ATI driver is failing to run?

[justMANGO]

This issue has been solved.


Hey guys, I've been fussing with my computer and searching on the net for a solution for a couple of months now, and still I haven't had any luck. Maybe one of you could be so kind as to point me to a fix. I give you my most sincere gratitude.

The symptoms:
1. Turned on computer as usual, noticed at the log in screen that the display resolution had become really off and the picture did not reach the edge of screen, leaving a thick black border between the monitor frame and the picture.
2. When logged in an error message showed up, saying "No ATI graphics driver installed, or the ATI driver is not functioning properly. Please install the ATI driver appropriate for your ATI hardware."

My computer specs:
ATI Radeon HD 5450
Intel Core i5
Windows 7 64bit
6 GB RAM
The machine is a roughly two-and-a-half years old Gateway ZX6951

My fiddlings:
1. After seeing the error message I went to the device manager > display adapters > update driver software, and it said that the driver was up to date.
2. I uninstalled the driver, rebooted, reinstalled, rebooted again. Same error.
3. At a loss, I performed a system restore and restored my computer back to a point before the error occurred. Problem was instantly fixed, but a few days down the line the same issue comes back again.
4. I noticed that it seemed like every time Windows does an update at shut down, the driver fails to function the next time I boot up. As a result I disabled Windows Update, but the issue persisted.
5. I tried downloaded the driver for Radeon HD 5xxx series from the AMD website, but installing that did not help at all.

So basically, every time I wake up to this problem, I do a system restore to keep my sanity, and it would temporarily fix it for a while but the problem always comes back again. The first time the driver error showed up was at the end of August 2011, and for the first few months doing a system restore would keep the error from showing up for about a couple of weeks to a month. Starting from the last month and half it's been occurring more and more frequent, so much that I'm resorting to system restore every four days.

If anyone could be so kind as to tell me how what I'm doing wrong (since it seems to me that the driver should be working), or what is causing the problem, I would very much appreciate your answers.

 

[jdog2pt0]

Here's what I'm going to have you do.

Step one is to install CCleaner http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/standard (It's a great well established little computer cleaner)

2. Open CCleaner and Run Cleaner

3. Go to the registry tab then scan for issues and fix any selected issues. Also make sure it asks you to back up your registry when you click fix issues. It should by default, but if it doesn't there is a setting in the settings for it.

3. Get Driver Sweeper http://downloads.guru3d.com/Guru3D---Driver-Sweeper-%28Setup%29_d1655.html

4. Uninstall your ATI drivers via Windows Uninstaller and Reboot

5. Upon rebooting Windows will probably install its own drivers for your card, that is OK, let it do so and don't go forward until it is done. If it asks you to restart again, do it.

6. Fire up Driver Sweeper and select ATI-Display, then clean. It'll ask for a reboot and it's optional. You can select to reboot to be sure no problems persist, I usually ignore it.

7. Once that's done, get and install your drivers via the AMD/ATI website.

8. Let me know how it goes.

 

[justMANGO]

Thanks for the reply. I'm trying this out right now, but it would seem that Driver Sweeper is discontinued and there's no download link on the page. I guess if I can find a copy of the setup elsewhere, insofar as it's version 2.1.0 it'll be fine?

EDIT: I guess the 3.2.0 version from Phyxion would work just as well, right? =)

 

[jdog2pt0]

Thanks for the reply. I'm trying this out right now, but it would seem that Driver Sweeper is discontinued and there's no download link on the page. I guess if I can find a copy of the setup elsewhere, insofar as it's version 2.1.0 it'll be fine?

EDIT: I guess the 3.2.0 version from Phyxion would work just as well, right? =)

I had forgotten that guru3d has discontinued it on their site. My apologies, and yes, the Phyxion one is the correct one.

 

[justMANGO]

I followed through with your instructions, and I am glad to tell you that it has worked wonderfully. Thank you VERY much for the tips, I very much appreciated your help. =)

 

[justMANGO]

Best answer selected by justMANGO.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar