Updating catalysts causes crashes... help?

synapse1712 · Jul 2, 2005, 03:44 PM

Being relatively new to computers, it only recently occurred to me to try and update my graphics card drivers from the ones included on the CD with it to the latest ones, in order to boost performance (and possibly stop battlefield 2 from crashing every 30 minutes). I uninstalled the old ones via this guide:
http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_4.html

Then installed the new ones, only to find that my screen would occasionally (every 15 mins or so) display some purple static, and then my system would reboot itself. I've tried several different versions (5.6, a couple of other catalyst versions and the latest omega drivers), and they all gave me the same problems. Eventually I used system restore to go back to where I started, which still seems to work perfectly.

I am running windows XP with a 9800 pro 128mb, 512mb of ddr ram, an athlon 2600 and a K7S8X motherboard. I have no idea what version of catalysts is currently installed, since I don't know how to find out.

Thanks.

cswiger · Jul 4, 2005, 07:11 PM

Hey, synapse, welcome to DriverHeaven! If your system was crashing before you changed anything, the problem may not be with drivers, but poor cooling, bad RAM, or something else, too. Or was your system fine with most other things, but would only CTD when running BF2?

If you've got "system restore" enabled, it's actually somewhat hard to update Windows drivers since it has got a death grip on the old driver files. This is what using DriverCleaner Pro in safe mode is for, it will do a better job of cleaning out the registry and filesystem of old drivers, which may help solve this problem.

Make sure Windows update is current and that you've installed the latest VIA chipset drivers (go to viaarena.com, look for Hyperion/4-in-1 drivers under Downloads). Also, if you are trying to use the new Cat 5.x drivers with the CCC, you'll need to have Microsoft's .Net 1.1 framework installed.

You might want to try running a memory tester overnight (www.memtest.org) as a sanity check that your hardware and RAM are OK.

--
-Chuck

synapse1712 · Jul 4, 2005, 10:12 PM

Thanks for your response.

The only time I have problems is occasionally with battlefield 2 (crashing to desktop), and when I try running more recent graphics card drivers (system reboots itself). I run other fairly high spec games (Half life 2, far cry, etc) without any problems so I think (hope) it is a software issue related specifically to battlefield 2. I have run windows update and obtained some more recent drivers for my onboard sound, which seemed to help with BF2.

As for the Hyperion drivers, according to amdboard.com the chipset on my motherboard (a k7s8x) is a sis 746FX, which is not mentioned on the list of chipsets the 4-in-1 drivers are for (presumably I've made a terrible mistake).

I will try using drivercleaner pro this weekend to get a clean install of the latest catalysts. If that fails I think I'll just reformat and hope for the best.

Jul 2, 2005, 03:44 PM	#1
synapse1712 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Updating catalysts causes crashes... help? Being relatively new to computers, it only recently occurred to me to try and update my graphics card drivers from the ones included on the CD with it to the latest ones, in order to boost performance (and possibly stop battlefield 2 from crashing every 30 minutes). I uninstalled the old ones via this guide: http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_4.html Then installed the new ones, only to find that my screen would occasionally (every 15 mins or so) display some purple static, and then my system would reboot itself. I've tried several different versions (5.6, a couple of other catalyst versions and the latest omega drivers), and they all gave me the same problems. Eventually I used system restore to go back to where I started, which still seems to work perfectly. I am running windows XP with a 9800 pro 128mb, 512mb of ddr ram, an athlon 2600 and a K7S8X motherboard. I have no idea what version of catalysts is currently installed, since I don't know how to find out. Thanks.

Jul 4, 2005, 07:11 PM	#2
cswiger DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: NYC Posts: 233 Rep Power: 0	Hey, synapse, welcome to DriverHeaven! If your system was crashing before you changed anything, the problem may not be with drivers, but poor cooling, bad RAM, or something else, too. Or was your system fine with most other things, but would only CTD when running BF2? If you've got "system restore" enabled, it's actually somewhat hard to update Windows drivers since it has got a death grip on the old driver files. This is what using DriverCleaner Pro in safe mode is for, it will do a better job of cleaning out the registry and filesystem of old drivers, which may help solve this problem. Make sure Windows update is current and that you've installed the latest VIA chipset drivers (go to viaarena.com, look for Hyperion/4-in-1 drivers under Downloads). Also, if you are trying to use the new Cat 5.x drivers with the CCC, you'll need to have Microsoft's .Net 1.1 framework installed. You might want to try running a memory tester overnight (www.memtest.org) as a sanity check that your hardware and RAM are OK. -- -Chuck __________________ Do you remember Shalebridge Cradle? Beware! The Cradle doesn't forget.... AMD Opteron 185 @ 2.6GHz/200HTT \| 2GB G.Skill DDR3200 @ 2-3-2-5/1T \| 512MB eVGA 8800GT @ 600/1800 \| SB Audigy 2ZS eX, Outlaw 1050 6.1ch amp, Paradigm speakers \| MSI K8N Diamond Plus mainboard \| black Lian-Li USB68 case + Foxconn FX600-GLN 600W PSU \| 2xWDC3200AAKS (RAID1) \| Sony GDM-F500R CRT, BENQ G2400W LCD

Jul 4, 2005, 10:12 PM	Thread Starter #3
synapse1712 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for your response. The only time I have problems is occasionally with battlefield 2 (crashing to desktop), and when I try running more recent graphics card drivers (system reboots itself). I run other fairly high spec games (Half life 2, far cry, etc) without any problems so I think (hope) it is a software issue related specifically to battlefield 2. I have run windows update and obtained some more recent drivers for my onboard sound, which seemed to help with BF2. As for the Hyperion drivers, according to amdboard.com the chipset on my motherboard (a k7s8x) is a sis 746FX, which is not mentioned on the list of chipsets the 4-in-1 drivers are for (presumably I've made a terrible mistake). I will try using drivercleaner pro this weekend to get a clean install of the latest catalysts. If that fails I think I'll just reformat and hope for the best.