W500 Display Driver

I was wondering if there is a fix out for the Display driver error. Whenever I plug my W500 to another screen, it eventually gets an error and will reboot.

Error reads: "Display driver failed to respond but has recovered"

driver name: amdkmdap


I have the Firegl 5700 or as it's known to my laptop ATI mobility 3650

 

Anyone try this yet?

 

My T400 has the exact same problem...I started a thread a while ago about it and it seems that multiple people have the same problem. I tried contacting technical support but i was put on hold forever and i haven't called back so i really don't know what the problem is. I had the problem right out of the box, so i reformatted and the problem is still there...

 

Yup. The problem has to do with the way the video driver was written. I'm just waiting for them to come out with a new Fix and have yet to see any. This really sucks because I was counting on using a dual display. It's important for my job.

 

yea i know exactly how you feel cause I'm used to using dual monitors for multi-tasking by now i'm a little cautious since i know my computer could crash at any time...let me know if you get lenovo to help at all

 

Did you check the temperature of the chip when this failure occurred?

I've gone now 24 hours on dual display without a crash. I check the temp, and it's running cool. 30C

 

There's a version 3 of the display driver http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?board.id=W_ThinkPads&thread.id=144&page=4

It's not up on the Thinkpad support site yet but you could try it out and see whether it works.

 

Hello Jarod, how long does it take for the blue screen to appear?

I ran cinebench on an external monitor, GPU temp went up to 55 C and it's ok.

I'm using the BIOS settings where display is discrete and OS detection is disabled. Maybe the graphics switching is causing the blue screens although I haven't checked that possibility out yet.

 

Veemexx. Did you install any new drivers?

I get the error within 24 hours of being plugged into another monitor. I believe others have the same thing.

 

I also have the "amdkmdap"-problem. Crossref: Lenovo Forum, Thread "Major troubles with DVI-port and a T400":

http://forum.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?board.id=T400_series_ThinkPads&thread.id=3704


It's a good idea to collect data points and let them know to Lenovo and ATI.
E.g. by adding to the thread in the Lenovo forum with specific details about your setup.

- What notebook are you using?
- Which graphics card are you using?
- When does the crash occur?
- Environment details: OS? Which drivers do you run? ...
- Is your notebooked docked?
- Do you have an external monitor?
- If so, does the problem occur when the monitor is connected and actived?

 

I'm using Catalyst Control Center (CCC) version 2008.0821.2318.39887 and Driver version 8.52.4.3-080821b-068591C-Lenovo. You can find out these by right clicking the ATI tray icon and selecting CCC. My drivers came shipped and strangely I can't find this version on the Lenovo support site.

 

Hi veemexx,

The driver you mention is listed in the driver matrix for T500 and W500 systems on Lenovo's support website.
My research indicates that using an external monitor is a crucial condition to trigger the amdkmdap-crash.

 

What BIOS version & BIOS date are you using?

 

Hi, I use a T400. So, my BIOS version (1.15, that is) might be not very informative in your case.

At the moment, I assume that the BIOS version is not an important factor. The working hypothesis is that the ATI driver for the Radeon 3400 and 3600 series has bugs in connection with dual monitor use.

Please add your observations to the Lenovo Forum thread ""Tx00/W500: amdkmdap crashes after resuming from standby when external monitor active".

 

Izmi - thanks for correcting me. I had been looking at the Windows XP row all along and didn't even see the Windows Vista row. I must have been blind!

 

So no fixes yet?

I installed the recent driver you recommended and I have not received a BSOD. However the second monitor changes resolution at times. not often, but sometimes.

I have to go to the display settings and set it back to native resolution.

 

Hi Jarod,

To my knowledge, there are still no fixes. I track progress on the issue in the thread "Tx00/W500: amdkmdap crashes after resuming from standby when external monitor active" in the Lenovo Forums.

A simple workaround is not to use the second monitor for time being.

There is now a vague support document from Lenovo/IBM describing that there issues with the switchable graphics architecture in connection with a docking station and a second monitor. The document ID is MIGR-70490.

I suggest that you call Lenovo support (if you haven't done so already) and open a support request. Make sure that you mention the document ID, the word "amdkmdap", and the Lenovo Forums thread. Do also send the crash reports to Microsoft using the Windows error reporting tool.

With regard to your BSOD: It seems that the ATI driver is crashing from time to time when a second monitor is active through a docking station. If the driver crashes several times in a row when Windows tries to reload it, then Windows decides to stop operation and a BSOD is the result. Windows does that to make sure that data and hardware are not corrupted.

 

Just wondering if anyone heard of any fixes as of yet?

 

No, still no word from Lenovo. They seem to try to be as quiet as possible about it.

So, the thread in the Lenovo Forums keeps growing and people are dissatisfied:

http://forum.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?board.id=T400_series_ThinkPads&thread.id=3704


If you're adventurous, then you can try the workaround described there: Disable switchable graphics and install modded drivers. Though, this procedure comes at a certain risk and you should be aware of it, if you choose to follow it.