Atikmpag.sys BSOD

[teroxgt]

Hi guys, I have recently purchased a new system after suggestions and articles by the members of TH. Here are my specs:

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE 3.2 Ghz
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB GDDR5 PCIE
Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
Corsair XMS 3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 RAM [ 2 4GB kits totalling 8 GB]
WD Caviar 1 TB
Corsair TX650W
Cooler Master 430 Elite Black

The system as such is fine. No identifiable issues. The problem comes with the Unigine's Heavens Benchmark. When I run the benchmark, after sometime it freezes and the screen blacks out. Then I get a BSOD with the atikmpag.sys file and restarts. Now this problem is ONLY with Heavens Benchmark and every time I run it, it BSODs after sometime. Once I even completed the test and then it BSODed. All other tests are fine. 3Dmarks06 and Vantage run fine. PCMark also runs fine. Tried memory diagnostic and that was also fine. I tried the latest Catalyst 10.12, the earlier 10.10e and also the supplied Driver CD ( I followed the standard procedure of using Driver Sweeper during Safe Mode for removing the remaining files after uninstalling them normally ), but to no effect. I still get the BSOD when I run the said benchmark. Otherwise the system is working without any major hiccups so far( it froze once early on). So could you please help me on this?

Thanks

 

[teroxgt]

**UPDATE***The dealer had put the graphic card in the wrong slot (x8 slot, the grey one) instead of the x16 2.0 slot (blue). So I guess the card wasn't getting sufficient power to run the test. But there is another issue here albeit not a major one. The performance has dropped quite a lot. Earlier when the card was on a x8 slot I got 19740 3Dmarks06, but now I got only 18670 after putting it in the x16 one. In both the cases, the driver used is 10.12 Catalyst. So can you guys help me on that...

 

[jaquith]

It needs to be installed in the PCIe slot closest to the CPU. Benchmarks, could be from several things - What other changes were made from "now' verses "earlier" -- you need to look at a system as a whole and not a 'part'. Things that effect the tests the most, in this instance, CPU & BIOS settings, RAM changes & BIOS settings, background Apps, Resolution, and 'other drivers'.

Recommendation - run MSCONFIG and select Diagnostic, restart and re-run tests.

 

[teroxgt]

well apart from changing the card from the x8 to x16 slot no other changes have been made. And I even overclocked the RAM to 1600 mhz as per your instructions in the other thread. Apart from this, no other changes have been made to BIOS. And as per what you said, my GPU is far away from the processor. Its almost near the PSU!!! The design of the M4A89GTD ain't that good. I mean the PSU is blocking the air from the card. Other than that all other settings is at stock. Minimal background apps (physical memory in task manager is only at 9%). As per your suggestion, I shall do that and post the results.

 

[jaquith]

No, I said -> "It needs to be installed in the PCIe slot closest to the CPU" a/k/a the top PCIe slot. It needs to be installed in the grey slot.

I also said -> "Corsair sets for your CPU {CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 is meant for Intel CPUs} -> http://www.corsair.com/products/phenomii/default.aspx "

 

[teroxgt]

But in the asus manual that I have got with the mobo, its mentioned that the grey slot is the one with the x8 speed. It recommended me to install the graphic card in the x16 slot which is the long blue slot, keeping the VGA switch card that I got with the mobo in the gray slot to get the maximum speed. I have noticed that when I had my card in the grey slot, the heavens benchmark always crashed. Now, when I put the card in the x16 slot, I have run the same benchmark for over 2 hours, without crashing!! The only drawback is reduced performance

And in the same manual, under the QVL (Qaulified Vendor List), the same model RAM (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) is listed as supported by the motherboard. I have asked the dealer to get me one of the kits approved on the corsair page for phenom and get my existing kit replaced. He said it will take time, but will get it replaced...

And also, in GPU Z my GPU core clock is set at 100 mhz and Memory clock is set at 300. Is this normal? Coz from what I see, this card suppors 900/1050 mhz. In ATI Overdrive the current values are at 100/300 Mhz.

 

[tpi2007]

And also, in GPU Z my GPU core clock is set at 100 mhz and Memory clock is set at 300. Is this normal? Coz from what I see, this card suppors 900/1050 mhz. In ATI Overdrive the current values are at 100/300 Mhz.

