First off let me say hi, and thanks for these forums to help computer newbs like me.

My problem:

I play a fair amount of World of Warcraft and while playing it the other day it crashed (my whole computer crashed as well). I had been playing this game for about a month now and have never had any problems before. I had done no updates recently or any overclocking or tweaking of any sorts. I run a virus scan about once a week and a spyware scan as well. That being said, I started the computer and played for about another hour, then it crashed again so I quit for the night.

Today, I tried to start to play again. I loaded up the game and it immediately crashed. I figured I'd better check all my drivers at this point, so I updated my BIOS and my Video card driver. I then restarted the computer as it asked me to do to activate the updates I had just downloaded. When I restarted it just got to the XP loading screen (where the loading bar at the bottom scans to the right as it loads) and it stayed there for about a second and then immediately restarted again. It did this continually about 20 times. I powered down and then back on again and it started back up and got to the desktop just like normal. At that point I decided to try another game (Enemy Territory) and it started to load up but then the video got all garbly and remained that way. The best way I can describe the way it looked is a bunch of geometrical shapes and lines and I could see parts of the game (pictures and symbols on the screen) mixed into the garble. The game wasn't crashed because the sound was ok, and when I moved the mouse and clicked it I could hear the reaction in game. For a second, one time, the game actually looked perfect then it quickly resorted to the garble again.

I went into the ATI Catalyst menu and there is a place where there is a little video of a car moving that shows the affects of any changes that you make to the video settings instantly. Well, that little video was garbled exactly like the game was.

Another thing I noticed was that when I exited out of the game garble my desktop icons were slightly broken as well. They looked as if they were chopped up and bit and not lined up properly. It wasn't all the icons, just most of them, and when I went to Internet Explorer some of the toolbar icons were broken up as well.

So I restarted again, and ran into the continual restart loop again. I hit [F2] to get into my BIOS just to break up the routine, but it didn't help. I powered down again (with the front power button just as before) and when I powered back up everything went smoothly to the desktop. I immediatel Googled for help and that brings me to where I am now.

Sorry for the long post but after reading other questions I just thought that it was better to give more information that not enough. I hope that's ok.


My system specs (as displayed from PCMark):


Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 1.80GHz
Manufacturer Intel
Family Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 1.80GHz
Internal Clock 1.8 GHz
Internal Clock Maximum 1.8 GHz
External Clock 100.0 MHz
Socket Designation J2E1
Type Central
HyperThreadingTechnology Available - Disabled
Capabilities MMX, CMov, RDTSC, SSE, SSE2
Version Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 1.80GHz
Caches
Level 1 8 KB
Level 2 128 KB



DirectX Info
Version 9.0c
Long Version 4.09.00.0904


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DirectDraw
Version 5.03.2600.2180
Primary Device RADEON 9700 PRO

Display Device 1/1
RADEON 9700 PRO Driver 6.14.10.6583

Description RADEON 9700 PRO
Manufacturer ATI Technologies Inc.
Total Local Video Memory 256 MB
Total Local Texture Memory 256 MB
Total AGP Memory 0 B
Driver File ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version 6.14.10.6583
Driver Details 8.191-051028a1-027345C-ATI
Driver Date 10-28-2005
Driver WHQL Certified true
Max Texture Width 2048 px
Max Texture Height 2048 px
Max User Clipping Planes 6
Max Active Hardware Lights 8
Max Texture Blending Stages 8
Fixed Function Textures In Single Pass 8
Vertex Shader Version 2.0
Pixel Shader Version 2.0
Max Vertex Blend Matrices 37
Max Texture Coordinates 8
VGA Memory Clock 310.5 MHz
VGA Core Clock 324.0 MHz
PCI
Name RADEON 9700 PRO
Vendor ID 0x1002
Device ID 0x4e44
SubSystem ID 0x10021002
Revision ID 0x00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Texture Formats
32-bit ARGB [8888]
32-bit RGB [888]
16-bit RGB [565]
16-bit RGB [555]
16-bit ARGB [1555]
16-bit ARGB [4444]
8-bit A [8]
8-bit YUV [800]
16-bit AYUV [8800]
FourCC [UYVY]
FourCC [YUY2]
FourCC [DXT1]
FourCC [DXT2]
FourCC [DXT3]
FourCC [DXT4]
FourCC [DXT5]

