BSOD after about 30 hours of use, believe it is catalyst 12.2 related

[Thornton]

I'll come back in the thread if I have another occurrence - but my bluescreens were previously happening hourly at least - on a clean Win7 install. And I have been using my rig much more intensively today than earlier in the week.

on mine it had been happening almost every 30 hours on the dot, the other day it happend almost 65 hours after the previous one, a clean install can just change the problems time line, as shown in my case here... i will do what you tried and see if it works for me also, just keep us informed.

 

[flinchn]

Important: I have updated my steps a few posts up.

 

[Thornton]

I read somewhere, maybe this thread even, that Overdrive bugs was the cause of the atikmpag.sys blue screens. I had of course set everything to default and disabled overclocking, but no joy - I think even ticking the overdrive box once screws you.

I have had a great amount of success the past two days with absolutely no bluescreens. Here are the exact steps I followed, so maybe it will help others:

Prereqs:
Winrar or equivalent
Driver Cleaner from drivercleaner.net (fully updated)

1. Uninstalled the display driver in Device Manager
2. Uninstalled the Catalyst 12.2 in Programs and Features
3. Rebooted into Safe Mode
4. Ran Driver Cleaner [make sure you update this with an internet connection or it will miss files]
5. Checked all the ATI filters, removed the ATI garbage

***EDIT - You do NOT want to remove the /Windows/WINSXS files or SFC will fail! The more I read about this (affects both Driver Sweeper and Driver Cleaner) the more I think you should not do this step unless you want to risk reinstalling Windows when the next SP comes out)***

6. Reboot
7. Unzipped the Catalyst 12.2 package with Winrar
8. Went into Device Manager, pointed the Display component to the unpacked Catalyst directory for driver update. (standard VGA driver was installed)
9. Reboot
10. Ran the Catalyst installer, installed *only* CCC. (nothing else checked even the AMD Display driver since its already installed in step 8 -except the required installer itself)
11. Reboot
12. Set my desired settings in CCC - but never *ever* have I accessed the Performance/Overdrive dialog
13. Used MSI Afterburner to set overclocking.
14. Play Skyrim

ok, time to try this, im doin it today, nuther bsod this morn, it seems to be happening right around 5 am DST

 

[flinchn]

I had a single bluescreen early this morning, and that was one too many! So, I found these newer (I assume, beta) catalysts and followed steps 1 thru 6 above to get clean and then just autoinstalled these:

AMD Catalyst 8.96 28 February – BenchmarK3D

There are newer (Windows 8-related betas here, but I'll try them later if I have to):
AMD Catalyst 8.951.1 05 March – BenchmarK3D


Benchmarks are also on the site (I just found it last night- not advertising for it).
I suspect support for 7900 series is going through some growing pains, but who knows, maybe I should have gone Nvidia. Too late now, but by the time I need Crossfire perhaps they will have sorted this out some. In any case, I should have known better than to get a rig with every component only a month or so old, but it was so inexpensive compared to the old days when a put-together-for-you gaming computer would be 5k. I really can't complain too much considering this is my only issue and the rig is blazing fast (read:instant) at every task...

(also if anyone followed my steps and cleaned out Win7x64 ATI base drivers with Driver Cleaner so that SFC fails, I have the fix so let me know - unfortunately I only found out about this after so profuse apologies)

 

[Thornton]

I had a single bluescreen early this morning, and that was one too many! So, I found these newer (I assume, beta) catalysts and followed steps 1 thru 6 above to get clean and then just autoinstalled these:

AMD Catalyst 8.96 28 February – BenchmarK3D

There are newer (Windows 8-related betas here, but I'll try them later if I have to):
AMD Catalyst 8.951.1 05 March – BenchmarK3D


Benchmarks are also on the site (I just found it last night- not advertising for it).
I suspect support for 7900 series is going through some growing pains, but who knows, maybe I should have gone Nvidia. Too late now, but by the time I need Crossfire perhaps they will have sorted this out some. In any case, I should have known better than to get a rig with every component only a month or so old, but it was so inexpensive compared to the old days when a put-together-for-you gaming computer would be 5k. I really can't complain too much considering this is my only issue and the rig is blazing fast (read:instant) at every task...

(also if anyone followed my steps and cleaned out Win7x64 ATI base drivers with Driver Cleaner so that SFC fails, I have the fix so let me know - unfortunately I only found out about this after so profuse apologies)

ok, just got DC and was gunna do it, so follow 1-6, make backups of the sfc files lol, gunna try this out.

nvidia has problems too, just different ones just fyi

 

[Thornton]

I had a single bluescreen early this morning, and that was one too many! So, I found these newer (I assume, beta) catalysts and followed steps 1 thru 6 above to get clean and then just autoinstalled these:

AMD Catalyst 8.96 28 February – BenchmarK3D

There are newer (Windows 8-related betas here, but I'll try them later if I have to):
AMD Catalyst 8.951.1 05 March – BenchmarK3D


Benchmarks are also on the site (I just found it last night- not advertising for it).
I suspect support for 7900 series is going through some growing pains, but who knows, maybe I should have gone Nvidia. Too late now, but by the time I need Crossfire perhaps they will have sorted this out some. In any case, I should have known better than to get a rig with every component only a month or so old, but it was so inexpensive compared to the old days when a put-together-for-you gaming computer would be 5k. I really can't complain too much considering this is my only issue and the rig is blazing fast (read:instant) at every task...

