5870m vbios issue

So, I purchased a 5870m, and apparently it has the A01 vbios, based on the pretty psychedelic colors I see when I boot to windows, plus the distortion. I need to roll it back to A00, but I can't seem to find the guide. Help would be much appreciated, as I think my gtx 260 is on it's last legs (noticed some what I would call...burn marks, around the gpu when I pulled it out) and would really like to get this up and running.

 

boot of USB flash disk then using atiflash we flash the card

ati flash instructions/help:
How To Use ATIFLASH - techPowerUp! Forums

you can find the links and line to the firmware and the command here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/474717-m15x-ati-5870-mod-220.html

 

Thanks, got it reflashed to the A00 bios, no more crazy colors. now I just need to locate the correct drivers so I can actually get farther than the windows loading screen. Once I install drivers, Just get the win7 loading, goes away, black screen. Oh well, should have known this wouldn't be as easy as I was hoping.

EDIT: just in case anyone asks, I'm running the lastest system bios, A09 on the motherboard.

 

I expect that your problem is the old Nvidia drivers, or remnants thereof, are blocking communication to your 5870M. You have to clean out all of those 260M drivers and registry settings before the 5870M will work. First, you have to get into Windows to start the cleaning process. Try starting in Safe Mode (tap repeatedly on F8 at the boot screen, do not hold it down continuously, then select Safe mode with network connection from the menu). Report back whether this gets you in before we get into the next steps.

 

I actually uninstalled the nVidia drivers before I even installed the card. with the drivers uninstalled, I can get to the desktop, and I can install the ati drivers. After I install drivers though, I just get a black screen after the windows logo goes away. Right now though, I think I'm having a larger problem, as I'm 90% sure the card is overheating on me. (freezes after a few minutes of being in windows) Anyhow, I'm willing to give this a go, see if it fixes things.

Edit: and yes, I can get into safe mode no problem (should have said that in the first place).

 

Try starting in Safe Mode. Then go to Device Manager (Start>Computer>System Properties>Device Manager), select Display Adapter, right click on 5870M, select Properties, then Driver and click Uninstall, checking the box to remove all associated software. Wait a moment after it returns you to the main DM screen, click Action and Scan for New Hardware. It should recognize your video card and install the standard Windows VGA Adapter driver. If it installs anything else, repeat the process to remove that driver and any associated software until the Windows VGA Adapter is installed. Reboot and start again in Safe Mode.

Run Driver Sweeper. Phyxion.net - Driver Sweeper. When Driver Sweeper starts, check the boxes for ATI Display, Nvidia Display and Nvidia PhysX. Click Analyse. When the list is populated, click Clean. This will remove all drivers, software and registry entries related to current or former video cards. It will ask whether you wish to save a copy of the Registry before cleaning, which is recommended. After DS has finished, it will prompt for a reboot. Reboot into Windows.

Then start CCleaner. CCleaner - Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download. Click on Registry in the left column and click Scan for Issues. When the list is populated, click on Fix Selected Issues. When the repair box appears, select fix all issues. When it reports all issues fixed, repeat the scan and fix process until it reports no issues. Reboot (optional).

At this point, you should have a clean base to install the drivers for the 5870M. I would suggest using the Cat 11.5 drivers initially. The 11.5 set is particularly stable and a good performer, and you can always update later. They are available here. Previous ATI Catalyst? Display Drivers. Download the Catalyst Software Suite, double click to unpack to the standard c:\ATI\Support\ location and follow the install wizard (select Express). They should install smoothly. If any questions or issues arise, let me know.

Regarding the GPU temps -- it's very easy for the GPU fan power connector to be loosened so that it appears to be attached but is not well seated in the process of replacing or repasting the GPU. If that is not the problem, I would suspect that the paste job did not take adequately.



Good luck.

 

Arg. man this is frustrating. system was still locking up, so I went ahead and re-applied thermal paste with new paste (what I used originally was a bit older). Was able to make it up to the reinstalling of the drivers, at which point the system is now locking up about the point I start the installer. Windows is still running, as I can hear the noises if I say...disconnect my flash drive, but the video hard locks on me. The fans are working, and the air coming out does not feel very hot. I'm starting to think I may have just gotten a bum card. I applied an adequate amount of grease, so I see no reason why this card should be overheating (~1/2-3/4 the size of a pea as this is not exactly a large chip)

I repair laptops and PC's for a living, and I've never had this much of a fighter, le sigh. always seems to be my stuff that gives me more trouble than any customers, haha. I really appreciate the help man.

 

Sorry, my friend. If I'd known your level of experience, I wouldn't have wasted time with all that detail. I share your confusion. Might be the card of course, but when a notebook gets hot enough to shut itself down quickly under light load, I always suspect the fans. Have you checked the CPU fan too? Good luck and sorry for your difficulties. Nothing worse than trouble just when a new, higher performance component goes in, and what should have been new and exciting turns into trouble and disappointment instead. Let us know how it goes. Wish I had better suggestions.

 

u know im usually int he same situation with bum parts, but i think it might just be our heatsinks or w/e? mine doesnt freeze up but i get high temps, im gonna try to copper shim mod and see if it helps. also if u even get to the point of getting yours to work, your brightness controls are gonna mess up after sleep mode for this card... its happen to me a couple of timesand reboot fixes it

 

No problem, I didn't wanna be the guy that was "well, I've been doing this forever and blah blah blah" haha. I've found when in doubt, ask someone else, cause there's always someone that knows more. I already set up an RMA with dell, I think I'll just send it back and get the 6970. hopefully I've have fewer issues with that. thanks for the help.

As far as fans, both are fine, and they've been working fine (no clicks or rattles, they spin up great).

@tauzins - the system doesn't fully lock up, just the video. like, it'll still respond if I plug in a flash drive or something, I get the windows dings. In my experience, this is usually just the case of a bad part.

 

hmm interesting, yea seems like bad card, but if u end up having temp issues, let me know im still trying to solve mine.. been through 2 diff 5870's both get same temps... getting quite annoying actaully

 

I'll try and keep you posted.

 

i dont know which drivers you are trying but i suggest giving the m17x 5870 drivers a try.

i would also suggest trying a fresh install. i know sometimes that is alot of work, but it you run into freezing issues after the install you will know its the card. perhaps if you have a spare HDD laying around you could try to use that.

 

well, just to point those out one by one.

1) Actually just did a reinstall because I replaced the hard drive. was working fine until I installed the 5870

2) Already tried the drivers off the m17x site

3) I've tried both my hard drives, no change.

Thanks for the suggestions though.