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Greetings,.

Is there anyone capable of testing and possibly repairing a Voodoo5 6000?  

The computer that mine was installed in became unstable due to swollen capacitors, so I sent it off to be re-capped.  The 6000 worked the last time I tested it.

The computer works since the repairs, but the 6000 is not functioning properly.  It boots and works fine in 2D, but any time I run a 3D application it either hangs with a corrupted screen or also with short blue vertical lines.  I don't have any other system compatible with this card, so I can't tell if the problem is the card or my computer, or if anything can possibly be done about it.

This system will not boot with either of my Voodoo5 5500 cards.

Thanks for your consideration

it sounds that the Mobo is nuked.
normaly if the voodoo5 5500 is working fine, the 6000 should go.
Please change the mobo, and let us know if is working.

Dont sent to repair / touch the 6000, until you are not sure about the mobo !

I can recall that a previous motherboard that I tried would work with the 5500, but not the 6000, so I wasn't sure if this was relevant as this board boots with the 6000 but not the 5500.

I'm not sure how I can test the motherboard since it was re-capped, works, and is stable.  The other motherboad I bought as an alternate did not work at all, and I'm not sure where to get a known working and V5 6000 compatible board.  All of the boards I have ever had from this time period suffer from capacitor plague (where all the caps were made with a sabotaged formula that leaks or swells) and therefore no longer work.

Thanks

Hi all.

- neurocrash:

I understand your concern on the Voodoo5 6000's health status, but your first topic "pushes me" to think that the motherboard is causing the issues with your 3dfx card. So I agree with m14radu.

Also because you're writing

QuoteThe 6000 worked the last time I tested it.

so I cannot imagine the Voodoo5 6000 becames broken while it is not working.

So you need to find, or to buy, also on line, a certainly compatible motherboard. You can choose a second-hand hardware that allows you to re-use the current cpu, RAM, and so on, to minimize the costs.

Al last, please try to boot the system with your current mobo as well as the Voodoo5 6000 card with one only (full working) DIMM module, a minimal set of internal and I/O devices, and a good PSU.

Bye bye

Hi,

The current system does boot and operates on the desktop, passes DirectDraw tests, and only malfunctions when a 3D/Glide application is run.  I don't know if there may be a diagnostic utility for Voodoo5 cards, but that would help since my guess is bad memory that is only used for 3D applications.

I've also run this motherboard with an Nvidia GeForce2 Ultra and a running Direct3D demo for more than six hours without any problems.  I've run memtest for several hours without error.  I haven't yet found any indication that this motherboard has a problem.

I have tried two standard PSUs, as well as a combination of a dedicated VGA PSU and standard PSU.  I have tried a molex adapter power connector as well as a hard wired 12v connector from the VGA PSU.  There is no difference, which may mean that power is not involved.

I have unfortunately had hardware that failed on its own while not in use, such as one of my Voodoo5 5500 cards and countless other random components.  I keep a crate of video, ethernet, sound, firewire, and other cards for the purpose of having spares in this kind of situation.  Unfortunately the one thing that is irreplaceable is the 6000.

I do have another motherboard on order, but since this will be my fifth try, I'm not confident that it will be in better condition that the one I have currently.  I would take suggestions if there is a make and model known to be 6000 compatible that may have been unaffected by the capacitor plague.

Thanks

Well, i do have also a v5 6000 that is very "demanding" when it comes to the motherboard choose thematic.
I did also try a lot of mobo, and only an poor ECS board is working correcly with mine. I know, it's not an Epox, or Asus, or tyan...but i'm happy with it !
Here you can find a topic related to the motherboards compatibility problems, based on user experiences.

http://www.voodoo3dfx.com/Foro_V6k/viewtopic.php?t=8&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=75

First of all, hope that you voodoo is ok, and try to borrow or buy the models that the most v56k users have.

After your description, it could be also driver problem.
Try to do a fresh install, with the SFFT or Amigamerlin drivers. They are the best ;)
if this not work install win98Se and give a try. Mine is working with this OS better than with the WinXP.

At the end, don't forget that this cards are prototypes and they were never released to the market. Their test phase was not finalized...

My advice: Do not flash or attempt to repair the card until you did not check all these points.

