BSOD if GPU driver is installed

I turned on my laptop this morning only to get a BSOD loop. The BSOD loop is from 'atikmpag.sys', and below that it reads 'page fault in nonpaged area'.

It boots fine with no graphics driver installed, and in Safe Mode. I have run the Dell diagnostics, tried booting with one stick of RAM, and then the other, ran Memtest86+, fresh install of Windows, reset CMOS, tried a different hard drive, ran chkdsk on both C and D, reseated my GPU, and everything else I can think of.

I installed the driver from the Dell site, the 11.10 preview drivers, and the 11.10s from the AMD website.

There were no hardware or software changes prior to this problem.

I've been searching for hours on the web, and I cannot find anything that points to an exact problem. Seems like something different solves it for everyone.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

this is a ram issue. Have you tried pulling one stick of ram and running with just one? And if that doesn't work, plug the other stick of ram in?

Its weird how the vid card is involved somehow. Usually this is a problem with physical ram stick itself

 

could also be your harddisk...Run chkdsk /F or right click on the drive and go to properties/tools and check for errors on your hdd/ssd

 

I appreciate the help SlickDude, but I already tried all of that. Please read my post.

 

hmmm

looks like you did a thorough diagnosis already

and regardless of what you try, you keep getting this error if you install the vid card drivers?

 

you know...it could be your vid card acting up too. Do you have any spares that you can use to try?

 

This is currently my only video adapter. 6990M should be here tomorrow or Thursday, but until then I cannot test that.

 

you've eliminated so many things...the ram, HDD's, the OS etc...except the vid card. Plus that 'atikmpag.sys' probably points directly at it

 

Well, if it is the card, I am really going through these GPUs like dirty underwear. I can't install a driver, so I can't run FurMark to see if the card shows any dirty secrets.

 

ya that would suck

was it volted, OC'ed? temps ok?

 

Not volted, OC'd to 800/1100. I monitored my temperatures very closely. OCCT has a GPU test, but once again, I can't run it due to the lack of a driver. Won't Windows install some crappy driver?

The card is fine with no driver installed, or in Safe Mode. I don't understand how that is any different than actually having the AMD driver installed, but running the card under no load, such as web browsing, etc.

 

OK, now things have gone from bad to worse. I was forced to restart after Windows installed an update. The laptop shut down, but when it went to start back up, I got the beeps followed by flashing Scroll and Number Lock lights with a solid Caps Lock. This means that there is no GPU detected.

I put the GPU in the slave slot and the laptop had a black screen, but did boot into Windows. I knew because of the Windows boot sound.

This morning it did the beeping with the flashing lights in both the master and slave slot.

I'm no statistics wiz, but there is no way in hell that I've just happened to have burned up two 5870s in the last couple of weeks. I am suspecting that the motherboard is toast. I have a Clevo 6990M that will be arriving soon, and I am really hesitant to even install it into that motherboard due to the fact that the card was so damn expensive.

I have closely inspected the pins on the master and slave slots. I can't see any signs of damage, nor is there any type of 'burned electronics' smell.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? I feel like I'm getting tunnel vision and may be overlooking something here. This is really a bummer since Skyrim comes out tomorrow.

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

Oh boy, you're going through it.

I agree there just has to be something with the setup. That's just too many for coincidence. The surprise is the 5870's as the machine is designed for those. The only pattern I see is them working for a period, then the failure.

Is this with a retention mod? When the heatsink is fitted, is the card bent?

SMT pcb's can start to fail with as little as a 2 degree distortion. If you have the heatsink fitted look along the edge of the pcb to see if there's a bend.

If it's broken connections due to bending, you can often change the load (and the bend) on the pcb and see the symptoms change. I'd put the heatsink on with the screws loose and see if that changes things. If mechanical change alters the symptoms, you have a mechanical problem. This would be good news, because you could just go get a new heatsink or change the retention system. (for a new card)

I too would be worried about fitting your new card atm. I'd want to get to the bottom of this before even thinking about putting that baby in.

I hope you find it.

Regards, P.

 

Hey Paul, thanks for the response. This 5870 never had the retention mod. I acquired brand new heatsinks from another purchase. They are virgin accept for new thermal paste and pads. I found a new mobo for $450, but there are folks selling their entire R2 laptops with 5870CF and a nice CPU for ~$1200. Then I'd have a bunch of extra parts.

 

Oh wow, bang goes my theory. there's not a lot left then.

I've looked at the 2nd hand units too. I think that's the best way forward. The R2 is a fantastic machine, and you sure get a lot for your money.
P.