DirectX9 games all crash

[TaintedBalance]

Hello everybody and thanks in advance for responses,

As the subject header says, all of my DirectX9 games crash. Some more frequently than others. I can run WoW for hours without it crashing, and sometimes it will crash 15 minuts in, but usually it is fine. However, games like Doom 3 and in paticular now, Titan Quest, crash anywhere from a minute to 5 minutes into the game. I've also very occasionally had older games crash (Diablo 2 crashes once in a blue moon, not sure if related, but it has the same symptoms). However, these aren't regular CTD or blue screens or anything. Complete hardlock. Sound starts looping in about a 1 second burst, usually accompanied by high pitched static or beeping. The beeping is not from the computer, its just part of the crash, its completely random and not in a series. I have to turn the computer off, reset will not work. This has made it somewhat tricky for me to figure out exactly what the problem is, as my comp doesn't even recognize the crash. It just boots up again fine after the problem.

With that said, I'm going to list my dxdiag info for everyone to take a look at, then post a couple things I've tried to fix the problem, to no avail.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 7/13/2006, 16:08:29
Machine name: DENNIS
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 3200+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.2GHz
Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 294MB used, 2632MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: RADEON 9800 SERIES
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON 9800 SE AGP (0x4148)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4148&SUBSYS_2086148C&REV_00
Display Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6618 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 6/7/2006 14:09:10, 260096 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: n/a
Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
Mini VDD Date: 6/7/2006 14:08:56, 1580544 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-0208-11CF-E66E-8C00A1C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x1002
Device ID: 0x4148
SubSys ID: 0x2086148C
Revision ID: 0x0000
Revision ID: 0x0000
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV8_B ModeWMV8_A ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A
Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{3C5323C1-6FB7-44F5-9081-056BF2EE449D}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
Registry: OK
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
D3D7 Test Result: Not run
D3D8 Test Result: Not run
D3D9 Test Result: Not run

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
Description: SB Audigy 2 Audio [D000]
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1102&DEV_0004&SUBSYS_10021102&REV_04
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.1164 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
WHQL Logo'd: n/a
Date and Size: 12/8/2005 12:55:46, 439296 bytes
Other Files:
Driver Provider: Creative
HW Accel Level: Full
Cap Flags: 0x0
Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
HW Memory: 0
Voice Management: Yes
EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: Yes, Yes
I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No
Registry: OK
Sound Test Result: Not run


I'v updated everything that I can think of driver wise. I have also restored to previous drivers. No luck. I've been trying to isolate the problem, but I can't reproduce the lockup without running a diretx game. I've disabled the sound card and ran Titan Quest and it still froze up, so I am fairly certain that is not the issue, but I'm not willing to dismiss it as another part of the problem yet. At this point I'm really not sure what is wrong. Any suggestions?

 

[Zoron]

What version of Catalyst are you running? I'm running 6.2 on my Radeon 9700 Pro and I'm not having any issues. I believe I did have issues with 6.3, so that's why I've avoided updating to newer drivers. Also, if I recall correctly... I did have some trouble with a 5.x version, but unfortunately I don't remember which one it was.

I would suggest trying Catalyst 6.2 and seeing if that fixes your issues. Let me know what versions you've tried.

 

[sturm]

What are the temperature readings running. Overheating can cause this.
Have you tried to completly reinstall directx 9?

 

[TaintedBalance]

Problem has been fixed. It wasn't temperature, it was the BIOS. For some reason Auto-detect was misreading the speed of the DRAM. It was clocking it at 400 MHz instead of 200, as it should have. >.< . So much for trusting auto-detect. Thanks for the suggestions though!

 

[Guest]

I have same problem with windows 7 64bit