Maru

hi!

I have a problem of poor performance in games. Although I don't have that good machine I think I should be able to get better performance for example while playing CoD4? For example i get only 5-7 fps on gameplay, on some less intensive moments i get about 15fps.

Now the problem that is currently bothering me is this: I cannot set AGP speed to 4x or 8x, when I try to change it in Omega smartgart it always turns back to off after restart. Also AGP write is off.
Would changing these settings improve performance?

My system is this:

AMD anthlon 64 2000Mhz, 3200+
VIA K8T800Pro, Amd Hammer Chipset ( i upgraded to version 5.21)
1gb RAM
ATI Radeon x1650 (Omega 3.8.442 Driver)
BIOS: American MEgatrends v. 080011


under AGP controller it says:
AGP version: 3.00
AGP status: disabled
AGP aperture size: 256MB
supported agp speeds: 1x 2x 4x 8x
Fast Write: not supported

also, dxdiag AGP texture acceleration says: not supported

I am almost sure that I had AGP acceleration available, AGP speed set to 8x some time ago...

How can I change it?
I've tried to update motherboard chipset but it does not make any change! I don't know what else to try! In BIOS, agp speed is set to 8x

Also, there is update to my BIOS- my current is 9.30 and update is 9.40 - would flashing bios to the new version make some improvements/is it neccessary?

Thank you for suggestions!

Dyre Straits

Welcome to Driverheaven!

First of all, if DirectX doesn't recognize AGP Acceleration, that's an indication that the card isn't installed properly. That is, the native Windows drivers apparently aren't installed which would allow it to properly use the AGP Acceleration.

Go into Device Manager and REMOVE the Display Adapter that shows there. Usually, it will show 2 devices. Remove both of them.

Reboot the PC and let Windows redetect the card and install the proper native Windows drivers. This would be the VGA Compatible drivers. Once done, reboot again and proceed to install the selected drivers from ATI or Omegadriver.

Also, there is a new version of DirectX out this month. Be sure to grab the latest version and install it.

Good luck!


EDIT: BTW, are you sure that the AMD Hammer Chipset drivers are compatible with that VIA motherboard? I'm not familiar with this chipset and would be suspicious that this may be causing the problem. You should be using VIA Hyperion Chipset drivers.

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Maru

thank you for the fast reply!

I have done as you suggested - removed both display adapters, restarted, windows then found new hardware. But what do you mean by: "VGA Compatible drivers"?
when new hardware wizard searches for drivers it lists options: omega drivers (1) and ATI Catalyst drivers (3) - so i told him to instal omega driver. I don't see that I changed something with it - i just reinstalled the driver that i had. now if I choose to install ati driver (which i had before), I would then have to uninstall ATI drivers in order to put Omega driver in it's place, right? So I think I skipped one of your steps...

I will try to install the new directx 10 for xp - installed dx10 for xp! but the above mentioned problems remain

as for chipset drivers - I have installed the Hyperion chipset drivers, as my update utility offers me only that to install so i guess those are the right ones.

Liqourice

You need to completely remove the ATI drivers. After installing you should use Driver Cleaner to remove all files, then reboot and let windows detect and install the default windows vga drivers. After that you reboot and install the chosen set of ATI or omega drivers.

However, and I can't say this is true for this particular chipset, but some VIA chipsets aren't working well with some AGP ATI cards. I couldn't get my X850 to work with the K8M800.

Have you checked BIOS to see that everything is set right there?

Maru

I have uninstalled display adapters in device manager, rebooted, I have used Driver Cleaner to remove ATI, ATI CCC and all other ATI instances, rebooted, then got through Found New Hardware Wizard, installed Omega driver again and still to no avail - I cannot set AGP speed...and in dxdiag AGP texture acc. is grayed out (not available)

I still do not understand what does "default windows vga drivers" mean. I do not have that option during installation of primary and secondary drivers. I only have Omega driver and several ATI drivers as possibilities

Maybe then it's the problem in the compatibility of chipset and card??

I have checked BIOS, but since I do not have experiance with BIOS i don't know what is "right" setting

sorry for my lack of knowledge

Liqourice

After you uninstalled and removed all files with drivercleaner you should reboot.

When you reboot you should let windows install drivers automatically, you should not chose any driver at all. Windows will find the default vga drivers by itself if you tell it to search for drivers. Do not select to browse for any driver.