Capabilities
Hardware Transform and Lighting, Positional Lights, Subpixel Accurate Rasterizing, Stencil Buffers, Range Fog, Table Fog, Vertex Fog, W-Fog, Specular Gouraud Shading, Anisotropic Filtering, Bilinear Filtering, Point Sampling, Trilinear Filtering, Additive Texture Blending, Dot3 Texture Blending, Multiplicative Texture Blending, Subtractive Texture Blending, Environmental Bump Mapping, Environmental Bump Mapping With Luminance, Cube Mapping, Factor Alpha Blending, Vertex Alpha Blending, Texture Alpha Blending, Texture Clamping, Texture Mirroring, Texture Wrapping, Guard Band Support, Mipmap LOD Bias Adjustment, Projected Textures, Volume Textures, Point Primitive Support, Full-Screen Anti-Aliasing, DXT Compressed Textures, Two Sided Stencil Test, Mipmapped Volume Textures, Mipmapped Cube Textures, Spherical Mapping, Automatic Mipmap Generation, Hardware Rasterization, Shading, Transform and Lighting, Scissor Test, Legacy Depth Bias

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DirectShow
Version 9.0c
Long Version 4.09.00.0904

Registered DirectShow Filters
.RAM file Parser
AC3 Parser Filter
ACELP.net Sipro Lab Audio Decoder
ACM Wrapper
ASF ACM Handler
ASF DIB Handler
ASF DJPEG Handler
ASF ICM Handler
ASF JPEG Handler
ASF URL Handler
ASF embedded stuff Handler
ASX file Parser
ASX v.2 file Parser
AVI Decompressor
AVI Draw
AVI Splitter
AVI/WAV File Source
BDA MPEG2 Transport Information Filter
Color Space Converter
DV Muxer
DV Splitter
DV Video Decoder
Decrypt/Tag
Default DirectSound Device
Default MidiOut Device
DivX Decoder Filter
DivX Demux
DivX Subtitle Decoder
Elecard MPEG2 Demultiplexer
Elecard MPEG2 Video Decoder
Elecard PIM2 Null
Elecard PVA Demultiplexer
File Source (Async.)
File Source (Netshow URL)
File Source (URL)
File stream renderer
Indeo video 4.4 Decompression Filter
Internal Script Command Renderer
Line 21 Decoder
Line 21 Decoder 2
Lyric Parser
MIDI Parser
MJPEG Decompressor
MPEG Audio Decoder
MPEG Video Decoder
MPEG-2 Demultiplexer
MPEG-2 Sections and Tables
MPEG-2 Splitter
MPEG-I Stream Splitter
Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Decompressor
Microsoft Screen Video Decompressor
Moonlight NicePheratu
Moonlight Odio Dekoda
Multi-file Parser
NSC file Parser
Overlay Mixer2
QT Decompressor
QuickTime Movie Parser
SAMI (CC) Parser
VBI Surface Allocator
VGA 16 Color Ditherer
Video Port Manager
Video Renderer
Voxware MetaSound Audio Decoder
WM ASF Reader
WM ASF Writer
WST Decoder
Wave Parser
Windows Media Audio Decoder
Windows Media Multiplexer
Windows Media Pad VU Data Grabber
Windows Media Update Filter
Windows Media Video Decoder
Windows Media source filter
XML Playlist
XviD MPEG-4 Video Decoder


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DirectSound
Version 5.3.2600.2180
Speaker Configuration Stereo
Speaker Geometry Wide
Primary Device SB Live! Wave Device

