G400. Trying to run Q3!!!

[Jim Sefton]

I have a dual 433 o/c to 507 (but before ya say anything I HAVE tried it ran at 433). Anyway, I am trying to run Q3 with the latest drivers but after the intro screen it corrupts the screen with loads of multi-coloured lines on a black background and hangs my system.

One thing I haven't tried it uninstalling the old drivers first. Would this make a difference? Also, I have tried it with bus mastering on or off as well.

Another idea I had was that maybe it is my SBLive card, as the drivers for that are pretty poor.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Muad'Dib]

Jim, there have been many posts regarding this subject (don't let the mod's see you posting this... ). Do a search and you might find some of the answers. I haven't had this problem, but I will recap what I remember. First off, you must have bm enabled or else you won't be able to run ogl apps (from what I've found). Regarding the SBLive, I think the drivers generally work once past revision 3.x (?). Maybe if you post some IRQ's, we can take a look and see if all is well there. Which G400 card do you have? Try running pdesk version 5.3 or 5.41. This might solve the problem. Stay away from the 5.5 drivers until you figure out what is going on (imho). If you install 5.3, remember to install also the TurboGL. Do you have any trouble running d3d apps? Try the driver ideas and if that doesn't work, post back with a more complete system list and IRQ's.

Dimitri

[paulcs]

Matrox recommends that you remove old drivers and registry entries. Matrox has an uninstaller which does a pretty good job, and makes life relatively easy for you.

This is not a Matrox-only situation. You really should do in conjunction with any videoboard driver installation. There's always the potential for conflicts.

In addition, if your Matrox board is an upgrade, you should remove the drivers and registry entries you installed for your old board. Just a word of caution: uninstallers for non-Matrox boards, in my experience, do a lousy job of removing old drivers. They remove the software interface with Windows and leave the actual drivers and registry entries intact.

Dimitri is correct. We don't even know what board you're using. We need your system specs (including your NIC if you have one, your motherboard, and maybe some information about your power supply) and the all important IRQ list.

There was an issue with the Soundblaster Live and the G400, but Creative corrected it with a driver update. If you're using a recent update, this is probably not the issue. If you're using an older version of Liveware (like version 2.0), then there could be trouble.

If you're using an LX motherboard or have a power supply rated at less than 250 Watts, you could be having a power issue.

The G400 should be assigned to IRQ 9, 10, or 11. It should not be sharing an IRQ with another device. It should be sharing with "IRQ Holder for PCI Steering."

In your motherboard's BIOS, open your AGP aperture to 256. Disable all *video* caching and snooping.

Decompress the Matrox drivers into their own directory. Remove all old videocard drivers. Install the Windows Standard VGA PCI Adapter driver. Always reboot when prompted. From Standard VGA mode, run the Matrox setup program from the directory you created.

Report back and tell us of your progress.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Jim Sefton]

I have an ABIT BP6 motherboard. My NIC is just a dodgy OEM (can't remember the make), and the SCSI card is an Adaptec xxxx.

BTW, I forgot to mention, I am running the final release of Win2k.

I will post my IRQ list when I get a chance.

Cheers fellas,

Jim...

[AVminor]

So, is the consensus that if one does
not want to hack registries that the
best way to install a Matrox G400 or
G400 Max and make sure that it runs
properly is to rip all your cards out,
reformat the OS drive partion, install the Matrox card, reinstall Windows, and then
install all the cards and aps again once
you are up and running?

If so, after installing the Matrox, in which
order would you install: sound card,
modem, LAN card?

[Jim Sefton]

have tried both.....why?

[Jim Sefton]

Interesting point.....the only way I can get Q3 to load into the menu screen is to reduce the appature size down to 4! I don't even know what this does!

Anyway, it now loads into the game and hangs when you try to move. Also, it runs very very slow.

[paulcs]

Well, I think it pretty much disables AGP.

I think this can be fixed without extreme measures.

The IRQ list would be helpful. Just cut and paste it into the thread.

There are also some odd seating issues with the G400 and some motherboard/case combinations. Make sure it is completely in the slot and properly aligned. The issue is related to the plate. Sometimes when you screw it in, the back of the board pops up a little. Give it a good push and make sure it's in there.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[xippo]

I lived with that problem for several months, trying everything to resolve it. I even reloaded Win98SE fresh with all newest drivers with no success.

About a month ago, I changed the mainboard from a Soyo SY6BA+ to an Abit BE6-II and computer cases which I now have a 300W power supply. Since I have made these changes, the problem has disappeared. I am figuring that since I ran 6 SCSI devices in my puter that changing to a more powerful power supply finally resolved the problem. I would suggest that you check your power supply by downloading a hardware monitoring program. Your mainboard manufacturer sometimes provides such a utility. You can check your power supply voltages to see if your power supply is supplying enough power.

I don't think it was a Soyo mainboard problem for I'm running it in another system with no problems.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

xippo

[This message has been edited by xippo (edited 26 February 2000).]

[derah]

Andrei: Interesting that you mentioned corruption in 32bit. Saw your corrupt image post (also with explanation at Sharky's) I've seen the same lines in TR4 at 32bit in the menu but not at 16bit. Does this point you in another direction?

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ASUS P3BF 440BX MB,Intel PIII 500 Mhz, 128MB RAM,Fujitsu 13 GB HD, Creative 48X CDROM, Matrox G400 Max Bios 1.5.22, IRQ10, (ver 5.41), SB Live MP3+, IRQ5(ver 4.06.711) sound card with Liveware3.0, DX7.0, Linksys 16bit ISA ethernet/cable internet, Viewsonic E790 19"