ATI SAPPHIRE RADEON 9550 256MB - Restarts and In-Game Freezes

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cjb

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Ive read loads of other identical problems with the Radeon 9550 on TechSpot and I've tried the suggestions to a fix but my problems still occur.

Two things happen:
1) The computer randomly restarts with no warning ->and error message appears on restart saying "Corrupt Error report..."

2) In game the screen will freeze, the sound loop and an error message saying "Whatever game.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close..."

So far I've installed and reinstalled numerous ATI drivers and installed the latest VIA firmware for the mobo. I tried changing the PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge thing but that made no difference to crashing in-game.

This is my current spec:

AMD Athlon XP 2800
512mb kingston Memory
sapphire radeon 9550 256mb
mobo: msi KT6V (KT600 based)

As i said ive installed the VIA updates and different ATI drivers and some of the suggestions listed previously but none seem to help, any help would be very much appreciated.
 
Hello and welcome to Techspot.

Check that your psu is putting out enough power for your system.

Take a look at this PSU wattage calculator.

Also, go HERE and follow the instructions.

If that doesn`t help. Zip 5 or 6 of your latest minidumps together and attach them here.

Regards Howard :wave: :wave:
 
The wattage calculator said a minumum of 196 watts is needed; I have a 350W PSU at the moment.

Im new to techspot and a relative novice in PCs and I dont inderstand about zipping 5 or 6 minidumps, how do you do that?

Also, I ran the Windows memory checker recently so RAM faults are not the cause of the problem. And the SpeedFan reported that all temps are ok - 35C +47C.

Im running XP Pro SP1 at the moment and using a Maxtor 20gb HD. I think thats all the extra info needed, anything else you need to know then please ask.

Thanks
 
There are two ways of uploading your minidumps.

1. Use an archive utility such as Winra or Winzip. Once a zip utility is installed, you can create a zip file. Select three of your latest minidumps, then right click and select add to archive from the right click menu. Make sure the archive is in the zip format. Do this again for the next two or three of your latest minidumps.

2. Change the file extension of the minidump files, from .dmp to .txt

Techspot has a limit of 100kB for attachments, so you may need to attach several zip, or txt files to your post.

Regards Howard :)
 
Winzip attempt failed, no clue as to what its doing...but heres one in.txt format anyway...
 

Attachments

  • Mini032306-01.txt
    64 KB · Views: 9
It is very difficult to be sure from just one minidump. That`s why we normally require 5 or 6.

Your minidump crashes at ati2dvag.dll. This is part of your graphics card drivers. It has a bugcheck of 50.

0x00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Requested data was not in memory. An invalid system memory address was referenced. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop message, as may other hardware problems (e.g., incorrect SCSI termination or a flawed PCI card).

Start by updating your graphics card drivers.

If that doesn`t help, we need to see 5 or 6 of your latest minidumps.

Regards Howard :)
 
Graphics drivers have been updated many-a-time recently, i have the latest Catalyst 6.3 drivers installed at the moment. I still cant get the hang on winzip but heres the second .txt file.
 
1 minidump crashes at sysaudio.sys. This is the windows System Audio WDM Filter. It has a bugcheck of 8E. It also references ROTK_Demo.exe
, return of the king demo.

1 minidump crashes at ks.sys. This is the Windows Kernel CSA Library. It also references ALCXWDM.SYS. This is your onboard sound driver. ROTK_Demo.exe is referenced as well. It has a bugcheck of 8E.

0x0000008E: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

A kernel mode program generated an exception which the error handler didn’t catch. These are nearly always hardware compatibility issues (which sometimes means a driver issue or a need for a BIOS upgrade).

You should update all your drivers, including your chipset drivers.

You should deffinitely follow the instructions in the link I gave you in my first post.

Regards Howard :)
 
Both minidumps crash at win32k.sys. This is the windows Multi-User Win32 Driver. They have bugchecks of 8E and C2 respectively.

0x000000C2: BAD_POOL_CALLER

A kernel-mode process or driver incorrectly attempted to perform memory operations. Typically, a faulty driver or buggy software causes this.

Due to the randomness of your crashes, I suspect either some kind of ram problem, or possibly a psu problem.

If your psu is a cheap no name brand, that came with your case, it could be the culprit.

You need to follow the instructions in the link I gave you, for testing your ram/hard drive/page file.

You should also check your mobo`s capacitors, for bulging or leaking. See HERE for further info.

