*8* Video Controllers detected?

[lutrosis]

OS: Windows XP Pro/SP2
Card: Sapphire x1650 256mb
Mobo: Abit BD7II
CPU: Pentium 4 2.26

Got a BSOD the other day, and when I rebooted, was getting a black screen after the windows logo for 30 seconds or so, and then windows would start in 640x480 w/ 4-bit color. I did a clean reinstall of windows, and now Device Manager shows 8 "Video Controller (VGA Compatible)" entries under "Other devices." If I uninstall any of them, they are re-detected upon reboot or scanning for new hardware. In Properties dialog for each entry, locations are listed as "PCI bus 1, device 0, function 0" through "PCI bus 1, device 0, function 7".

I'm totally lost. The display functions find with the standard VGA drivers, but any time I try to install any drivers for the card (ATI/Omega, various versions) I have all sorts of problems. The many duplicate Video Controller entries would seem to be the primary symptom here. I have not been able to find any other reports of a similar problem, and I'm out of troubleshooting ideas.

Help!

Thanks,
-Matt

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Have you tried pulling your card, booting without it, then reinserting your card?

 

[lutrosis]

I just gave that a shot, no change. Got one long beep from the mobo though, so didn't get very far in the boot process. I assume that's expected, with no video card?

Any other ideas? Any chance this could be the result of physical damage to the card or mobo? I've been assuming that's not the case, since the display works with standard VGA drivers...

-Matt

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

See if you want to do this http://www.usbman.com/Guides/Cleanup%20Device%20Manager%20Safe%20Mode.htm Sounds like maybe your problem. I was thinking IRQ, and this supports it, tho I could be wrong...maybe worth an effort

 

[rockbyter]

perhaps the driver you got loaded is causing all sorts of issues. get into windows and manually remove every one of them, reboot, and install the latest ATI driver.

 

[lutrosis]

perhaps the driver you got loaded is causing all sorts of issues. get into windows and manually remove every one of them, reboot, and install the latest ATI driver.

I've tried several official driver versions and then the Omega drivers on clean installs. While I do think the ATI driver installation software and control panel are pathetic, at this point I am confident that my specific problem is not a particular driver, left-over files from a previous driver installation, etc. It would appear to be something else. If it turns out to be a hardware failure, I'll probably just junk the machine (6 years old at this point). But if it's a configuration problem of some kind, I'd like to fix it.

I'll give the USB refresh a try, there do appear to be spurious entries under the USB controllers section in device manager. Got my fingers crossed...

-Matt

 

[lutrosis]

I refreshed the USB driver stack as was suggested. While this did cause Windows to correctly load drivers for the USB 2.0 controller, it has no effect on the video card problem. 8 devices are still detected. For what its worth, these devices are all detected in the BIOS as well. I suppose I could try flashing the BIOS? I did this about 6 months ago so I believe my BIOS version to be fairly up-to-date, but is it worth a shot?

-Matt

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

It sure sounds like an IRQ still. Does your gpu share IRQ with anything else?

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Sometimes sharing IRQ can cause conflicts, maybe your sound is sharing IRQ with your gpu. If something is sharing it with your gpu, try disconnecting, boot then reconnect/reboot

 

[iluvgillgill]

get nvidia card!!!

sorry i know im not helping.but im a previous victim of ATI card.thats why i opte for the more powerful and trouble free Nvidia!

well if you want to start all over again,get the latest bios and reset the bios and full install windows.

 

[lutrosis]

Sometimes sharing IRQ can cause conflicts, maybe your sound is sharing IRQ with your gpu. If something is sharing it with your gpu, try disconnecting, boot then reconnect/reboot

All PCI devices have been removed. I do have onboard sound and ethernet, but at this point I don't think an IRQ conflict is the problem.

get nvidia card!!!

sorry i know im not helping.but im a previous victim of ATI card.thats why i opte for the more powerful and trouble free Nvidia!

well if you want to start all over again,get the latest bios and reset the bios and full install windows.

Agreed =) My previous card (still in use, but in another machine) was a GF4 TI4600. I've had no problems with it (or its driver software) in 6 years, Windows or Linux. The ATI card has been a PITA since the day it arrived.

Unless someone can think of why my BIOS would suddenly decide that my AGP graphics card is actually 8 separate devices, I'm probably going to scrap this system. I've been looking for an excuse to buy new hardware anyway.

Thanks for your help!
-Matt

 

[iluvgillgill]

im glad you didnt get upset and start screaming at me!lol

BIOS is something internal and only the computer can understand.so i cant help you explaining it.try to do a bios update to see if that help if not.....well scrap it if i were you.waste of time really!

good luck mate!

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Sorry, this is a different problem. Good luck

 

[lcaley]

I'll be the optimist here and say congrats for the excuse for new hardware! :lol:!

 

[techgeek]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, have you tried to reset your CMOS? Just a thought. Also you could try playing with your Aperature size in the BIOS (you did say this was an AGP card didn't you?). You could also try the card out in another computer (if that is an option).

Hope something helps here.

 

[iluvgillgill]

i did mention about resetting the bios.but no point since its not working when he got it in stock form.everything is unaltered.so resetting the BIOS wouldnt help i think.