nForce4 AMD Edition (6.66)

[the cobbler]

lol, i have absolutely no clue whatsoever. some people just have good luck? I tried installing the NAM from 6.53 and 6.37 several times and after about five tries of the 6.53, it was working perfectly, and then I never had a problem for two months, then BSODs. go figure.

downloaded my 6.66 from 3dguru, other people did the same and had no problems installing NAM. I'm stumped as to why mine won't install properly and seems to have the wrong path in the .conf file. just bizarre. thinking about pulling the Apache files from the 6.53s, jamming them in the 6.66s and see what the heck happens.

 

[MadScientist]

Nvidia prepares 8.03 Nforce driver.
Link

I'm gonna wait and try these.

 

[ProviaFan]

It doesn't say what the drivers will offer for someone who isn't getting the new chipset with integrated graphics.

 

[MadScientist]

"The new release 8.03 has support for upcoming C51 graphic chipset as well"

 

[ChicagoPCGuy]

Using EPoX 9NPA+ Ultra here, and loaded 6.66 over 6.53 with no issues at all. I was not using NAM in the first place (I know better!).

 

[dbaptista]

The new raid drivers in v6.66 (5.10.2600.534) do not seem to upgrade the raid drivers that were included in v6.53 (5.10.2600.518). I tried manually upgrading the raid driver though Device Manager, but it fails with "The installation source for this product is unavailable. Verify that the source exists and that you can access it." I think the raid driver files are incomplete, possibly missing some files.

 

[funkwalkr]

Installed the new nforce 6.66 with no problems. The firewall still BSODs. However now I have another problem. With the firewall on, every file that I download is corrupt. It's very interesting because I'm able to view all websites correctly but downloaded files are always corrupted. I turn off the firewall and everything is okay. Anyone with this issue?

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: ChicagoPCGuy
Using EPoX 9NPA+ Ultra here, and loaded 6.66 over 6.53 with no issues at all. I was not using NAM in the first place (I know better!).

For a while, I thought it might be MB dependent. I am really stumped. Cann't get NAM or installation to work. May be all the latest files from Microsoft somehow conflict? WinXP Pro SP2 with only Office XP installed so far and Hauppauge TV, modem and a few printers and Antivirus. Nothing much so far.

The cobler, I did use Driver Cleaner Pro2, no dice, no NAM, no nothing but CRASH? WTF?

:disgust:

 

[GadgetBuilder]

Husky55,

I suspect you are a member of nVidia's 2% club (see my earlier post). One way you might have joined is by loading the nVidia drivers from a CD supplied by your mobo manufacturer -- this seems to increase the probability of requiring a clean install of XP to well above 2%.

You've spent a lot of effort avoiding a clean install by trying other approaches - I did the same thing the first time I tried to replace nVidia's drivers and never succeeded (I had loaded them from the mobo CD). Once you install a mobo driver set from nVidia's site you may have better luck updating it in the normal manner; I updated from 6.53 to 7.12 Beta without a problem (other than the same issues with both driver sets).

May I suggest imaging your system (always a good idea before fooling with drivers) so you can recover to your existing situation if needed. Then, format the partition and do a clean install of XP followed immediately by the 6.66 drivers, then any other drivers needed. Test the result and if it works acceptably (I settled for less than perfect) then install applications, etc.

I've been trying to get nVidia's drivers to work properly for a while plus I've been watching others struggle with them too -- my best guess is that this is the least effort recovery for you at this point. And there is no guarantee it will work, just a very high probability of success.

Since your system remains operational, it is possible (before doing the clean install) to copy many of the settings, favorites, addresses book, etc. to a folder for easy recovery after re-installing XP. I've now partitioned my disk to make the whole process easier and faster, kind of a tribute to nVidia.

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: GadgetBuilder
Husky55,

I suspect you are a member of nVidia's 2% club (see my earlier post). One way you might have joined is by loading the nVidia drivers from a CD supplied by your mobo manufacturer -- this seems to increase the probability of requiring a clean install of XP to well above 2%.

GarageBuilder, you were right, I did install the Nvidia drivers from the CD which came with the Epox.

