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TNT2 M64 not working right

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First post, by Flowermanvista

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Hello, people of VOGONS. Some time ago, I found a Pentium 2 computer disassembled on the curb, and I took it home and put it back together. It pretty much worked without a hitch, but with one issue: the 3D acceleration doesn't work right. Almost all 2D accelerations look exactly like they should, but 3D-accelerated things turn into a strobey white mess. I took some pictures in one game as an example (the game is Toy Story 2 Action Game).

Here's the game in software mode. The framerate is obviously unplayably low, but it at least looks like it's supposed to look like.

34QDwMs.jpg

Now here's the game in hardware mode. The game actually runs at a good framerate and at the right speed, but I don't want to play it like this.

pU7qbGI.jpg

Things I've tried:
- reseating CPU, memory, and graphics card
- installing and reinstalling multiple different versions of the Detonator drivers (versions past 44.03 hang on bootup)
- changing the AGP clock setting in the BIOS
- Memtest86ing and removing questionable memory modules
- installing the updated Vga.drv file from the Windows 98 SE CD (did not fix the hanging issue with Detonator versions past 44.03)
- completely reinstalling Windows 98 from scratch to ensure I have a fresh install of the drivers (did not change a thing)

System specs:

OS: Windows 98 SE
CPU: Pentium 2 w/MMX, 200 MHz
Mobo: W6BXA/V
RAM: 128 MB
Sound: Creative SB16 PCI (CT4740)
Video: NVidia RIVA TNT2 Model 64
VANTA BIOS version: 2.05.13.03

Other notes:

- I use a USB mouse with the machine, and I installed the NUSB version 3 driver to get flash drive support.
- I don't have any other boards from a similar era, and I have no other AGP graphics cards at all.
- I attempted to install Windows XP to see if it was Windows 98's fault. Shortly after completing the install process, the OS crashed after a draw operation failed, and I decided not to mess with it much more after that.
- After removing the questionable modules, I didn't test the remaining one that thouroughly. If that could be the issue, I'll do a longer test.
- When I say "almost all" 2D stuff works, there are a few particular things that do not work right: the icon for the "device not ready" box is in the wrong colors, and the same is for the icon on the box warning me about custom refresh rates in the Windows video settings. Other than that, everything 2D works as it should.

Reply 3 of 11, by liqmat

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I have a box full of TNT2 M64 cards. You pay shipping costs and I'll give you a couple and see if that fixes your problem. Let me know if you are interested in that and then I'll PM you my my email so you can give me a shipping address.

Last edited by liqmat on 2019-05-31, 14:26. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 4 of 11, by Flowermanvista

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While that is very generous of you, and I do thank you for thinking of that, I don't believe that would be an option due to my home situation. It may be possible for me to arrange that, but it's no guarantee.

Based off of the things I've tried so far, do you believe that "defective card" is the most likely explanation to the weird 3D issues? Personally, I think the failed draw operation crash I experienced in Windows XP does lend a bit of credence to that theory, but I want to try anything else that is possible before giving up and seeking a replacement.

Reply 7 of 11, by ODwilly

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I don't think it could be anything other than hardware failure. If you had another system to try it in and it repeated the same behavior than it would be 100%. As is all ya can really do is grab another card from somewhere and give it a try.

Main pc: Asus ROG 17. R9 5900HX, RTX 3070m, 16gb ddr4 3200, 1tb NVME.
Retro PC: Soyo P4S Dragon, 3gb ddr 266, 120gb Maxtor, Geforce Fx 5950 Ultra, SB Live! 5.1

Reply 10 of 11, by Flowermanvista

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I seem to have found the solution in one of the most unexpected places: while running some diagnostic programs, I attempted to run 3DMark, but it required a newer version of DirectX. Now that I have installed DirectX 8.1, instead of whatever version (probably 4.x) it was using before, the issue of missing textures seems to have been resolved. 3D applications (such as that Toy Story game) and even 3DMark 2001 SE work as they should, although the performance isn't particularly great (210-220 3D marks, 640x480 16-bit, 16-bit texture format and Z-buffer, double framebuffer, Direct3D software rendering pipeline).

As some final notes, I ran Memtest86 on the remaining memory module for about a pass and a half, and no errors were found.

I also ran Prime95 for about an hour and 45 minutes, and it also found no errors.

I'd like to thank everyone who tried to help me resolve the issue, and I'd especially like to thank liqmat for their generosity in offering me free TNT2 cards. If I don't run into any more issues within the next 24 hours, I'll close this thread.

I'd also like to thank oeuvre for giving me a good chuckle while trying to resolve the issue.

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