AMD Driver Issues

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
Sorry about starting a brand new thread for this problem :)

I've gone thru two previous threads :

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/hardware-q/125625-ati-display-driver-has-stopped-responding.html

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/graphic-cards/135666-game-crashes-amd-hd-6850-a.html


system spec is as follows :

intel core i 5 - 2400 proc
intel dh67bl - b3 mobo
msi hd 6850 1 GB cyclone power oc edition
corsair 4 GB DDR 3 @ 1333Mhz
Coolermaster elite 430
antec 650 watts

i get :

Display driver amdkmdap stopped responding and has successfully recovered.

i get this error often as i play mafia ii , nfs hp and fifa 11 at the highest settings . just once error occured while playing chess titans in win 7. :)

i've tried the 10.10 hot fix amd drivers , the latest drivers from msi website and now i'm using the catalyst 11.8 drivers from the amd website.

each time i've uninstalled old drivers, booted in safe mode , cleaned out using driver sweep and reinstalled new drivers . still i'm getting the error message often .

i've also updated my motherboard bios to the latest version, updated directx to the latest.


is this actually a driver incompatability issue ? lot ot ppl with hd 5xxx and hd 6xxx series cards seem to have issues with amd drivers.

it usually happens with graphically intensive games when gpu is really loaded .

from afterburner i've seen my gpu temp is around 40 c in idle . and max it has gone is around 65 c .

my gpu is factory oc'd . i've never meddled with it .

any other msi 6850 oc edition user here ? have u faced this problem ? is there any work around guys ?
 
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Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
Uninstall your drivers. Reboot. Delete if any leftover files remains. Install the latest driver. DON'T USE ANY DRIVER CLEANER. In my experience, they create more problems than solving. BTW, which version of Windows are you using?
 
OP
cgi86

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
@ skud : then the damage is already done :) .... i've reinstalled drivers three times and used driver sweeper all three times .I've installed the latest catalyst 11.8 drivers now ..... after uninstalling the original drivers that came with my card , i had manually removed the ati folders too .

Anyways , i'm using windows 7 ultimate edition . The driver crash and restart occurs mostly only when playing 3d games at ultra high settings . mafia ii , fifa 11 and nfs hp have given errors ... whereas burnout paradise has never given error.

I wonder if this is really a driver issue . My card is factory oc'ed and as i mentioned above , the temperatures are quite okay , I believe . Really perplexed . When it works okay , this card is really a charm .... the visuals in Mafia ii and NFS Hp are just incredible , especially the textures and lighting effects .... its quite a shame that it crashes this often .

Has your 6950 ever given such errors , Skud ?
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
Nah. Previously, I have this sort of problem with my previous 4850 and the drivers that came with the disc. I also tried just the steps like you, including driver cleaner and the problem escalated. Then did an uninstall of the whole thing, installed the new one from AMD website, and in peace since then.

With the 6950, straightaway got rid of the disc.
 
OP
cgi86

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
Hmmm. Then its a driver incompatibility problem rather than a hardware problem . Why cant these vendors ( MSi , Asus , Sapphire etc) release proper drivers along with their expensive graphic cards ? Atleast for the most popular Windows 7 Operating system ? With my 9.2 K Graphics card , I didnt get even a HDMI Cable . Just a DVI to VGA adaper . I've connected using that with a vga cable to my LED Monitor. :neutral:

Anyways , I'll try uninstalling the drivers the normal way . Deleting ATI files manually . Do a registry clean with CCleaner and reinstall the latest driver suite from AMD site. Will avoid the Driver Sweeper this time and see.
 
OP
cgi86

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
No . I've left it at installed phase . Automatic Updates disabled . Are there any particular recommended updates , security updates , patches or bug fixes to be installed ?
 

varunb

Working in an IT company
DON'T USE ANY DRIVER CLEANER. In my experience, they create more problems than solving.

If you faced this issue with driver sweeper doesn't means everybody will face it too. I have never faced any problem with driver sweeper & many others haven't too. Infact, driver sweeper or any similar tool was created to solve problems caused by the original driver uninstallers. Such tools are made by the devs after extensive testing. Dont forget this fact.

I would suggest the OP to try the older drivers & check if they too are giving you the same problem. Also try increasing your gfx card's fan speed to 65-70% manually before running any game just to ensure that there's is no heating problem.
 
OP
cgi86

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
varunb - the original drivers that came with disc , latest drivers in msi website , 10.10 hot fix amd drivers and the latest catalyst 11.8 drivers are all giving the error . i've tried each of the above . uninstalling the drivers , doing driver sweep in safe mode and installing the next driver .

As for fan speed , from afterburner , I see that the fan speed never exceeds 45- 50 % . But as i mentioned before , the temperature too has never exceeded 65 C . At idling its constant at 40 - 41 C . I'll try manually increasing the speed to higher value .
 

varunb

Working in an IT company
Well a lot of people have attributed the cause of this problem to be low voltage or overclock but I believe you running everything at stock speeds so its ruled out. Also you mentioned that

it usually happens with graphically intensive games when gpu is really loaded .

is making me think that it could be fault gfx card. Did you see any sort of texture corruption, flickering, etc just before or after that error?
 

