Greggy

I assume you have, but have you tried the following: - disabling Fast-Writes - disabling 4x AGP - upping the voltaage slightly on your both your CPU core and i/o (if you can) - Adjusting the FSB either up or down in speed from the CPU default. - Tried your GeForce card in another PC which you know to be stable. I know some of these things may be trivial to you but one or all of them have many people sort out problems like this at one stage or another. For example, If I run my MSI694D VIA motherboard (dual PIII 733's) at default FSB of 133MHz with 4x AGP, anything 3D instantly locks the PC. If I overclock it to 143MHz FSB then 4x AGP works perfectly (100% stable in everything) - plus I get a small speed boost from 733 to 787MHz! Good luck!

You tend to try to format monthly? hehe thats funny.

1) Use VIA 4in1 4.29 FINAL drivers from here www.viahardware.com/download/index.shtm 2) Go here... http://registry.winguides.com/display.php/798/ good luck!

I and all of my Win2K/nvidia friends use the 6.47 Detonators - we have no problems at all under Win2K, our cards range from TNT2 Pro's to GeForce2 Pro's etc. I too have noticed many little 'strange' things using newer drivers. I'm waiting for 'official' 7.xx or 8.xx drivers b4 I make the switch.

A friend of mine just got a new PC: 1GHz AMD T'Bird, Abit KT7A, 256Mb RAM, 32Mb AGP GeForce2 MX, SB Vibra 128 PCI, running Windows 2000 Pro. We've installed all the patches that I know about for such a system, including SP1, all M$ Windows Update patches (eg compatability) M$ VIA AGP update pre SP2, VIA 4in1 drivers ver 4.28a (w/o the IDE BM part as this kills the DVD-ROM) etc etc We have tried many combinations BIOS settings such as AGP arpeture size (32 thru 256), 2x/4x AGP, Fast writes on/off, etc etc. We have tried many versions of nvidia drivers such as 6.31, 6.34, 6.47, 6.50, 6.62 WHQL and 7.52 and have found that the 6.47 drivers seem to be the best so far. Nothing is overclocked, and everything is running nice'n'cool. PROBLEM: Everything is perfect except EverQuest (which happens to be his favourite game!!). All other games/apps such as Unreal, UT, Q3A, Q3TA, CS, HL, X-Tension, 3D Mark 2000, AvP etc etc work perfectly with no problems at all. The PC is very stable, no crashes as all so far (we put it together on Saturday). Does anyone know why EverQuest gets bad flickering in any resolution above 640x480 ? Please help as this is driving him (and thus me) mad!!!!!!

I have only built one PC with the Abit KT7A but I can say as far as a good platform for a speedy AMD CPU, you probably won't get much better. It has been 100% stable (after all the required patches were installed!!) The only thing that I didn't like about the final setup was that Windows 2000 would not run the 20Gb WD ATA-100 IDE hard drive (attached to the VIA ATA-100 IDE-1) in Ultra DMA mode. It would only run (and is still running)in PIO mode. If we installed the VIA BM IDE drivers with 4.28a, the Panasonic DVD-ROM (connected to IDE-2) would disappear - ie no CD/DVD-ROM = BAD! I guess PIO mode will use more CPU but theres not much we can do about it at the moment, until VIA release new 4in1 drivers which actually work properly! Personally I think the VIA 4in1 4.28a drivers are ok but I'd skip the IDE BM driver install part as they seem to do more harm than good. My PC (MSI694D with dual PIII 733's) uses a LS-120 HD FDD, and when I install the IDE BM drivers from 4in1 ver 4.28a my A: drive shifts to E: and theres nothing I can do to make it an A: again until I remove the VIA BM drivers. Who else likes (or hates) the Abit KT7A over other KT133A solutions?

Mike - remove the 7.52's and run the 6.47s, as you wont notice much (if any) performance hit, but you will notice a big improvement with compatability with most games, especially in D3D. Regards Greggy

Update - we ripped out the GF2 MX and installed a lowly 32Mb TNT2 M64 AGP card for testing and... ALL PROBLEMS FIXED WITHOUT TOUCHING ANYTHING ELSE! The GF2 MX is going back to the shop tomorrow where they can jam it up their A S S. He's replacing it with an ASUS GeForce2 GTS! Moral of the story - If your using AMD CPUs you may want to stay away from the GeForce2 MX cards, as I have heard of others with weird problems with the GF2 MX, I didn't believe them b4 but now I do! p.s. my own GeForce2 GTS card also worked perfectly in his machine.

I once thought the WHQL 6.62's were the 'bees-knees' of Detonator drivers so far for Win2K, however I played Unreal (in D3D) and there is major problems with the graphics during the demo screen. The problem does not occur when using the older 6.47 drivers, so I think the 6.62's are broken. Try the 'official' 6.50 drivers from www.nvidia.com

If your using Win2K use the WHQL 6.62 drivers from www.reactorcritical.com I use them on my MSI 694D Win2K (SP1) rig with no problems at all, the 6.66/67 caused me strange resolution and refresh-rate problems.

I think most members of this discussion board will agree with me on this observation: oXide, your a loser.

I hope you have sorted out your problem, but I would like to add this in regards to overheating CPUs... A cool/cold HSF is possibly a warning that the CPU and HSF are not 'bonded' together correctly. Think about it, where does the HSF get its heat? FROM THE CPU! So if your HSF is cool/cold, either: A) you have a cool/cold CPU = GOOD, or you have a CPU on the point of meltdown = VERY BAD! Never trust a HSF just because it looks good and/or its big. Check that it ACTUALLY works! Greggy

yep... its almost certainly a refresh rate problem. By default, the nvidia Detonator drivers will only run 3D at 60Hz in Win 2K, and unless you manually edit the registry/edit the INF before you install the drivers, or use the cool nv refresh fix program - your stuck at 60Hz. I use the nv refresh fix program and I have 85Hz at 1024x768 (my monitors best at that resolution) and everything is silky-smooth. But I cannot where I downloaded it... anyone?