That is the GPU's normal behaviour. Those are the official idle speeds. When the power is not needed, it throttles both GPU and RAM to reduce power, noise and heat; just like modern CPU's. It's called AMD Powerplay for the GPU's; Cool n'Quiet for the CPU's; Enhanced Speedstep for Intel CPU's. I can't remember what name Nvidia gives to their technology, but they also have it.

Open a browser windows with a youtube video playing (or even stopped). GPU stays at 100, ram goes to full speed, right ? Normal behaviour for video playback.

Fire up a game in windowed mode and fire up Overdrive or GPU-Z (sensors tab) and look at the speeds. GPU and RAM Running at full speed, right ? Normal behaviour for 3D games.

Just don't keep a browser with youtube or other flash video tabs open during games. The driver is buggy and applies the "Video" profile instead of the "Game/Full load" profile, slowing your game.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

a graphics card can be installed in either the 8x slot or 16x slot. The power going to each is exactly the same, its just a difference in bandwidth. The graphics card you have would not saturate the bandwidth of the 8x slot. As to the 3d mark score, you should look through ALL the benchmark results to see if there is a particular one, if its a CPU bench or video bench to see what is causing the drop in 3d mark. Also, you could run 3d mark 10 times and all the scores would be different. all it takes is some background task loading at the same time 3d mark wants some data and it will cause a slowdown and different score. I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[teroxgt]

Well, I ran 3dmark vantage a couple of times and it dropped by 3000 points (in the x16 slot) from the earlier one when it was placed in the x8 slot!! But the thing is when it was placed in the x8 slot, Heavens Benchmark used to crash with ATIKMPAG.SYS error resulting in a BSOD. Now in the x16 slot it runs without crashing and I kept it looping for a couple of hours. But the thing is the performance in the heaven's benchmark too was reduced after moving it to the x16 slot. In the x8 slot, I managed to complete a run luckily and saved the result( crashed with a BSOD immediately after) and it was a lot higher than the score in the x16. So is my graphic card or is it my motherboard that is faulty? I ran Furmark today and I was averaging at 73 FPS with MSAA 4x at 81 degrees average and at 1360x768 ( just got it for testing my system from an old couple ) and ran it for 30 mins.

 

[jaquith]

But in the asus manual that I have got with the mobo, its mentioned that the grey slot is the one with the x8 speed. It recommended me to install the graphic card in the x16 slot which is the long blue slot...

Yes, 'IF' you install the 'VGA Switch Card' in the top slot {Grey} with your Dedicated GPU in {Blue}; otherwise Disable the onboard GPU:
Internal Graphics Mode {Disabled}
Primary Video Controller {PCI...} ; PCI GPU to initialize first.

I looked and the {CMX4GX3M2A1600C9} is in the QVL list ; set
AI OC Tuner {D.O.C.P,}
DRAM OC Profile {DDR3-1600}
verify that the DRAM Timing Control has the proper values of 9-9-9-24

One more reason I don't recommend MOBOs with onboard GPUs.

 

[teroxgt]

I did all of the above that you have mentioned, but the performance is still poor in the x16 mode. My Vantage scores are 3000 points off of the score I got when it was in x8 mode. The performance is kinda poor in games, with stuttering and frame rate dips, when it should be smooth. Do you think I have a faulty graphic card? I did all the tests but no problems were found... can you please help me on this peculiar issue... Thanks

 

[jaquith]

One more reason I don't recommend MOBOs with onboard GPUs.

No the 'problem' is how a MOBO works with an onboard GPU. I constantly, tell people NOT to do it when or if they're adding a Dedicated GPU. Worst, I get into arguments with other knowledgeable people who haven't seen benchmarks, like yours, proving it's a bad idea.

In your case put the GPU in whichever PCIe slot that gives you the LEAST PROBLEMS or get a new MOBO without an onboard GPU. My vote would be a different MOBO; example ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=fLIjRELzxMxkH2UQ&templete=2

 

[teroxgt]

Ok I did a little bit of switching, and found out that when the card is in the grey slot without the VGA switch card(in the blue slot), the heavens benchmark fails but I was getting a bit better performance on the card across the other benchmarks( not to the same level as when I first did the benchies). But when I put the vga switch card in the blue slot, the heavens benchmark runs fine without crashing but the performance is not as good. The same thing happens when I put the card on the blue slot with the switch card in the grey slot. And a very slight improvement when the switch card is removed. So finally the benchmark fails only when the graphic cards is in the grey slot with switch card in the blue. So this points to a mobo fault, right?