Like this. When you get the requester with "Update hardware" you tell it do NOT search on windows update, click next, then "Install software automatically" and click next. It should then find the default windows vga driver.

I can't guarantee that these things are what's said there, I translated freely from my swedish windows.

After this is completed.. reboot and after everything is booted up and calm you install the drivers you want.

I wish I could tell you how the bios looks in that version so I could tell you what to look for but some page there should contain settings for the AGP bus. Though, it should be set to the normally best settings since you haven't been there to change anything.

Maru

I am trying to do what you say. I have uninstalled adapters and cleaned the drivers, rebooted. Then, after startup I get Welcome to the new hardware update wizard screen in which I have two options:
1)install the software automatically
2)install from a specific location
I choose 1) and next, then it searches and next screen is "Please select the best match from the list below ... so i have to choose

I don't have that screen where I "tell it do NOT search on windows update, click next" as you wrote

Dyre Straits

Once you have uninstalled the drivers for the video card, it's likely that your system is leaving some Registry settings that's pointing to previously installed drivers. So, download CCleaner [ CCleaner - Home ] and run both the Cleaner and the Registy applications to clean up your system AFTER you've done the uninstall functions.

Reboot and bring up the system in SAFEMODE. You'll have to hit the F8 key just after the initial Start/POST screen and BEFORE Windows begins to load.

Once in Safemode, let Windows redetect the video card and then automatically install drivers for it. Reboot and then install the selected video drivers. There are brand new Catalyst 8.11 drivers up today for download.

Good luck!

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Maru

Uninstalled adapters, ran Driver Cleaner and then CCleaner and Registry applications (twice, just to make sure), rebooted in Safe mode. In safe mode again I got the new hardware - Radeon x1650 Series (Omega 3.8.442) screen with the two options:
1)install the software automatically
2)install from a specific location
again no screen with "not search on windows update" possibility before that.
Then i choose 1) and then it installed the Omega 3.8... but this time it gave me no request to choose ATI's or Omega (there was no screen afterwards, it just installed) (

It seems that the system recognizes the Omega driver as the native Windows driver?? :o

As for the BIOS - i said it before, in BIOS under i think basic CMOS setting (i forgot) there is AGP speed and it says 8x. Does that mean that agp speed is actually working? because I read a bit through the internets, people are saying that Smartgart is crap, and that it really matters what it says in BIOS. Then again, why is in dxdiag AGP texture speed option grayed out??
I found some posts where people say that they got that problem solved by formatting hard, installing a fresh copy of XP and then installing first the chipset drivers and then video drivers and so on... but if possible I would really like to solve this problem without having to reinstall it all 'cuz i don't know on what to backup 100gb of data :/

Liqourice

It sounds strange to me that it finds the omega driver after you have removed all files. Personally I always cancel the "new hardware" requesters after uninstalling gfx drivers and rebooting. Then let it rest for a few seconds before I install the new driver.

That has worked perfectly for me so you could try that.

However. Sometimes something is so broken that it can't be patched up, it needs to be healed from within and in the end a fresh copy of XP might be the only solution.

Just one more thing. Is it at all possible for you to test the card in another computer, just to rule out that it's not faulty?

Maru

Me too, also canceled the "new hardware" and then made an update of the driver in the device manager by clicking update driver. No matter, it recognized omega driver (not windows native) that way too. Maybe when I was cleaning all the ati drivers with CCleaner it didin't clean omega drivers? That seems strange.
I'm considering reinstalling windows- but can i do a reinstall of windows without formatting my hard drive? like this How to Reinstall Windows Xp Without Formatting Your Hard Drive - wikiHow
And then install chipset drivers, display drivers, all drivers. I'm not sure.
No I'm afraid that I cannot test the card in another computer 'cuz i have just a laptop at hand I could bring it to a friends' place but that's a hassle....

Maru

I'm still not giving up!
I'm on the promising path now I think. I found some useful information on tweakguides forum & FAQ. For example: "to check your AGP Driver, go to the System Devices subsection, and double-click on the 'VIA CPU to AGP Controller'. In my system devices there is no CPU to AGP controller! What does that mean?? Now in Everest, on my sistem info, it states under chipset: "AGP Controller version 3.0" and "AGP status disabled". Furthermore, someone on Tweakguide forum solved the exact issue by updating that controller: "Since my VIA AGP driver was not installing correctly from the HyperionPro package installer, I did it manually by going into Device Manager and choosing "update driver" on the VIA CPU to AGP controller and choosing the VIA AGP 2.0/3.0 driver from the extracted HyperionPro driver package. AGP is now enabled and running at 8x."
Could that be the core of the problem?
I uninstalled the omega drivers, and installed the latest Catalyst 8.11 but same issues...

