System locks ups after 8800gtx upgrade

Hi all. Just changed my 3d card from ATi X800XT to an Nvidia 8800gtx. Unfortunately when i first turn the system on it gets past the bios loading to the point the windows XP logo with the loading bar should appear, but i just get a black screen. Hit the reset button i get the menu to load normally or safe mode, it loads fine into both. This is the only way i can boot into windows, once into windows i can restart from start menu and it restarts fine, its only when first turning the system on this occurs.

On top of that the system randomly locks up when surfing the net/messenger/winamp. Yet can do an Everest stability test for 30min perfectly fine, can do an Nvidia stabilty test for 30min perfectly fine, ran bioshock for 3 hours all settings maxed out perfectly fine. It seems to be a windows related issue.

Any idea except a system format?

System specs:
Amd skt939 X2 4800+
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum
2x1Gb G.Skill 3200+ DDR
Nvidia 8800GTX
200Gb SATA Seagate

Yeah i know the 3d card is a bit OTT compared to the rest of the system, bought it now to play Bioshock, quake wars and crysis, was planning a full upgrade next spring anyway.

P.S. It locked up just as i finished typing this, thank got for Firefox session restore ^^


Update:- Done BIOS update and still didnt help. Done a BIOS reset and redone all the settings ensuring all clock speeds and voltages were correct. Also when i upgraded i removed my floppy drive, removed all mention of it as well including in hardware Boot sequence. Seems to be working now. Very strange considering all settings were correct before hand

 

Check your BIOS is updated for that motherboard.

 

Just clutching at straws to help:
Did you do a complete driver clean to get rid of all residue of ATI drivers
and going back to basic (super) VGA in Windows
before installing the nVidia drivers ?

If not then maybe best to clean now (maybe for both the ATI and nVidia)
and have another go at loading the latest nVidia (eg using their online video card detector) rather than anything that came with the card.

I believe the freeware Driver Cleaner Pro is THE tool most generally recommended
eg http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

 

^ what mk-donald said ^

When switching from one flavour (ATI) of gfx card to another (NVidia) you NEED to uninstall the previous gfx drivers with the old gfx card still in. It's also a good idea to dl driverclean and follow the instructions to the letter. This will then give you a clean slate to install your new video card.

 

Done 3 times now even from within safe mode and freshly downloaded drivers incase it was a fault there, error continues. About to update bios will update.

 

Updated. See original post.

 

what's your PSU? how are the voltages? the 8800GTX draws a lot more power than the x800 even at idle and it may be pushing your PSU over the edge

 

580W Hiper PSU. In the case is 1 SATA HD, 1 DVD ROM, 1 DVD RW. All same cable, all other used for MoBo and GTX.

Voltages:
CPU 1.3V = 1.31V
+3.3V = 3.36V
+5V = 5.08V
+12V = 12.04V
+5V standby = 5.14V