Hi,I'm not sure if this should be in the hardware forum or not, but I have a problem. Moderators...feel free to move this if it's in the wrong place.It started recently that my display becomes corrupted. Not just in FS, but it can happen anytime.. even just when running the desktop.Sometimes the display is fine, for today as an example...perfect all day, until I ran FS. See the screen shot attached.I am running a P4 2.8 on an Intel 865PERL mainboard with 1024 ram and an ATI 9700pro agp card.I have several thoughts on this.Could it be the drivers? I was using Omega 5.9's but then in an attept to cure the problem swapped to ATI 5.9's. Maybe it's the 5.9 that is the problem?However, I am wondering if it has something to do with the power supply? Obviously I have the power connected to the ATI card... and today, in an experiment to try to find a cure, I swapped the power cable for another one that was free... and it seemed to help. But then when I ran FS it went wrong.If it is the power supply, could it be the ATIcard or the Antec Trupower 550 unit I have?Any help or ideas welcome.Thanks,Paulhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/128953.jpg

If it's happening even on the desktop, it could even be RAM on your mainboard. If your RAM is in more than one chip, try removing one, then the other, to see if the problem goes away. However, if you are not seeing random lockups, it could be a display issue. A couple of things to try in that case:-Reseat the card-Make sure the PCI slot adjacent to your AGP slot is unoccupied and move any card in that slot to any other open PCI slot-Make sure there's nothing blocking airflow around the card--try running with your case cover off to see if airflow/heat is related to the issue.I'll move the thread over to the hardware forum for 'ya...-John

Thanks John,I have tried all the things except the main RAM.... so I'll give that a go.It seems random... sometimes I can run FS OK, then when I quit, the desktop is messed up.Other times the desktop is fine and FS sends it funny.I checked the temperatures and the are all fine, so that isn't the problem.Cheers,Paul

Hey paul...Have you tried earlier drivers for that card? That card is fairly old news,the older drivers might work better.If you have tried the other drivers already,do you have another video card laying around that you could swap in temporarily? From your screenshot,I would say it is either a driver issue,or your card might be on the way out. Might be a good excuse to get a new card,anyway!!Stan

That is signs of your 9700 pro finally going to "that great AGP in the sky" :( Yep... it is on it's last leg. I had the exact same thing happen to me with my 9700 Pro. Luckily I was still just under warranty and guess what, they shipped me out a brand new 9800 Pro... mucho better. hurry!

Thanks guys,I was fearing that... it has been a great card... lasted ages- I got it when it was a brand new technology...I was upset with nvidia because I bought a geforce3 ti500 for lots of dollars... when it was the latest thing... and like a month later it was relaced and therefore old technology... and my card died about a year later... so I moved to ATI... and have been happy...Still.. I guess it is slowly dying on me... today it is fine though... thats why I wondered about the power supply.Time for a new card I suppose.Any suggestions?I don't really want to spend the $400 or so for the hottest thing... so any suggestions for a mid to upper range card?Another problem I guess is the change in format. If I buy agp it will have a limited life... and i cannot afford to change the whole processor/motherboard/video setup in one go... maybe I will have to...Cheers,Paul

Paul..........I went from 9800PRO to the 800XL which cost me 339 US dollars about 4 months ago.It should be cheaper by now.It is a medium grade card already,but what a difference it made for FS9 and all my other games,too. Yes,,,AGP is on the outs,so it might not make sense to invest in just a card.If you are gonna hold out on a new system for at least 3 to 6 months,I would go for it.Otherwise,it would make more sense to upgrade everything.I know how you feel,my nearly 2 year old system is going to be replaced very soon,and for what I paid then,I can build a much better system. 2 months later,and it will be almost obsolete!! Technology changes fast in PC world...good luck...Stan

Thanks Stan,I am heading out of Lima for a few days... to Europe and stopping in Chicago for a day shopping on the way back.... so I may see what I can get in Chicago (Schaunburg for Woodfield mall and CompUSA.)I am very tempted on these Athlon64x2.... but it might lead to divorce!! Joking, but I have to tread carefully...Cheers,Paul

I'd say if you were happy with the 9700 Pro, why not go for the 9800 Pro? It's a solid card, proven card for FS2004 and I bet you could get it at a bargain. Plus I did see an improvement from going to the 9700 to the 9800. (but of course now that I have begun my system upgrade I will be probably be getting an ATI X800 XT AIO. But I still like my 9800)