please help! x1950xt not working!

[Proserpine]

I just put together a computer the other day, and all component drivers are installed except one...the video card. I have a saphire x1950xt and when I installed the driver, the monitor would go into sleep mode as soon as windows loaded.

I then started in safe mode, unistalled the driver and I can see the screen again. I tried installing the driver off the website but the same thing happened.

Does anyone have any suggestions??

 

[Slava]

Is your card getting enough power from your power supply?

When Catalyst is not installed Windows uses its system video driver which does not activate most of the card's features. It is a basic emulation driver. Chances are that the card uses less power when Windows driver is used. When you install Catalyst the card requires more power.

Check whether it is properly connected to your power supply and that the power supply's V12 rail meets the amperage specifications.

ALSO, check that the correct version of Microsoft .NET Framework is installed. Catalyst drivers require this software to install and work properly. Check the ATI site for detailed driver installation instructions.

Finally, before you reinstall the drivers again use Catalyst removal tool available from ATI web site to remove all traces of previous driver installations.

 

[Proserpine]

The power supply is 650 W.

I will check on the .NET, but this is a new computer, there were no previously installed video drivers.

 

[Slava]

The power supply is 650 W.

I will check on the .NET, but this is a new computer, there were no previously installed video drivers.

You installed video drivers TWICE, according to your post (once from the CD that came with the card and once from ATI site, I would imagine).

The fact that your PSU is 650W does not mean much. Check connections and make sure that the card is on a dedicated rail. If you have 5 devices on the same rail as your video card it may not be getting enough power..

If your PSU is a low quality brand the 650W specification may be misleading and reflect maximum (as opposed to sustained) output...

 

[sirrobin4ever]

What Kind of monitor are you running?
If its a POS, or a CRT, you may be having problems with the refresh rate. I've had this happen before on my ancient Dell CRT. I boot up, can see the loading screen, then the password screen never makes its scheduled appearance. I can type in the password, and windows will run, its just you can't see anything. I somehow tricked the drivers to default to 60 hz. Maybe somebody here can remember how to do this?

Best of Luck

 

[Proserpine]

I have gotten this advice more than once now, that the vid card might be sending a signal that the monitor can not handle.

I have a Sony Multiscan E440 (a CRT)

If anyone knows how I can alter the Hertz please let me know! But the problem is that once the driver is installed, I wont be able to get into windows any way except in safe mode...

 

[Proserpine]

The fact that your PSU is 650W does not mean much. Check connections and make sure that the card is on a dedicated rail. If you have 5 devices on the same rail as your video card it may not be getting enough power..

If your PSU is a low quality brand the 650W specification may be misleading and reflect maximum (as opposed to sustained) output...

I am not sure if I am understanding you right, but I do know that the vid card is hooked directly to the power supply and that line is hooked to nothing else.

 

[sirrobin4ever]

I found it.

Ok, to reset the display settings to VGA mode (640*480, 60 hz):
1. Restart the computer (or turn it on)
2. Press F8 at startup to access the boot menu (the same way that you would to boot into safe mode)
3. Select the option "Enable VGA mode"
4. Allow Windows to boot up
5. Set the preferred resolution and refresh rates
6. Restart the computer

This should work in your instance. If it doesn't, you've either got major driver/Windows problems, or hardware problems.

Best of Luck

 

[Proserpine]

Can you tell me where you go to set the resolution and refresh rates??

 

[sirrobin4ever]

Did you get into Windows in VGA mode?
I'll just assume that you did.

Ok this isn't too hard.
1. Wait till Windows loads up.
2. Right click on the desktop.
3. When the menu pops up, click on settings.
4. The box that shows up should say "Display Properties" on the top. Click on the Settings tab in that box.
5. You can adjust the resolution from this box. Try setting the resolution to something conservative at first: Try 1024*768.
6. Press the "Apply" button.
7. Also, there is a button called "Advanced" in that box. Press it.
8. On the box that appears, click on the "monitor" tab.
9. You can change the refresh rate from this page. Change it to something like 75 hz.
10. Press OK on that box, and the first box.

Your resolution is set!

You can set the resolution to a higher value than that by repeating the steps again.
Note: You will have to reset the refresh rate each time you change resolutions.

Best of Luck

 

[dean7]

Slava, I haven't seen you in forever. Where you been?

 

[Proserpine]

I tried as you said.

The computer works in AVG mode, and I tried setting the Hz to 60, but as soon as I hit apply, the screen goes to sleep again.

I appreciate the suggestion.

 

[Slava]

Slava, I haven't seen you in forever. Where you been?

