Second Life Forums Archive - "VPU Recovery Errors"

MadJack Bukowski

Certifiable

Join date: 1 Jun 2004

Posts: 19

07-07-2005 16:27

WARNING: DO NOT BUY ANY ATI PRODUCTS!

I recently upgraded my video card on my now aging 1.2 gig athalon PC. I went for another ATI Radeon video card, a saphire radeon 9250. I did a fresh reformat and install on my system running 768 MB of pc 133 ram on a future power kt-133 mother board. I then installed the upgraded 4 into 1 driver and then the latest catalyst version recomended by SL and .............ERROR! Device driver stuck in infinite loop! CRASH! - retry- CRASH! - retry - CRASH!

So i search ATI trouble shooting and find that this is a known problem with all ATI cards and the fix can be one of about 50 settings changes betweent he Bios and the Video card. You have to reboot and retry new settings in conjunction with each other after every test run and crash. The setting issue could be anything. They mostly tell you to try every setting and toggle them back and forth on the trouble shoot instructions. What a Joke! It sound like they have absolutely no clue whatsoever what is causing the problem. What a POS company!

Please tell anyone thinking of upgrading to an ATI card to buy Nvidia.

Little Hailey

Unedited

Join date: 1 Jun 2005

Posts: 209

07-07-2005 16:34

Erm, I -love- my ATI. Would never go with anything else. Just recently upgraded to the x800 XT and it's amazingly wonderful. Their Crossfire is enough to give me a joygasm, hope to get that because my Motherboard does in fact qualify. =)

9200 Series is like 5 years old almost, isn't it?

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Catherine Omega

Geometry Ninja

Join date: 10 Jan 2003

Posts: 2,053

07-07-2005 16:48

Just out of curiousity, do the crashes stop when you just turn off VPU Recovery?

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Kathmandu Gilman

Fearful Symmetry Baby!

Join date: 21 May 2004

Posts: 1,418

07-07-2005 16:52

The 9250 is, well, a very low end card. The newer PCI-e ATI cards seem to works well with SL compared to the 9800pro and under. There are lots and lots of posts on the forums that recommend not getting an ATI simply because they have more problems then say an equivelent Nvidia card.

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It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.

Pepplar Sklar

Registered User

Join date: 7 Sep 2003

Posts: 50

07-07-2005 18:05

I have had more crashes with my new nVidia 6800 than my olde ATI 8500 .

I dont think there is a huge a difference as there once was. Way less posts than there used to be on ATI problems.

nVidia has better OpenGL performance in tests but the difference in SL is less as its more CPU speed based.

Your mileage may vary.

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Michael Martinez

Don't poke me!

Join date: 28 Jul 2004

Posts: 515

07-07-2005 19:05

I have a ATI 9600XT, an old 8500 and new 850XL, and I don't crash at all, and I have vpu recovery on...

and I have mentioned many times in this forum, turn off VPU recovery and turn off Fastwrite...will slow the card down a bit, but will make it alot more stable...

BUT that is not for everyone, as I have them on and have no issues at all...so it depends on your motherboard, and other factors as well..

So before you blame ATI, make sure your machine is OK, as it might be the problem, not the card

Teeny Leviathan

Never started World War 3

Join date: 20 May 2003

Posts: 2,716

07-07-2005 20:02

I have an older-than-dirt Radeon 8500 card in one of my slower machines (1.13mhz Athlon (Thunderbird), 512 megs PC133 ram on an Abit KT7a mb). It was the first video card I ever used for SL. In beta, there was a bit of texture corruption, but lately, its done fine, although its a bit slow.

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MadJack Bukowski

Certifiable

Join date: 1 Jun 2004

Posts: 19

Glad you all love your ATI cards.

07-08-2005 16:51

Honestly. I am happy for you. Whatever works for you. But as far as I am concerned. ATI has no clue how to fix this error situation and the support regarding it is like telling someone to "try everything you can think of and see if it works".

Little Hailey: I hope you have your Joygasm: P Do you have a webcam?

Catherine: No

Kathmandu: I have an old 4x agp bus KT133 Motherboard. I am not going to put a lot of money into the video card. This one exceeds the requirements necessary to play second life. It should run, period. I agree...there are a lot of posts about ATI cards that exceed the requirements and not working. I am switching to another Nvidia product.

Pepplar: Including my complaint there are 3 complaints regarding ATI cards on the first page of threads here in the technical issues forum. I don't know how many complaints were on here in the past.

Michael: That is 100% right. It is a non definable error that happens on almost all ATI cards and that is what it says on the ATI website. The problem is system specific. An incompatibility issue with windows XP, Motherboard Bios settings and video card settings. They cant nail it down. Also Michael my system ran perfect using an Nvidia card. It never locked up or crashed but it ran slow because it was only 64 mb.

Teeny: Thats because you Rock!

