Problematic Multi-Monitor Setup

[tempac91]

Good morning,

This post consists of the following sections:

1. INTRODUCTION
2. SYSTEM COMPOSITION
3. INSTALLING THE NEW COMPONENTS
4. PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF ADD-ON CARDS
5. VOLTAGE SETTINGS
6. THE PROBLEM
PART 1
PART 2
7. CONCLUSION


1. INTRODUCTION

I've been running a dual monitor system without a problem for the past
6 months. After adding a secondary, PCI, graphics adapter I started
experiencing "VPU recover" errors and random system crashes.


2. SYSTEM COMPOSITION

The system's composition prior to any modification was as follows:

1x P4 at 2.4GHz, FSB at 140MHz
2x 256MB DDR SDRAM at 232MHz (operating asynchronously with FSB)
1x 40GB HDD
1x CD-RW
1x Wireless network adapter
1x Sapphire Radeon 9700 (non-pro, AGP, 128MB)
2x 17" displays (1024x768, 32bit, 60Hz)
1x 300Watt PSU

I am using the latest ATI driver (Catalyst 4.12).


3. INSTALLING THE NEW COMPONENTS

1x Sapphire Radeon 9200SE (PCI, 128MB)
1x 21" display driven by the card above(1600x1200, PCI, 128MB)

I installed the PCI card, connected the third monitor to it and booted
into Windows. The OS automatically found the card and installed it
without my intervention. Note that the PCI card is treated as a
secondary graphics adapter and that the device manager reports no
hardware conflicts.


4. PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF ADD-ON CARDS

Note that I have a tower so the motherboard is perpendicular to the
floor and the AGP card is farthest from it.

AGP - occupied by primary graphics adapter
PCI 1 - empty
PCI 2 - empty
PCI 3 - occupied by secondary graphics adapter
PCI 4 - empty
PCI 5 - occupied by network card

Also, one side of the case is open so it is well-ventilated.


5. VOLTAGE SETTINGS

Upon a friend's suggestion I checked the voltage settings and recorded
the following values.

Vcore1: 1.54V
Vcore2: 1.90V
+3.3V : 2.93V
+5V : 4.95V
+12V : 12.03V
-12V : -12.11V
-5V : -5.36V
+5V : 4.78V

Note that these readings were taken about 5 hours after the last
reboot.


6. THE PROBLEM

Initially I installed the new graphics card on top of the network card
and the monitor would unexpectedly shut down after a couple of minutes
but the problem was solved when I placed them farther apart.

PART 1

However, I am still having some problems.

1. Sometimes the newly added screen (21") will flicker, power off then
power on.
2. At that point it might or might not produce an error message reading
"VPU recover had to reset the graphics processor because it was no
longer responding".
3. After that, it might or might not cause the system to hung and
require a hard-reboot.


PART 2

Sometimes after doing a hard-reboot and while the OS is loading system
and user programs, it will produce the following message

"Error message: STOP 0x000000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER" More
info at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=293078

I followed the suggestions in the aforementioned document but the
problem persists.


CONCLUSION

Right now I have disabled the third monitor (from within "Display
properties") and the system appears to be running smoothly. Note that I
have not removed the PCI graphics card. I don't know the source of
these problem but it seems that I experience them only when the third
monitor is enabled.

I've tried my best to provide you with as much information as possible
and hope to a speedy, helpful response.

Thanks

[Neil]

tempac91,

I'll give you my two cents although I don't know how much it will help you.

The basics of this kind of setup revolve around two things.
1) In the BIOS: Assign IRQ to PCI VGA must be enabled
2) Which card is set as the primary video adapter in the BIOS.

Number one you can just do and not worry about (unless for some reason
your very short or IRQs)

Number two is tricky. Often to get a PCI card to work you must set PCI
as the primary adapter BUT when you do this it can lead to the AGP card
crashing under stress (hard 3D work in my experience). It sounds like
this is the problem you have. The PCI card is primary in the BIOS and so
in hard times the AGP is failing to get everything it wants leading to a
horrible crash.

The fix, get a new PCI card that does not need to be a primary in the BIOS.

Hope that helps,
Neil

Post by tempac91
Good morning,

<snip>

Post by tempac91
CONCLUSION
Right now I have disabled the third monitor (from within "Display
properties") and the system appears to be running smoothly. Note that I
have not removed the PCI graphics card. I don't know the source of
these problem but it seems that I experience them only when the third
monitor is enabled.
I've tried my best to provide you with as much information as possible
and hope to a speedy, helpful response.
Thanks