Thank you again for the clean install tip, I have come to suspect that much. Being in the 2% of people with Nvidia drivers problems troubles me. Somehow I suspect the percentage would be much higher. But it is what it is, having a lot of experience in technology, building systems, advanced engineering and physics degrees really does not mean much.

I do not have any program to build an image of my HD which has activated Windows and Office installed. Maxtor does provide something in Maxblast3, not Maxblast4, but I have never use it. Reports were mixed at best.

I am not sure if I want to reactivate Windows and Office again since I do not know how the process really work.

My system is functional right now, NAM is completely removed and frankly with no raid, no audio utilities from Nvidia required, I think I just leave well enough alone.

Your clean install theory is probably true and I hope it is true and I will probably use it the next time I have to format my HD.

Thanks again,

:disgust:

 

[funkwalkr]

So I found the culprit of my corrupted downloads. It turns out that with ActiveArmor offloading outbound connections, I can't get a perfect download. I hope this fixes the problem and I don't have to disable the firewall whenever I download stuff which completely voids the purpose of a firewall.

 

[the cobbler]

Just change the Active Armor default to "Not Offloadable" for all programs. Instructions are in the Administrator's Guide. Active Armor is not the firewall part of the program anyway. That should solve the corruption problems without having to turn off the firewall.

 

[MadScientist]

Being in the 2% of people with Nvidia drivers problems troubles me. Somehow I suspect the percentage would be much higher.

After reading comments about these drivers on other forums the 2% seems to be closer to 50%, and is much higher if you you count those who have been only semi-successful in installing all the drivers, including NAM. And I fail to see why all of v6.37, which yes I did install from the cd that came with my mb, works and the updated versions do not, even after I re-installed v6.37 after a failed attempt to install v6.66.

Uninstalling the old nforce drivers and disabling your antivirus software before installing new nforce drivers should be more than sufficient for a successful install. No one should have to uninstall display, audio, or any other drivers; use a driver cleaner; or, and this I find totally unacceptable, re-install Win XP.

And as Cheezeit said "why install the new drivers anyways?" If it ain't broke don't fix it .

 

[CQuinn]

Its generally given that people are more likely to complain than praise, and when trying to fix
a problem, it only takes a few people with solutions to address input from tens to hundreds of
people with the problem or related symptoms.

And as Cheezeit said "why install the new drivers anyways?" If it ain't broke don't fix it .

Mine was broke, the new drivers helped with a drive lockup problem I was seeing after running
for several hours without a reboot.

 

[MadScientist]

Isn't the main reason for the existence of forums to find solutions to problems.

 

[sandeep108]

So far (touch wood) I have not had any problems with the 6.66 drivers. The problem I had with the 6.53 (intermittent 10-15 disk error entries in event log at boot up) still remains. It may have something to do with the BIOS perhaps? I have not installed the audio or the NAM/firewall drivers. I tried fooling around with the nVidia firewall earlier. Seems quite nice, but I have been so used to my Sygate that I felt it to be too much effort to learn again completely a new firewall program.

 

[ChicagoPCGuy]

Originally posted by: sandeep108
So far (touch wood) I have not had any problems with the 6.66 drivers. The problem I had with the 6.53 (intermittent 10-15 disk error entries in event log at boot up) still remains. It may have something to do with the BIOS perhaps? I have not installed the audio or the NAM/firewall drivers. I tried fooling around with the nVidia firewall earlier. Seems quite nice, but I have been so used to my Sygate that I felt it to be too much effort to learn again completely a new firewall program.

The disk error entries are generating from HDD0? If so, you may have an issue with your harddisk. I would disable NCQ if you are using it. I have seen this as a source of HDD errors, even though the system seems stable. NCQ will cause a 2% approximate slow-down anyway in desktop applications. NCQ is meant to improve performance when there are a lot of outstanding random read requests (ie, server environment). You can disable it in Device Manager, under the Advanced Tab in the SATA controller device.

I highly recommend steering clear of NAM. It is STILL causing problems. Use your Sygate, ZoneAlarm, or simply the WindowsXP firewall.

 

[Hornblower]

Hi people,

first: I am newbie and I need your help. I also excuse for my English.

