Geforce Fx 5200 128mb problems

G

gabrelmac

Geek Trainee
I noticed that many people have had problems with this card and I still cannot find a solution for the problem. I recently got one and I am having problems with it. When a game is launched, it plays for a few minutes and then the monitor goes to sleep and I have force my computer to shut down. Also the sound can stil be heard but it is destoreted or looping. This happens in visually demanding games, BF1942 lasts about 30 secs, Halo about a min, Call of Duty about 5 mins and Allied Assault about 10. I have tried everything including updating the drivers and upgrading my power supply (from 220w to 550w).

This problem also occurs when I try to run a live linux distro from a bootable cd. I am not sure how this would relate but its something. I use to have a geforce 4 mx 440 se that worked fine.

My comp specs are

Pentium 4 2.0ghz
384 megs of ram
550w power supply
120 gig hard drive
dvd drive
cdrw drive
Windows XP home

I suspect it is overheating, I am underclocking the card but it still feels very hot behind the gpu on the back of the card. It has a fan and it is working and am running my comp witht the case open. Whenever am running computer for a long time (like 48 hrs) and i try running a game, it just locks up faster.
I hope someone can help me. thnx I apreciate it.
 
It does sound like something is over heating. If you've still got the store warranty, I'd go back and swap it for another one to see if you've just got a bum card. I'd also snag Memtest and use that to check for memory errors. Lastly, check your CPU temps.
 
Big B said:
It does sound like something is over heating. If you've still got the store warranty, I'd go back and swap it for another one to see if you've just got a bum card. I'd also snag Memtest and use that to check for memory errors. Lastly, check your CPU temps.
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Unfortunately i cant return it, but i will try memtest. Thank u
 
I've had problems just like you're describing with various cards about 5 years ago. It turned out to be a bad combination of northbridge, video and sound drivers. Horror of horrors, it took me ages to figure out WTF was going on. If I was you, I'd reinstall DX9, then the latest MoBo drivers, then sound drivers, finally the latest video drivers. See if that works for you. :)
 
I would have never thought of that, and i cant imagine how the hell did you figure that out. I will try this and then post my results.
 
i just tried running my pc with the case closed and it crashed on me while i was browsing about 5 mins after i turned it on. The video card did not feel hot though. Could it be that the 5200 is causing the processor to overclock and increasing the heat. Is this even possible? I also just intalled the 43.45 drivers.
 
I have a few questions for you:

*What brand is your PSU?
*Have you checked the power rails to make sure all the power is running as it should?
*When your chassis is closed, is it warm to the touch? If so, how warm?

This'll help me to help you troubleshoot. Thanks! :)
 
Anti-Trend said:
I have a few questions for you:

*What brand is your PSU?
*Have you checked the power rails to make sure all the power is running as it should?
*When your chassis is closed, is it warm to the touch? If so, how warm?

This'll help me to help you troubleshoot. Thanks! :)
Click to expand...


My PSU is PowerMagic (I've never heard of this company, got it off price watch) No i have not checked the power rails mainly because i dont really know how, and my case feels a little warm, i guess bewteen body and room temperture. thanks for trying to help me, i just woder if the video card is the problem or just a factor of the real problem. I will go over my friends house this weekend to test it in his system to see if its the video card and i will post the results.
 
To check your power rails, simply boot into your CMOS. Most BIOSes include a "System Health" or similar menu, where you can check temperatures and voltages in real time. They're not always 100% accurate, and accuracy varies between different boards, but it'll give you a general idea. If you're overheating by a lot or your +12v rail is actually running at +10.4v, it's a good way to find out, rather than using heat sensors and multimiters.

To be honest though, your type of instability is not uncommon for WinXP users, unfortunately. I've troubleshot many systems with similar (or exactly the same) problems as you're experiencing. In about 1 in 10 cases, it was hardware. The other 9 were either solved by completely reinstalling DirectX and all of the system drivers with their newest revisions, or by removing WinXP and replacing it with a more solid operating system (Linux or Windows 2000 Pro). I myself had plenty of problems with XP Pro, including the same ones you're having, and now I run only W2K and Linux on my home systems...
 
I will try the rail testing thing, I also use linux but the problem us that I dont really have anyway of testing the problem because for the lack of games for linux. Also I mainly use the video card for games so it would be pointless to use linux. At the begginig I thought that it was a mobo driver problem(my agp bus was in pci mode) but i reisntalled my system using the compaq restore cds and the agp problem was solved but that didnt do anything to the crashing. thanks for ur help
 
gabrelmac said:
I also use linux but the problem us that I dont really have anyway of testing the problem because for the lack of games for linux.
Click to expand...
Savage, Serious Sam, Serious Sam SE, Half-Life, and just about any game that uses the Unreal engine can be run on Linux. And of course, Duke3D, Doom, Sims, emulators, etc...
...i reisntalled my system using the compaq restore cds and the agp problem was solved but that didnt do anything to the crashing.
Click to expand...
Do you ever experience those crashes in Linux, or just in Windows?
thanks for ur help
Click to expand...
You're welcome. :)
 
Anti-Trend said:
Savage, Serious Sam, Serious Sam SE, Half-Life, and just about any game that uses the Unreal engine can be run on Linux. And of course, Duke3D, Doom, Sims, emulators, etc... Do you ever experience those crashes in Linux, or just in Windows? You're welcome. :)
Click to expand...

no i dont experinece problems with linux (except for the live booting) then again, i dont really work with graphic intense applications with linux. Oh and about the games, I have a limted budget and i was right about the lack of games.
 
gabrelmac said:
no i dont experinece problems with linux (except for the live booting) then again, i dont really work with graphic intense applications with linux. Oh and about the games, I have a limted budget and i was right about the lack of games.
Click to expand...
The reason I ask is to determine whether your problem is hardware or software. I don't personally care what OS you use. But if you don't do enough with linux to really push it, we can't use that info to our benefit, can we? :( Here is a dusty old thread; I was having similar problems with my wife's system. Maybe it will present some angles you haven't previously explored. For me, it turned out to be a fried northbridge ....hope you don't have the same problem. :swt:
 
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