ATI VPU error Tried EVERYWHERE and EVERYTHIN

Where to start,   well, i'm actually at work now, so i can't give you the exact specs of my PC but it basically goes like this

- 3.0 GHz Intel Processor
- 256 MB ATI x600 pro video card (PCI Express)
- Intel motherboard
- Soundblaster Live! 24-bit sound card
- 80 GB Hardrive
- 1 GB memory
- Windows XP home edition SP2 (it should be latest version)

  So here's the problem,  I've been researching it for some time and keep comming up with the same solutions but none of them work for me  so i would love some innovative input ,  thanks in advance!!

  Ok  so bassically i'll be sitting there,  not necessarily using a lot of anything,  maybe  Firefox, AIM, and itunes  with maybe Auto-CAD or something else,  but not even coming close to what my computer should be able to handle.  then sudenly everything locks up (even the mouse)  and after a second or two the screen goes blank.  THen everything comes back and looks fine,  but along with the error message,  which i can't duplicate exactly at the moment,  but goes something like  "VPU Recover:   VPU recover has reset your graphics accelorator as it was no longer taking commands."  Also note that at this point,  even the simplest window has a tail and every process lags the most i have ever seen.  
  
  So now that you know as much as i do about the problem,  here are some things that i've tried
- Updated Motherboard chipsets to latest models (also tried older ones)
- Updated Video drivers to latest versions  including latest version of catalyst
- aslo used ATI tool to completely remove all ati drivers and software, then started from origninal drivers from ATI CD,  then tried updateing to older ATI drivers
-  Thought it might be overheating,  so i  tried using the computer without the side pannel for a while,  which seemed to have no effect on the frequency that this occurs,   (which varries greatly from a few times a day to once a week or longer if i'm lucky)
- also turning VPU recover off =  not a good idea    
- I've also tried contacting ATI technologies,   however  that was probably dumber than turning off VPU rocover  haha  


 so things i'm thinking may have to do with compatibility issues between my intel motherboard and this particular model ATI card, (if you've every heard of such a thing)  also i'm not eliminating the possibility of overheating, however unlikely.     but really,  my ideas are running on empty,  so really any input would be greatly appreciated from anyone,  experienced or n00b.   Thanks a lot

      Charlie  

[Moderator]

Can you try a different video card as a test?

well,  not exactly,  the only other video cards i have access to are AGP and my motherboard doesn't support AGP,    however,  i have tried the integrated video on the motherboard, and that works flawlesly,  however i don't believe it has the power that i desire to use it all the time,  and another thing that i didn't mention above (because the error happens regardless)  is that i have a dual monitor setup,  which i would like to keep and my motherboard integrated video does not support.

P.S.  Thanks for responding so quickly  

[Moderator]

Heat, bad power supply and RAM are the most frequesnt causes of lockups.

Posted by: GX1_Man       Posted on: Today at 16:27:18
Heat, bad power supply and RAM are the most frequesnt causes of lockups.

Ok,  Well, i have a kick *censored* PSU and the case is Huge and well ventalated.  and as it just happened to me again,  i checked the heat by placing my hand all around the case,  and it was roughly room temperature,  very little if any heat,   and the fan on the video card itself works fine,   so according to you,  ram would be the next bet,  how do i check to see if it's bad,  and for the record, it's less than a year old,  so what could cause it to go bad??      I appreciate your input!!

[Moderator]

A kick *censored* power supply? Have you checked the current on the 12v rail/ WHat make and wattage? A cheap, no-name 600w is frequently a poorer solution than a quality name brand 350w. You do indeed get what you pay for.

Ventilation and temps? Do you have an objective way to measure temps, either in the BIOS, or with a utility like Everest Home? http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

What if you remove the side of the case and blow a fan directly in there?  Does that make any difference in lockups with intense applications? feeling the case does not really monitor air flow.

Free test for your RAM at www.memtest86.com

Test each stick at a time, then all together. Run the test for an hour or so with each configuration.

Has it always been this way or did it just start happening? Do you haave the latest drivers for your video card/ Is this related somehow? Do you have another video card you could test with?

Let us know what you find.  

[Moderator]

You could try re-seating the video card too.

