Softmodded 9800SE always freezing/hanging up in 3D games

hutsch · Jun 5, 2005, 11:30 AM

Hi there!
As you can see I'm a newbie to this Forum but I already got quite familiar with the whole stuff around my 9800SE and the Omega Drivers.

My problem is now, that I cannot simply enjoy the pleasure of gaming since my system tends to hang up after several minutes of playing!!!
That's really awful...

Now, I have already tried several things:
- Installed several Omega Driver versions .... no improvement
- Tried several settings in ControlPanel as well as in the Games themself .... no improvement
- Used the standard ATI - Driver ... still no improvement but freezing became less and the game periods were longer.
- Tested my RAM with memtest (0 errors after 3,5 hours of testing)

I used to live with this prob since I can't afford a new Card right now,and even if I could, I would need a whole new system where all parts fit to each other. So I would appreciate it very much if someone could help me to get rid of this problem !!!

hutsch · Jun 5, 2005, 11:39 AM

Perhaps someone knows a diagnostic tool that checks my whole system and recognizes any probs among the hard- and software?
But don't suggest RivaTuner or Stegans Tuning. Already tested

Is it possible that my abve mentined problem might be connected with some DirectX issues? Perhaps to renew my DirectX installation although I use 9.0c?

Really don't know!
With the weeks and months passing by I have tried so many things that I don't really remember.
But installing Windows once again won't help, I tried this, too

hutsch · Jun 5, 2005, 11:40 AM

Perhaps it is something about SmartGard or the AGP 8x setting?

hutsch · Jun 5, 2005, 11:56 AM

I found something in RivaTuner! looks like some files are missing.

In the main Tab under "Driver settings" (Catalyst 4.5 detected) RivaTuner lists 2 files that are not found. The first is Ati2evxx.dll (description says it is for external event utility) and the second one is the Ati2evxx.exe.
Since I don't really know what that means, I would like to know whether this can be the problem's root or are this files less or even unimportant?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 5, 2005, 05:24 PM

Maybe its the soft mod, and heat is killing it

hutsch · Jun 6, 2005, 02:44 PM

êven if it's heat, what can I do about it?

I mean , the temperature while gaming is about 40°-47° C
I don't know wheather this is already too much.

Let' assume that my prob is a heat issue, which cooler can I buy to make it fit?

Would the Arctic Silencer Cooler be enough?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 6, 2005, 05:13 PM

Im sure the AS would be more than enough.

It might not be heat itself (how you measure heat on a card with no thermal diode is a mystery to me, how do you measure the heat??), I found that the thermal paste on these cards dries out too fast and parts of the core get too hot. Check that perhaps, I had a card act the same way just from thermal paste drying out

hutsch · Jun 6, 2005, 07:58 PM

Indeed, I use a thermal diode that is built into my case. with a big display on the front that show the actual temperature.

But the hint with the thermal paste is really nice!!!
I'm gonna check this out !
Since my card does not play games anymore! Everything' s fine even loading the games but in the game itself the system freezes completely after a few seconds.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 6, 2005, 09:06 PM

So it looks to me somewhat like thermal paste

Using AS5 will drop temperatures too, so it has a good benefit. CPU's have done this too, they'll work until that 1 part of the die is used then it overheats and crashes, which sounds sort of like what you're doing.

hutsch · Jun 6, 2005, 10:16 PM

so you mean my card stays alive when I refresh the paste and install a better, more powerful cooler ?

Sounds great if I understood you right!

By the way is it right that opening the 4 closed pipelines on the 9800SE has a direct influence on the cards temperature?
I assume so and turned Omega back to Normal driver.
But still the (any) game crashes after a few seconds. So this must mean overheating because otherwise it would not even load, right?
If so then my thermal diode must be broken. On GPU it shows 37° in Windows and starts rising slowly when starting a game. But only up to approximately 42°-44°. I think for a graphics card this temperature is still quite "cool".

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 6, 2005, 11:16 PM

Indeed it is...but yeah the card will live if you re-paste it. Ive done it 100 times. Just google replacing thermal paste +video card and you'll find a guide. Just dont be careless with it and take precautions like dont have alot of dirt in the area, wash your hands, beware of static, etc.

AFAIK modding it wouldnt have much of an effect, same as OC'ing any card really.

hutsch · Jun 7, 2005, 10:07 PM

OK , I tried the hard way !
re-pasted my GPU and everything works . At least it seems so. Perhaps it will crash again tomorrow or in a few days... no one knows.
My prob was always quite irregular in the past but now my card seems to be healed

!!!

The overheating problem seems to be solved! Thank you, H3X4D3C1M4L. You showed me the right way!

See ya!

