Help..3D gaming crashes my M6N !

I'm having major issues with the 3d performance of my M6Ne (15.4") currently. At first I thought it was a driver problem, with certain versions not being compatible with Doom3. However I recently discovered that other games were affected as well. In fact I cannot run any 3d games, or benchmark utilities without the notebook locking up completely, ie must hard reboot.
I have tried all the drivers from ASUS, ATI and omega with no luck. Have re-installed/clean format, used orginal drivers (which used to be ok) and still have the problem. I took the notebook back to the shop, at first they agreed that it was faulty hardware, possibly the motherboard, but I just got a call from them saying they now think it is software, as they were able to get the machine running fine from another HDD running XP.
So I have a number of questions:
1) Has anyone else has come across this problem.
2) Do you think use of omega or modded ATI drivers could cause such a 3D failure that somehow survives a driver uninstall and HDD format??

Thanks in advance
a



ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 512Mb RAM

 

From the sounds of things, it may still be a hardware problem. The techs weren't too thurough. If the system works fine using a different HDD, you know the problem is limited to the HDD itself. Since you reloaded the OS from scratch (possibly a few times) and the problem still exists, it shouldn't be an OS issue. So, based on that, it's possible the HDD itself is causing the issue. Now, my logic could be flawed, but sounds like a reasonable thing to replace as a test. If after reloading your OS from scratch and formatting the HDD, no drivers should be able to survive that.

-Vb-

 

Hello Underpantman..... what is your BIOS Version? there is a new one posted last week from ASUS.. for what it's worth try it... I had the CPU issue thing (running at 600Mhz... the 3d performance was pitiful..... I flashed the BIOS.. 1600Mhz and everything is running fine...

Link for the BIOS :
http://www.asus.com/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=M6Ne&Type=Latest
0205Ae is the one you want use winflash to do it... easy as pie

the utility I use to tell what speed the CPU is running at is CPU-Z it rocks.. get it here:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php#download

let us know how things go... could very well be your HD...
Have you overclocked your video adapter? say.. with Radlinker?

I have the latest Omega drivers... everything I run on this puppy rocks... including Doom 3, Farcry, and COD pacific Assault.

Good Luck man...


ASUS M6Ne 1.6 Banias, 1024MB DDR333 SODIMM, 15.4 1280 x 800
3Dmark 03 3459 1024 x 768 Radlinker O/C'd to 450 / 220 only for the test.. I run games at stock 391 / 205




"Good luck with that!"

 

Thanks, for the feedback, I did see the new bios, I'm still running the old one. As soon as I get the notebook back from the shop, I will upgrade. I still think its a hardware issue too, but the the guy who is doing the repairs seems to be lacking on the knowledge front, he keeps askin' for the install disk's etc, I think he wants it to be software so they don't have to send it back to ASUS and so they can then charge me for the repairs. Considering these guys specialise in ASUS notebooks its a bit disappointing that they a)don't know about the image partition on the HDD, b)don't have all those disks lying around, and c)don't have an internet connection to download the latest drivers from ASUS.
The tech hasn't mentioned the new bios yet, thus I'm assuming he is yet to even visit the ASUS site to look for a possible answer.
a


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 512Mb RAM

 

Those techs may only be basic techs. They may not be authorized to do the repairs on the Asus notebooks. If that's the case, they probably don't have the CD's available (without opening another unit) and they won't be able to do any repairs. It does sound like they want to try to get some money out of you, but that's just underhanded. See what happens when you get it back. Can you ship directly to Asus w/o going through the shop?

-Vb-

 

Well the tech has given up trying to get it to work (after a week of trying), its now being sent back to ASUS for repairs, possibly a new m/b. Both the tech and I are baffled as to the source of the problem. According to the tech, it would run 3dMark all day using an external HDD running windows (thus its not the GPU/CPU). He could get my HDD working fine in another notebook, ie HDD is fine. My guess is that maybe the IDE-HDD connection is a bit screwy in my notebook???
Anyway I'm hoping to get it back from ASUS (fixed), within the week. I will report back with the final answer !
Thanks for all the feedback aswell
a


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 512Mb RAM

 

Well I have finally got my lappie back from the ASUS service center, they replaced the motherboard and so far so good, 3d gamin' is good to go. Have installed latest ATI drivers (4.9) and they seem fine and stable, fingers crossed it stays that way.
a


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 512Mb RAM