Dyre Straits

It does look like you may be on the right track.

As for the Update Drivers still finding the Omegadrivers, have you Deleted the Omegadrivers from the Program Files list? (I haven't used these in quite a while as they no longer support what I have. But, there was always some listing like: Radeon Omegadrivers or some such listing. Check that out and Delete the directory where these are found in Program Files. Also, make sure they don't show up on the All Programs listing from the Start Menu.) Once you're definitely removed any trace of Omegadrivers, run CCleaner again and proceed as above.

Now, as for installing Windows without doing a HDD format: Yes, you can! It's called a Windows Repair installation. What this does is restore Windows to its original state with a clean slate. This usually will take about 30 - 45 minutes to accomplish. And, there are some special little methods for making sure you do it right. Once you do the Repair installation, you'll have to go through the Windows Updates again. So, hopefully, you have a decent Internet connection and can get these updates fairly quickly. At this point, this would be my own option rather than wait another day or two for a solution that may or may not work.

As for the VIA CPU to AGP driver. Make sure you have the Show Hidden Devices selected in Device Manager. View - Show Hidden Devices. If it still doesn't show up, then, definitely, it needs to be installed. If you want to go this route first, be my guest. It does seem to be the biggest suspect in this situation at the moment.

Good luck!

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Liqourice

Well, that's not how I do it. When windows reboots after I've uninstalled and removed all drivers and I cancel, I don't go to update driver, I start the install file of the driver set I want to use.

Anyway, it seems like you've found part of the problem with the chipset drivers not being installed properly. If that's fixed it should work. However, the newer drivers might not work to well with old AGP cards so I'd suggest that you try an older driver like 7.11 since those were among the best for your generation of cards.

Maru

Wow thanks guys! with that "show hidden devices" option i found the problem! Under "non plug and play devices" i have four items with exclamations: Microsoft Generic AGPv3.0 Filter for K8 Processor Platforms, PartMtgr, VIA Agp filter and ATItray! All of them say "the device is not present or does not have all it's drivers installed"! That must be it! of those three, only PartMtgr's status is "started". Other, when click start it says: The service cannot be started either because it's disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it". What should I do? Update them manually? When I go under "driver details" i can see the path to the driver.

Btw. under "system devices" there seems to be no problems, but i cannot see that "VIA CPU to AGP Controller" Dunno it that's importaint or not. Firstly I will try to solve the set of problems mentioned above.

Liqourice

Have you downloaded the latest drivers from VIA Arena and run that for installation?

The "VIA CPU to AGP Controller" should be visible under "system devices". Do you have any "Unknown units" in the list?

You know, it might be a quicker way to re-format and install windows again.

Maru

Yeah, I've downloaded this version: VIA Arena - Display Drivers, ran the installation. I've checked in registry, it says:
Chipset 4 in 1 = 4.53v and inf = 2.20A ! so I'm confused now! It looks like that installation didn't go through??
As for the repair instalation, i would like to avoid it if i can, because I have rocket dock, and Vista inspirat installed instead of Taskbar and some other modifications which, if I reinstall will have to install allover again!
I don't have any "unknown devices.How do you insert an attachment? I made a pic of my system devices

Dyre Straits

You will need to use a free service e.g. Imageshack or PhotoBucket, upload to there and then link to the image you want to post.

Check with the motherboard site for any updated drivers and also for any reported problems. If others are having similar problems, it should be noted somewhere in their tech support.

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Liqourice

That's normal. The 4 in 1 have a number of different drivers in and they all have individual version numbers. The 4.53 is the version of the driver package.

You can always check the version of the downloaded drivers if you unpack them to an empty folder, go in there and find the .inf -files, right click for properties and check the version number there.

Maru

I decided to go for the repair install option. what is the safest/easiest way to do it? I've been reading this How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install and it does not seem complicated. Although I'm a bit confused with slip streaming. Slip streaming is integrating service packs right? but i just want to integrate hot fixes. I downloaded win xp sp2 hot fix pack called RVM hot fix pack because I want to save time after re installation. But what is the best way to integrate them? with rvm integrator? Nlite is nice because I can customize the setup by deleting the unnecessary files... one more thing: while making that slipstream xp should i also include driver packs with DPs_base? soooo much options, that's why i have so much questions!