OK lets kick my problem.
I have problem with chipset drivers. I can install then only after clear instalation of WInXP/I thing :I install win than chipset driver and tahn graphic driver/. If I will upgrade for example from 6.53 to 6.66 it crashes. Windows freez by desktop initializing. Than I started last good position of win and I see that apache dont start. I started it manualy but than firewall doesnt work. /unable to install or something like that/. I can install new chipset driver only by clear instalation of win. I hope tahat problem is somwhere in driver not in my hardware. Plz help me I dont want to install again win when the new driver is released. What shall I do?

Thx for your help to newbie. Sorry for my english

 

[ProviaFan]

Your English is fine, don't worry about it.

Please try installing the 6.66 drivers without the firewall. The firewall causes problems for many people, including myself. Use the Windows XP firewall that comes with Service Pack 2, and avoid the NVidia firewall. Your system should be stable as a result.

 

[Doh!]

Originally posted by: ahurtt

Originally posted by: rise4310
i dunno, the drivers with the sign of the devil makes me a bit nervous

Only in western cultures is 666 considered a bad number. In many Asian cultures the number 6 is considered the luckiest of numbers.

Which "many" Asian countries would that be? I am currently in Asia and have travelled the entire Asian continent for the past decade and have yet to find a country having the number 6 as the luckiest as you've claimed.

 

[sandeep108]

The disk error entries are generating from HDD0?

Yes.

If so, you may have an issue with your harddisk.

Is this a hardware problem? I have the Samsung HD160JJ Sata-2/NCQ and the samsung utility cannot detect this drive so I am helpless in checking it.

I would disable NCQ if you are using it. I have seen this as a source of HDD errors, even though the system seems stable. NCQ will cause a 2% approximate slow-down anyway in desktop applications. NCQ is meant to improve performance when there are a lot of outstanding random read requests (ie, server environment).

I thought NCQ was a good advance/feature to have, even Anandtech in several articles have praised it. Also on another PC I have a SATA-1 HDD without NCQ. I can see that any HDD operations with the SATA-2/NCQ HDD are much quicker than the other HDD. Also I believe that the 6.53 drivers did fix some issues with NCQ.

So far this error only appears at bootup and the system is otherwise pretty stable (no overclocking). I have run chkdsk a few times and it has not reported any corruption. If I notice any corruption, then I will disable NCQ from device manager, otherwise let me see...

Anybody else have any experiences with/without NCQ?

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: Hornblower
I hope tahat problem is somwhere in driver not in my hardware. Plz help me I dont want to install again win when the new driver is released. What shall I do?

Thx for your help to newbie. Sorry for my english

ProviaFan gave you good advise.

From my experience, the 6.66 drivers are a problem for some people (that includes me) but there are others who reported no problems at all with installation. Why, is a mystery to me as I have installled many (in the 100s) bios, dvd, MB, graphics cards upgrades over time and have not encountered anything like the Nvidia drivers.

You can assess if your hardware is working properly by running Pi, Prime95 and Memtest86.

Good luck,

 

[Hornblower]

Husky55

I tested memtest86+ on my MB and every tests ware good whitout any error. Now I will test prime95 and Pi.
Than I say if something is wrong

Bye

 

[Se7eN S1N]

Hey guys,

I've been lurking around the forum for quite a while now, but never posted, so neways, hope to learn lots from everyone here.

Alright on to the good stuff(or bad depending on who u talk to), just like everyone here, I am having issues with this new driver, did 3 different way of installing, and still BSOD with no logs from windows. To make a long story short, some of the BSOD we do get with this driver is also caused by Nv audio drivers. if u have the option to not install it and can get the Realtek driver to work, go for it. I wasn't able to get the latest realtek to install since it would always ask for microsoft bus drive to install instead of NV driver. and I need sound, and there's basiclly the problem. if there's no sound the system is rock stable, but as soon as say winamp etc, system becomes kinda flacky and would occasionally cause a random reboot, I havn't had time to port it to VM ware so I Can record the bsod.

Hope this helps anyone with random BSODS and restarts etc. I Will try and setup Vmware to port the BSODs if I have time but no promises.

 

[littlewing]

Ummm what aobu the XG 6.50 nforce4 AMD drivers available at tweaksrus.com? Are those good?