Massive Nvidia card problems

[theerwproject]

I have an MSI Starforce GeForce 5200 FX and it's messing up (either freezing the video with artifacts [no hope of ctrl-alt-del] or resetting the computer entirely). I can't really isolate when this started, so I thought maybe it was a driver conflict or corruption or some such and, lo and behold, I can't uninstall an entry simply titled "Nvidia Display Drivers," which I'm pretty sure are the vendor drivers that came with the card. Nvudisp causes an illegal operation when I try to uninstall them.

I've tried uninstallers that pretty much say the same thing.

I've tried installing and reinstalling various drivers, to no avail. Of course, the latest drivers at the MSI site are 2003. That's it. After that, I'm guessing you go to Nvidia and download their drivers, which worked for awhile.

If anyone could help, that would be appreciated -- I'd like to play Morrowind some more.

Here's my system info:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 4/10/2006, 19:21:06
Machine name: Nightblade
Operating System: Windows 98 (4.10, Build 2222) A
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: n/a
System Model: n/a
BIOS: n/a
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) Processor, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.3GHz
Memory: 256MB RAM
Page File: 23MB used, 1769MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 4.09.0000.0904 32bit

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type:
DAC type:
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0322&SUBSYS_90731462&REV_A1\000800
Display Memory: 127.0 MB
Current Mode: 800 x 600 (32 bit)(optimal refresh rate)
Monitor: Default Monitor
Monitor Max Res:
Driver Name: nvdisp.drv
Driver Version: 4.14.0001.4345 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 3/20/2003 20:13:00, 107040 bytes

I'm not sure why my BIOS isn't reporting, DXdiag has never liked my BIOS, but here's the schmoo on it, from an app called CPU-Z, a system inspection program:
Motherboard manufacturer: ASRock
Motherboard model: K7VM2, 2.00
BIOS vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS revision: P1.10
BIOS release date: 11/13/2002
Chipset: VIA P4M266/KM266 (VT8375) rev. 00

[Deagle]

Try this (http://www.drivercleaner.net/), I used it before to get rid of an nvidia drivers I forgot to uninstalled and the old ATi drivers and it worked. Not sure if your problem is similar to what I had but it's worth a try.

[madad2005]

I've had problems with the 5200FX before, where the latest drivers wouldn't work with it. I had to install the drivers supplied by the manufacturer. Case cooling was also a problem as it was passively-cooled and at times it went hay-wire.

[saphalline]

Nvudisp causes an illegal operation when I try to uninstall them.Judging from this and the fact that you have Win98, I'm wondering how long it's been since you reinstalled Windows. That is not a normal error, and Windows should be reinstalled at least once every 3 years (although I do it once every 12-18 months).

Also, freezing with graphical artifacts and other anomalies suggests an overheating vid card (usually the RAM). Check your cooling.

[mjc]

Have you tried changing the drivers to "Standard VGA" before trying to remove the nVidia drivers?

If not, switch the card to that, then try to remove the nVidia drivers.

Also, you make have a very broken install driver install...one way to fix it (if you are comfortable with registry editing...not for the inexperienced or faint of heart) is to remove the entries manually.

Also what version of DirectX are you running? 9c?

It may be having/causing problems. Try to roll back to one of the 8 series (newer isn't always better...especially with 98). Try to match the driver with DX version you have. The ones from the manufacturer site, from 2003, won't support 9c...

The latest nVidia driver from nVidia for 98 is 81.89, which offers DX9c support...so if you are keeping 9c then that is the driver you should use.

[theerwproject]

When I installed the drivers on a fresh install of Win 98 (installed for a whole 30 mins!) on my wife's computer, the same illegal operation happened when I tried to uninstall. I think Nvidia's support for Win98 sucks, is all. The drivers didn't work properly prompting the uninstall. "Driver cleaner" worked okay, but we still had problems.

My version of 98 is a couple months old. When your hard drive fills up and things don't run as well as they used to -- it's time to reinstall. Usually happens six months to a year down the road.

When I set things to VGA the machine wouldn't boot, except in Safe Mode.

I'm running DirectX 9c, which the card should at least nominally support. When I bought the card I was told it had support for DirectX 9, which the box claimed. The latest drivers did work with the card for awhile, as I was having fun playing some games that were previously unplayable before updating.

Now, here's the fun part: With all the problems I was having in Win98, I decided to install Windows 2000 on my wife's computer, as she was having problems too (she was my guinea pig). All the drivers installed fine, the problems we had vanished, and her MSI GeForce video card (same as mine) even reported her 128 meg as correct, instead of 127.5 or some other weird figure. And, here's a secret: Dungeon Siege II will run on 2000, and doesn't require XP.

Also, a new computer desk solved my problem, at least with the lock-ups. My old computer desk had a cabinet for the tower. I thought there was enough room in there for cooling -- major mistake. In Washington State, it was fine. In Missouri, where you have 90 degree temperatures and 1,000% humidity, it was roasting my box. My new computer desk set up after moving to a new house, I set up my computer and used my test: A spyhunter clone that would lock up after about a minute and a half of gameplay. With the new desk, I achieved a new high score. That it was a cooling issue was right.

Win2k is going on my machine, once I burn everything off. Wish me luck!

[saphalline]

I think Nvidia's support for Win98 sucks, is all.It's not just NVidia. DirectX 9.0c in general is not guaranteed to work in Win98. Support for that old OS is all but done for these days. I think DX8 was the last version that was designed to work on Win98. It's not too terrible to have support dropped for that OS, though - that OS is 8 years old afterall. And it can't support some of the modern features in PC's today, such as 4+ SATA ports, Hyper-Threading, 64-bit CPU's, dual-core CPU's, etc. And that's not even including all the security concerns with a soon-to-be unsupported OS. It was a good idea to stop using that OS for a modern gaming machine.