geforce 6800 driver issue

looks like a lot of people have video card probs
oh well better join them 2

i have just finished installing windows xp pro sp1 and now i have just been installing the software
everything is installing ok apart from the graphics card drivers
i can hardly read my screen..i tryed installing them from cd and web site
everytime a have had to do a windows recovery just so i can read the screen
when it boots up there are long fuzzy lines and windows explorer scrolling is very slow
i have updated the bios but am not sure what the settings should be
my computer specs are as follows

amd athlon 64 3500 cpu
asus a8v motherboard
kingston hyperx 3200 1g (2x512)
pny geforce 6800 gt 256mb graphics card
antec 550w power supply
soundblaster audigy2 zs

haven't installed soundcard yet as the drivers for it crashed my comp last time creating that lovely blue screen
can someone help with the setting in bios and what else i should do in windows.. the manual is not very clear. all updates are done except sp2

 

might sound like you will have to do an rma

 

sorry new to this stuff .. whats a RMA?

 

RMA = Returns Merchandise Authorisation.

Basically, Omegamerc thinks one or more of your PC's components are faulty and needs returning to their respective supplier.

I have to admit that it does sound like the 6800 has video corruption and is therefore suffering with a memory fault.

However, you are not very clear as to why you can't read the screen once you have loaded windows. Are the "fuzzy" lines present after windows has loaded or is the resolution just too low for a detailed image?

Are you using a TFT (flat panel) or a traditional CRT monitor? A TFT may explain why you can't read the screen, as all TFT's have a native resolution that must be used for the best (readable) image quality.

Explorer will always scroll slowly until the graphics card drivers are installed. So I don't think this should concern you ATM.

Can you possibly describe the "fuzzy" lines during booting a little better? Where are they located? How long do they last? etc etc

BUT...

... After saying all this, it does still sound like the card is faulty and needs returning to the supplier.

 

thanks for the answers

the fuzzy lines are running vertically down the screen, there are about 4 of them , i can't see them at the moment because i have changed the windows settings to 1024x768 and it looks fine..but when the driver loads it really looks bad, really fuzzy...i can see these lines when i boot up b4 getting into windows..sounds like a faulty grapics card might be the problem grrrrrrr
i have got a acer 1731 flat screen monitor which goes well with my other computer.. i have emailed pny support and am waiting to see what they say 2
loading windows sp2 wouldn't help would it?
thanks for any help
kiwihunter

 

No mate - installing windows SP2 will NOT cure the problem.

That description of the graphics corruption is very indicative of faulty memory on the video card.

Sorry, but you'll have to return it to your supplier under RMA.

 

thanks seacher
i will try and do a rma
i suppose this kind of prob keeps them in work eh!
i tryed an older graphics card from my old computer and had no problems what so ever with funny lines and after installing driver
thanks again
kiwihunter

 

I am a mate of KiwiHunter and he had issues with the RMA coz he bought over ebay so was going to claim it on insurance. They wanted it tested to prove it was busted... and in the testing on a pentium it worked.

Thus, it seems to be some sort of conflict btn the AMD hardawre, drivers or something. Any ideas?

 

Who tested it? PNY or the folks he bought it from. I don't buy that it worked on an Intel machine, but not an AMD. That just sounds screwy to me.

Was this a new card or used?

 

It was a new card, but bought through ebay from someone who supposeldy also bought it from Ebay. Tested through a local computer repair shop. I just asked my mate and he said the guy loaded it into his PC and loaded a driver and the problem doesn't happen on that computer - ie the screen is free of the lines etc that plagued KiwiMunter.

I have a very similar rig to KH and we tested on my PC too, and the same problem happened. When it was first loaded it worked and the picture was clear. Then we loaded the latest drivers from the NVIDIA website and a similar problem occured - although KH said it was slightly different to his in appearance but not effect.

 

Back to the original post if it is a driver issue....have you tried other drivers?
PNY has their list here . Maybe try some older drivers as the newest ones are not always the best. Nvidia has the 66.93 for their latest, PNY has 61.76, and I currently am running the 67.02's and havent had a glich yet.
Can u run 3D applications?
maybe try a stress test like "rthdribl" and monitor your cpu & video card temps and see if it is a heat issue

 

Have you made sure it's installed properly? Does it have to be hooked to the power supply? It is properly attached there if it does? Just some food for thought.

Tarkus

 

Also one of the "popular" things that are being done is that people are buying the gt model and trying to flash with the Ultra bios, as I read a few that have had luck with this. Did you buy it from a reputable dealer on Ebay and how long ago did you buy it you might be covered under Paypal buyer protection and get them to take it back.
My leadtek 6800 GT has a bios update software, maybe try to get the PNY 6800 GT bios and reflash it

 

Hi

thanks shallow_grave for writing for me will buy you a beer later..
just got the card back from the computer place. They said that it runs fine and that it could be that i have a driver issue

I have updated the bios to version 8 from asus website. Is there anything i need to turn off or on in bios although i don't think it's a bios prob.
i have the VIA 4in1 driver version 455 installed as well as the latest amd driver
the graphics driver i used was or is version 6176 thats what the guy from computer shop used and it worked for him although he was using as Shallow_grave said an intel setup.
these lines i get are running vertical down the screen and they are still there even in boot up b4 you get into windows.
Question- i just had a look at the power supply using asus pc probe and it shows that the voltage for the 3.3v as running at 2.9v and has the message out of threshold showing
all the rest of the voltages eg 12 and 5 it says are ok
could this be the problem?
I have a antec 550w power supply
I paid for the card to be tested and it's fine so this makes me think that maybe the power supply to the card is stuffed..i will play around with different drivers soon but think that it is not a driver issue.
any ideas?

 

opps forgot to answer ?'s

i have tried all the bios flashes as well as all types of drivers.. everything is plugged in correctly..i really think it's something to do with the power supply as i read that someone else had a similar prob with the 3.3v being to low on the internet.. what do you think?

 

I have same PS and it reads 3.21v

 

Have you upped your agp voltage to 1.6v? This was recomended to me by a BFG tech for my 6800GT OC when it was stalling in my games in turn fixing the problem.

 

OK We worked out what the problem is. KiwiMunter, having done a bit of research, had a look at the voltages or whatever coming out of his PSU. It turns out the issue was that he wasn't getting enough power out of the thing. If memory serves, he was only getting about 2.7 when it should be 3. We whacked it into my machine wiith a thermaltake PSU and it works fine. So problem solved and game on... for me anyway, Kiwi has to get himself a new PSU and while he does I have his Graphics card. Yeah, baby. What a result.