Video Card Help PLEASE

[Zulli85]

Since I have gotten my new video card, a GeForce4ti4600, the game Warcraft III has not been working normally. The game itself will crash, or my entire system will reboot on its own. I have all the latest drivers, and I was told to see if my card shares an IRQ. It does and along with that the card has several conflicts with other devices. My question is how do you change an IRQ? I have already changed from ACPI to Standard PC, but I do not know what to do next. I am running Windows XP Professional, and I will post other system specs if they are needed, thanks.

 

[Rockn]

What was your previous video card? Did you set it up for AGP in the BIOS along wiht the other functions for your new card? If your BIOS is set for ACPI you really can't change the IRQ and it should work just fine in that mode. What OS and version of DX are you running?

 

[Zulli85]

My previous video card was a TNT2 Model 64 32MB, and everything including the game worked normally. When I got my new card I didnt change any options in BIOS. What options could I change for my new video card? Im running Windows XP Professional and my Direct X version is 9.0, thanks.

 

[The_Egg]

Did you remove the entry for your previous card from Add/Remove Programs?
WinXP also has the "Safely Remove Hardware" utility
(there's usually an icon in the systray by default)
This would be the equivalent of Removing the entry from Device Manager.

Most video card manufacturers recommend removing all traces of previous cards before installing new ones.

As for the conflicts, please could you post a full IRQ list here?
You can copy+paste this from the System Information Tool.

The IRQ's can be changed in the BIOS usually, depending on your mobo and BIOS.

Press DEL when your system boots up, before the Windows Welcome Screen appears. Depending on your PC manufacturer/model, Setup might be entered by pressing a different key, eg. one of the F keys. Consult your mobo manual for full instructions.

eg. IRQ's for PCI Slots/cards can be changed via:
PnP/PCI Configuration

If you don't see this option, then simply moving a relevant pci card (modem, nic, soundcard, etc) to a different slot will change the IRQ.

Any unused onboard/integrated devices can be disabled via:
Integrated Peripherals

You can't change IRQ's in ACPI mode from within Windows, and to be honest, standard computer setting isn't recommended. In standard mode, if Windows will let you (it won't allow it for some devices), you can change IRQ for a device via:
Device Manager -> Device -> Properties -> Resource tab
Hi-lite IRQ
Uncheck "use automatic settings"
Click "Change Setting"

However, I still recommend you use the BIOS method instead,
and all relevant system specs & that IRQ list will definitely help.

[edit]
Unless the graphics card manual specifically states that you should change any BIOS settings (Advanced Chipset Features -> AGP Timing Control), then usually the default AUTO settings should suffice.

Useful Articles:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314068
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315278

 

[Zulli85]

There isnt any trace of my old video card anywhere on my computer. I removed the entry for my old card before I put the new one in. Also, I do have the latest drivers for it.

Here is the IRQ list from the System Information tool.

IRQ 0 System timer OK
IRQ 1 PC/AT Enhanced PS/2 Keyboard (101/102-Key) OK
IRQ 3 Lucent Win Modem #2 OK
IRQ 4 Communications Port (COM1) OK
IRQ 6 Standard floppy disk controller OK
IRQ 8 System CMOS/real time clock OK
IRQ 10 VIA AC'97 Audio Controller (WDM) OK
IRQ 10 Creative SB Live! Value (WDM) OK
IRQ 11 NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600 OK
IRQ 11 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller OK
IRQ 11 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller OK
IRQ 12 Microsoft PS/2 Mouse OK
IRQ 13 Numeric data processor OK
IRQ 14 Primary IDE Channel OK
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE Channel OK

Here is the Conflicts/Sharing list from the same tool.

I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF VIA Tech CPU to AGP Controller
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600

IRQ 10 VIA AC'97 Audio Controller (WDM)
IRQ 10 Creative SB Live! Value (WDM)

IRQ 11 NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600
IRQ 11 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 11 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

Memory Address 0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF VIA Tech CPU to AGP Controller
Memory Address 0xD0000000-0xDFFFFFFF NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600

Memory Address 0xE4000000-0xE5FFFFFF VIA Tech CPU to AGP Controller
Memory Address 0xE4000000-0xE5FFFFFF NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600

Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF VIA Tech CPU to AGP Controller
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600

I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB VIA Tech CPU to AGP Controller
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600


Motherboard - MSI MS-6330 Lite
BIOS - Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG.
OS - Windows XP Pro
Processor - AMD Athlon 1.4Ghz
Ram - 768 MB SD
Sound Card - Sound Blaster Live! Value
Modem - 56k Lucent WinModem
Drives - Creative DVD Rom drive and Atapi 12x8x32 CDRW
Do you need any other specs?