Catherine Omega

Geometry Ninja

Join date: 10 Jan 2003

Posts: 2,053

07-08-2005 17:58

While it's true that there do tend to be more complaints about running SL on ATI cards than with Nvidia, (except for power supply issues and really high-end Nvidia cards, of course) they're mostly due to ATI's shoddy OpenGL implementation than a hardware problem.

Not to split hairs but, it sounds like the problem is probably more likely to be your motherboard, or at least more your motherboard's fault than the video card. Still, I'd have to agree with the statement that Nvidia hardware and drivers are more likely to run without issues in a broader range of systems.

If your Nvidia-based card worked fine, I'd look at exchanging it or trading with someone else.

_____________________

Need scripting help? Visit the LSL Wiki!
Omega Point - Catherine Omega's Blog

MadJack Bukowski

Certifiable

Join date: 1 Jun 2004

Posts: 19

07-09-2005 08:14

There are several online doccuments about this issue. Not just on ATI's knowledge base but on 3rd party sites.

"DEVICE DRIVER is STUCK IN INFINITE LOOP" or VPU Recover errors in Windows XP
This issue affects the following system configurations:
Windows XP
Any ATI display card
Based on our experience, the error "The drivers for the display adapter got stuck in an INFINITE LOOP" is a result of a system communication mishap. On some systems, the error "Unable to complete a drawing operation", or an ATI VPU recover error may also occur.
This error does not occur on all system configurations.

I am not able to reproduce this "system communication mishap" using the exact same system configuration and different video cards. I dont see that this is a hardware issue either. I am certain that there are so many variables when a company constantly releases a new driver build for thier product it is impossible to keep up with all the compatibility issues.

What pisses me off is the fact that ATI is saying in effect...try anything you can toggling all the settings and see if it works, rather than releasing a decent driver for the card that fixes known issues.

MadJack Bukowski

Certifiable

Join date: 1 Jun 2004

Posts: 19

07-09-2005 10:09

Update:

I have found much better stability finally. I still get VPU crashes and lockups but not as many. The solution was to download the .net version from ATI's dl section for drivers. The utility allowed me to turn off the PCI fast write and read which i was not able to do using the catalyst control center. I test ran Second Life for probably 15 minutes without locking up.

Welcome to the Second Life Forums Archive

"VPU Recovery Errors" - Buyer Beware!

