DIsplay issues ATI can't fix...so let's go to the real pro's

[Sparticus]

Ok here is the issue. Using Catalyst 6.1-6.4 on an x1900 AIW, and using an NEC 1770NX LCD I get "No Signal" after the Windows Splash screen. Sometimes I get it, but sometimes I don't, but I get the problem more often than not. When I can boot to Windows I have NO OTHER ISSUES AT ALL with my video card. I can play FEAR, DOOM3, B&W2 and have absolutely no issues. I suspect my drivers because when I uninstall my graphics drivers I do not get the issue. So my question is this. Software or hardware?

 

[cleeve]

Damn Peculiar.

Are you using DVI or VGA cables?

For shits and giggles, you could try to set 'force TV detection' in the catalyst drivers...

 

[malphadour]

Hi, I have experienced this with a couple of customers PC's running Catalyst drivers. The issue was to do with mixed driver versions due to old driver files being left around when new drivers were installed. This happens quite a lot with video card drivers because the old driver files are rarely got rid of completely by normal means so you end up with certain system calls picking up a mix of files from different versions of the driver. This usually doesnt cause big issues, but it is known to effect performance sometimes and upset some games.

Ok, on to business, assuming this is the issue, you need to completely remove the installed Catalyst drivers. If you click on this rather useful link

http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_1.html

on page 4 is a comprehensive set of instructions for removing the drivers properly, as you will see it is more involved than just uninstalling them.

If this doesnt work (but its worth doing anyway) the next thing I would try is to remove and reseat your card and to also diconnect and then reconnect the power connector for the card (ok, you might try this before mucking about cleaning up drivers).

One other thing if this still does not resolve this issue, try using the other video output on your card, its possible one of the outputs has an intermittent fault (tho this is pretty rare).

 

[ivoryjohn]

My first inclination would be to clean up all old drivers as already posted. I would also check your cable. Swap it if you can, and visually examine the pins if you are using a vga end.

 

[Sparticus]

I am using a DVI cable, but my monitor support VGA as well, and I had tried that, too. Also, I had used the ATI uninstall tool to remove all ATI software from my system, and try reinstalling only the drivers from my CD, and I still had the same problem. I have tried such a cocktail of driver versions and types without success. And, fo course, ATI is of NO help.

 

[GeneticWeapon]

Please read this rage3d thread, and join the ranks of many who are trying to get a fix from ATi(to no avail :roll: )

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33752579&highlight=signal+loss+isues

When your monitor dies, report back and let us know...

 

[Sparticus]

Kick ass thread man. I guess there are a few extreme things I could try. The part about the monitor is intriguing me right now, so I may try and force EDID of my monitor. I don't know if it will help, but it is worth a try.

 

[Sparticus]

So you fixed your issue by just switching to a CRT, then back to LCD? No offense, but how could that ever work? :?

 

[Sparticus]

No go with the EDID. I checked it and it is set to Digital, like it is supposed to. No idea if there is anything else I can do. Anyone think it could be my BIOS for my Video Card? Or should I just go with the fact that it is Catalyst?

 

[malphadour]

The ATI Uninstall Tool does not do a complete job, it gets rid of 3/4 of stuff but still leaves some traces behind particularly in the registry.

 

[Sparticus]

Well I wiped my HDD and reinstalled a clean copy of Windows, installed Catalyst Drivers and BAM! same issue. I reseated my card and power cable for the card as well and still have the same issue. I installed all the new Chipset drivers, all of the new Windows updates, and even tried Catalyst 6.4 *although I think it sucks and I always roll back to 6.1 or 6.2*. Now during one of these issue I was lucky enough for it to get INTO Windows once and crash IN Windows with the same error. I went to Event viewr and this is what I found...

... so these are the errors that Event viewer came up with after the crash. I sent an error report to microsoft, where it took me to a website where it said that "Microsoft has alerted ATI of this problem previously, but ATI has not come up with a resolution." (Which actually means "ATI brushed it off and doesn't care")

 

[Sparticus]

And by the way, if I reboot my PC enough I can sometimes get into Windows, but I am so worried about Hardware failure after so many reboots per day.

 

[pharoah]

i had the same thing happen on my 1300 i crapped out the drivers and installed the omega drivers havent had a problem since

 

[Sparticus]

Thanks I will try them and repost. I was also wondering, though, is it possible my Videocrad BIOS is slightly corrupted or something?

 

[Sparticus]

Omega drivers a no-go. I even did a full wipe of my drivers with Driver Cleaner Pro. I got a message from ATI Tray Tools that my Video Card BIOS cannot be read. I hope my BIOS isn't corrupted....

 

[malphadour]

I wonder if it is worth trying your card in a friends PC (assuming you have with with PCI X and who is very friendly).

 

[Sparticus]

I have no friends with rig's like mine. And the closest good computer in my family is the one I built for my brothers YEARS ago. They have AGP, not PCI-E, so that's a no go. I am stuck to troubleshooting in my own PC here

 

[bweir]

Get the newest Catalyst suite and download the ATI Catalyst Uninstaller tool then use it to wipe any trace of previous Cat drivers from your system (including the ATI Tray Tools). Reboot, install the new drivers and see if it helps.

I had this problem once, but it simply went away after a couple weeks. A month or two later, my PSU crapped out, so I never knew if they were related problems.

What are the specs on your PSU? And what brand, model #?

 

[tgstyle]

I scratched my head over this problem with my x1900xtx a while back. I built a new system with a A8N32-SLI Deluxe. Could not get the system to boot reliably to windows using a dual display with DVI on a DELL 2405FPW and 2005FPW. Thought it was due to Nvidia and ATI not playing nicely. I would hook up a CRT and bam worked fine every boot. Latest video/motherboard drivers at the time. Two things happened... One - my OCZ Platinum RAM died that weekend, I had that replaced. So possibly your RAM could be faulty. Two - I checked event viewer and noticed the drives had paging errors due to the nforce chipset Sata II issue. I disabled command queing on the nforce controller, from then on the system worked great. Im not sure if it just went away or if one of those was the fix. Since then I switched to a A8R32-MVP Deluxe and have not had a glitch (Odd as that sounds with so many people reporting problems). My A8R32 was way more stable then my A8N32... Even overclocking my Opty 170 to 2.7GHz...

 

[ivoryjohn]

Grasping at straws here, but have you loaded all the windows patches to eliminate them as an issue (since you wiped and reloaded)?

Also, you have mentioned concern about your GPU bios a couple times, have you done anything to the bios? Tried flashing it to XTX or something?

 

[Sparticus]

I didn't touch my ATI BIOS at all. But I am wondering whether it could be my power supply, my LCD, or my ATI BIOS now. I guess my next step is to try a CRT. But it is just weird that I can boot "sometimes" into Windows and other tims I cannot .