I dont think that moving Pci cards around would help because it is the USB ports that are sharing IRQ11 with my video card, but Im not positive about that, would it? Also, this card is using the only AGP port on my motherboard. Windows will not let me change the IRQ when I go to Device Manager -> Device -> Properties -> Resource tab for my video card or for the 2 USB ports. What should I change when I go to the PnP/PCI Configuration? I would try on my own but I want to make sure I am doing the right thing first. Thanks for the info, all your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[The_Egg]

The only real problem I see there, and this is not related to your actual problem, is that the onboard ac'97 audio chip is enabled and sharing irq 10 with your SB Live!
If you don't ever use it, you can disable onboard ac'97 audio in:
BIOS -> Integrated Peripherals

It's natural for CPU to AGP Controller to be sharing resources with the graphics card. Trust me, that is not the problem. Though it wouldn't hurt to use the MSI Live Update Utility to check for latest VIA Chipset drivers.

There also shouldn't be any problem with USB sharing IRQ with Graphics Card, especially when ACPI is enabled.
It's the same on my pc (msi ms-6380E / KT3 Ultra). My Hercules 3D Prophet Kyro II 64mb is sharing IRQ16 with a USB 2.0 Controller.
Sure, it would be nice if they were separate, but I don't have any other IRQ's available. However, you've got a few spare . . . one thing that's always amazed me with Microsoft's OS'es. Though, apparently, this is what ACPI is supposed to be for...

As you say, there is no way to change IRQ's for AGP and USB 2.0 under WinXP.

It's actually starting to sound like a driver problem.
Sometimes with Detonator drivers, you'll find that the latest drivers aren't always the best. Maybe try some older drivers instead. Also check NVidia Support for any known issues (assuming they are the manufacturer of your GeForce4).

Also check for any patches for Warcraft III
http://gamespot.com/gamespot/filters/products/downloads/0,11095,256222,00.html

 

[Zulli85]

On Blizzard's web site it has a list of video cards and what version of the drivers they used to test Warcraft III. Here is the list
I tried using the Nvidia driver listed there but it didnt solve the problem, I only got the same result that I got fromthe latest drivers. PNY made my card and I have already gone to their support site. It said something like if a game crashes or system reboots to make sure that you have a 350 watt power supply or better. At the time I had a 250 watt, but I bought a 400 watt supply and my computer acts as if I didnt touch a thing. Where is the MSI Live Update Utility located? Also, I download the latest version of my BIOS(I was told once that this might fix my problem) from MSI but I am not sure how to go about installing it. Any help with that would be appreciated, thanks again.

 

[The_Egg]

Live Update 2
http://www.msi.com.tw/html/support/liveupdate/main.htm

Latest BIOS for ms-6330
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/search/ser/SerConTecRes.php?DATA=1&bios=6330

Is your BIOS by Award or AMI Bios (American Megatrends) ???
Instructions here:
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_list.php?kind=1

Good luck



[edit]

I see that there IS a known problem listed on that page, regarding Geforce4 Ti 4600
Missing construction frames

They say the fix is to install the latest drivers.
But if the latest drivers don't address this issue, then go figure . . .

Did you install the latest Warcraft 3 patch ?

Do you experience problems with any other games?

 

[Zulli85]

Yes I have the latest Warcraft III patch and this is the only game I have this problem with. Also my BIOS is by Award. Thanks for the info and I'll update now.

 

[Zulli85]

After going to the Live update link that you posted step one shows a link but it doesnt work. I tried searching around the MSI site with no luck on finding it. Step two then shows a dailog box askign to install something. I imagine I'll be needing that but I cant get it from that link. Any ideas?

 

[The_Egg]

You're given two options at the bottom of the page.

1. Is to install from the web with InstallShield.
If installshield isn't installed, a security pop-up box should appear, asking if you want to install it, click "yes" to continue.

2. Is a manual download
http://tw.msi.com.tw/autobios/seriesexe/liveupdate2.exe


However, I honestly think that this is just a case of Warcraft III being incompatible with your GF4 Ti, or at least the drivers are incompatible . . .

 

[Zulli85]

Are the latest agp driver included with a BIOS update? Is it really safe to flash the BIOS? Im a bit hesitant to do it because I dont want a dead motherboard on my hands. Also, I read in my video card manual something about AGP Aperature. Where is this located?

 

[Zulli85]

Well I decided to flash my BIOS, and it worked perfectly. I then tried to play Warcraft III, and it WORKED!!!! Thanks for all your help! I've been dealing with this since December and its finally done with! Thanks again!

 

[The_Egg]

Yay! Sweeeeet

I'm really happy for you.

[Resolved]