Liqourice

Repair installations doesn't always fix a problem. I made one once and things actually got worse so I ended up having to reformat and install from scratch.

The only thing I know about when it comes to repair installations, as well as updating service packs, is that you have to install hardware specific drivers again afterwards. Windows installs it's own drivers when you do this.

Maru

[quote=Liqourice;1194472]Repair installations doesn't always fix a problem. I made one once and things actually got worse so I ended up having to reformat and install from scratch.

I'm aware of the risks, that's why I'm actually not sure if I want to do it. I know that I want to avoid it if I can BUT since there is no apparent way of solving the AGP speed issue...

On the other hand, might, at the end, abandon the whole thing. If only I could know would the agp speed improve performance significantly or not? Moreover, it's more my nature, I want to have it all working - I cannot be still when there is some problem Still, knowing from experience - I cannot have it all working, and most probably after the repair there will be more problems

Dyre Straits

And that is precisely what we're trying to do here. Once the Windows native drivers are installed, I'm hoping that he'll be able to proceed with the other driver installations that will enable the functions.

But, I can't recall offhand ever having a Repair installation go bad.

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Liqourice

I know this and that's why a repair installation can be the way to go.

Maru

I did a simple repair install, without any slipstreaming or whatever. And it did go bad - during installation process, some 13 or 12 minutes to go, when Windows in "finalizing installation" phase, when it was registering drivers - i got a BSOD! it says "ftsata2.sys" (along all that 000x ... in BSOD screen) and now i cannot enter Windows, nor safe mode, nothing. Itīs just a loop, BSOD always on the same phase of installation . I tried to do again the repair install, but i get the message: windows cannot be repaired contact ... (or something of that sort).
What can I do now?
I have some kind of Linux promo boot cd. I was able to run it and see all my files ... tried to search for that ftsata2.sys but didnīfind it.

Dyre Straits

That error is pointing out that your HDD apparently is a SATA drive and, also, apparently, during the Repair installation of Windows, you must have failed to notice a Prompt to insert a disk that is needed to install the SATA drivers so that Windows can access your HDD.

If you try the Repair installation again, BE VERY OBSERVANT of any prompts that request this type of action. Your motherboard CD/DVD should have these drivers available. AND, in some cases a system may require that the SATA drivers be installed from a Floppy disk.

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Maru

I did it before you said it, and it loads SATA drivers from the floppy that i feed him, it then says starting windows, i press enter, and after eula (F8) when it searches for the previous instances of win xp it does not find it so i donīt have R (repair) option, only set windows, create new partition and delete partition option. and if press F3 to exit windows cd then it says windows setup restarting and it does not proceed as usual (finalizing setup etc.) - i can move the mouse pointer but there is nothing on the screen, just light blue screen (windows setup, not BSOD)

crack1up

Guys, it has been my experience that once the wrong chipset drivers are installed on a via machine it is very difficult to correct it. A repair is useless and a waste of time.

My advise at this point is to start fresh.

If setup cannot find a previous windows install, the hard drive the OS is installed on is not being seen.

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Core2Duo E6700, 2X1GB Kingston 4200, HIS HD3850 IceQ3 Turbo 512 DDR3 AGP, Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS PCI, Thermaltake Toughpower 850w , XP Pro Sp3 32bit

Maru

Neverending story. Formated, clean installed new xp. Came through. Installed chipset drivers from the cd, installed latest Ati catalyst drivers from the net. After restart, I normaly started windows, ati (icon) loads in sys tray, then some flash, apparently ati comes online and then after few seconds, blank screen. Then I restarted, logged onto windows, message displays: smartgart will determine the best settings for you, then again flash, and after few seconds blank screen. Tried with the omega drivers also - result: freezing on startup or after a while. Really desparate.
What should I do? I'm really going on my own nervs, sorry guys for bothering you so much. You've been a great help!
Stupid ati - via - microsoft. As soon as I get windows stable (if that EVER happens) I'm doing a dual boot windows unix cd and going to linux. Can't wait.
Seems like I lost 120 gb of data for nothing. Yippie!

Maru

I've stumbled upon ngohq forum, I'll apply some of your advices from there Dyre. I've downloaded the update to the chipset, now I will try with v7.6 of ati (just the drivers) , I might also try with microsoft agp drivers