I need help ASAP!

[jcardia]

Please see profile for setup (Windows XP Pro SP2) I use this puter for gaming mostly and had been running Crossfire (2 GPUs) for a while.

My issue is as follows: (this is a post I have submitted with ATI support)

Ticket Description
Type of Inquiry: PC support
Bus Type: PCI Express
Operating System: WINDOWS XP SP2
Other Operating System:
Driver Version:
Driver Version: CATALYST 6.12
Other Driver Version:
Category: Solve a Problem
Topic: Display
Graphics Manufacturer: Sapphire Technology Ltd.
Product: Sapphire Radeon X1900 XT 512MB PCI-E Crossfire Ready

Summary: No video being displayed

Details: I have a custom PC running AMD X2 4200, XP Pro SP2, ASUS Mobo,550W power, X1900XT (Saphire) & X1900 (Master card) running in crossfire mode... well WAS. It all started when I powered down PC to disconnect DVI connector cable between monitor & master card. I hooked up a VGA cord to monitor to run a different (older Dell) computer. after this I reconnected the DVI cable to card and monitor...No display. I disconnected cable from master card and connected to slave direct (still in crossfire mode) no video. connect cable to free DVI port on master, I get video and notice in catalyst that crossfire was disabled and cannot be re-enabled. Try to connect to dongle, no video. reboot computer, now no video from any port on master or slave. end result: no video period. I tried all cable configurations, no luck. These cards are new, I spent a ridiculous amount of money and now I'm praying they are not dead (thought fans are turning and lights are on on cards)just no display. I doubt highly its my monitor because thats not very old either (Dell 24" Wide Screen LCD)Is there a key combo I can do on boot-up to reset something? Also I do not have the CDs that came with cards; I got most recent drivers from ATI website. Please help!

Update! I went home onbreak and did a reboot and the cable in the master card DVI slot again and it worked! I have video and kept my comp running so that I don't lose it again. I went into the Catalsyt controls and reset all factory settings just in case. So far thats all I have done since my post. Still waiting on reply. I would like to determine whats wrong (if anything) with the slave card and get back to Crossfire mode eventually. Your help is much appreciated!

 

[mailpup]

I suspect your power supply. I don't know for sure, of course, but the voltages supplied might not be up to snuff. They might be marginal. Perhaps an internal protection circuit kicked in and it needed to cool down before it would work again. Looking at the Crossfire Certified power supplies, only a few of them are as low as 550W with most being higher. Rosewill power supplies may not be bad per se but they are not a top tier brand.

 

[jcardia]

I agree, I have chosen the cheap route of finding a "rare" connector to allow a second PCIX connector. I hear Antec is a prefered brand for Power supplies, what do you think? Also, on a scale of 1-10, based on my original post info., how sure are you that it is related to the PSU? I ask this because at the time I was not gaming or doing anything graphics intensive. I moved the DVI cable only. I visually inspected cable pins, (fine) I checked video card DVI connectors (fine) I also have confirmed the monitor is fine (phew!) The master card DVI port is the only port that works now; I have video now through this port but I spent a lot of money to run crossfire and I would like to get back to using it. I want to believe it is Catalyst related for some reason so I reset every setting back to default. Any other suggestions on narrowing down potential problems?

 

[mailpup]

Antec is indeed a good brand of power supply. I have one myself. On your scale, I'm at about a 7 or 8. I suppose it's possible there could be something wrong with the crossfire connector cable but I lean toward the psu first. The only other simple thing I can think of is checking the graphics cards to make sure they are seated into their slots snugly. In disconnecting the DVI cable maybe one of the cards was loosened a bit. Probably not, but couldn't hurt to check.

 

[jcardia]

Thank you, I went out and purchased an Antec 650W PSU (SLi ready) and then put the MoBo Media disc in and it was back to normal. I went to DL the latest drivers for catalyst and video drivers for the cards and the install crashes, so I might have to revert back to older drivers. Other than that though I have Crossfire back up and running. The new PSU is significantly more quiet than the Rosewill and obviously better suits my needs but the price tag was steap (about $180) I might have a buyer for my Rosewill though to help recoup the cost of the new PSU. Thanks again for your help.

Joe

P.S. you were faster, better, more helpful then the ATI support team. They still havn't figured out the problem that you solved in your first response to my post.

 

[mailpup]

Thanks. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile. I'm glad to have helped.