Windows 7: BSOD 116---Help, please!

Recently my laptop started getting the blue screen error 0x116. Near as I can tell, this is an issue with my GPU. When I try to boot my system up, it gets to the windows screen then the screen goes black, and then bluescreens after 5-10 seconds. Because of this, I can't run my computer without being in safe mode. I have an ARI Radon Mobility HD 4650 which I believe to be 1g ram and DDR2, but I could be wrong. The blue screen error message lists a file atikmgad.sys, or something similar, as well as other error codes. I tried using the properties window for my GPU to update the drivers, but they were up to date, according to windows. I tried to roll them back, too; after, I could boot up in normal mode, but once I got to the desktop it seemed that the GPU failed, because everything got blocky and green, as if all skins were gone. I also read it might be an issue with the GPU BIOS? Since I'mI in safethe node, i'm alsogetting more or lessless unable to installthe tools. Please, I desperately need help, as I'm getting nowhere fast on my own.

We need the actual DMP file to be sure but in the interim...

"It's not a true crash, in the sense that the bluescreen was initiated only because the combination of video driver and video hardware was being unresponsive, and not because of any synchronous processing exception.

Since Vista, the "Timeout Detection and Recovery" (TDR) components of the OS video subsystem have been capable of doing some truly impressive things to try to recover from issues which would have caused earlier OSs like XP to crash.

As a last resort, the TDR subsystem sends the video driver a "please restart yourself now!" command and waits a few seconds.

If there's no response, the OS concludes that the video driver/hardware combo has truly collapsed in a heap, and it fires off that stop 0x116 BSOD.

If playing with video driver versions hasn't helped, make sure the box is not overheating.

Try removing a side panel and aiming a big mains fan straight at the motherboard and GPU.

Run it like that for a few hours or days - long enough to ascertain whether cooler temperatures make a difference.

If so, it might be as simple as dust buildup and subsequently inadequate cooling.

I would download cpu-z and gpu-z (both free) and keep an eye on the video temps Let us know if you need help STOP 0x116: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR troubleshooting

Okay, cool. I'll give those a shot. In the mean time, how would one go about procuring that minidump file?

To enable us to assist you with your computer's BSOD symptoms, upload the contents of your "\Windows\Minidump" folder.

The procedure:

* Copy the contents of \Windows\Minidump to another (temporary) location somewhere on your machine.
* Zip up the copy.
* Attach the ZIP archive to your post using the "paperclip" (file attachments) button.
*If the files are too large please upload them to a file sharing service like "Rapidshare" and put a link to them in your reply.


To ensure minidumps are enabled:

Go to Start, in the Search Box type: sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
Under the Advanced tab, click on the Startup and Recovery Settings... button.
Ensure that Automatically restart is unchecked.
Under the Write Debugging Information header select Small memory dump (256 kB) in the dropdown box (the 256kb varies).
Ensure that the Small Dump Directory is listed as %systemroot%\Minidump.
OK your way out.
Reboot if changes have been made.

There is also a small chance that it could be your PCI slot which the card is inserted into. I had the same BSOD code as you with a 9800 GTX+ a few years back and thats what fixed it for me. If you don't have another card to troubleshoot the slot with, try moving the card into another slot.

Here is my minidump file. I tried messing around with the drivers some more, but couldn't really get anything to install in safe mode. My friend tried to boot Ubuntu on it to see if he could fix it from there, but it wouldn't boot; he insists this means it's screwed.
Would it be worth it to take it to a professional to have them take a look at it? At what point is my laptop functionally dead here?

So I'm suspicious that I wasn't able to properly update my drivers, and that that might be the problem. Under device manager, it lists my GPU as having driver version 8.6something, which is the version windows 7 seems to automatically update to. The ARI site lists 11.x as the latest driver version. I tried to install them, but the ATI installer seems to be broken; it keeps giving me the message "Failed to load detection driver" and fails out the install. Is there any way to just install the driver manually, bypassing the ARI software? Is it likely that my drivers being version 8.x is the cause of my BSOD errors? Does my minidump file have anything interesting to say? Et cetera.
Please, some more help would be terrific, because otherwise I seem to be SOL.

All of these were Related to atikmdag.sys ATI Radeon Kernel Mode Driver.. I would re-install the newest version available.

Old drivers needing updating
How To Find Drivers:- - The most common drivers are listed on this page: Driver Reference Driver Reference
- - Driver manufacturer links are on this page: Drivers and Downloads