Sound Device 1/2
Creative SB Live! Value (WDM) Driver 5.1.2535.0

Description SB Live! Wave Device
Manufacturer Creative
Driver File emu10k1m.sys
Driver Version 5.1.2535.0
Driver Date 7-1-2001
Driver WHQL Certified true
Max Supported 3D Hardware Sounds 64
EAX Support Supported
PCI
Name Creative SB Live! Value (WDM)
Vendor ID 0x1102
Device ID 0x0002
SubSystem ID 0x80271102
Revision ID 0x08

Capabilities
Continuous Rate, Primary Buffer with 16-bit Samples, Primary Buffers with 8-bit Samples, Monophonic Primary Buffers, Stereo Primary Buffers, Hardware-mixed Secondary Buffers with 16-bit Samples, Hardware-mixed Secondary Buffers with 8-bit Samples, Hardware-mixed Monophonic Secondary Buffers, Hardware-mixed Stereo Secondary Buffers
Sound Device 2/2
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio Driver 5.12.1.3500

Description SoundMAX Digital Audio
Manufacturer Analog Devices, Inc.
Driver File smwdm.sys
Driver Version 5.12.1.3500
Driver Date 3-18-2002
Driver WHQL Certified false
Max Supported 3D Hardware Sounds 0
PCI
Name SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio
Vendor ID 0x8086
Device ID 0x24c5
SubSystem ID 0x01028086
Revision ID 0x01

Capabilities


Memory Info
Total Physical Memory 1022 MB
Free Physical Memory 711 MB
Total Pagefile Memory 2.40 GB
Free Pagefile Memory 2.05 GB


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory Array 1/1
Max Module Capacity 3.00 GB
Supported Speeds
Supported Types
Supported Voltages

Memory Slot 1/2
Installed Enabled Size 512 MB
Form Factor DIMM
Frequency 266.0 MHz
Slot J6G1
Manufacturer <unknown>
Type Details
Enabled Size 512 MB
Total Bit Width 64 b
Data Bit Width 0 b
Memory Slot 2/2
Installed Enabled Size 512 MB
Form Factor DIMM
Frequency 266.0 MHz
Slot J6G2
Manufacturer <unknown>
Type Details
Enabled Size 512 MB
Total Bit Width 64 b
Data Bit Width 0 b




Motherboard Info
Manufacturer Intel Corporation
Model D845GBV
Version AAA84538-205
BIOS Properties
AGP
Revision 2.0
Rate 1x, 2x, 4x (4x enabled)
Available Rate 0x00000007
Selected Rate 0x00000004
Aperture Size 64 MB
Sideband Addressing supported (enabled)
Fast Write supported (enabled)

Card Slots
Slot 1/7 (PCI)
Order 1
Designation PCI-1
Type PCI
Characteristics
Data Bus Width 32 b
Details Available, Long
IRQ 0

Slot 2/7 (PCI)
Order 2
Designation PCI-2
Type PCI
Characteristics
Data Bus Width 32 b
Details Available, Long
IRQ 0

Slot 3/7 (PCI)
Order 3
Designation PCI-3
Type PCI
Characteristics
Data Bus Width 32 b
Details Available, Long
IRQ 0


Slot 4/7 (PCI)
Order 4
Designation PCI-4
Type PCI
Characteristics
Data Bus Width 32 b
Details Available, Long
IRQ 0

Slot 5/7 (PCI)
Order 5
Designation PCI-5
Type PCI
Characteristics
Data Bus Width 32 b
Details Available, Long
IRQ 0

Slot 6/7 (PCI)
Creative SB Live! Value (WDM)
Order 6
Designation PCI-6
Type PCI
Characteristics
Data Bus Width 32 b
Details In Use, Long
Device Class Sound, Video or Game Controller
Manufacturer Creative
Driver File emu10k1m.sys
Driver Version 5.1.2535.0
Driver Date 7-1-2001
IRQ 18


Slot 7/7 (AGP)
RADEON 9700 PRO
Order 0
Designation AGP
Type AGP
Characteristics
Data Bus Width 32 b
Details In Use, Long
Device Class Display Adapter
Manufacturer ATI Technologies Inc.
Driver Version 8.191.0.0
Driver Date 10-28-2005
IRQ 16


