Bsod -Display driver stopped working - Atikmpag.sys. Help required?

billspice · 20 Sep 2012

Hello,

recently i have been getting popups in the task bar with the message my display drivers has stopped working, and then some moments later a bsodd and usually the problamatic driver is atikmpag.sys. now i had not updated my graphics driver i had been using the current drivers successfully for several months, i have tried several time to remove the drivers in safe mode and used driver sweeper, and ccleaner to perform a clean uninstall of my ati driver and i have now installed the latest ati drivers, but unfortunately i still have the same problem.

it seems to stall or crash for a few seconds on opening certain programs the screen will go black then recover with the popup in the task bar bar, moments later it is usually followed by the bsod

I have ran the sf diagnostic tool and zipped up the results, i hope someone can help me resolve this problem,

i also use a kvm switch and im asuming this isnt the problem as the other system the kvm swith is plugged into is perfect, no problem with the display driver atall

System specs
Self Build, ASus p5441t-m board
q660 2.4
PowerColor HD 6850 1GB GDDR5

4.0 gig ram

Thank you so much

kindest regards

koolkat77 · 20 Sep 2012

Your BugCheck 116

Go through this thread for more information:

STOP 0x116: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR troubleshooting

Code:

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
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Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 116, {fffffa80078a44e0, fffff8800765b26c, 0, 2}

Unable to load image \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\atikmpag.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for atikmpag.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for atikmpag.sys
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for win32k.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for win32k.sys
Probably caused by : atikmpag.sys ( atikmpag+926c )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

2: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa80078a44e0, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff8800765b26c, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: 0000000000000000, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: 0000000000000002, Optional internal context dependent data.

Please read this quote from one of our bsod experts:

usasma said:

These are predominantly STOP 0x116 errors - and there's a limited number of possibilities there.
More info at this link: BSOD Index

The 3 most common causes for this are:
- video driver issues
- overheating
- bad video card

I would suggest:
- downloading the appropriate ATI Driver - and only the driver, not the Catalyst Control Center. Pick option 2 in torrentg's link. FYI - I have seen issues occasionally with the CCC program.
- uninstalling all the current ATI stuff from Control Panel...Programs...Uninstall a program
- install the drivers that you downloaded

Then, open up the case and ensure that the graphics card's fan is working, and that there's no dust/crud obstructing the airflow inside the case.

If that does not fix the problems, then I'd suggest trying another video card. Since the computer is less than a year old, I'd expect that a defective video card would be covered under the manufacturer's warranty.

Let us know the results.

billspice · 20 Sep 2012

hi mate, thanks so much for the very detailed reply and there is certainly a number of procedures i need to look into regarding the drivers, i never went looking for newer drivers i started with the drivers that came with the card on cd, and when i was prompted to update via catalyst centre, that was only when i updatted, however the lates update i ignored for 3 months, with myself only jus updatting hoeing it would resolve this issue, but it hasnt

according to hw monitor my system has been on now for a few hours and hw monitor is recording a temperatur of 42 degress while running a number of applications for my grapics card so am i right in saying it not an overheating issue?

I am currently running a rootkit scan via tdds killer on the machine and it has found a rootkit by the name of rootkit.boot.pihar.b , so im going to remove this then start with so of the options

the card in the machine is only 7 months old, its a powercolor so thats the same as ati? so is it just the same as the ati 6850? so its still under warranty, luckily.

have u heard of a rootkit casuing a bsod like this before?

really appreciate your help,

thanks

koolkat77 · 20 Sep 2012

Complete the tdds killer and let us know.
42 degrees is good, but we'll need to do some tests mentioned in that thread.
Post back when you're ready.

