GRAPHICS_DRIVER_TDR_FAULT 0x116, constant atikmpag.sys BSODs

Hello Seven Forums, I'm ePeen and I hail from OCN. I have decided to come here as I know there are very many intelligent members here that can hopefully help me solve my issue.

System Specs (NOTHING IS OVERCLOCKED, ALL AT STOCK):

i7 2600k
Asus P8P67 Pro B3 Rev 3.1
Corsair Vengeance 1600 8GB DDR3 @ 9-9-9-24 1.5v
Samsung Spinpoint 1TB
Asus Radeon HD 5850 (two in crossfire)
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Corsair H70
Acer Eyefinity 5040x1050
Corsair CMPSU-750TX-750w
X-Fi Titanium Fata1ity Professional

I am 100% at my wits end. I am frustrated because I JUST got done with putting my computer back together after my SATA controler died. I am plagued with atikmpag.sys BSODs, and I am at my wits end with this, I can't put up with it anymore, so I need help. I am now convinced this issue is not software related since I have reformatted and STILL have these BSODs.
Please read everything I have written to help me to the best of your ability, I will try anything.. I cannot put up with these BSODs anymore.

I have tried:

- Full uninstall and reinstall of GPU drivers
- Going from the traditional 11.10 (what I have been using for awhile) to 11.12, no avail.
- Pax drivers rather than Creative official drivers.
- Reformatting Windows and installing a fresh 11.12 + cap as well as Creative's official drivers.
- None of my hardware is overclocked.

I have a feeling this is related to my multi monitiors, but I do not know, because I blue screened before I had the three monitors while playing L4D2 one night. It only happens, and by only, I mean ONLY HAPPENS when I start up a video game, or am playing a video game. It does not happen idle, or at least has not happened at all in the old Windows installation, and the new Windows installation.

For example, I installed Killing Floor before. I went to start it up and all three of my monitors flickered black rapidly, and then also showed the desktop at some points. Eventually, it crashed and displayed an error, which I do not remember. I started it up again, but this time it worked, and I play for about an hour and all was well. I just installed the Diablo 3 beta, went to start it up, and as it was loading, all three of my monitors rapidly flickered, and then my rig proceeded to lock up, and then BSOD'd.

At this point, I am convinced one of my cards is on its way out, but as you see, I have no idea and I cannot be sure.

Here is a dump file which you can quickly download and take a look at if you know how to read them, just to see if you get any additional information more than I could.
I'd just like to note that every single BSOD is atikmpag.sys related, there have been NO other types. I don't know if any other piece of failing hardware can cause a atikmpag.sys BSOD, so if not, it's definitely one of my GPUs.

If it's of any consolation, these issues started happening right after my previous P8P67 Pro SATA controller shorted and killed my previous F3 1TB as well. After I got brand new parts (both HDD and MOBO) back from RMA and put it together, the problems began.

Edit 1: A user on OCN recommended I save both of my BIOS'es using GPU-z so he could take a look. Well, as I went to save the BIOS on my first GPU, my rig froze, but I could hear audio. My friends on Skype said "Woah.. Pat, we can hear ourselves", and then all three of my monitors went black and into standby (orange light). After about 15 seconds, the Skype audio stopped. I hard shut down and powered back up...

Hello ePeen,

> "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


> > Please run the update readiness tool and then update to SP-1


Ensure you install the correct 64 or 32 bit option for your system)

Download the System Update Readiness Tool (64bit)
Download the System Update Readiness Tool (32bit)

Learn how to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

I will install SP1, thanks very much for your reply. If you don't mind me asking, I have read before by Googling that SP1 is known to fix this issue sometimes. What exactly fixes it in SP1, and how? I'm very interested.

Good question indeed.
Drivers etc are updated.

Install SP1 to see if your problem is corrected.

FYI
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...=ws.10%29.aspx

Well JMH, I bring good news so far. After updating to SP1 and disabling ULPS in the registry (I read that it causes many issues with crossfire), I was finally able to start up a game in Black Ops without blue screening instantly, and I can also start Diablo 3 up with no issues, as last time it also blue screened upon launch. I can definitely consider this a fix seeing as every single time I went to previously start up a private match in Black Ops, it would BSOD without second thought.

So far for the moment this is solved. I will continue to monitor my computer closely, as I won't consider it fully stable until I see no issues for at least a week or so. Hopefully we never meet again, but thank you very much for the assistance.

Indeed we hope to NOT meet the BSOD way!

Unfortunately, I have returned with another DMP file, so I have marked the thread "unresolved".

I checked my system up-time prior to getting the crash, and my rig was going strong for almost 6 days. I was playing Devil May Cry 4 on eyefinity, etc... I was excited, hadn't seen that stupid BSOD in almost a week. I buy myself the expansion for Battlefield 3, not even 30 minutes into the game... I BSOD.

Where do we go from here, JMH?

I ran Furmark to test my GPUs for artifacts, but something I noticed during the test.... my 2nd 5850 (crossfire) was going between 0% load and 2% load. Does Furmark not utilize multi GPU setups, or is something wrong with my 2nd GPU?

See here:



Maybe this is something else to mention, in CCC, the first GPU is running at different clocks (both core and memory) than the 2nd GPU. See here:

1 -


2 -


Is this normal? *Note that I was idle at the desktop whilst print screening those*.
**I have attached the latest DMP file to my post :)

Not too bad up for 5+ days.
As a matter of interest do you reboot every so often?

These crashes were caused by memory exception (probably a driver).
Please run these two tests to verify your memory and find which driver is causing the problem.

If you are overclocking anything reset to default before running these tests.
In other words STOP!!!


1-Memtest.

*Download a copy of Memtest86 and burn the ISO to a CD using Iso Recorder or another ISO burning program. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

*Boot from the CD, and leave it running for at least 5 or 6 passes.

Just remember, any time Memtest reports errors, it can be either bad RAM or a bad motherboard slot.

Test the sticks individually, and if you find a good one, test it in all slots.

Any errors are indicative of a memory problem.

If a known good stick fails in a motherboard slot it is probably the slot.

RAM - Test with Memtest86+



2-Driver verifier

Using Driver Verifier is an iffy proposition. Most times it'll crash and it'll tell you what the driver is. But sometimes it'll crash and won't tell you the driver. Other times it'll crash before you can log in to Windows. If you can't get to Safe Mode, then you'll have to resort to offline editing of the registry to disable Driver Verifier.

I'd suggest that you first backup your data and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.

Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable


Further Reading
Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users

Interesting you ask that question. As a matter of fact, I do not shut down or restart often. I even have hibernation and sleep mode disabled, as well as the hard disk never turns off, and hybrid sleep is disabled as well. When I go to bed, I simply just turn my monitors off and walk away, then when I awake in the morning, just turn my monitors back on and resume my tasks.

And I have not overclocked. Everything is factory defaults as this is a brand new motherboard that I received from RMA, so I did not want to overclock until I ensured that everything worked as intended (clearly it does not).

Anyways... I have installed Memtest86+'s USB key onto my USB drive. I will run memtest on each stick, and then individually just to get it over with and make sure my RAM is okay. I will report back with the results as soon as I can!

I suggest as a good "computer housekeeping rule" you reboot at least every few days.