Problem with Ati Radeon 9600

[posaljina]

Ok guys, here're my specs

Windows ME
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
MSI K8T NEO FSR mobo
Sapphire ATI 9600 256Mb
1024 RAM DDR400
MSI 8xDVD-RW
160 GB HDD Maxtor
350w PSU

Th problem is that normally I can play very few games! So far only Painkiller, Halo and Hidden&Dangerous 2. Others, Call of duty, Battlefield, Syberia, Shogun:Total war, UT 2004, Syberia2, Colin Mcrea 4, Splinter Cell,...the list goes on, no way.
Games always crash either after the intro or starting them or actaully don't start at all. In every case I get a general protection fault message.

What I've tryed so far is:
lowered settings of AGP from 8x to 4x in BIOS and Drivers;
lowered the apperture size;
switched FastWrite On and Off;
Raised AGP voltage;
Flashed a new BIOS to my motherboard.
All to no avail. Nothing helps.
Oh, one more thing, don't know why but cannot switch 3D settings from Direct3D to OpenGL. I selce tit and everutyng but when I return Dircet3D is checked again (does it mean something?)

Currently have DirectX 9, Omega 2.6.37 graphic card drivers (tried also Catalyst 4.2 and its older version). I've spent on this few days already and am quite frustarted and more importantly ran out of ideas. So if anyone has an idea that might work, please let me know...Thanks.

[Yawgm0th]

Have you actually tried the latest Catalysts? That might help.

The thing that really catches my eye is the PSU. I really doubt a 350W PSU can handle that system. You are going to need something over 400W .

[posaljina]

As to teh latest catalyst, yes I did. No improvement. As to the PSU, don't see why 350w shouldn't do.
I am considering maybe to try another card, any from nvidia.

[Yawgm0th]

That PSU is acceptable for Athlon XP systems with 80GB (or less) HDDs and 512MB of RAM. For an Athlon 64 system like yours with that big hard drive, all that RAM, and that video card, most would use well over 400W. Plus it would need to be a high-quality brand name PSU (did yous just come with the case?) The card itslef probably has nothing wrong with it, it just takes up too much power (along with the other hardware).

It's also possible that you just didn't do a good job when you installed drivers. Did you first install Windows on that system with that video card, or did you later purchase the video card and put it in (even if the system was pre-built or something and you didn't build it)?

In either case, what drivers did you install and in what order did you install them?

[KoolDrew]

IUf you need a good power supply go with the Antec 550W Power Supply

It is US$100 but its well worth it and even though you dont really need soemthing quite as big as a 550W its still good to get it that way if you upgrade even more later you wont have to fork over even more cash just for a new PSU

[posaljina]

First, thanks guys for taking time.

I've installed teh OS on the system (windows/chipset drivesr/directx/catalyst). The first driver was Catalyst 4.1 and then 4.2. and 4.3 (always uninstlled the old one prior to installing new one).

on the PSU, could this really be a reason. Why then it works wiht some and not the others, especilly those more demanding ones (in teh mentime I tried kill.switch- works fine, which I cannot say for Master of orion 3).
Anyway, if that's the reason, what can I do besides buying a new PSU?

[KoolDrew]

If the PSU is the cause then all you can do is buy another one

[Spongebob]

I agree with most everyone else, I'm betting a bigger and better quality PSU would help him out also.

[KoolDrew]

So I suggest you buy a new PSU. The Antec 550W Power Supply is a good one. Buy that and it should work fine

[wayout44]

Windows ME with 1GB of memory, are you mad? :confused:

Win9x operating systems were only designed to address 256MB of memory though they can get along with 512MB but after that the os will get lost. Do yourself a favour and either dump half of it or even better get Windows XP onto it. I also agree with the others about about the low rated PSU that you have.

[Yawgm0th]

I can't believe I missed that. : omg: :rolleyes2

I still think your PSU is inadequate, but your operating system is definetely an issue.
You can:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=253912

Do the steps Microsoft has, which solves you problem, but is essentially the same thing as removing the extra RAM.

Get a new operating system. Windows 2000 or Windows XP would be best. Here's Windows XP Professional for a good price:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...102-143&depa=6 (must be purchased with hardware)

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=37-102-146&depa=6

(more expensive, but no other purchases necessary)

Get Windows 98SE and download this service pack:

http://exuberant.ms11.net/98sesp.html

It fixes the memory issue, along with many other things. Pound for pound, Windows 98SE is much better than Windows ME anyway. Faster; just as, if not more reliable; not as bulky; just better in general. It's actually faster than XP and 2000, but it takes more than a little effort to stabalize it. With that system, XP or 2000 would be better if you can afford it or already have it.
Okay link for 98SE:

http://www.dirtcheapsoftware.com/win98sefulpr.html

Get the free 64-bit version of Windows XP:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/downloads/upgrade.asp

It only lasts for a year, and it may have bugs here and there. Drivers might not work as well and you might actually have slightly worse performance in some games. It will be faster outside of games, for the most part. I would suggest dual-booting this with 98SE, 2K, or XP. Just install the older OS first and the newer one after on a different partition to do so.

[wayout44]

ME will also has a service pack there when its finished which is spose to address the same memory problem but whether it really does I can't say as I havn't tried it.

http://exuberant.ms11.net/mesp.html