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jun 7, 2005, 11:24 PM

glad to help! If the card booted and seems more stable than before, you should be ok. Try doing things that would have crashed and see if they work

Jun 5, 2005, 11:30 AM	#1
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	Softmodded 9800SE always freezing/hanging up in 3D games Hi there! As you can see I'm a newbie to this Forum but I already got quite familiar with the whole stuff around my 9800SE and the Omega Drivers. My problem is now, that I cannot simply enjoy the pleasure of gaming since my system tends to hang up after several minutes of playing!!! That's really awful... Now, I have already tried several things: - Installed several Omega Driver versions .... no improvement - Tried several settings in ControlPanel as well as in the Games themself .... no improvement - Used the standard ATI - Driver ... still no improvement but freezing became less and the game periods were longer. - Tested my RAM with memtest (0 errors after 3,5 hours of testing) I used to live with this prob since I can't afford a new Card right now,and even if I could, I would need a whole new system where all parts fit to each other. So I would appreciate it very much if someone could help me to get rid of this problem !!! __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer)

Jun 5, 2005, 11:39 AM	Thread Starter #2
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	Perhaps someone knows a diagnostic tool that checks my whole system and recognizes any probs among the hard- and software? But don't suggest RivaTuner or Stegans Tuning. Already tested Is it possible that my abve mentined problem might be connected with some DirectX issues? Perhaps to renew my DirectX installation although I use 9.0c? Really don't know! With the weeks and months passing by I have tried so many things that I don't really remember. But installing Windows once again won't help, I tried this, too __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer)

Jun 5, 2005, 11:40 AM	Thread Starter #3
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	Perhaps it is something about SmartGard or the AGP 8x setting? __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer)

Jun 5, 2005, 11:56 AM	Thread Starter #4
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	I found something in RivaTuner! looks like some files are missing. In the main Tab under "Driver settings" (Catalyst 4.5 detected) RivaTuner lists 2 files that are not found. The first is Ati2evxx.dll (description says it is for external event utility) and the second one is the Ati2evxx.exe. Since I don't really know what that means, I would like to know whether this can be the problem's root or are this files less or even unimportant? __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer) Last edited by hutsch; Jun 5, 2005 at 12:05 PM.

Jun 6, 2005, 02:44 PM	Thread Starter #6
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	êven if it's heat, what can I do about it? I mean , the temperature while gaming is about 40°-47° C I don't know wheather this is already too much. Let' assume that my prob is a heat issue, which cooler can I buy to make it fit? Would the Arctic Silencer Cooler be enough? __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer)

Jun 5, 2005, 05:24 PM	#5
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Maybe its the soft mod, and heat is killing it

Jun 6, 2005, 05:13 PM	#7
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Im sure the AS would be more than enough. It might not be heat itself (how you measure heat on a card with no thermal diode is a mystery to me, how do you measure the heat??), I found that the thermal paste on these cards dries out too fast and parts of the core get too hot. Check that perhaps, I had a card act the same way just from thermal paste drying out

Jun 6, 2005, 07:58 PM	Thread Starter #8
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	Indeed, I use a thermal diode that is built into my case. with a big display on the front that show the actual temperature. But the hint with the thermal paste is really nice!!! I'm gonna check this out ! Since my card does not play games anymore! Everything' s fine even loading the games but in the game itself the system freezes completely after a few seconds. __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer)

Jun 6, 2005, 09:06 PM	#9
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	So it looks to me somewhat like thermal paste Using AS5 will drop temperatures too, so it has a good benefit. CPU's have done this too, they'll work until that 1 part of the die is used then it overheats and crashes, which sounds sort of like what you're doing.

Jun 6, 2005, 10:16 PM	Thread Starter #10
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	so you mean my card stays alive when I refresh the paste and install a better, more powerful cooler ? Sounds great if I understood you right! By the way is it right that opening the 4 closed pipelines on the 9800SE has a direct influence on the cards temperature? I assume so and turned Omega back to Normal driver. But still the (any) game crashes after a few seconds. So this must mean overheating because otherwise it would not even load, right? If so then my thermal diode must be broken. On GPU it shows 37° in Windows and starts rising slowly when starting a game. But only up to approximately 42°-44°. I think for a graphics card this temperature is still quite "cool". __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer)

Jun 6, 2005, 11:16 PM	#11
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Indeed it is...but yeah the card will live if you re-paste it. Ive done it 100 times. Just google replacing thermal paste +video card and you'll find a guide. Just dont be careless with it and take precautions like dont have alot of dirt in the area, wash your hands, beware of static, etc. AFAIK modding it wouldnt have much of an effect, same as OC'ing any card really.

Jun 7, 2005, 10:07 PM	Thread Starter #12
hutsch DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Europe/Germany Posts: 8 Rep Power: 0	OK , I tried the hard way ! re-pasted my GPU and everything works . At least it seems so. Perhaps it will crash again tomorrow or in a few days... no one knows. My prob was always quite irregular in the past but now my card seems to be healed !!! The overheating problem seems to be solved! Thank you, H3X4D3C1M4L. You showed me the right way! See ya! __________________ specs: AMD XP 2400+ @ 2008 Mhz ASRock K7S8X MoBo 1x WD 60 GB + 1x TrekStor 80 GB + 1x Seagate 80 GB 768 MB RAM (1x 512 MB + 1x 256 MB) Win XP Home with SP1 Aureon 5.1 Fun Radeon 9800SE @ 128 bit softmodded to 9800 Pro with Omega 2.5.44 (I suppose it´s an ATI Card since I can't figure out the manufacturer)

Jun 7, 2005, 11:24 PM	#13
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	glad to help! If the card booted and seems more stable than before, you should be ok. Try doing things that would have crashed and see if they work