K7T266 Pro R and Geforce 2 GTS problem

Question

Hello everyone. I have been experiencing a problem for some time now regarding lockups and crashes caused by my video card, which vary in severity depending on the driver version used. Since I'm using an MSI K7T266 Pro Raid mobo (version 1) I thought I'd post my question here.
The exact problem depends on the driver version. Using any Nvidia Detonator drivers at version 40 or newer, my system becomes extremely unstable. On first booting everything seems fine, however if I try to open my Geforce display properties the Windows freezes during the redraw of the display properties window, which goes blank. Sometimes I can call up Close Programs Dialog, which shows DDHELP in the list, and [not responding]. I've never actually gotten an error message from DDHELP or any other error message -- perhaps the computer jams too hard for Windows to get one up. I've seen reports around the Net about DDHELP problems from things like DirectX 8.1, but they're never quite like my problem. The problem is identical on DirectX 8.0, 8.1, and on 9.0.
No matter what I try to do in Windows with these drivers installed, the computer will lock up in seconds. For example, if I then open IE 5.5, I might be able to get as far as a page or two before the similar thing happens: during the window redraw the computer locks up (usually with a blank or partially-redrawn window), sometimes causing the mouse to lock and sometimes not, and then if I can get the Close Program Dialog open DDHELP has appeared and is Not Responding.
The most stable driver version I've found so far is 29.42, which does not cause the lockup above and never causes DDHELP to appear. However, it is quite unstable as well, and causes Windows to lock up sporadically during 2D window redraws in various programs. For example, when calling up a Save Document dialog or when opening a pulldown menu the program will lock either before any of the redraw becomes visible on screen or when the new dialog box is "skeletal", only partially drawn. Sometimes the crash is severe enough that I have to do a cold restart on my system.
The other problem is that sporadically garbage blocks will appear in portions of my screen, like old windows and color bands popping up that do not refresh. This often happens to me in Photoshop 6, and happens usually when I'm scrolling down a window or something.
These problems with version 29.42 all appear to be 2d window-drawing related. I do not have any problems with 3d games with 29.42. However, the new reference drivers are so unstable on my system that I can't even try to open them.
With 29.42, the most stable drivers I've found so far, some kind of lockup due to redrawing windows almost always occurs within an hour (sometimes minutes) of booting up.
For what it's worth, dxdiag tests just fine.
I was hoping someone could help me figure out what's causing the trouble, what driver I should use, and how to resolve it. If possible, I'd really like to use the newer drivers as I've been told they're much faster. In any event, I hate having such an unstable system where lockups could occur at any moment!
Here's the lowdown of my system:
-MSI K7T266 Pro Raid [1] mobo (MS-6380)
     AMIBIOS date: 5/1/2001
     VIA 4in1 drivers version 4.45
     ACPI power management disabled
     PnP Aware OS enabled
-256 meg PC2100 SDRAM with 266 mhz FSB
     2.5 cas latency
-AMD Athlon 1.33 gb with 266 mhz FSB
-Asus AGP-V7700 (Geforce 2 GTS) 32 mb
     AGP 4X, Fast Write enabled, Aperture size 128 mb
     current drivers: Nvidia reference 29.42 (also 40+)
     on IRQ11 (shares with my Ethernet card)
     BIOS version 2.15.01.14
-Windows 98SE
-DirectX 9.0 (also tried 8.1 etc)
-Soundblaster Live! 5.1 on slot 3, drivers from 5/2002
-Viewsonic PF790 monitor
-C drive is 30gb Western Digital 7200rpm, FAT32
-D drive is Raid 0 striped array, pair of 40gb 7200rpm
-Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet Adapter on slot 5
-no memory resident programs on loadup except for WinPoET, Explorer, Systray
If there's anything I've left out that could help, let me know!
Thanks to anyone in advance,
Raphael Tehan

Answer 1

Quote
Originally posted by backwoodz
You should post this in the VIA forums........If was me I would first swap the nic card to a differnt slot and try to stop the sharing of videos irq.....secondly try relaxing your memory timings to the most laxed setting
Thanks, I realized after posting this was the incorrect forum. I've put it in the VIA Socket A boards area, and also am trying the Via Arena forums.
Are you talking about my mainboard or graphics card memory?
Here's what I've got set under Advanced Chipset:
Configue SDRAM timing by: SPD
SDRAM Frequency: HCLK
SDRAM CAS# Latency: 2.5
SDRAM Bank Interleave: disabled
SDRAM 1T command: enabled
AGP mode: 4x
AGP comp driving: auto
Manual AGP comp. driving: CB
AGP Fast Write: enabled
AGP Read Synchronization: disabled
AGP aperture size: 128 mb
Do any of these settings seem problematic to you?
Thanks.