System Devices
Name Intel(R) 82801DB PCI Bridge - 244E
Manufacturer Intel
Name Intel(R) 82801DB LPC Interface Controller - 24C0
Manufacturer Intel

Name Intel(R) ICH4/ICH4-M SMBus Controller - 24C3 (Intel(R) SMBus 2.0 Driver)
Manufacturer Intel
Name Intel(R) 82845G/GL Processor to I/O Controller 2560
Manufacturer Intel

Name Intel(R) 82845G/GL Processor to AGP Controller - 2561
Manufacturer Intel



Monitor Info
Monitor 1/1
Name Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 100 (TFW1105)
Manufacturer NEC-MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC VISUAL SYSTEMS
Max Width 1600 px
Max Height 1200 px



Operating System Info
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP
Version 5.1.2600
Service Pack Service Pack 2
Locale US
Desktop Width 1024 px
Desktop Height 768 px
Desktop BPP 32 b

Open Processes
Name PID Memory Usage
alg.exe 2184 3 MB
ati2evxx.exe 840 2 MB
ati2evxx.exe 1652 4 MB
csrss.exe 604 5 MB
devldr32.exe 1000 4 MB
EM_EXEC.EXE 240 5 MB
explorer.exe 1708 19 MB
hpgs2wnd.exe 1812 4 MB
hpgs2wnf.exe 408 4 MB
hpobnz08.exe 1876 7 MB
hpoevm08.exe 416 6 MB
hposol08.exe 1904 5 MB
hposts08.exe 1896 6 MB
Idle 0 16 KB
iexplore.exe 3760 2 MB
imonNT.exe 1120 2 MB
imontray.exe 1788 4 MB
lsass.exe 688 1 MB
PCMark04.exe 376 11 MB
QWDLLS.EXE 1912 8 MB
services.exe 676 6 MB
smss.exe 532 372 KB
spoolsv.exe 1448 5 MB
svchost.exe 852 5 MB
svchost.exe 932 4 MB
svchost.exe 1024 25 MB
svchost.exe 1080 3 MB
svchost.exe 1168 4 MB
svchost.exe 588 4 MB
System 4 220 KB
wdfmgr.exe 864 2 MB
winlogon.exe 632 2 MB
wmiprvse.exe 808 6 MB
wscntfy.exe 2220 3 MB
wuauclt.exe 3620 7 MB
Xfire.exe 1920 6 MB


Name PID Memory Usage
alg.exe 2184 3 MB
ati2evxx.exe 840 2 MB
ati2evxx.exe 1652 4 MB
csrss.exe 604 5 MB
devldr32.exe 1000 4 MB
EM_EXEC.EXE 240 5 MB
explorer.exe 1708 19 MB
hpgs2wnd.exe 1812 4 MB
hpgs2wnf.exe 408 4 MB
hpobnz08.exe 1876 7 MB
hpoevm08.exe 416 6 MB
hposol08.exe 1904 5 MB
hposts08.exe 1896 6 MB
Idle 0 16 KB
iexplore.exe 3760 2 MB
imonNT.exe 1120 2 MB
imontray.exe 1788 4 MB
lsass.exe 688 1 MB
PCMark04.exe 376 11 MB
QWDLLS.EXE 1912 8 MB
services.exe 676 6 MB
smss.exe 532 372 KB
spoolsv.exe 1448 5 MB
svchost.exe 852 5 MB
svchost.exe 932 4 MB
svchost.exe 1024 25 MB
svchost.exe 1080 3 MB
svchost.exe 1168 4 MB
svchost.exe 588 4 MB
System 4 220 KB
wdfmgr.exe 864 2 MB
winlogon.exe 632 2 MB
wmiprvse.exe 808 6 MB
wscntfy.exe 2220 3 MB
wuauclt.exe 3620 7 MB
Xfire.exe 1920 6 MB