 

[jaquith]

One more reason I don't recommend MOBOs with onboard GPUs.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but it screams what I've always said -- don't get onboard GPU MOBO with a Dedicated GPU. Disabled or not the onboard steals bandwidth and resources. I 'ASSUME' that your monitor is and has been connected to ONLY the Dedicated GPU and that you are NOT using the onboard VGA/DVI connections?! Right?!

The VGA Switch Card is used in the Grey Slot to 'trick' the MOBO into enabling the X8/X8 vs X16/X0 PCIe. So if there's nothing in the Grey Slot the Blue PCIe is running at 0 or will cause problems.

 

[teroxgt]

The monitor is connected to my graphic card and the onboard VGA/DVI is disabled. And as per what you have said, yesterday I tried running the graphic card in the blue slot with nothing in the grey slot, and I got a fairly high 3dmark06 score!! Heavens Benchmark also posted some gains. So should I leave it at that. Because the score is still nowhere as high as it was when I first ran the benchmark after installing the OS.( BTW, I used diagnostic startup as recommended by you in the other thread for doing my benchmarks). Thanks for your patience..


Another UPDATE (28/12/2010):

I ran the OCCT 3.1.0 test and I passed all the tests in it except the power supply test. I ran all of them in default settings and it was set for Auto (1hr). When I came back to check on the psu test 20-25 mins later, it restarted and got a message from windows stating that I had a BSOD. Didn't check if it was the Atikmpag.sys, but i will run it again and see that.... So what does this point to? Is it a power supply fault or a motherboard fault?

UPDATE NO:2 :
I re ran the OCCT Power Supply Test and this time, it worked without any issues. I saw the log reports and it did not report any errors. So I'm kind of back to square one. Should I rerun the PSU test again or should I conclude that the motherboard is faulty and return it. Or will getting the compatible RAM sticks ( full 8 gb compatible) resolve the issue?

 

[teroxgt]

On a side note, I have noticed that whenever I boot, I get no beeps. Is this normal? My system as is runs fine (save the performance quirk that I'm having now), POSTs normal. So is there anything to be concerned about?

 

[jaquith]

Normally you'll have one or sometimes two beeps {BIOS tweaking can create a double mini boot}. If the BSOD are gone then I wouldn't be too alarmed.

Atikmpag.sys is generally a bad or corrupted ATI driver or ATI init failure; so I assume that you installed the latest driver. If it comes back then use the ATI removal App and reinstall a new set of freshly downloaded drivers.

 

[teroxgt]

the atikmpag.sys occured only during the phase when the vga card was in the grey slot. When I put it back in the blue slot, the problem went away. But that shouldn't have happened in the first place as the card should run without any issues on either slot. Thats what has gotten me thinking if there is any issue with the mobo or not. Or if any other component has any issues...

 

[jaquith]

The 'issue' is primarily because the resources of the onboard and the top PCIe are 'shared', and the VGA Switch Card is used to {Enable} the second PCIe.

Therefore, in your case the Atikmpag.sys is an ATI init failure when the onboard and top PCIe are used simultaneousness -- boom init error; disabling the onbaord is an attempt to stop the multiple init requests for the top PCIe.

 

[teroxgt]

Right now I was testing the RAM sticks one by one and so far 2 of them passed. After testing the 2nd one, I quit memtest86 and rebooted and went away. When I came back, I saw the message that windows has recovered from an unexpected error. And in the details it was listed as bluescreen. Don't know how that happened. BTW, after that I did a clean install of Win 7 64 bit home premium now, and installed only Vantage and Mark 06. I got a Vantage score of 15653 and 3dmark06 score of 19829. So are these normal for my rig? I seem to have gotten back the scores that I was getting previously. So is it safe to assume that it was a win7 or some software issues?

