TheEnder

I have just installed Windows XP pro on my machine (Abit KT7, Athlon TB 1GHz, 256Mb, GeForce 1) and it globally runs fine, but ALL the game make XP crash, and always in the same way: when i launch a game, the computer immediately freeze (no mouse, no CTRL-ALT-DEL, ...) during about 20 seconds, then a blue screen appears during less than à second, and the computer restarts. And when i have restarted, XP says that the computer crashed because of an error in the video driver, that it was a big error, and wants me to send reports to Microsoft I have tried 3 games and they all crash in that way. Unreal Tournament crashes just after the 3D device selection, Quake 3 crashes just after the console, and Sacrifice crashs juste after launching the game. Dxdiag also makes the computer crash in the same way (but i don't think it's a D3D-related problem since Quake 3, that use OpenGL, doesn't work either). More strangely, the computer also crashs in that way when i try to read video files (MPEG or DivX). I have tried all the three Windows XP compatible Detonator drivers for the GeForce (21.81, 21.83 and 21.85), the two latest versions of the VIA 4-in-1 (1433 and 1434), but it changed absolutely nothing. I also tried tweaking in the BIOS Setup and in the display properties without any changes. I ran Windows Update, but it found nothing to update. Please help!!! I really don't know what to do. Windows XP seems excellent, but if i can't play games it won't stay on my HDD for long...

When i installed Windows XP, i managed to get my Internet connexion (ADSL) work quite quickly. The ADSL modem is on the LAN and the connexion uses the PPTP protocol (also known as virtual private network (VPN) by Windows). The only problem was that Download accelerator didn't work, although i knew many people who had installed XP for whom it worked. But i recently discovered that the problem is more serious than just a software incompatibility. Download Accelerator didn't work, so i tried GetRight. It doesn't work either. Neither does Go!Zilla. And neither does my FTP client (LiquidFTP). And neither does any game. And neither does WindowsUpdate (i can access it from the web, but when i try start it from the help screen it says that i am not connected). Even the DOS Ping command doesn't work (it says something like: error code 65, transmission failure)! In fact, ICQ, Internet explorer and Outlook Express are the only spftwares that can access the Net. I use no firewall (i have ZoneAlarm installed but it never runs, and i haven't activated the WinXP firewal). Do you know how to solve this problem?

OK thank you Palos, i will look for it.

I managed to solve the problem by uninstalling ZoneAlarm. It seems that even if it is not running, the simple fact of installing it mess up with XP.

Just wanted to say that i have the build 2600 -this is the final isn't it?)

But WIndows XP comes with DX 8.1 installed! And of course it is impossible to install any older version instead. And i think it wouldn't be a good idea to remove DX manually (with DirectX Uninstaller) since DxUn is not (yet) compatible with WinXP and anyway, i don't know if XP would work with a too old version.

Hoho and Dosfreak -> This is exactly my problem (i had noticed the two pixels in the upper left corner but i forgot to mention it). It's a shame that Microsoft let such bugs in the final version of his OS. I'm used to minor bugs and instability but this kind of problem is simply too big to be ignored. I have fixed the problem by swapping my video card with my brother's (a Winfast GeForce 2 Pro 64Mo, mine is a Hercules 3D Prophet SE (GeForce 1 32Mo SDR)) and then putting back my 3D Pophet, but i fear that the fix is only temporary. I will wait till the 25th or so (official release date) to see if MS release a fix, but if neither MS nor nVidia (the Detonator drivers seem to be implied in the problem, even if changing the version doesn't help) nor Via (if you say that this problem only occurs with Via chipsets) care, i will go back to Win98SE That would be really bad, apart this problem and one or two minor bugs (ICQ sometimes has weird display bugs, Download Accelerator doesn't work, ...) this is a great OS! TheMadScott -> if the bug returns, i send you the Msinfo stuff. About the bios config, i will post more detailed infos if the bug comes back, but i can say that i have AGP Aperture seize to 128Mo (half the RAM, i have already tried to lower it), RAM to 133MHz (i will try to set it to 100, i haven't touched to the CAS/RAS/wait states), AGP 4X off and all other advanced video features (Sideband, fastwrite, ...) off. Thank you for your support!