Game Gurus! I tryed searching the forum for an answer to this, but I found nothing, so I submit this question: I installed Q3 Arena point release 1.25, and now I can no longer perform a Demo of any kind! When I go to the Q3 console, I type in "TIMEDEMO 1" to get speed-test mode, then I type "DEMO DEMO001.DM3" (or DEMO002.DM3)and press enter, instead of a time-demo running which reports the FPS, the game goes back to the main menu! This did not occur with my previous 1.17 point release, and the DEMO function from the menu doesn't work either. re-installing the 1.17 point release does not help. Otherwise the game runs perfectly.. and fast! Am I doing something wrong here? I'd rather not completely re-install the game. Any help is appreciated. Greggy

Thanx for the advice. For now I have gone back to 1.17, as I don't have a problem with it. I found to go back to 1.17 all you need to do is delete 1 pak file (can't remember the exact filename, but I think it was the newest of the pak files) and re-install the 1.17 patch.

I have seen reports that overclocking both the core and memory on display cards (in particular high performance VGA cards like nvidia's) does indeed lead to: a) the card no longer operates properly (or at all) at its default core/mem speeds. the card can no longer hits the previous overclocked levels that were enjoyed when the card was new. c) damage to the card (in particular the memory) can occur after long periods of being overclocked. An example is little coloured dots on the screen when playing a 3D intensive game etc. After reading about this (some time ago) I decided to leave my WinFast GeForce2 GTS at its defaults - 200MHz core and 333MHz memory, which is still VERY fast. Many will say they have never had a problem, and they probably never will, but I wouldn't like to fry my GeForce2 GTS just to gain maybe 1-2fps in a 3D game. Q3A demo001 at 81fps running 1024x768x32bit with everying turned up high is quite acceptable for me... however some will still say this is pathetically slow, and not enough for them. Greggy

Unfortunately my group of Win 2000 users cannot play NFS5 networked because of the same issue you experience. Nothing I've tried has helped, including the latest patch for NFS5. In-fact the error occurs even if a single Win2000 PC hosts a network game and then starts the round! Anyone?

Yes, sounds like your at 60Hz... Also try deleting the file q3config.cfg from your \baseq3 directory. Quake 3 will then re-create a new file (you will of course need to reset all your favourite settings etc), but it has worked for me correcting slow performance in Q3A, especially after changing hardware and/or drivers.

hehehe.... i love it when it gets personal!

Providing your motherboard, CPU and system speaker are not f*cked, you should be able to pull everything else (yes, even all LEDs etc) off the board (apart from the ATX power supply connection), then power it on: If you get nothing, no beeps or anything, its probable that the ATX PSU (case)/board and/or CPU are dead(as speakers generally never fail) and one or all items will need to be replaced. Try testing the CPU at your favourite PC shop or at a friends house to rule out CPU failure. Otherwise you'll get a beep error code, telling you various part(s) failed the POST. You can then add parts one by one (eg add the stick of RAM, then the AGP card etc) and see if you can identify the problem. Its very important to change only one thing at a time. I cannot stress that enough with thses sort of problems.... good luck!

Some BP6 owners (dual 440BX S370 Celeron motherboard) found that forcing the AGP speed to 1x instead of 2x (using Powerstrip or equivalent) seemed to fix the '3D freeze'. It may be worth a shot. Don't worry, you'll only take a small performance hit.

Let me put it this way...I don't regret buying my WinFast 32Mb GeForce2 GTS. In fact it has been the most trouble-free display adapter I've ever used. The nvidia Detonator 6.31 drivers are even WHQL certified, and work perfectly with DirectX 8 on my SMP Windows 2000 box.

with SMP, No pain = no gain... (well usually!) It might be that your motherboard cannot cope with the thirst of the GeForce (they draw alot of power). The Epox KP6-BS dual slot1 was a good board for NT4, but the AGP functions of Win2K and a TNT etc can knock it over quite easily in ANY 3D application. Make sure you've installed SP1 AND the Win2K Compatabilty updates (www.windowsupdate.com)and are using the latest Detonator drivers (Ver 6.31 are even WHQL certified, well mine are) If you still have problems I'd look closely at getting a replacement motherboard, eg ASUS P2B-D etc for dual slot-1 or Abit VP6/MSI 694D for dual S370. Dual CPUs rock under Win2K, I think its worth the effort/cost to get a SMP rig going, but you've got to have 100% quality hardware, not 99%... 100! Try looking at www.2cpu.com for more help. Greggy Dual PIII 700 @ 933, MSI 694D (4in1 ver 4.25), 256Mb PC133, WinFast GeForce2 GTS (Det 6.31 WHQL), 20Gb Barracuda IDE on ATA-100, Win 2000 Pro SP1 -= no probs at all =-

I also had no problems at all installing Win 2000 Pro on a Compaq PII 266 Workstation when I had to blow away a sick NT4 volume. That same machine is still running perfectly nearly 6 months later! However Compaq SOHO PC's still SUCK-ASS! Greggy

Anyone who uses an AMD, Celeron or Cyrix (cough) CPU will always make all the excuses in the world as to why their CPU is better than the real thing, the PIII CuMine. Does anyone ever ask for a Jack Daniels & Pepsi? Greggy Dual PIII 700 @ 933, MSI 694D (4in1 ver 4.25), 256Mb PC133, 32Mb GeForce2 GTS (Det 6.31), Barracuda 20Gb IDE on ATA-100, Win 2000 SP1 etc -= with no probs at all =-