3dmark 2001won't run stable

[Dave2]

It sometimes kicks me out to the desktop, or gives me a Visual C++ runtime error. Setting to AGP 2x and disabling fast writes makes no difference, neither does slowing down my memory to 104MHz. 3Dmark 2000 runs stable and so does Quake 3.

Athlon 1.33GHz (Athlon approved Cooler Master fan)
KK266
256MB Crucial PC133 CAS 2 (2 128MB sticks)
Elsa Erazor x2 Geforce 256DDR (12.41 drivers)
SBLive! X-Gamer
Antec PP403X 400 Watt PS
Windows Me with VIA 4.32 4in1

[eagle1]

What are your cpu temps.??? If they are too high, they might be the culprit.!
Iran 3dmark2001 in my system and it hang the first time.! I rebooted and ran it again and it threw me back to the desktop! Ran 3dmark2000 and .. it ran good so did the other games (except for NFS3).

The thing was that my system was getting hot... I improved cooling and 3dmark2001 ran and so did nfs3.!

Check your cooling, imnprove it. The Cooler Master heatsink will not suffice.!!!

[Dave2]

CPU temp is around 45C at idle and I think around 50-55C during benchmarking in 3dmark 2001. I noticed that even after 1 minute of leaving my computer on 3dmark 2001 will sometimes kick me out and that's with the case open. I turned off AGP texturing for D3D and it runs stable but super slow which leads me to beleive that this motherboard can't supply enough power to the Geforce. Using the 6.50 drivers and turning off FAST R-W in the bios also makes 3dmark 2001 run much more stable. Is anyone using the 12.41 drivers and running 3dmark 2001 stabley? I'm using the latest KK266 bios and still having problems with 3dmark 2001.

[Dave2]

I finished testing my CPU at underclocked speeds. If I set my CPU past 1.13GHz, 3dmark 2001 starts acting weird on me with the 12.41 drivers. I would like to run 3dmark 2001 stable at the rated 1.33GHz but I can't. Should I buy Arctic Silver II and a new CPU cooler?

[Dave2]

I removed the thermal pad from the fan and put some Techspray heatsink compound on the CPU. Temperatures didn't change and It's still crashing at 1.33. Crashes also at AGP 2x with fastwrites off. If I turn off AGP texturing then 3dmark 2001 is stable. I can enable AGP texturing with stability at 1.13GHz or less. Maybe I should try the MSI K7T-Turbo motherboard. I had a similar problem with my first Asus P3B-F motherboard and getting it replaced with another fixed the problem.

[eagle1]

Have you tried running 3dmark2000 to see if it runs completly?

And yes.. I'm using det. 12.41 ./

[Dave2]

I solved the problem. I flashed my BIOS to Luckydaze's Memorial BIOS 0307. It's suppose to fix the 3dmark 2001 instability problem on the KK266 and it seems to be working great. 3dmark 2001 hasn't crashed on me yet using this BIOS.

[eagle1]

GlaD you solved your problem!!
Post your score in the 3dmark2001 thread if you haven't done so.!!!!