Radeon 7200 problems

SheperdPIE · May 25th, 2003, 06:18 PM

Ive got some problems with my radeon 7200. Ive been running XP for a short while, and some games arent working correctly. I installed Vice City and I would load it up, and the intro videos would load up fine, but after that the screen goes black. But the game still loads up, because i can move my mouse over the screen and the audio kicks in when i hit a menu option, and i can press enter and esc with the same effects. Then i borrowed a copy of postal2 from a friend, and it installed fine, but when it loaded up the background showed with the misc. items rotating, but no menu, but still the sound when i would pass over the menu with my mouse.

AMD Athlon 1.0 Ghz
Sound Blaster Live! Value
ATI Radeon 7200
512 mb SDram
VIA Tech KT133

nurdonsite2 · May 25th, 2003, 06:40 PM

well the games u are trying to play are pretty graphics heavy but still it should atleast show the menues. i had a radeon 7000 and i could play vice city (although it was slow). have u tried downloading the new catalyst 3.4 drives from ati's website?

Peter M · May 25th, 2003, 06:41 PM

Might use a driver update. From VIA's 4-in-1 drivers for best AGP operation to ATi's current Catalyst drivers. If still no use, make sure your games have their respective latest patches installed too.

SheperdPIE · May 25th, 2003, 10:03 PM

I updated the 4-in-1 drivers from via tech's website, and i already have the most current catalyst drivers for my radeon... same problem.

Peter M · May 26th, 2003, 04:23 AM

Try pulling the SoundBlaster. These have a PCI bus problem, interfering with normal PCI operation and sometimes even hanging the chipset altogether.
Also, check your RAM. www.memtest86.com

SheperdPIE · May 27th, 2003, 09:05 PM

Alright, so first i pulled the soundblaster, no luck. So i made a memtest disk and fired her up. After all 10 or so tests i had about 20 errors total, but one specific error that memtest reported during the first test at a certain location on my 512 stick, i think about 320.8mb or something. so i rebooted and the first test gave the same answer at the same space in my memory. Ohh and something else ive noticed with the problem. The game is still running since i can hear the sounds when i hit enter or esc... so i kept hitting enter (this is Vice City) until i started a new game. The intro movie is at a round table in a room with a dead guy hanging up in a freezer, correct? The intro movie ran, but at about 2 fps and the characters themselves were invisible! strange no? So since i seem to have a problem with my memory does that mean i need to replace it? i hope not cause this is the third time im going to have to replace it.

Kuasimodem · May 27th, 2003, 11:49 PM

What brand of RAM are you buying? I use nothing but Crucial or Micron and seem to never have a problem in that area.

Also, before you replace your RAM, try going into the bios and backing off the RAM settings, as they may be too aggressive for the RAM that you have, and pushing it too hard will cause errors.

Peter M · May 28th, 2003, 03:38 AM

If you have a reproducable bad spot in a constant location, then that's actual bad RAM. Too aggressive timing would show as random errors sprinkled all across.

So go fix that first. Until memtest86 shows an error free machine, there's no point in debating ANYTHING else.

SheperdPIE · May 28th, 2003, 03:50 PM

where do i change my timing for my ram in bios?

thekingofpain · May 28th, 2003, 04:04 PM

Its easy enough to "borrow" some mem and conduct a simple test---you got a pal with a similar computer, right?
Sure would eliminate things---(snag his videocard while yer at it, just for kicks)