"VPU Recovery Errors" - Buyer Beware!
MadJack Bukowski Certifiable Join date: 1 Jun 2004 Posts: 19	07-07-2005 16:27 WARNING: DO NOT BUY ANY ATI PRODUCTS! I recently upgraded my video card on my now aging 1.2 gig athalon PC. I went for another ATI Radeon video card, a saphire radeon 9250. I did a fresh reformat and install on my system running 768 MB of pc 133 ram on a future power kt-133 mother board. I then installed the upgraded 4 into 1 driver and then the latest catalyst version recomended by SL and .............ERROR! Device driver stuck in infinite loop! CRASH! - retry- CRASH! - retry - CRASH! So i search ATI trouble shooting and find that this is a known problem with all ATI cards and the fix can be one of about 50 settings changes betweent he Bios and the Video card. You have to reboot and retry new settings in conjunction with each other after every test run and crash. The setting issue could be anything. They mostly tell you to try every setting and toggle them back and forth on the trouble shoot instructions. What a Joke! It sound like they have absolutely no clue whatsoever what is causing the problem. What a POS company! Please tell anyone thinking of upgrading to an ATI card to buy Nvidia.
Little Hailey Unedited Join date: 1 Jun 2005 Posts: 209	07-07-2005 16:34 Erm, I -love- my ATI. Would never go with anything else. Just recently upgraded to the x800 XT and it's amazingly wonderful. Their Crossfire is enough to give me a joygasm, hope to get that because my Motherboard does in fact qualify. =) 9200 Series is like 5 years old almost, isn't it? _____________________ ________________________ ____________________________ _______________________________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Interesting things happen when stars fall from the sky... Vote Yes on 411 - Transfer of No Trans Items (under specific conditions)
Catherine Omega Geometry Ninja Join date: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 2,053	07-07-2005 16:48 Just out of curiousity, do the crashes stop when you just turn off VPU Recovery? _____________________ Need scripting help? Visit the LSL Wiki! Omega Point - Catherine Omega's Blog
Kathmandu Gilman Fearful Symmetry Baby! Join date: 21 May 2004 Posts: 1,418	07-07-2005 16:52 The 9250 is, well, a very low end card. The newer PCI-e ATI cards seem to works well with SL compared to the 9800pro and under. There are lots and lots of posts on the forums that recommend not getting an ATI simply because they have more problems then say an equivelent Nvidia card. _____________________ It may be true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but it is also true that the squeaky wheel gets replaced at the first critical maintenance opportunity.
Pepplar Sklar Registered User Join date: 7 Sep 2003 Posts: 50	07-07-2005 18:05 I have had more crashes with my new nVidia 6800 than my olde ATI 8500 . I dont think there is a huge a difference as there once was. Way less posts than there used to be on ATI problems. nVidia has better OpenGL performance in tests but the difference in SL is less as its more CPU speed based. Your mileage may vary. _____________________ ]SECOND LIFE Your World Your Imagination
Michael Martinez Don't poke me! Join date: 28 Jul 2004 Posts: 515	07-07-2005 19:05 I have a ATI 9600XT, an old 8500 and new 850XL, and I don't crash at all, and I have vpu recovery on... and I have mentioned many times in this forum, turn off VPU recovery and turn off Fastwrite...will slow the card down a bit, but will make it alot more stable... BUT that is not for everyone, as I have them on and have no issues at all...so it depends on your motherboard, and other factors as well.. So before you blame ATI, make sure your machine is OK, as it might be the problem, not the card
Teeny Leviathan Never started World War 3 Join date: 20 May 2003 Posts: 2,716	07-07-2005 20:02 I have an older-than-dirt Radeon 8500 card in one of my slower machines (1.13mhz Athlon (Thunderbird), 512 megs PC133 ram on an Abit KT7a mb). It was the first video card I ever used for SL. In beta, there was a bit of texture corruption, but lately, its done fine, although its a bit slow. _____________________ The Default Avatars were created by Linden Lab They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan.
MadJack Bukowski Certifiable Join date: 1 Jun 2004 Posts: 19	Glad you all love your ATI cards. 07-08-2005 16:51 Honestly. I am happy for you. Whatever works for you. But as far as I am concerned. ATI has no clue how to fix this error situation and the support regarding it is like telling someone to "try everything you can think of and see if it works". Little Hailey: I hope you have your Joygasm: P Do you have a webcam? Catherine: No Kathmandu: I have an old 4x agp bus KT133 Motherboard. I am not going to put a lot of money into the video card. This one exceeds the requirements necessary to play second life. It should run, period. I agree...there are a lot of posts about ATI cards that exceed the requirements and not working. I am switching to another Nvidia product. Pepplar: Including my complaint there are 3 complaints regarding ATI cards on the first page of threads here in the technical issues forum. I don't know how many complaints were on here in the past. Michael: That is 100% right. It is a non definable error that happens on almost all ATI cards and that is what it says on the ATI website. The problem is system specific. An incompatibility issue with windows XP, Motherboard Bios settings and video card settings. They cant nail it down. Also Michael my system ran perfect using an Nvidia card. It never locked up or crashed but it ran slow because it was only 64 mb. Teeny: Thats because you Rock!
Catherine Omega Geometry Ninja Join date: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 2,053	07-08-2005 17:58 While it's true that there do tend to be more complaints about running SL on ATI cards than with Nvidia, (except for power supply issues and really high-end Nvidia cards, of course) they're mostly due to ATI's shoddy OpenGL implementation than a hardware problem. Not to split hairs but, it sounds like the problem is probably more likely to be your motherboard, or at least more your motherboard's fault than the video card. Still, I'd have to agree with the statement that Nvidia hardware and drivers are more likely to run without issues in a broader range of systems. If your Nvidia-based card worked fine, I'd look at exchanging it or trading with someone else. _____________________ Need scripting help? Visit the LSL Wiki! Omega Point - Catherine Omega's Blog
MadJack Bukowski Certifiable Join date: 1 Jun 2004 Posts: 19	07-09-2005 08:14 There are several online doccuments about this issue. Not just on ATI's knowledge base but on 3rd party sites. "DEVICE DRIVER is STUCK IN INFINITE LOOP" or VPU Recover errors in Windows XP This issue affects the following system configurations: Windows XP Any ATI display card Based on our experience, the error "The drivers for the display adapter got stuck in an INFINITE LOOP" is a result of a system communication mishap. On some systems, the error "Unable to complete a drawing operation", or an ATI VPU recover error may also occur. This error does not occur on all system configurations. I am not able to reproduce this "system communication mishap" using the exact same system configuration and different video cards. I dont see that this is a hardware issue either. I am certain that there are so many variables when a company constantly releases a new driver build for thier product it is impossible to keep up with all the compatibility issues. What pisses me off is the fact that ATI is saying in effect...try anything you can toggling all the settings and see if it works, rather than releasing a decent driver for the card that fixes known issues.
MadJack Bukowski Certifiable Join date: 1 Jun 2004 Posts: 19	07-09-2005 10:09 Update: I have found much better stability finally. I still get VPU crashes and lockups but not as many. The solution was to download the .net version from ATI's dl section for drivers. The utility allowed me to turn off the PCI fast write and read which i was not able to do using the catalyst control center. I test ran Second Life for probably 15 minutes without locking up.