X1900XT/Catalyst Problem

[Biddypapa]

Last night before I went to bed, I wanted to update to the new catalyst drivers, mainly because it give a temp reading for my ATI X1900XT. I downloaded Net 2.0, then Catalyst 6.8. After restarting through the prompt, everything boots up normally. After the Window's loading screen, everything fades to black, then my monitor goes into power saving mode. Forty minutes before, I just got done gaming for ~5 hours.

The question I pose is this: Is this a hardware malfunction, or is Catalyst 6.8 conflicting with Window's somehow as it's about to load into desktop?

If it is a software glitch, will reformating or using my old GeForce 5600 to get to desktop and remove Catalyst work best?

mobo: ABit AT8 mobo
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 4400 dual-core
RAM: OCZ 2x1 Gb DDR400
VGA: ATI Sapphire X1900XT
PSU: Antec Truepower 2 550w

 

[Biddypapa]

Also, I have this issue if anyone thinks it's related:

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/CPU-Mobo-ftopict197816.html

 

[AntiHax0r]

You may not have to reinstall the 5600, just going into Safe Mode should work and you should be able to uninstall/rollback from there.

 

[GherkinPekul]

So far, all cat 6.8 has done to me was slow down my reboots. I used to go from bios to desktop in @ 30 seconds, now it takes 1 1/2 minutes. Just another quirky driver from ATI.

 

[The_OGS]

Hi Biddypapa,
You're having a rough time there, with these problems...
I consider myself an X1900XT 'expert' (for ~2 weeks now, LoL) but I had ATI before, and I know Catalyst pretty well.
1) You gotta uninstall previous ATI vid drivers
(When you see the 640x480 - ack! - you know you're good.)
2) ATI has an uninstall package (exe) for those who are in poor shape, registry-wise. It's a good thing.
3) Disable virus protection, after fresh reboot to 640x480, before running new 6.8 package.
I would do a tuneup first, starting with your BIOS - you gotta get your rig solid, first.
Try all nice stock default settings that are solid, and get it running stable.
Checkout all your fans & coolers, and your whole rig. Is your vidcard getting enough power?
But that doesn't explain your exact situation (you said you were just gaming for hours) so, hopefully safe-mode and uninstall all vid drivers, and maybe a new CR2032 battery if you require, will fix you up :^)
Good luck,
Regards

 

[Granite3]

So far, all cat 6.8 has done to me was slow down my reboots. I used to go from bios to desktop in @ 30 seconds, now it takes 1 1/2 minutes. Just another quirky driver from ATI.

Huh, had the same thing happen, and been looking for the culprit. Been pulling my hair out the last month or so checking all the nooks and crannies, and I should have known.....

Thanks!

 

[Biddypapa]

Well, I'm not even getting into window's desktop, my screen goes black and my monitor switches to power savings mode. So maybe I should keep it on and see if my desktop does eventually come up?

 

[The_OGS]

Hi GherkinPekul and granite3,
There is a Catalyst 'trick' you guys will appreciate:
The theory is, you need CCC only to make adjustments. Many folks don't make adjustments for weeks/months at a time - so they don't need CCC running every time they start their computers! You probably don't either.
It adds a solid ~30 seconds to your startup time, uses ~100MB+ memory, and for goodness sake turn off the ATI 'VPU Recover' and Error Report BS too, LoL :^)
So you setup CCC just the way you want it, then remove it from Startup. Any adjustments can still easily be made - you just have to click the ATI icon 'Restart Runtime' first, no need to keep it running all the time...
I use Spybot S&D to control my startup programs (it is a little-known feature of Spybot, very convenient).
Set Spybot to mode 'Advanced Mode'. Now at the bottom-left you will see 'Tools > System Startup'. You can easily untick all kinds of crap like QuickTime and Real and Nero and Adobe updaters etc...
And you can untick ATI.ACE\CLIStart.exe too.
Here is some more good ATI info for you (and this guy Koroush is a bright boy, he knows nVidia also :^)
http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_1.html
And hey, thank goodness for old 5600's, y'know? LoL
Later

 

[The_OGS]

Well, I'm not even getting into window's desktop, my screen goes black and my monitor switches to power savings mode. So maybe I should keep it on and see if my desktop does eventually come up?

...no - not gonna happen.
I forgot to ask you, so does it start okay with another vidcard ie. the 5600 or whatever? (What verndewd has already asked you).
We can't take the suspense...
Regards