Ok,  so i'm not to familiar with PSU's  but i know i have an ULTRA X-finity,  which is priced around $90  (i don't know if that's what i payed, i just found that on their website)  or so.  Is that a decent brand/price?  I have seen PSU's for like $30 and up to like $170,  so i assumed that mine was atleast decent.  however it is 600W which seems to fit your "If it sounds too good to be true. . ." outlook on things.  so i don't know,  what do you think? (and i apologize for saying kickass, wihout specifiying and not knowing what i was talking about,  that was very naive of me)

Has it always been this way or did it just start happening? Do you haave the latest drivers for your video card/ Is this related somehow? Do you have another video card you could test with?

yes it has always done this, but it started very sparsely and has increased over time to quite frequently,  it seems as i messed with different video drivers the problem seemed to spread out more,  but never fully went away,  and always after a short time,  it would become frequent again.  so lately i have been sticking with the latest drivers and chipsets.    and  no  i don't have another video card to test as i stated before, only the integrated video in my motherboard.

Posted by: Fed       Posted on: Today at 21:14:49
You could try re-seating the video card too.

well first,  i assume by "re-seating" you mean resetting.   and second,  do you mean ressetting to the default clock speeds (which i don't know how to do FYI)?   (and as far as i can tell that implies overclocking,  which i don't believe i am doing, but at this point, i suppose anything is possible)

[Moderator]

No, I meant re-seating, opening up the computer, removing the card & putting it back securely.
It is just to ensure the card is fitted properly and it gives the contacts a scrape/clean as well.

[Moderator]

Have a read of this.
http://www.foxpop.com/imre/2005/vpurecover/vpurecover.html
I don't have the time to go through it but it may help you.

[Moderator]

Great link, Fed!  

Posted by: Fed       Posted on: Yesterday at 23:16:39
No, I meant re-seating, opening up the computer, removing the card & putting it back securely.
It is just to ensure the card is fitted properly and it gives the contacts a scrape/clean as well.

oh,  whoops   gotcha.   but at any rate, yes,  i have removed the video card and then re-placed it securely

   *  latest motherboard BIOS
    * latest motherboard chipset drivers
    * latest Windows updates and SP2 installed
    * latest game patches/upgrades applied
    * vga drivers from the CD that came with the card

That's from the link you gave me,   which is very good as GX1_Man stated.

However as I stated before,  I have tried a lot of things,  (including "Googleing" the error message for the last year now, which is why i'm here now)  and i have been to this exact page before,  and done everything on this list, among other things,  which is why i'm trying to focus on the idea's stated earlier including PSU,  Heat, and Memmory issues,   I unfortunately have not been able to run the diagnostics on my memory or check my bios for temperatures (and/or get Everest Home edition) yet   but will tonight

Since no one said anything about my PSU,  i'm going to bump that down the list of possibilities for now,  until i am able to run that diagnostic and check the heat.

And THANK YOU for all the hard work and help you guys are giving me  

Well,  as far as i can tell,  the problem is solved,   although more likely i just delayed this recurring error, as usual,  and you'll hear from me again.    so for anyone experienceing similar problems,   i followed the steps here  http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?p=916684#post916684.

see,  i had been uninstalling drivers and than installing the new ones,  however,  this person gives a great and extremely specific (maybe even overboard) method of updateing drivers,   which may have been the problem  (i can only hope).   i had never even thought of being this thorough with something as simple and routine as driver updates.    

(i did end up getting everest and it is amazing,  but my video card shows no signs of heat problems)  
 
 SO i just want to give a special thanks to everyone who helped. . .    and if i ever win the lottery,  you can all expect a healthy donation!!  haha,   take it easy!!  

[Moderator]

- Updated Video drivers to latest versions  including latest version of catalyst
- aslo used ATI tool to completely remove all ati drivers and software, then started from origninal drivers from ATI CD,  then tried updateing to older ATI drivers

You'd think the above would have been good enough, they're only drivers. LOL

to my hearts discontent,  I must continue this thread.       It seems my joy was in fact premature, and the problem is not solved.   So just one more time lets go over what i've tried,

- Updating BIOS
- Updating Chipset
- Updating ATI Drivers,  And completely  Removing the old ones 100%
- Checking for Overheating via Everest Home
- Running Memtest with each stick individually then together
- Just for the *censored* of it,  i tried my video card with a DVI monitor rather than my VGA
- also anything that i have mentioned in this thread

So something unusaul that i just noticed,   I can play games with no problem what-so-ever,   and high demand games at that!  Like Battlefield 2  and Star Wars: Empire at War  at Medium to High video settings.  These games run quite well with no problem,  

so why does my Video Card insist on getting this VPU error  only when i run Simple programs like itunes and Firefox??       it makes no sense,   any thing else you guys can come up with would be more than appreiciated!!!