Can't get AGP 2x

[Paulr]

Hi again,
As a follow up.
I have taken home an older 8MB ATI Rage Pro 2x AGP card.
Plugged this into my machine.
Win2000 booted up, recognised the video card change, installed required drivers etc.
Ran PowerStrip this reports the ATI card as running in 2x.
Replaced the Matrox G400MAX.
Win2000 correctly sorts out drivers.
Ran PowerStrip, reports 1x again, change to 2x machine hard locks.
Pointing finger now at either 250w power-supply not enough (can't beleive this, my monitor for example is plugged straight into the mains, doesn't get it's power from the PS)
Or my Matrox card is faulty.
Any other recommendations to try?

Cheers.

Paul

[Paulr]

Can't get AGP 2x

Hi,
I can't get my G400MAX to fun in AGP 2x mode.
I ran PowerStrip and it reported my card as running in AGP 1x.
4x was greyed out (I have one of the original G400MAX's) but 2x was an option.
I click on 2x, I get the warning about this may make your system unstable, click OK then a hard-lock.
No option but to hit the re-set button, Win2000 not too impressed by this :-)
I can't see any options in the motherboard BIOS to select 2x AGP.
I'm using a 250watt power supply, should I be considering a 300watt?
I don't doubt PowerStrip, it's a good piece of software, but is there anything else out there that can confirm what mode my AGP card is running?
Any advice accepted with thanks

Paul

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ABit BE6-II, PIII 550, 384MB PC100 RAM, Matrox G400MAX, SB Live! Value, Adaptec 2940UW, Intel Pro 100 Nic, 22GB IBM 7200 ATA66 HD, 21GB IBM 7200 ATA66 HD, Pinoeer 32/6x SCSI DVD-ROM, Yamaha 4416s SCSI CD-RW, Iomega internal SCSI Zip100, Iiyama VM Pro410
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[Maggi]

Do you have an option to change your FSB/AGP divider ?

[Paulr]

Hi,
On further investigation in the BIOS
Yes I do have a AGP Clock/CPU FSB Clock
Currently set to 2/3, I can change this to 1/1 if so desired.
I also have AGP Transfer Mode
Currently set to Fast, but it also has Normal & Default settings.

Thanks.

Paul

[Maggi]

Hi Paul,

I hoped it was set to 1/1 and hence you'd OC your AGP bus, but 2/3 @ 100MHz FSB is perfectly right ...

Sorry, don't know what's wrong with your system.

[Ashley]

http://www.h-oda.com

Many great utilities here, but specifically get WCPUID - it will tell you what your mainboard AGP transfer rate is.

[DJRobX]

I just went through this same problem.

Go into your registry. Do a search and see if you can find a key called "AGPFallback". Delete the key. Reboot. If your system works in 2x mode, this should allow it.

If you have a VIA-based AGP chipset, there's a new Win2000 driver that you can get from www.tomshardware.com (I don't remember the exact URL) which may help as well.

[This message has been edited by DJRobX (edited 12 May 2000).]

[The PIT]

Apart from that you won't notice much differance between Agp x1 and Agp x2. So I wouldn't worry very much.

[Paulr]

Thanks for the advice.
I'll check for that registry key when I get home tonight.
I'm also taking an old ATI Rage Pro AGP card home for the weekend which I know is running in 2x on my work PC.
If that wont run in 2x on my PC then I can at least start pointing my finger away from the Matrox card and go and purchase that 300watt PS as the next test.
If the ATI card does run in 2x then I guess I'm back to square one
Cheers.

Paul

[The PIT]

Oh don't tell Ronnie that.

[CannyOne]

Hey, Paulr, you really might try the new "viaagp.sys" file just in case. It sounds like a different issue, because you at least have AGP 1X. But it has helped some of us with various VIA chipsets resolve some issues.

Oh, and it can be found here > ftp://ftp.tomshardware.com/pub/viaagp.zip . You will need to restart to Safe Mode. You should rename the old viaagp.sys file found in the "system32\drivers" folder to "viaagp.sys.old". Then copy in the new file. Good Luck!

[Paulr]

Hi,
It wont be the VIA chipset issue.
I'm running an ABit BE6-II (BX) MB.

Paul

[MURCer]

up

[Bursar]

Have you checked your case?

It could be incompatible with your graphics card.

Stranger things have happened....

[birdy]

AGP @ 1x is a common problem which can be cured by making sure the card is correctly seated in the board. The bracket on the early g400's was basically too big and stops the card from going into the slot completely. I cured mine by removing the bracket from the card and making the holes that the bolts go through a little bigger, then i nipped off the very bottom of the bracket, you know that little pointy bit that goes through the motherboard tray. I then refitted the card with the nuts slightly loose so that i could ensure that the card seats properly, then i gently nipped up the nuts just to secure the card from the wobbles. It worked at 2x from then on.

Did i notice a difference?

erm.....no.

If you can't be bothered with all the bracket modification then leave it as it is and don't ever think abut it ever again!

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Coppermine 600E @ 828mhz (138mhz FSB). Globalwin HSF (the hooge one with the air duct set to blow cold air in)Abit Bx6r2.128mb Winbond pc133, Iwill 2930u scsi, USR Message Modem external, SB Live!, pioneer dvd104s, hollywood plus dvd card, plextor 40x cd rom, Yamaha 8x4x32 CDR, Maxtor Diamond Max 30GB!!@ 7200rpm, G400 @ max settings. Win98/w2k Dual boot. All wrapped up in a big case with loads of fans. Belinea 10 30 40 17" monitor, FPS100 sound system.