Cilus

laborare est orare
I have faced the problem before both with my older HD 5770 and the new HD 6870. 1st time the reason was faulty card and 2nd time faulty driver.

There are several causes:
1. Graphics card driver issue
2. Graphics card is not getting enough power.
3. Graphcis card is getting hot
4. Faulty memory in Graphics card.

Unistalling driver with Driver Sweeper does not bring any problems, infact it is the recommended way to remove drivers. varunb, you get the 11.7 Driver 1st. Then install the latest DirectX and 11.7 after unistalling the 11.8 using Driver Sweeper. Also monitor the temparature using any monitoring tools like GPU-Z while playing games.
 

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
If you faced this issue with driver sweeper doesn't means everybody will face it too. I have never faced any problem with driver sweeper & many others haven't too. Infact, driver sweeper or any similar tool was created to solve problems caused by the original driver uninstallers. Such tools are made by the devs after extensive testing. Dont forget this fact.

I would suggest the OP to try the older drivers & check if they too are giving you the same problem. Also try increasing your gfx card's fan speed to 65-70% manually before running any game just to ensure that there's is no heating problem.


I have recommended as per OP's problems. Driver cleaner hasn't solve his isuues. So it's better to stay away from it for the moment.
 
OP
cgi86

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
varunb & cilus : there is no texture corruption . the screen freezes for a moment . then flickers and comes back on and returns to the game . in windows event viewer , there will be a warning message that the driver has stopped responding and has successfully recovered. I dont think this is overclock problem . Because the card is factory overclocked and i havent messed with it at all .

@ Cilus - I do believe this is some driver issue . Power is not problem as I have Antec 650 W PSU powering my system . The temperature afaik is okay , i believe . Maximum it has gone 60 - 65 C. I'm monitoring using Afterburner . Dont know if its accurate or not.I have installed the 11.8 drivers now. Will try with the 11.7 one you told .
 

varunb

Working in an IT company
I have recommended as per OP's problems. Driver cleaner hasn't solve his isuues. So it's better to stay away from it for the moment.

No. Your comment was implying that the OP shouldn't even touch driver cleaner (be it now or in the future) even though it may solve it. OP stated that driver sweeper didn't solve the problem but he didn't say that he started getting a new problem after driver cleaner. So your suggestion about not touching driver cleaner again is pointless.

@cgi86, I faced similar error with my previous gfx card & I found out that my card was dying. My suggestion to you would now be to take it to the service center for replacement if its under warranty.
 
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OP
cgi86

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
Just now tried one thing - loaded up GPU-Z . manually set the fan speed to 75 % in afterburner . played nfs hp for sometime . no crash . max temp 60 c.

Set fan speed back to auto . started nfs hp . just before start of race , driver crashed once ... then it was ok .... now checked GPU -Z again . Max temp 60 c . max fan speed - 63 %

I feel its either driver problem or a Gpu memory problem.
 

varunb

Working in an IT company
Well its great you found something. Manually change the fan speed now just like I mentioned earlier.
 

Cilus

laborare est orare
Then your Graphics card's Fan is not working properly in Auto mode and while gaming temperature increases to a certain degree causing the problem. And Regarding your experience that games getting paused while playing and then the Message is coming....it is same for my case. The reason is that Windows 7 can recover from the Display Driver crash by starting the stopped Display Driver process without restarting.
But running Gfx card all the time with 75% to 80% speed may damage the fan too. So my suggestion is just to make sure that it is not any software issue, format your system and directly install the latest catalyst display driver after re-installing OS and see if the problem still exists or not.
Also you can download MSI Afterburner and can set profile for manual fan control. It has the option to set different fan speed at different load like 35% fan speed at 30% load, 60% fan speed at 50% load and 100% fan speed @ 60% and higher.
 
OP
cgi86

cgi86

Tech Enthusiast
Hi Guys ,

I was down with flu . So couldn't experiment much . So here's the continuation of my tale - 'Taming of the Graphic Card' :)

I'm almost convinced that temperature is not the issue , since it has never crossed 65 c . And the fan speed thing is also not the issue . Tried setting fan speed to 75 % manually in afterburner . Started up NFS HP. Gave crash just at start of race . Not only driver crashed , whole system froze. Had to hard reset CPU :( .

So I'm leaving the fan speed back to auto setting in afterburner . Next removed the current amd drivers (11.8 ) . Restarted in safe mode . Driver Sweeped AMD . Cleaned registry with Ccleaner . Restarted and installed the 11.7 drivers . Initially all seems good . NFS HP starts ok . Fifa 11 plays okay . But later , in NFS HP , drivers crash repeatedly . Twice in three minutes . Since then no issues till now .

But obviously its not resolved . Only thing left for me is to format and reinstall OS , and right away try with the latest catalyst drivers as a last resort.

If that too fails , its clearly a faulty GPU - problem with GPU memory or something . May have to get it serviced . :(

CGi86
 
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