radeon 9000pro lockup

[drets]

I just upgraded to a Gigabyte GA-7vt600 with a AMD 2500+ cpu. I have a radeon 9000pro 128mb card. When I try to play C&C Generals, the game starts but then when I start a mission the computer beeps once and the screen and system lock up.

I erased the old drivers and reinstalled the latest catalyst and drivers, but no change.

Is this a driver issue or is the ATI card incompatible or do I need to re-install the game?

Thanks.

[minibubba]

what are your temps like?

[drets]

I've never checked my temps. Right now I have a cpu fan that came with the retail box for the AMD Barton 2500+.

How do I check that?

[minibubba]

some software usually comes with gigabyte mobos that will display temps, but you could also download motherboard monitor 5 (mbm5). These will be using onboard sensors, so it's not likely to be 100% accurate, but it should let you know if you are running too hot.

[drets]

Thanks.

I'll check my mobo cd for monitor software and see if I can get a reading on temps. Probably won't get to it until later today.

[minibubba]

while you're at it, when was the last time you updated your chipset (KT600) drivers? you may also want to download memtest86+ and check your RAM as well.

*sorry, but being at work I can't provide links at this time

[drets]

If you mean the latest 4-in-1 drivers, I have downloaded them but not installed them.

If the temps are too high, what should I do next?

Thanks.

[minibubba]

If the temps are too high, what should I do next?

look at some ways to improve your cooling; probably look at what we can do to improve your case cooling. If you're willing to spend some money, a new 3rd party heastsink for your CPU is always a good idea also.

[gar187er]

i doubt it would be your temps...you dont have your cpu or your gpu oc'd do you?

do you have the latest directx?

im thinking its a conflict somwhere if you can start the game, and it freezes up...how soon does it?

[drets]

It sounds like the fan that is supposedly 'approved' by AMD is possibly not getting the job done?

[minibubba]

the HSF that comes with retail AMD CPU's is only good under ideal conditions with no overclocking (which is why i always invest in OEM CPU's). In other words, the stock HSF can get the job done, but it often does not. If the environment your CPU is in is less than ideal (hot ambient temps, poor case cooling, ext.) and/or you have overclocked then it is quite possible that the stock CPU isn't quite up to par.

However, temps is only one thing that could be causeing your problem, but it's an easy one to rule out.

*btw, have you overclocked your CPU or GPU? Excessive overclocking could also cause major stablity problems

[drets]

I initially had GeForce fx 5200 card and installed dx9, but the game wouldn't recognize dx9 (?), so I changed back to radeon 9000pro and reinstalled dx8.1.

In C&C Generals, the game starts and then when I start the mission screen, the computer beeps once and the computer locks up.

[drets]

I haven't tried overclocking at this point.

My system:

Gigabyte GA-7VT600
Barton 2500+
512MB crucial
2 CD roms
2 HDD
SBLive Platinum 5.1
Radeon 9000Pro 128MB

[gar187er]

if you cant "play" the game, then i suspect something with your drivers/dX....

try running the direct X configure/test program see what happens....

does this happen with other games as well?

[drets]

I haven't tried any other games yet.