 

[jaquith]

If you are NOT OC the AMD then yes it's within range.

3DMark06 - http://3dmark.com/search?resultTypeId=14&linkedDisplayAdapters=1&cpuModelId=1138&chipsetId=630

As I mentioned the Atikmpag.sys is an ATI driver failure, and corruption is one of the issues that can cause the problem.

So, is the ATI in the Grey slot with onboard disabled? In other words what's the set-up now?

 

[teroxgt]

I haven't OC'd anything except for the RAM which I did according to what you have suggested. Well as for the atikmpag.sys, when I looked through other forums, they said that even though its listed as ATI, there can a lot of other root causes, like for ex insufficient power, bad memory etc. So I was wondering if the RAM had to do anything with it. Plus is my power supply adequate for my rig? Its a Corsair TX650W. I ran the OCCT Power Supply test and it passed
Currently, the ATI card is in the blue slot with the VGA switch card in the grey slot with all 4 ram sticks and all my benchmarks are running normally. So it was a software issue that took away 3000 points!!?? :O
One quirk I noticed with the RAM was when I place the 2 sticks from the same box in the 2 blue slots and the 2 others from the other box in the black slots, the system would not boot. But when I placed the 2 sticks from the same kit together( 1 blue/1 black and likewise for the other 2 ), the system would boot fine. Is this ok?

 

[jaquith]

QVL lists weren't created just for laughs, many combinations of hardware and software simply will not work or work well together. Example, have you ever configured a Dell online and the "incompatibility" highlighting required a change? The Atikmpag.sys is ATI software, and it can conflict and it is a known issue. Personally, I've known for years that ATI makes substandard software and drivers when compared to nVidia. I have both ATI and nVidia GPUs and even I get nervous 'updating' on a rig the already works...

In your situation, I also know NOT to purchase ANY MOBO with an onboard GPU 'if' a Dedicated GPU in it's future.

Yep, software can easily help or hurt performance significantly. In my 'Everyday' HD 5770 the WEI went from 7.2 -> 7.5 with an ATI upgrade, my 'Everyday' rigs are for office use so it didn't concern me -- however errors e.g. BSOD clearly do.

I would guess that your rig is drawing ~500W so your 650W is okay, and Corsair's are extremely good PSUs.

Each set of RAM should be installed, as a set, in the SAME color DIMM slots. So NO is is NOT 'fine' it tells me either you have a bad stick or the sticks are NOT the same as you indicated above {meaning not the SAME EXACT Part-Numbers}, or are mixed from their original sets.

Try the following:
AI OC Tuner {Auto}
DRAM Frequency {DDR3-1600} <- If DDR3-1600 is NOT listed then the ONLY choice is as I posted above.
verify that the DRAM Timing Control has the proper values of 9-9-9-24

Set1 = A1/B1
Set2 = A2/B2

 

[teroxgt]

Thanks dude for the explanation. With reference to the above diagram, I put the 1st box of RAM sticks (part no. 10485) in DDR3_2 and DDR3_1 and the next set of it (part no 10488) in the next 2 slots. Thats how my system is currently set up and is working(with the adjustment of DRAM Voltage and changing the profile set DOCP in AI Tweaker). When I put the sticks like this: DDR3_2: 10485 DDRR3_1:10488 and likewise for the next set, my pc refuses to boot! In my case, DDR3_2 is the Blue slot and DDR3_1 is the Black Slot and same arrangement for the next 2 slots.
Once again thanks for the info and your patience, Jaquith..

 

[jaquith]

CPU: | A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 |

Set 1 - A1 & B1
Set 2 - A2 & B2

Try
DCT Unganged {Auto}

Verify
MemClk Tristate {Disabled}
ECC Mode {Disabled}

I'm a little confused about 10485 & 10488 as 'part-numbers'; do you mean serial-numbers? The sets are not working as they should per listed above which concerns me. My initial thought is to Clear CMOS {or Load Defaults} and if you have changed the IDE -> AHCI then don't forget that change before running the OS.

I would recommend starting a post -> http://forum.corsair.com/v3/forumdisplay.php?f=201

Where my head scratch is the MSI QVL vs Corsair Tested e.g. http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=91737&highlight=CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 so I'm a little taken back from the get go.