billspice · 20 Sep 2012

Hi bro, again thanks for the quick and helpfull reply,

it doesnt seem to be the rootkit that is completly reomoved and system appears clear, i have just ran sfc/scannow and all appears fine that end,

what i have noticed is tho my cpu temp are high on idle there around 65-70 on idle so im going to reseat the fan with some new paste and report back,

is there any particular way to rule out if this is hardware releated due to ie the graphics card?, the thing is this board has vga as standard but obviously with the pciexpress card plugged in, it switched to that card and thats what im connected to

i remeber reading in a magazing years ago about baseviddeo mode designed to rule out driver problems and identify it as a faulty vga card, do you no anything about this?

or am i going down a rocky road here?

anyway ive got a number of things to do, i reistalled dirext x, i just downloaded the webinstaller but i dont think it did much as i think it was designed for pre win 7 machines?

so im going to clean out the system reseat cpu fan, place an antec spot cool fan i have lying round in my room just over the vga card and report back

really apreciate the help koolkat!

Britton30 · 20 Sep 2012

Hi Bill, this may be repetitive but lets see if we can fix this.

1.Get this new driver here for your card Latest AMD Catalyst Video Driver for Windows 7 Save it to your desktop.

2. Use driver sweeper to remove all previous AMD GPU drivers. We will reinstall drivers only for the card now, follow this:
Try these steps to install only the graphics driver.

1.Download the preferred driver and save it to the desktop.
2.Double click the installer and you will see a screen where it will be extracted to, change that to your desktop.
3.Open Device Manager through Control Panel.
4.Expand Display adapters and right click the name for yours and choose Update Driver\Browse my Computer. Select the driver folder you just saved on the desktop. Click Next.
5. Your system should say "Windows has successfully updated your driver software".

If you get a window saying you already have the most current driver, go back to step 4 and choose Uninstall Driver software instead. Then restart from step 3.
Attachment 228491 Attachment 228492

billspice · 20 Sep 2012

Hi britton, no probs i really appreciate the help, i recently did that but i will folloow your instruction to a tee as before i installed the catalyst controll center as well and this time ill get just drivers, i definately have an overheating problem so im go to reseat that and in a few hours or by tommorrow post back ,

strangly enough i just downloaded and installed furmark accroding to the guide koolkat posted about, i ran the gpu stress test and within 5 seconds the program crashed and i got the error message the display diver has stopped working, so im assuming that caused my cpu or vga car to overheat,? thus shutting down

im sorry to run a little of course brittion i was ready to edit my post with my findings, and didnt expect a reply so soon! thankyou

im going to reseat my cpu clean out the system with compressed air and follow ur instructions on removal, do u have any ideas on why the stress test shut down does it sound like a heating issue or a bad card? any how hope to hear back!

thanks again!

highest regards

edit on checking the link britton it seems to be the catalyst aswell included in that link is this correct
card is hd 6850

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...w_vista64.aspx

Britton30 · 20 Sep 2012

Are you overclocking the CPU? If so stop until this is fixed. Your CPU temps are far to high at idle and should be less than 40C, and maybe up to 85C under full load, dust and dirt in the CPU cooler may be the culprit. Also stock Intel coolers are good for paperweights only if that is what you have.

Your GPU may be bad, lets see how it goes after the cleaning and driver updates. Blow the GPU card out too, they collect dust very badly.

billspice · 24 Sep 2012

Hi britton, sorry about the delay i have been unwell, i stripped the machine and cleaned it all out, luckily i had an arctic colling 7 freezer pro v2 spare so cleanned the processor with rubbing alchol and reaplied the thermal compound uninstalled the graphics driver like u said and reinstalled as u described, the machine has been on 3 days now and luckily no blue screen, so touch wood, looks ok

thanks very much for your help

one question i have, is tho, when i have an graphics update do i just uninstall and reinstall like you described?

Britton30 · 24 Sep 2012

That is really good new!
What I do with graphics drivers is leave it alone if what I have is working. Having said that, a new one will sometimes add support for a new game, which I don't do any of. Yes, I would install drivers only as I described. the CCC is notorious for causing problems and isn't really needed.