I've been around. I just don't feel like posting all the time. Sometimes I post, but most of the time I just read. I see there are a lot of new members around... There was a time when I knew exactly whose opinions to trust. Now, it seems, I need to double-check almost everything I read

 

[dean7]

Well, you can always trust JumpingJack and Wusy.

 

[sirrobin4ever]

Strange....

Do you have another computer that you can test the monitor on? I kind of doubt its the monitor though.....

I would highly suggest trying the X1900 in another computer. If this does the same thing, then you should RMA your Graphics card.

It could be the power supply, but I kind of doubt this because it shouldn't take much more power when you change resolutions. Besides, if you test it in another computer, this will tell you if the power supply is the problem.

As much as I hate to do it, I would suggest that you reformat the computer and reinstall windows. It could be some bad driver issues.

Best of Luck

 

[Proserpine]

The monitor does work. I took out the x1950xt and tried my roomates 7800gt (dont tell him ). Installed the driver and everything works like a dream. I think my next step is to RMA the x1950xt for another, and if it still doesn't work, I will devote my life to anti-ATI posts.

PS

The tech support at ATI said the 12V rail should have 38 amps! is this possible, ive never heard of such a thing.

 

[sirrobin4ever]

It seems like a defective card.....I can't figure out what else would make this happen. Unless the card really does need that much power...which seems unlikely. The ATI site shows that the x1950xt needs 38 amps When in Crossfire. Meaning two of these graphics cards. I would check to see what the power rating is on your power supply; there should be a label that tells the 12v amperage rating. It also suggests 30 amps for a single card, but my guess is that it would run at lower than this. (or at least boot into windows!) When you put in the 7800, did you start up any games? If so, the power supply should be more than ample to start up windows with your card.

You must have a defective card. Just bad luck....don't blame ATI, this kind of thing does happen.

Best of Luck

 

[Proserpine]

I did not try a game with the 7800 (new HD so no games installed yet). The 12V rail is rated for 19 amps and I've never seen one go as high as 30. It is not a cheap power supply either, I cant remember the name but will edit it in when I get a chance to look at the box. I do know it is the quiettest power supply I have ever owned.

I am very much hoping it was just a bad card, I will find out in a few days when Newegg processes the returned part and sends a new one.

 

[pauldh]

The 12V rail is rated for 19 amps and I've never seen one go as high as 30.

I assume you do have two 12-volt rails as a single 19 amp 12v rail is puny for a 650W power supply. There is a huge power requirement different between the X1950XT and 7800GT, but also a huge performance difference too. (no fanboy, I have both a His X1950XT ice Q and an eVGA 7800T CO).

As someone said, ATI suggests 30A on the 12 volt rails in a loaded system for one of these cards and 36 amp for crossfire. Assuming you have close to 30A on the 12v rails combined, You need to try that card in another machine. I suspect like Cleeve said, it's a bad card. But if you do have just one 19amp 12v rail, you need way more juice for that card.

 

[sirrobin4ever]

Tell us what happens when you get the new one.

Best of Luck

 

[Proserpine]

I assume you do have two 12-volt rails as a single 19 amp 12v rail is puny for a 650W power supply. There is a huge power requirement different between the X1950XT and 7800GT, but also a huge performance difference too. (no fanboy, I have both a His X1950XT ice Q and an eVGA 7800T CO).

As someone said, ATI suggests 30A on the 12 volt rails in a loaded system for one of these cards and 36 amp for crossfire. Assuming you have close to 30A on the 12v rails combined, You need to try that card in another machine. I suspect like Cleeve said, it's a bad card. But if you do have just one 19amp 12v rail, you need way more juice for that card.

There are three 12v rails, but of course only one was hooked up to the card. I haven't done much on the hardware side of computers, am i missing something?

Here, I found the power supply I own on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817371001

 

[pauldh]

Well, if you have two 19 AMP 12-volt rails, that's 38 amps of 12 volt powering the cpu, gpu, drives, etc. You should be totally fine. ATX 2.0 calls for dual 12v rails since todays GPU's need more juice and the cpu's actually get powered from 12V now, you don't need a single 30 amp rail as the gpu only needs part of that, the rest is for cpu, drives, etc.

 

[Proserpine]

Well at least I am narrowing down the possibilities of what was wrong one by one.

Thanks a ton to the folks who have posted a response here, I have learned a lot. Hopefully I will recieve the replacement x1950xt late next week and I will be able to see if it was a dead card or not.

 

[sirrobin4ever]

Should have told me that you had an Antec True Power! I wouldn't have ever suspected the power supply!

 

[pauldh]

He has 3 - 19Amp 12v rails. 8O