Hi,

I will try another of the same motherboard when it arrives, but keep in mind that this motherboard was working with the 6000 for years until I had to have the caps replaced since I was concerned it would damage the card.  I can buy more motherboards, but the expense gets ridiculous since compatible ones often sell for close to $200, which is a lot for experimentation.  I've tried about five boards already just trying to find one that was actually working and compatible with a Voodoo5 at all, and all of them had capacitor problems.

I will try a clean installation, but again this system was working when I took it apart to replace the motherboard, and the installation was not changed.  I do have a ghost image backup of the working installation, and can also try reinstalling Windows98 onto a clean drive.  I would not want to mess with WindowsXP with the games I intend to use, and I wish to avoid additional complications.

I would not have attempted to flash the card since it boots and runs fine in 2D and therefore seems to be good in that regard.  I would only attempt to have it repaired if there is someone qualified to do so, who can test the card in a known compatible system, and first replicate the problem that I have observed.  

This card was originally repaired by Hank, and worked flawlessly for years until the computer itself became unstable.  I thought this was due to a flaky Windows installation until I noticed capacitors on the motherboard were bad and stopped using the system until I could do something about it because I didn't want to damage the card.

The repaired board is extremely stable, as I ran it for about 20 hours yesterday running memtest, a Direct3D game for 7 hours (with an Nvidia card), a Voodoo5 5500 PCI card, and a wide variety of other activities.

I would like to know if there is anyone still around that I can pay to fix this card if it is in need of something like ram replacement.  I have three Voodoo5 5500's that I would gladly sacrifice if parts were needed.

Thanks

Maybe I have found something - when I sent the motherboard out for repair, the technician had to install his own CPU as he thought mine was defective.  It is likely that he reset the BIOS, which may have enabled AGP 4X and possibly AGP Fast writes.

Will a Voodoo5 hang if either of these are enabled?

I won't be able to test for a number of hours...

QuoteOriginally posted by neurocrash
It is likely that he reset the BIOS, which may have enabled AGP 4X and possibly AGP Fast writes.

Will a Voodoo5 hang if either of these are enabled?

The AGP Fast Write is not a problem in general, while the AGP 4X setting could be it.

Let us know.

Bye bye

Unfortunately this did not help when switched from 4x to 2x or 1x.  I also disable some shadowing options as one post recommended, although I have no idea what else could be in the BIOS that may be responsible for the problem.

In any game that I try to run there are some form of horizontal lines (red or blue), usually on a black screen, and the system hangs.  Everything 2D seems fine with no corruption at all.  I tried a backup of my installation and there is no change.  I still have to try a clean instllation while I wait for another motherboard to try.

Cheers

wait for the Mobo and let us know what is the result.
What type of mobo did you ordered ?

Anyway...try to install Win98 too.

I ordered two MSI MS-6561 745 Ultra and a Soyo SY-KT333 Dragon Ultra since my previous one worked for several years.  The other boards said to be compatible were $150-200 each.  Installing Windows98 <> joy

Cheers

OK, we are here: please let us know when you can test the card with a new mobo. However I continue to believe that this issue is related to new caps...

Bye bye.

Hi,

Is there any reason that good caps would make the V6k crash?  Otherwise, is it possible that changing a cap somewhere, such as the one near the AGP port, may fix this problem?

Thanks

Just a small update: a replacement Soyo Dragon SY-KT333 motherboard arrived and is functional with an Nvidia card.  Will not work with a Voodoo5 5500 and give one long, two short beep code which means "video problem".  

Is it possible that there is a bios setting that is causing this?  I had to reset the bios to default in order to get the CPU to work, and I don't know all the settings that might affect Voodoo5 compatibility.

The Voodoo5 6000 behaves the same with this board as with the last, where it will boot and run Windows, but hangs when a game is executed, usually with horizontal bands on a black screen.

Thanks

Hi,
Can you check inside the bios how is setup the Agp mode (1x,2x,4x) ?

What should this be set at for 5500 and/or 6000?  It was originally set at 4x, I tried 2x, probably also 1x but I would have to double check.

Agp 1x / 2x
(-> 3.3 v)

I tried 1x and 2x on two boards with no success.  They also will still not boot Voodoo5 5500.

I tested with the Video Memory stress Test (VMT) utility.  It reads the card as having 32mb or ram, and tests this bank with no error.  Presumably, the other banks are not accessible?  When I try to run the OpenGL test, it shows the 3Dfx animated logo, then crashes.

Another motherboard arrived today, which I will test, but it is seeming more likely that there is a defect on this board.

