As usual, I fail at computorz (Video card question)

[Tim Wakefield]

Well, I was having a problem for a while with what I thought was my computer overheating. My monitor would freeze for a moment, and then my FFXI window would close. It used to happen like once a day, so I got over it. Now it seems to happen more and more often. In Dynamis, Besieged, and EXP mainly, but sometimes even while wandering about Whitegate.

I also ghetto-rigged a house fan up beside my comp, with the case wide open, to get the temp down to 27º C. I'm assuming that is no longer the problem.


Specs:

Radeon X850
32 bit color
1360 x 1024 res (20" widescreen monitor)

Umm...I don't know what other info would help, but could any of you computer-savy folks give me some tips to prevent this from happening so much? If you need more info just ask for it.

 

[CmdrFly]

Do you know what version of the Catalyst drivers are you running?

moving to Off-Topic

 

[Tim Wakefield]

I don't know of the top of my head. I searched through System Info but couldn't find it. How do I figure that out? (Disclaimer: I am a 100% computer nub. Simple terms work wonders).

 

[Romper]

Pull up your control panel> Double Click on System> In System select Hardware tab> In hardware tab hit device manager> When that box pops up go to Display Adaptors and have that drop down select your card. That will pop up your chipset and it's info.

 

[Tim Wakefield]

I'm pretty sure I downloaded 7.10 last week.

 

[Romper]

I'm pretty sure I downloaded 7.10 last week.

Did you delete your old driver first?

 

[Tim Wakefield]

I did not. Was I supposed to?

 

[Romper]

I did not. Was I supposed to?

Yes the first time I updated my drivers I did the same thing. They can start to conflict with each other. So my guess is rollback (take the same path then hit rollback) or delete both drivers if you have two under the graphic adapter list. Go back to the ati save the file to your desktop or a folder where you can find it. Delete your drivers restart the computer then open the file with the catalyst suite update. Your computer with out the drivers should set your resolution to it's lowest setting if you deleted them correctly.

I believe AMD has guides on how to uninstall their products though you may want to check their site.

 

[Tim Wakefield]

Okay, I'd like to update this with some findings to see if I can get more help.

I did what Romper said (And thanks bud). Upgraded drivers. Sweet. Logged in, figured what better way to test it than the Besieged that was about to happen. Abouuuut...12 seconds in, I d/c, and monitor shuts off.

The same old messages pop up:

"No VGA signal"
"Check DVI cable"

So, yesterday, I take apart everything. Dust it, clean fans, the whole nine yards. Set it back up, and figure I'll test it with something less stressful, a dunes party.

Fire up the BLM, had a solid night last night and a good portion of today partying disconnect free ^^. Woot! I thought...

Bored after dinner, I decided to seek on MNK for merits. Jojojo invited me to his party. I trek through Nyzul Isle to the colibri camp, and after engaging the 2nd bird...WHAM, same fucking thing. "No VGA signal" "Check DVI cable".

So, could this be the classic corrupted .dat file? I've checked files like 10 times in the past, and that never really fixed the problem. Timmy needs your help ; ;

 

[Romper]

Have you tried any other games? It's possible that some of the cords aren't connected all the way after you cleaned the thing. I can't help much except tell you to check your cable connections on the machine.