Regards Howard :)
 
5 more minidumps attached. The PSU has a sticker on the outside saying its a "Allied Power Supply". But something I hadnt noticed was that the "Void if removed" sticker has been cut. I bought the case new from eBuyer last year and I havent touched the PSU...that leads me to believe that it is a cheap PSU shoved in. Ive got a spare PSU "Casecom" (any good?) so I'll try that and see.

Latest results:
- No leaking/bulging from capacitors

- Ive run the memory checker and hard disk checker:

- Both tests were successful and no errors were found.

There was soo much dust in my computer though!!!! :eek: All gone now.
 

Attachments

  • Mini041006-04.txt
    64 KB · Views: 6
1 minidump crashes at ati2dvag.dll and has a bugcheck of 8E.

4 minidumps are corrupt and unreadable.

The psu you currently have is crap. The spare psu you have is crap as well, although it won`t hurt to try it.

Take a look at this article. The psu thread.

Psu`s by Antec/Enermax/Fortron etc are all good quality psu`s

The fact that your case was full of dust, may have been a cause of the crashes due to overheating.

Regards Howard :)
 
Hi

(What components could have overheated because of dust?)

Couple of things. Tried the new PSU, it still crashes. But its very strange and irregular, it seems to be when I am on an internet browser. Or sometimes it just restarts randomly on the desktop with no programs running. Im running McAfee antivirus at the moment to see if it could be a virus.

A virus may explain random restarts but surely not crashes in games??? That situation is still an issue.

So far I have identified that the following are not the source of the problem:
-PSU (i think, if i trust the casecom...)
-H.D.
-RAM

Is it possible that the problem arises from the fact that the processor is 462 pin and may not be compatible with a hardare component?



:(
 
help me please

No viruses detected. :suspiciou

The restarts seem almost as if they are a component over-heating but SpeedFan is telling me that the CPU and systm temp is ok.

I think im going to smash my computer with a hammer if it restarts another time. :knock:
 
I`m going to ask one of my colleagues to take a look at your problem. Just in case I`ve missed something.

It may take him sometime to contact you, as he is very busy. So don`t think we`ve abandoned you.

I`m starting to suspect a faulty motherboard, but I need some confirmation first.

Regards Howard :)
 
Hi

Thanks for spending time on my problem. Would changing the AGP to 4x do anything? Fast Writes is off, but whats the thing about CPU - AGP to PCI - PCI? And also would changing the voltages affect it? Answers to these would be very much apreciated. :)
 
I think it`d be unwise at this stage to start changing configurations. This might just blur the problem even more.

I have sent a private message to cpc2004, asking him to advise.

He is an expert on these matters. I`m still learning.

Ram/psu/mobo is what I suspect at this stage, but of course I could be completely wrong.

One thing you can try, is running your computer in safe mode for a while, just to see if you still get crashes.

Regards Howard :)
 
Ive ran the computer in safe mode for a few hours and it hasnt crashed once. What does this tell me about the problem? Hardware related? Graphics related? Your comments are always useful.
 
Obviously, when running in safe mode your systems components don`t get the same level of stress.

Whether this rules anything out, is debatable at the moment. However, if it was a mobo problem, I would`ve expected your system to carry on crashing.

I do think you`ve got some kind of hardware problem, but I can`t pinpoint what it is. Hence, my pm to cpc2004.

I think the best thing to do, is wait until cpc2004 gives his opinion.

Regards Howard :)
 
Quick info on spare PSU in computer at the moment:

+12V @ 10A
+5V @ 20A
+3.3V @20A

THis seems to be a little bit under what i need for my card would you say? And the figures on the side of my old PSU dont even add up, they got the maths wrong in adding up wattage...

Sorry for adding more and more posts but I keep finding useful info on the topic.
 
That`s why I said it was crap lol.

You need a good quality psu, with a 12volt rail that gives out around 20 or 25 amps or so.

If this does turn out to be a psu problem, I`m gonna go outside and shout very loudly.

Just kidding mate.

Regards Howard :)
 
lol thanks for making me laugh, ive been a little gloomy these past days.

To be honest Ive felt like doing the same as you would do except with a computer in my hands and leaning out of a window...

Id very much like it to be a psu problem coz thats easy and relatively cheap to change. How much for a decent PSU that gives 20 or 25 amps with 12V rail? Any recomendations?
 
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