Has anyone had their 6000 upgraded by Osckhar?  He seems to know the problem.

My choice is going to be to send it off and hope it can be tested or repaired, or sell it as is for what I can get.

Thanks for your consideration

Hi neurocrash,

I am sure I can fix it, so don't sell it.
You can trust me 100%.

Best regards,
Oscar.

Is there a way that a voodoo variable or control panel setting can run the card on one VSA 1000 or limit the memory available, so it may be possible to see if the card functions in 3D at all?  I want to see if it is possible to rule out some other circuit failure.

When I ran an OpenGL test, I was surprised to first see the animated 3Dfx logo before it crashes, so something is working.

--

I tried an MSI 745 Ultra motherboard with AGP set to 1x.  It will not boot with either Voodoo5 5500.  Maybe both of these are bad?  It will boot with the Voodoo5 6000 but I won't know more until I resinstall 98.

Cheers

Okay, after installing another motherboard, an MSI MS-6561 745 Ultra, performing a clean install of Windows98 SE, installing the latest 3Dfx drivers for Voodoo6000, and installing a test game known to work with this card (Unreal Gold)...

The symptoms are exactly the same.  Black screen with horizontal rows of blue lines and system hangs.

Finally, I tested both AGP Voodoo5 5500 cards in two of my older PII and PIII systems (in addition to the three Voodoo5 compatible AMD boards), and neither work in any system.  The motherboard beep codes say VGA problem or failure.  

Both AGP 5500s seem to have gone bad while the 5500 PCI works fine.

Grumble

Can you try a Voodoo3 Agp ?

I do not have a Voodoo3.  I may have to send my Voodoo5 5500's away to someone that can test these too.

Thanks

QuoteIs there a way that a voodoo variable or control panel setting can run the card on one VSA 1000 or limit the memory available, so it may be possible to see if the card functions in 3D at all? I want to see if it is possible to rule out some other circuit failure.

When I ran an OpenGL test, I was surprised to first see the animated 3Dfx logo before it crashes, so something is working

In the 3dfx tools / Anti Aliasing tab , choose "Single Chip Only".

edit : Is the card hooked to your power supply ?  

I did test in single chip mode and the card still crashes.  I hope that doesn't mean there is something worse wrong with the card.

Here are some screenshots of what the crashes look like.

http://home.roadrunner.com/~neurocrash/images/6k1.jpg
http://home.roadrunner.com/~neurocrash/images/6k2.jpg
http://home.roadrunner.com/~neurocrash/images/6k3.jpg

I do have power connected to the card.

Thanks

QuoteOriginally posted by neurocrash

I did test in single chip mode and the card still crashes.  I hope that doesn't mean there is something worse wrong with the card.

Here are some screenshots of what the crashes look like.

http://home.roadrunner.com/~neurocrash/images/6k1.jpg
http://home.roadrunner.com/~neurocrash/images/6k2.jpg
http://home.roadrunner.com/~neurocrash/images/6k3.jpg

I do have power connected to the card.

Thanks

Does the top of the screen start with an artefacted row?

I'm not sure exactly what you mean.  As far as I can tell, all rows look the same.  The photos do not come out well.  Is there something I should be looking for at the top?

The type of corruption is different for each game.

QuoteOriginally posted by neurocrash

I'm not sure exactly what you mean.  As far as I can tell, all rows look the same.  The photos do not come out well.  Is there something I should be looking for at the top?

The type of corruption is different for each game.

Does the top of the screen start with a corrupted row (blue or white as I can see from the pictures) or a black row? Which one come first?

It starts with black, then the blue lines for this game.

Thanks

I have a spare EPOX 8K3A+ that I can sell you for testing.  It has been known to be an extremely compatible and solid board for our beloved V56K's.  Or depedning on your location I should just send it to you for testing...

I've tested it in four boards compatible with the Voodoo5 6000, as recommended models, including one that used to work with it.  In the past, boards that were not compatible would not even boot.  Each of these boards boots and runs Windows fine, but the system hangs with a 3D application.

Signs are that the card has a memory problem and needs repair.

Thank you for your kind offer

In that case best of luck to you and god speed.  I know what it is like to have a v6k that has issues and going to extreme lengths to get it back to a functional state. I had a 2600A2 that needed some fixing and the hint chip needed to be replaced to bring it back to life.  

[8D]

Now this thread is sticky.

Bye bye