune. Cause it does have a fan.

The RMA of my 8800gts card, by the way, is taking so long... I've mailed and called over a thousand times. It's been gone from 21st of july for god sakes!

Thanks for the tips, Chris. I just recalled, I can try to build this card into another pc, temporarily to see if it has the same errors. Or could that be dangerous for the other PC?

[Taris]

Can't install nTune. It says it can't install InstallShield Script Running. Or something like that.

I also can't seem to access my sensors. When I check Everest, it only lists the HD, not the mobo and GPU. When I try to use Intel Thermal Tool, it just doesn't start up...

Well, this isn't getting me anywhere. Must have something to do with Safe Mode, but I can't run Windows any other way.

[Engine]

How much power are you supplying to the system, could be that something is breaking down due to a lack of power.

[Taris]

Originally Posted by Engine

How much power are you supplying to the system, could be that something is breaking down due to a lack of power.

I'm using a sturdy 500W Liberty Enermax.

As you'll see in the first post, the voltages seem good, right?

[Taris]

My 8800GTS will be coming back today.

Is it harmful for the other PC if I build the seemingly broken 7600GT in it?

And are there more mobo tests I can do before building in the 8800GTS?

[Mr. Chris]

Shouldn't hurt the other PC if you install the 7600GT in it.

The only other checks you can do on the rig in question is to look at all the voltages in the hardware monitor, especially the PCI-E voltage, and see if they are correct. Chris.