Possible ATI Video card "Freeze" Fixes.
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:09 pmI have been seeing a lot of people lately not only here but around the net with ATI video card freezing problems (lockups). Most of the freezes occur during game play. I have compiled a list of “Possible Fixes” to that problem. These “fixes” worked for some people and didn’t for others. So until a solid fix for the problem is presented this is what I came up with.
1.Install the latest ATI CATALYST drivers
2.Roll back your drivers.The ATI Catalyst 3.9 drivers work but anything after (3.10 and all 4.x drivers) may crash the system. Here is the link for the ATI Catalyst 3.9 drivers:
*** IMPORTANT ***
After downloading the installation program just install over your old drivers. Remember, when the installation program asks to overwrite your old files, click the "Yes to All" button or else the faulty drivers already on your system will be reinstalled instead of the functioning 3.9 drivers.
3.Change AGP speed to 4X in bios and/or SMARTGART. To get into your system bios restart your PC then as soon as you see the screen come up you should see a message like this one "Press F2 for setup" (I'm using F2 as an example yours may be diffrent) Start pressing F2 until you see the BIOS screen or an "entering setup" messege
Here are some diffrent keys you can try. The first item is the key or key combination. The second is the model of PC or the maker of the BIOS. (You'll see some companies listed more than once, with different keystrokes some manufacturers have more than 1 standard set of keystrokes)
Delete: AMI or Award BIOS.
Esc: Toshiba
F1: Toshiba; Phoenix; some IBM PS/1 models.
F10: Compaq.
F2: NEC.
Insert: IBM PS/2.
Tab: eMachines.
Ctrl-Alt-S: Phoenix BIOS.
Ctrl-Esc: Many PCs.
Ctrl-S: Phoenix BIOS.
For more information on BIOS try this link»
4.Disable AGP fast write in bios and/or SMARTGART.
5.Install the latest version of Direct X
6.Install an aftermarket GPU cooler - GPU coolers» -
Hopefully some of this will help.
1.Install the latest ATI CATALYST drivers
2.Roll back your drivers.The ATI Catalyst 3.9 drivers work but anything after (3.10 and all 4.x drivers) may crash the system. Here is the link for the ATI Catalyst 3.9 drivers:
*** IMPORTANT ***
After downloading the installation program just install over your old drivers. Remember, when the installation program asks to overwrite your old files, click the "Yes to All" button or else the faulty drivers already on your system will be reinstalled instead of the functioning 3.9 drivers.
3.Change AGP speed to 4X in bios and/or SMARTGART. To get into your system bios restart your PC then as soon as you see the screen come up you should see a message like this one "Press F2 for setup" (I'm using F2 as an example yours may be diffrent) Start pressing F2 until you see the BIOS screen or an "entering setup" messege
Here are some diffrent keys you can try. The first item is the key or key combination. The second is the model of PC or the maker of the BIOS. (You'll see some companies listed more than once, with different keystrokes some manufacturers have more than 1 standard set of keystrokes)
Delete: AMI or Award BIOS.
Esc: Toshiba
F1: Toshiba; Phoenix; some IBM PS/1 models.
F10: Compaq.
F2: NEC.
Insert: IBM PS/2.
Tab: eMachines.
Ctrl-Alt-S: Phoenix BIOS.
Ctrl-Esc: Many PCs.
Ctrl-S: Phoenix BIOS.
For more information on BIOS try this link»
4.Disable AGP fast write in bios and/or SMARTGART.
5.Install the latest version of Direct X
6.Install an aftermarket GPU cooler - GPU coolers» -
Hopefully some of this will help.