Problem with Chaintech A-FX20 GeForce FX 5200

[korkys]

Hello, I'm still the new guy who came back. I have xp-pro for an os. My motherboard is Asus 845PE, "P4PE-X" w/Intel Pentium 4/ 2.4C GHz. I hope this is enough info. This is the first computer I have built. Everything is working fine except for one thing. I cannot get the driver installed for the GeForce FX 5200. I should say I can get it installed, however, when I do the system becomes unstable. The screen dims or has flashes. When I try to install the driver, I get "has not passed windows logo testing to verify its compatibility with windows xp" The support person from Chaintech told me to ignore that and install it anyway. I have deleted my os five times and tried to get it running and finally gave up. I now have it running without the driver installed. Can anybody tell me what I am doing wrong?

[MaxRat]

have you tried setting you resolution(monitor) or check the bios and see that all your specs are set right...if they are not you agp maybe running too fast and goofing the card... I personally have this same card and it works good for the price

[glc]

Have you tried installing the latest generic Nvidia drivers?

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_56.64

[korkys]

Thank you for your reply. Yes I have done that. When I sought help from chaintech support the person there did that with me. He said my problem may be with the bios or there may be a "current" problem. I am happy to get the address for where to update the drivers. For me to deal with the bios or a possible current problem I think I need to know more about what I am doing. Right?

[korkys]

To: gsrat, I did not see your post. I'm new here. I'm also new to building computers. I will have to look into how to set my resolution on my monitor and I'm not sure how to checdk the bios. When I set things up I went through the setup with my manuel and did just what it said. This is how I got it to boot to the D drive first. Is this what you are talking about?

[MaxRat]

Bios is you setup screen....where you set everthing.... you usually get there buy hitting the delete key several time right when to fire up the pc....keep hitting it till you get the big blue bios screen......if you need more help read the forum here located on the home page..."building your own pc" most every question you could have will be answered there....if not post more here there are some real helpful people here

[korkys]

gsrat, you are right about the helpful people here. I can tell that by reading the different posts or I guess they are called threads. I did go into my bios and I beleive I do have it set up correct. (of course I realize I could be wrong on that) I feel like I have found a new home here and will spend time as I am able to. I am afraid to try and install a driver again because of the dimming that occurs. Some times I get a blue screen that says if this happens again your in trouble :) I looked for the place where it says "building your own pc" but could not find it.

[MaxRat]

I am sorry I thought that link was still here! If you can afford it follow the build your own pc link and download the version there....this is worth all they are asking for it and then some...it will explain all you need to know about the math it takes to get the pc up and running correctly....for a little extra money I would recomend getting the cd version as it is nice to have all the creature comforts they are offering... the benchmarks alone are worth it as they tell you the strongest and weakest links of your pc.....as for the dimming part something is not right...either your powersupply is not strong enough or something else...do you have access to another pc you could try installing the card in? you may want to make sure you powersupply is up to the task (have it tested)....

[korkys]

Thanks for your help gsrat, I just got done ordering the cd; build you own pc. I will get my power supply tested. When I unpacked my case I gave the power supply a jolt of static electricity. Maybe that damaged it.

[korkys]

Hello again, I had my power supply tested and it tested out as good. However I found out I only had 210W. I bought the case at newegg, it was a real case 3g ready tooless atx mid tower w/400watt power supply model rw-1000g-retail. Inside the case, on the power supply it says (+5V & +3.3V Total Output 210W) :confused:

[glc]

Well, I'm not familiar with that brand of power supply (Macron) but that is in fact a 400w unit. It's possible that it isn't 400 *clean* watts.

Go into the bios, or use Asus Probe, and see what the actual measured voltages are and post them, please.

A note - running a 2.4C in that board is overclocking - any time you overclock, there are possible issues because you are running it outside the design parameters. PC3200 ram is required.

[MaxRat]

also the +5 and +3.3 is only half the equation... there should also be listed a part for +12v and the -5,-3,-12v...you add these wattages together...But just because it says it's a 400w doesnt mean it is! generics are rated at peak, it may run 400w but not for long...

The best advice is what Glc posted about the bios....
congrats on the cd purchase....there is alot of useful info there.....I plan on getting this myself....as I have read the build part six times before I did my first one....

[korkys]

I sure do appreciate all the help you folks are giving me. My memory consists of this: I have two Crucial 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM. My friend helped me with that or I would not have knowen to get that. I'm probably going to be broke before this is over, I got a new power supply. Pentium IV ATX Power Supply, NSPIRE 450W. I installed the driver for the video card and did get it in, I now have the dimming problem. Everything else seems to work well. I do think it boots up slow though. I went into my bios, to the power, than the hardware monitor, this is what I found:

VCORE Voltage 1.61V
+3.3V Voltage 3.26V
+5V Voltage 4.97V
+12V Voltage 11.90V

[MaxRat]

I am not sure what your Vcore is suposed to be but, everything else seems inline.......Although Glc said running a 2.4c chip in that board is overclocking! try going into bios and underclocking the chip to see if this helps maybe someone with more knowledge of this board and/or chip can help with this....just for a thought have you tried hooking up a different monitor?

[korkys]

The monitor was the problem!!! Let me just say that this has been one rewarding experience for me: having this problem, not knowing what to do, finding this website with you people on it, and having you help me the way you have has just been wonderful. It really means a lot for a newbe like me to have someone to talk to. Thank you very much.

[glc]

Just to follow up - those voltages are excellent. Nspire power supplies are quality units, that's what we sell and I have one in this machine.

[MaxRat]

glad we all could help...