The week passed without any problem, and suddenly, on friday evening the same bug is back... Globally, it's the same bug: anything that uses 3D make the computer crash. From Unreal Tournament to Quake 3 or Oni. Even the Windows flag screensaver crashs! There are just a few difference. I can run Dxdiag, it doesn't crash, but when i want to perform the D3D test (the spinning cube) it immediately crash (the cube sometimes spins during about half a second before crashing). The DirectDraw test runs fine. I can play normally all my MPEG videos, but DivXs are slow (although i have installed the brand new 4.02 codec) and end up with crashing after a few minutes. Unreal Tournament runs in safe mode but not in normal mode. I insist on the fact that i have absolutely not altered my computer's configuration. Thursday everything worked, and Friday everything crashed, without any obvious reason. I have not changed any drivers or critical 3D option, i haven't tweaked anything, i haven't changed anything in the bios. The only thing i did (apart normally using my computer - playing Oni, surfing the web and using ICQ, mainly) is installing the 4.02 DivX codec! I have tried all that i had done last week to try to solve the problem (read my first post), but i didn't managed to. This problem really annoy me because i have absolutely no idea of what causes it. It seems to pop up randomly and to disappear as suddenly as it came. If you have any idea...

I first tried an upgrade but it didn't work at all, so i formatted and made a clean install.

250W. I know it's theorically too weak for an Athlon but it hasn't caused me any probs (or maybe only a little general instability with all games - the system sometimes locks). But anyway, everything works well now.

Anyway my computer works now. I am still under the 14.61 for Win2k and everything work well. I will retry the 21.xx later. The SB Live! has caused absolutely no problems - it has been detected automatically by XP and work fine with the default drivers (but i'm still waiting for a Live!Ware).

I don't really know what solved the problem. I tried tu run UT in safe mode but it made nothing. I had installed the 14.61 Win2k drivers, but according to the test i did it made nothing either. I then ran Win XP itself in safe mode, and everything worked but DxDiag that crashed (it crashed itself when i tried to run it but did not crash the computer). But when i retried to run the games/videos in normal mode it still crashed. A little time after, i retried to run DxDiag and it didn't crash but it showed me several popups asking if i would to skip tests. I answered yes everywhere and i was able to perform all the tests i could access to without crashing. But i noticd than several options like D3D test were unavailable. I rebooted and ran DxDiag again, and then there were no popups. I was able to run ALL the tests (even D3D) and from there everything worked well

I don't know why, but now all work fine. I managed to launch Dxdiag and to perform all the tests, and after now i can run my games and videos Thank you for having helped me

Running Unreal Tournament in Safe Mode doesn't help, the computer still crash in the same way. But when i run Windows XP in safe mode, the problem is fixed. UT runs (it is unplayable of course but it runs), Quake 3 doesn't run since it needs hardware acceleration but doesn't make the computer crash any more (it just says that it can't load OpenGL), and i can read my video files normally. But since i don't want to run XP in safe mode forever, i still wonder what is the cause of the problem... Here is my complete configuration: -Mobo Abit KT7 with VIA 4-in-1 1434 (also tried 1433, no changes) -Athlon TB 1GHz -256Mb RAM PC133 -GeForce 1 SDR 32Mo from Hercules with Deto 21.81 (also tried 21.83 and 21.85, no changes) -iWill SCSI adapter with a Yamaha 4416S CD recorder on it (only SCSI device on the system, others are IDE) -2 HDDs (4.3Go and 15Go) -Pioneer DVD drive -SB Live! (with default windows XP drivers; no compatible Live!Ware yet ) -Realtek RTL8029 10Mb Ethernet card Thak you for helping me!

I don't know if it matters, but i have a SB Live! (that works perfectly in WIndows and to read MP3s)