Radeon 9700 Pro -- HELP!!!! -- I think??

[Mr. Underhill]

I'm not entirely sure whether I have a problem or not... so, please, bear with me.

I just installed my Radeon 9700 Pro (WOO-HOO!) and while everything seems to be working fine, I had hiccups while installing the drivers and the Catalyst Control panel and am in need of serious advice.

Here's what happened: Basically, both applications (downloaded from ATI) failed to finish loading, gave me an error message that some file had failed to initialize, and then the setup.exe froze. I had to cntl-alt-del and end task the setup in order to get out of the ATI Driver Setup screen. Now, here's the weird part: Everything seems to be fine! The device is working properly, the control panel is working properly, my games are working properly -- in short, everything seems to be in order... EXCEPT...

I can't uninstall the device or the drivers. When the setup failed, I naturally tried to uninstall and try again. However, all attempts to uninstall, either through Add/Remove Programs or the Device Manager, failed and the dialogue windows locked up (I had to hard boot in order to clear the applications... they just continued to hang in limbo, not responding). So, I'm wondering (well, I'm fairly certain) do I have a problem I should worry about...?

Naturally, the next time new drivers are released, I won't be able to uninstall the old in order to load the new. So what to do? I have half a mind to reinstall Windows from scratch, however, I suspect that Windows may actually be the problem. I'm running Windows 98SE and the Radeon is intended for use on 2000 and XP. Could 98SE be problematic?

I guess I need to ask if anyone else has experienced this problem and if so, what should I do?

I'm currently running the following:
MSI 645 Ultra MOBO w/ 400 Watt PS
Pentium 4 1.6GHz
1024MB DDR
Radeon 9700 PRO (WOO-HOO!)
Catalyst 3.1 for Windows 98SE
Windows 98SE

Should I upgrade to XP? It's not really in the budget, yet (especially as I just dropped 3 bills on the Radeon), but when I found I needed to update my AGP drivers for Win 98SE just to run the Radeon, I began to suspect that the time to upgrade had come.

But that's a secondary concern, really. My major concern is in regards to this strange setup experience. What's up with that? Help a fella out, would you?

Many, many thanks in advance.

-Mr. Underhill.

[Aznmask]

When you install a video card drive you dont have to uninstall your old one to able to install new one. When the next new driver is out jsut d/l it and install it simple is that.. :D

Your system is great but you spend alot of $$ on RD-RAM & your CPU only a P4 1.6, OS WIn98 Se.

[Mr. Underhill]

Originally posted by Aznmask
When you install a video card drive you dont have to uninstall your old one to able to install new one. When the next new driver is out jsut d/l it and install it simple is that.. :D

Whew! Thanks, Aznmask. That's good to hear.

Your system is great but you spend alot of $$ on RD-RAM & your CPU only a P4 1.6, OS WIn98 Se.

Come again? How do you mean? Do you mean my CPU is too small or that I should be running something more than Windows 98SE with all that hardware behind it? If so, then I'll admit it is my intention to eventually upgrade the CPU as far as possible (that is, as big as my MOBO will allow for & I can afford) and that Windows XP is in my future as well. I bought all that RAM slowly over the course of the last year when prices dropped or rebates were particularly juicy. This has been a step-by-step upgrade over the course of nearly a year. Soon, I shall have my rig where I want it. It's nearly there now.

Many thanks for your help.

-Mr. Underhill.

[$1500-P4 gamer]

Mr. Underhill wrote:

"I'm currently running the following:
MSI 645 Ultra MOBO w/ 400 Watt PS
Pentium 4 1.6GHz
1024MB DDR
Radeon 9700 PRO (WOO-HOO!)
Catalyst 3.1 for Windows 98SE
Windows 98SE"

And then you (Aznmask) wrote:
"Your system is great but you spend alot of $$ on RD-RAM "
Its not $ its DDR. Not Rambus.

Mr. Underhill
1gig of ddr is pretty much. You should upgrade your OS to use all of it now. 1.6gig cpu isnt that bad. Is it a Northy or the williamette? If its the willy then def. upgrade as its castrated with half the L2 cache of its big brother and also is .18 fab vs. Northwoods .13 which runs cooler at lower mhz like this. Also the north has gold interconnects and the willy has the old basic aluminum ones.:D

[Mr. Underhill]

$1500-P4,

Thanks for the clarification. I know that 98SE isn't using all of my ram -- in fact, it only recognizes 1022MB of my 1024MB and only after one its files was edited for me by some very talented gentlemen at a local computer shop. I just couldn't help myself. After all was said and done, I got the whole gig of mem for around $160. Not too shabby at the time (some months ago).

At any rate, I'm anticipating upgrading my OS eventually, though several folks have warned me off of XP. I'll need to study up on my (few) options before migrating to something new.

As far as my CPU is concerned, I'm looking to upgrade to a Northwood 2.4 sometime in the next six months. (I'm tempted to do so now, having seen one for $164, but I just splurged for the video card, so I must wait...) However, when the time comes, I think this upgrade would make my rig pretty solid for the next year or two. Until then, I'll struggle along with my 1.6GHz, which, as you say, isn't too bad.

Thanks again for the reply.

[Eric Legge]

I would boot into Safe mode (press the F8 key when Windows starts), and try removing the video card in the Device Manager.

I would also remove the driver from Add/Remove Programs.

If there are multiple instances of devices in the DM, I would do a clean-up as shown on this page -

Clean Up the Device Manager in Safe mode - Windows 9.x -
http://www.usbman.com/Guides/Cleanup%20Device%20Manager%20Safe%20Mode.htm

I take it that you are using DirectX 9.0. If not download and install it before you reinstall the video card drivers. -

MS DirectX download - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.asp

Eric,

PC Buyer Beware!

http://www.legge40.freeserve.co.uk/BuyerBeware.htm

[causticVapor]

Yeah, if it's a willy I'd say upgrading to a northwood is in order. As P4 mentioned -- it has, copper interconnects, which lowers impedance. Also, smaller traces, and less power consumption. And +256 L2 cache, which helps the P4's bandwidth-hungry architecture.

[Mr. Underhill]

Eric,

Great info. Thanks! I'll see what luck I have going in through safe mode. So far, everything works fine, so I'll wait until I need to upgrade to new drivers, but the suggestion is spot-on.

As far as DirectX 9 is concerned, I'm *not* running it yet. I'm still on 8.1 for fear of the problems I've read about 9. Do you suspect it has something to do with my driver troubles? Admittedly, I'd be surprised, but, as I'm not an expert by any stretch, I recognize that my own knowledge/experience is limited.

[Mr. Underhill]

Caustic,

Thanks. I'm convinced the Northwood is in my immediate future. Hey, can you give me any advice on a good price? I've seen a 2.4GHz for $164.00. How's that sound to you? I thought pretty good, especially seeing how I paid $160 last year for the 1.6.

Thanks.

[Mr. Underhill]

Eric,

Uninstalling from Safe Mode did the trick. Thanks so much. While the next install still hiccuped (on the drivers, the control panel loaded without a hitch), I feel better knowing that I can uninstall the thing if need be.

Great advice.

Thanks.

-Mr. Underhill.