Name PID Memory Usage
Idle 0 16 KB
System 4 220 KB
EM_EXEC.EXE 240 5 MB
PCMark04.exe 376 11 MB
hpgs2wnf.exe 408 4 MB
hpoevm08.exe 416 6 MB
smss.exe 532 372 KB
svchost.exe 588 4 MB
csrss.exe 604 5 MB
winlogon.exe 632 2 MB
services.exe 676 6 MB
lsass.exe 688 1 MB
wmiprvse.exe 808 6 MB
ati2evxx.exe 840 2 MB
svchost.exe 852 5 MB
wdfmgr.exe 864 2 MB
svchost.exe 932 4 MB
devldr32.exe 1000 4 MB
svchost.exe 1024 25 MB
svchost.exe 1080 3 MB
imonNT.exe 1120 2 MB
svchost.exe 1168 4 MB
spoolsv.exe 1448 5 MB
ati2evxx.exe 1652 4 MB
explorer.exe 1708 19 MB
imontray.exe 1788 4 MB
hpgs2wnd.exe 1812 4 MB
hpobnz08.exe 1876 7 MB
hposts08.exe 1896 6 MB
hposol08.exe 1904 5 MB
QWDLLS.EXE 1912 8 MB
Xfire.exe 1920 6 MB
alg.exe 2184 3 MB
wscntfy.exe 2220 3 MB
wuauclt.exe 3620 7 MB
iexplore.exe 3760 2 MB

Name PID Memory Usage
Idle 0 16 KB
System 4 220 KB
smss.exe 532 372 KB
lsass.exe 688 1 MB
winlogon.exe 632 2 MB
wdfmgr.exe 864 2 MB
imonNT.exe 1120 2 MB
iexplore.exe 3760 2 MB
ati2evxx.exe 840 2 MB
svchost.exe 1080 3 MB
wscntfy.exe 2220 3 MB
alg.exe 2184 3 MB
imontray.exe 1788 4 MB
svchost.exe 588 4 MB
hpgs2wnf.exe 408 4 MB
devldr32.exe 1000 4 MB
svchost.exe 932 4 MB
ati2evxx.exe 1652 4 MB
hpgs2wnd.exe 1812 4 MB
svchost.exe 1168 4 MB
csrss.exe 604 5 MB
EM_EXEC.EXE 240 5 MB
spoolsv.exe 1448 5 MB
svchost.exe 852 5 MB
hposol08.exe 1904 5 MB
hposts08.exe 1896 6 MB
services.exe 676 6 MB
Xfire.exe 1920 6 MB
hpoevm08.exe 416 6 MB
wmiprvse.exe 808 6 MB
wuauclt.exe 3620 7 MB
hpobnz08.exe 1876 7 MB
QWDLLS.EXE 1912 8 MB
PCMark04.exe 376 11 MB
explorer.exe 1708 19 MB
svchost.exe 1024 25 MB
Logical Drives
Letter Label Type Capacity Available
A: Floppy 0 B 0 B
C: Hard Disk 57.26 GB 40.13 GB
D: music 3 CD-ROM 698 MB 0 B
E: CD-ROM 0 B 0 B


Open Applications
DAL Computer Help - Post New Thread - Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by Comcast
PCMark04



Hard Disk Info
Hard Disk Drive 1/1
Name Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Capacity 57.27 GB
Model <unknown>
Interface Type IDE



Once again, I hope this post isn't too long. Any other tips or tweaks to help my computer performance would be appreciated as well. I'm not sure if my BIOS is set up correctly or anything else. I try to search as often as possible for help, but it's hard to find easily understandable help, although I'm learing everday. Thanks for any help.

As to the ATI card:

When you updated the Catalyst did you uninstall the old first?

https://support.ati.com/ics/support/...e&folderID=293

The Catalyst Uninstaller is an optional download. We recommend using this utility to uninstall any previously installed Catalyst drivers prior to installation.

I would try that first off.

