ATI Drivers & The ActiveX Blues

[jc14all]

Originally I thought this was exclusively a video driver or card problem, but after hours of troubleshooting and a new replacement ATI Radeon 64 graphic card with no improvements I directed my attention to incompatibility issues.

The Problem: When Win 98SE loads startup background programs the last to load was McAfee ActiveShield, then a green bar code type line appeared across the top of my display. Not a big problem just annoying. Whenever using IE 5.5 or Outlook Express w/HTML I would get PC lockup. Then had to hard boot the system two or three times before getting a clean boot. Experienced screen freezes (lockup) when doing the most simplest task, e.g., closing Explorer, or reading an email, especially if email had HTML in it.

Root Cause: ActiveX components in IE 5.5 and McAfee ActiveShield. Discovered after following the instructions on McAfee website (www.mcafee.com/support/cust_serv/faqs/tech_support/faq_tech4.asp) "Simultaneously Uninstalling/Installing ActiveShield and VirusScan" my instability problems and bar code line disappeared. After I had removed all the ActiveX components of ActiveShield my performance improved 100%. No more lockups in IE 5.5 either, but after reinstalling ActiveShield all problems returned. McAfee tech support was unable to help with resolution. Microsoft article, Q243787 & Q241234 states that ActiveX component (CV3 Class Control) has issues with McAfee's ActiveX components. You can find both ActiveX component nested inside: Internet Options/General Tab/Settings/View Objects. If I remove the CV3 Class Control as directed in Article #Q243787, then McAfee works well and problems disappear. What a bummer! McAfee is optimized to IE to access online services on their website but between IE & McAfee their ActiveX controls conflict. One thing I do remember was my problems started after upgrading from the standard IE 4.0 to IE 5.5 w/service pack 1. By the way Netscape runs flawlessly in its Java code.

One other piece to the puzzling puzzle when ATI drivers are uninstalled and operating in VGA mode none of these problems exsist. Could this mean bad ATI drives? My other PC's don't have this problem, neither do they have a Radeon Card either.

ATI says...not our problem. McAfee says...not our problem. MS says... give us money and we can talk, othewise not our problem.

IS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM? DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS/ADVISE? I WOULD APPRECEIATE ANY HELPFUL COMMENTS.

My PC Config: Win 98SE

Athlon T-Bird 1.33G w/JMC Artic Wind Plus Cooler
Asus A7M266 M/B, BIOS v1003
Cosair Micro 256MB DDR, PC2100 SDR
Antec PP430X 400 watt P/S
Adaptec 2940U2W SCSI Controller
Seagate Cheetah U2W SCSI 18G & 9G HDD
Plextor 40X SCSI Ultra-Wide CD ROM
Large intake & exhaust cooling fans w/additional fan on HDD
AGP 4X ATI Radeon 64 VIVO
Diamond Monster MX400
3Com Nic
Lucent DSP 56Kflex V.90 Modem

JC-------<*){{{>{~~~~~
Fisher of men

 

[jc14all]

Is there anyone out there with any type of input to address this problem. Has anyone else had driver problems with ATI?

JC-------<*){{{>{~~~~~
Fisher of men

 

[Guest]

Hey man, which Radeon drivers are you using? I run a radeon 64mb ddr and i've had a few driver problems, i'm currently using 4.12.3050 and these seem to be about the best for stability, also i run Mcafee virus scan and i don't get problems like. You could also try disabling 4x agp, or flashing you bios.
But its more than likely the shite radeon drivers
C'ya
Fudgemunky

 

[noko]

I have a Radeon and don't have the problems you mentions. Long time ago I decided McAfees stuff sucks royally, way before I got my Radeon and I had to reformat my hard drive because it was virtually impossible to remove McAfees crap from it. It acted like a virus, constantly popping up out of no where, after I uninstalled it. Plus everytime I used it it seemed to cause much more problems and crashes then any good. My best advise is to stay away from McAfees stuff. I am currently trying OnTrack Utilities which I like alot better besides being one half the cost. PowerDesk alone is worth the money for Ontrack Utilities. PowerDesk is an awesome file utility.

 

[jc14all]

The drivers I'm using are from the ATI website 4.13.7075. Where can I get the older version drivers? Are they on the original CD? Thanks for the advise. I will test them and adjust my AGP or flash my BIOS.

JC-------<*){{{>{~~~~~
Fisher of men

 

[jc14all]

Good advise. I think I will depart with the Mcafee. Especially since they instructed me how to completely remove their stuff from my PC (www.mcafee.com/support/cust_serv/faqs/tech_support/faq_tech4.asp) Thanx for the tip.

JC-------<*){{{>{~~~~~
Fisher of men

 

[arsend]

Try using Norton stuff, very good suport and very few compatibility problems. Oh, I had a friend that had a lot of McAfee software and it drove everything crazy, from his DVD Drive to internet exployer to the few games he plays. It appears that the software likes to be in the center ring and gets your attention, even if you don't want it. Good luck finding another program.

If it works for you then don't fix it.

 

[Guest]

Yeah the drivers 4.12.3050 are on the cd that came with my card, so i suppose there on yours to. Also i tried the drivers your using and my system wouldn't even boot!

C'ya
Fudgemunky