PC problem

[Joseph Rybarczyk]

Alright. So I used to use my computer for video editing not too long ago. Unfortunately, it has since stopped accepting video, and being the computer non-genius that i am, i'm not sure what the problem is. Here are some symptoms: I can't play video in windows media, online, quicktime,winamp, anything. BUT, if i download a video, and import it into vegas, I watch it there. If i try to watch it anywhere else, my screen flickers, and goes black. Sometimes it comes back, turns black, comes back turns black, But most of the time, it just turns black, freezes and then my computer restarts. My first reaction was "video card, right?" but.. would that make my computer restart? and why is it okay to play video on vegas. Also, the screen flickering/going black thing happens occasionally when i'm not playing video. Like when I open an application. or open an internet browser, or when i close an application. So i'm thinking now, maybe my RAM? because it all seems to happen when i'm doing something that requires some amount of memory.

This started happening a while ago, and i reformatted my hard drive since then, and updated all the drivers since then, but it still doesn't work. Infact, it seems to be getting worse. Again, i don't know very much, but i've asked a few of my friends that do, and they don't seem to know the problem either. Or maybe they're just lazy.

I'm running Windows XP. With a pentium 4. I have a NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200. 256 MB Ram. 80gig hard drive.

Oh, and i was looking in my system devices. and all of the following devices say "No drivers are installed for this device" Maybe this has something to do with it?

Direct Memory Acess Controller
INtel(R) 82801DB/DBM SMBus Controller - 24C3
Intel(r) 82802 Firmware Hub Device
Motherboard resources
Motherboard resources
Numeric data processor
Programmable interrupt controller
System board
System speaker
system timer

Although, i'm sure I installed all the drivers.

Anyway, I just filmed my first wedding and I was going to edit the footage on a friends computer, but that fell through, so now my only option is to fix mine, or.. just buy a completely new system, which i've been wanting to do anyway, but haven't really had the money.

If anyone could help me out as to what the problem might be, i would be forever greatful. Thanks ahead of time.

-Joe

[Brian Handler]

If I were you I'd look into getting the latest drivers for your mother board and look to see if there is a bios update, if there is, follow the instructions for flashing it EXACTLY!!! BTW, make sure you have the exact model number when you download the new bios...i didn't...i lost.

Make sure you AGP port is set to either auto or 8x? (as I think thats what your card should run at) in the bios. You don't happen to have a monitor with dual head inputs do you?

Your not overclocking at all are you?
Whats your resolution, color level, and refresh rate at?

Once I hear back I may have something more concrete to suggest.

[Joseph Rybarczyk]

Brian,

Hello. Thanks for the advice. I haven't yet searched for the drivers for my mother board, but i'm not entirely sure how to go about this. Since I have a pre-manufactured computer (Dell Dimension 4500) Do i have to physically look at my motherboard to find the model number? (dumb, i know)

As for my AGP Port. Here's what I have:

Chip Type: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC
Memory Size: 128 MB (I guess I was wrong)
Adaptor String: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
Bios Info: Version 4.34.20.18.07

My display timing mode is on Auto detect.
I don't have a monitor with dual head inputs, and i'm not overclocking.

My res/color/refresh rate: 1024x768/32bit/75 Hertz

I don't know if this is important or not, but the video card I have now isn't the original video card. The one that came with the computer wasn't compatable with the firewire card i had at the time, and so I got a new video card, and firewire card (the cards I have currently.)

Anyway, that's it for now. I hope something i've said is somewhat useful. Thanks a lot for helping me out!

-Joe

[Glenn Chan]

1- Definitely try the right video card drivers for your card. Get them off the Nvidia website.
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

By default, your Dell will install the drivers for integrated graphics or on-board video (neither of which you are using).

My guess is that installing your video card driver will fix your problem.

2- Here's some template information regarding instability problems. I'd try it after... it'll pickup CPU, RAM, and power supply problems.

Prime95
Prime95 is a distributed computing program that tries to find certain prime numbers. Its 'torture test' stresses your computer with mathematical calculations and checks the output against known results. This makes prime95 a good diagnostic for instability problems from your CPU and your RAM. Download it from:

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

Run the “torture test” through options --> torture test --> Ok
Prime95 will stop immediately once it detects an error, and continue indefinitely if it does not. I suggest running Prime95 overnight as you do not need to watch this program run. Prime95 will log errors in results.txt in the installation directory. The icon will also turn from red to yellow when it detects an error.

Motherboard Monitor (MBM)
This program monitors your computer's temperatures and voltages. You want to get readings when your system is being stressed, so run MBM with another program like any recent 3d game or prime95. Download it and install it off:

http://mbm.livewiredev.com/download.html

Interpreting readings:
Right click the MBM system tray icon and click on settings. Click on high/low. The voltages (+3.3, +5.00, +12.00) should stay within 5% of 3.00V, 5.00V, and 12.00V. The CPU and 'case' temperature should be under 70C.


*To get Motherboard Monitor working, you may need to know what motherboard you have. The utility CPU-Z can help you determine what model your motherboard is:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

To help troubleshoot your problem it would be useful to set Windows not to reboot on an error. Instead of rebooting Windows can give you a 'blue screen of death' (BSOD).

Go to Start --> settings --> control panel --> system --> advanced (tab) --> startup and recovery --> settings --> uncheck "automatically restart"

Does your computer get a BSOD?
If so, what is the error code? Try to accurately copy the first and third lines of the BSOD. The first 3 lines should be something like:

---
***STOP: 0.000000D1 (0x00000000, 0xF73120AE, 0xC0000008, 0xC0000000)

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
---


3- I suggest you don't flash your BIOS.
A- It likely won't fix your problem.
B- If the flash goes wrong, your computer won't boot.
C- If your computer is unstable (some hardware is faulty), the chance the flash will go wrong greatly increases.

[Joseph Rybarczyk]

Wow. Thanks a lot. I did what you said, and went to the Nvidia site, and installed new drivers. When i rebooted my computer after installing them, windows new hardware wizard came up and told me to install. Well, I just canceled it at first. but later went back and clicked on install from a specific location, don't search. i will choose the driver to install, Nvidia GeForce FX 5200. and then rebooted again.

It sort of works.
I can play trailers on the internet and stuff now without it freezing. I haven't tried uploading video via firewire yet, but when I play video with windows media or winamp, the color is screwed up. It is almost inverted.

In device managers under display adapters, there are TWO now that both say Nvidia Geforce FX 5200, only one says this device cannot start. I'll try installing the same drivers.?..

Other than that, it seems to have fixed the problem. I'll download those other programs too, and see what happens. Thanks for all the help.

-Joe

Edit: I just went to video properties in winamp and Unclicked "allow hardware video overlay (reccomended-best performance)" and it got rid of that color problem.. Hmmm..

[Glenn Chan]

Hey Joseph,
I would try this:

A- Download the video card driver off the Nvidia site beforehand.

B- Go into device manager and uninstall all the display adapters.
control panel
system
hardware (tab)
device manager (button)
expand device adapters
right click, uninstall

C- Install the video card driver from A. It should be an .exe executable file / program where you hit next next next.

2- Don't bother with those other programs.

[Dan Euritt]

just for drill, i would make sure that you have disabled the on-board video that is on the motherboard... you should be able to go into the pc bios as the pc is first booting up.