Radeon 9550 card "crashing" system

[Dan400Man]

Just purchased a Diamond Radeon 9550 AGP 256MB video card to "replace" the onboard video. I understand that this a "value" card and not the high-perf cards most of you are playing with. I figured that this would be a no-brainer upgrade, but sheesh, the video goes blank after about 20 minutes. The system doesn't freeze, cuz I'm still able to use the Windows key, up arrow, Enter, right arrow, Enter to shut down the system even tho I can't see exactly what's going on. But the monitor will not turn on again until a reboot. This system never had this problem before I installed the 9550 card, and I followed the directions in the install guide to a 'T'.

Anyway, I've gone through the DiamondMM.com site for support, and am thoroughly disappointed for the lack of support: No response 4 days after submitting an online support request, no support phone numbers, no worthwhile troubleshooting tips. This *should* be an automatic return to TigerDirect right there, but I've never done a video upgrade before, and I'm open to suggestions that I can try before I pitch the thing back to TD. :mad:

I saw an earlier thread in this forum titled "ATI Catalyst 6.6, problems?". I used the CD that came with the package labeled "Driver Installation CD - Version 7.0". And I'm not sure that I haven't upgraded that from Diamond's "support" site; IIRC, I think part of the upgrade included upgrading .NET to 2.0.

I'll stop there, and hope that someone can point me in the right direction.

TIA,
db

[Azn Tr14dZ]

Try upgrading to .NET 2.0 and Catalyst 6.7. See if it's stable, if it is, then it was probably a Catalyst problem.

[~MUFF~MuNcHeR]

if this is a small store bought system like hp or compaq your problem may be your powersupply...if its not 300watts or more you may have some issues like that...

this really depends on the system and how old it is...but they should mark the powersupply with the watt rating...remember that its probably OVER rated....i had the same problem with an old hp celeron system using a ati 9550 and only 128mb...


good luck...:toast:

[savor_of_filth]

do you flash it to 96XT??

for AGP RADEON 9550 dont use catalyst, use ATI control panel...

[Dan400Man]

Try upgrading to .NET 2.0 and Catalyst 6.7. See if it's stable, if it is, then it was probably a Catalyst problem.Thanks for the quick reply! 2400+ posts since you joined in March?!?!? You live here? ;)

Anyway, the installed ATI Catalyst Control Center is at version ??? WTF? From the About box: Version 1.2.2390.38630 w/ .NET Runtime - Version 1.1.4322.2032. Wait, lessee, OK, Windows' Add or Remove Programs shows .NET Framework 2.0 installed, along with a security update, as well as the ATI Catalyst Control Center with the same version 1.2.2390.38630. But, look, the "Click here for support information" link gives a support telephone number! Toll free! I go to the ATI web site, find the 6-7*.exe download, start to install it, and BANG, display goes out again!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

I'm curious tho, Windows' Add or Remove Programs support info points to ATI, yet the package's installation manual points to www.diamondmm.com for support. How is Diamond related to ATI? Is ATI simply the chip maker and Diamond the card maker?

Well, I'll have to post an update later once I get the affected PC to reboot and startup.

Keep your fingers crossed!

[Dan400Man]

if this is a small store bought system like hp or compaq your problem may be your powersupply...if its not 300watts or more you may have some issues like that...

this really depends on the system and how old it is...but they should mark the powersupply with the watt rating...remember that its probably OVER rated....i had the same problem with an old hp celeron system using a ati 9550 and only 128mb...

good luck...:toast:

Hmmm, that even seems to fit... the video crashes 20-30 minutes after starting...

It's an eMachines T3104, with a Sempron 64, no other power-hungry accessories, bought last year... I dunno, I would hope they're shipping these things with a decent power supply. Just finished a chat with eMachines, they're telling me it's 300 watts. (Too lazy to open the box and look. :) )

Gonna try the catalyst upgrade.

[Dan400Man]

do you flash it to 96XT??No.

for AGP RADEON 9550 dont use catalyst, use ATI control panel...Huh? Can you elaborate on that suggestion for me? ATI's website doesn't even give a choice if I follow the cascading drop down boxes for my model. Is there a separate link for that?