Then:

If that does not clear the boot issue:

I would suggest first trying the Recovery Console:

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;EN-US;314058

To try to fix the boot:

Assuming that your XP is on C: then:

Type:

FIXMBR C:

then enter. After that completes type:

FIXBOOT C:

then enter. After that completes type:

BOOTCFG /rebuild

then enter. After that completes type:

EXIT

then reboot.

If in the process you are asked to run chkdsk say YES.

Also after the BOOTCFG /rebuild you will be prompted to:

C:\Windows
1. Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All):
2. Enter Load Identifier: (Custom description for an operating system loading from the Boot menu)
3. Enter Operating System Load Options: (that is: /fastdetect)

Reply:
1. Yes
2. XP
3. /fastdetect

If this fails you can run a Repair Install that will leave your data entact:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

jephree,

I can't believe I missed the recommendation on the ATI website to uninstall previous versions first. I'm the type who always reads the instructions before doing anything.


I tried your first step, and just finished the reinstall of the new Catalyst Driver. The good news is the the little preview screen in the Catalyst menu is now normal.


I am going to try to log on and play for a while and will update you as to how it goes.


One more question for you. After reinstalling the Driver, I had to readjust all my screen settings. I had my monitor set at 100 hz refresh rate, but this time I set it at 75. I had it set at 100 because it was recommended for me when playing a First Person Shooter, but will a higher setting put more strain on my processor/vidcard/etc? Will lowering it to 75 help overheating?


Thanks for the help. I am getting ready to go back to school to finish up some old classes, and am going to pick up some computer classes while there. Hopefully in the future I can contribute to this forums as well as take.

I would try it out @ 100hz. If problems persist try lowering it.

I would just make sure of the following setting:

Control Panel | Display | Settings | Advanced | Monitor

Make sure that the box [ ] Hide modes that this montior cannot display is Checked.

Well, it worked for a while, then it started acting up again. What I finally did was rummage around in an old computer box and I found an old computer card (ATI 7200) and swapped it out with my newer 9700 Pro. Everything is runnnig fine now. I have to turn every graphic down all the way on the game, but at least it doesn't shut down randomly.


I guess it was the Vid Card then. I'll have to save up and get a new one.


Now my problem is with a Win 32 error that keeps popping up and making my soundcard drivers go away after a few minutes. But I'll post a new topic for that.


Thank you for your help on this problem. It is greatly appreciated.

i am not sure i have had the same exact probs as you have been having and i also tried a new/different card from the ati aiw 9700 pro which i had installed when i put a new card in the exact samr problem still

i have found the problem as being a bad stick of ram which i have changed and all is ok now no crashes original card
it may help if you try another stick of ram first


hope this helps

what is your win 32 error actually saying as this could be related

Well, The Win32 error keeps happening (I'd say about 50% of the time). Here is what it says when I click to see the data that the error report contains:


szAppName: svchost.exe sxAppVer : 5.1.2600.2180
szModName: repdrvfs.dll szModVer : 5.1.2600.2180 offset: 000170f3



And then when I click "view technical information about the error report", I get this:


"The following files will be included in this error report:
C:\DOCUME~1\WILLIA~\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER97e2.dir00\sv chost.exe.mdmp
C:\DOMUME~1\WILLIA~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER97e2.dir00\a ppcompat.txt "



So that's what is going on there. Should I post this in another forum, or start another topic ?


Thanks for any help.

Did you send the report to Microsoft? Did you receive any reply?

The files in the report were a mini dump & an application compatability report.

For repdrvfs.dll I see:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=838884

Do you have SP2 installed? And all subsequent critical updates?

If you want to post your dump log here follow these steps:

Go to start | search (type in) .dmp
Note the location of your latest .dmp file.

Then:

1) Download and install the
Debugging Tools from Microsoft
2) Download and install this
debugwiz
3) Open the Wiz & Browse to, or paste in the path to, your latest .dmp file.
4) After the Wiz creates a Text document attach it back to this thread.