(also if anyone followed my steps and cleaned out Win7x64 ATI base drivers with Driver Cleaner so that SFC fails, I have the fix so let me know - unfortunately I only found out about this after so profuse apologies)

will the 12.1 drivers not work? the 12.1 drivers rocked, it was when i upgraded to 12.2 that i had the problems, ill try it and post my findings cuz the 12 drivers where by far the best

this should work, ill try it out

http://downloads.guru3d.com/downloadget.php?id=2846&file=1&evp=1952d4b02fb2ca01be10bb1d2118cc1a

 

[flinchn]

12.1 don't support 7900series, so I'm not about to try them

 

[Thornton]

12.1 don't support 7900series, so I'm not about to try them

really, ok
wow

i think thats our problem... thats what changed, 12.1 did, 12.2 didnt, 12.1 didnt offer support for 7000 but 12.2 was offering the full features of 12.1 for 7000, it was a bug fix for 7000 that screwed 6000 users over... i think i get it, i might be wrong, but i think this makes the most sence yet

 

[Thornton]

12.1 don't support 7900series, so I'm not about to try them

i have a prety big oroblem. i get into safe mode and the pc restarts... each time. im texting this from my phone while on step 2

 

[gregrocker]

Boot into System Recovery Options to run Startup Repair repeatedly. If this fails, try working backward using System Restore.

I would establish a Clean Boot as given in these troubleshooting steps to eliminate that this is a Program at fault. My bet would be CCC bloatware.

 

[Thornton]

Boot into System Recovery Options to run Startup Repair repeatedly. If this fails, try working backward using System Restore.

I would establish a Clean Boot as given in these troubleshooting steps to eliminate that this is a Program at fault. My bet would be CCC bloatware.

ANOTHER problem... and i would like to establish that this is not ccc this is the driver itself at this point. i followed his instructions 1-6, installed 12.1, but nomatter what version i install, whne it beginns to install the driver according to the log, i get a rather LOUD popup if you have your speakers on stating that "the INF was not found" no more detail than that, they just say, THE INF, dumbest thing ive ever seen, anyways, i now have yet to boot into safe mode, microsoft has 3 or so fixes, some people have narrowed it down to parrody of ram, and all of it seems to happen in an HP Mobo like mine... FUN!!! getting more than frustrated by the fact that im writing this in 620x480 resolution, i found someone with a fix for the "inf" problem, but when i followd his steps, i found it quickly didnt apply to me at step one

 

[Thornton]

Boot into System Recovery Options to run Startup Repair repeatedly. If this fails, try working backward using System Restore.

I would establish a Clean Boot as given in these troubleshooting steps to eliminate that this is a Program at fault. My bet would be CCC bloatware.

ANOTHER problem... and i would like to establish that this is not ccc this is the driver itself at this point. i followed his instructions 1-6, installed 12.1, but nomatter what version i install, whne it beginns to install the driver according to the log, i get a rather LOUD popup if you have your speakers on stating that "the INF was not found" no more detail than that, they just say, THE INF, dumbest thing ive ever seen, anyways, i now have yet to boot into safe mode, microsoft has 3 or so fixes, some people have narrowed it down to parrody of ram, and all of it seems to happen in an HP Mobo like mine... FUN!!! getting more than frustrated by the fact that im writing this in 620x480 resolution, i found someone with a fix for the "inf" problem, but when i followd his steps, i found it quickly didnt apply to me at step one

ok, so i found a fix, its not htat the guy was wrong, he just missed a step, had to update vga driver which in turn points to the 6900 drivers which unfortunately automatically install the latest one, in my case, 12.2 so maybe i can hold out till beginning of nex month for betas of 12.3, or if anyone knows of any betas already out for it i can try id really appreciate it... the problem still happens, but if it effect the vga i just update and it will be resolved

 

[gregrocker]

I would establish a Clean Boot as given in these troubleshooting steps to eliminate that this is a Program at fault. My bet would be CCC bloatware.

i would like to establish that this is not ccc this is the driver itself at this point.

Then do so, by turning off CCC software at startup or uninstalling it to default to the driver only. Then you'll know for sure whether it is the software like we've seen here countless times before.

Are you asking for our help here or telling us?

 

[flinchn]

Aside:
You keep banging this drum, and there's only three of us here..?

There is unnecessary 'bloatware' and then there are unfortunate, but necessary applications. I'm a several decade purist myself when it comes to a clean Windows install, but let's not pretend there isn't some software on that we'd prefer was lighter and tighter and hell wouldn't it be nice if everything was an executable so we could just boot it out of RAM when it misbehaves. The problem, I'm afraid, is Windows architecture itself and how it lacks self-awareness and doesn't clean up after itself--these things in greater measure than other O/S', although none are perfect. It is very possible the drivers, or how the improved, but far from perfect, HAL handles them, is pish... as the Scots would say. What would be nice is a guarantee drivers were gone when we ask them to be gone, because CCC itself doesn't seem to have nearly as much of a problem in this regard.

 

[gregrocker]

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you are saying. Win7 is very good with drivers and doesn't need driver cleaning like XP did in my experience. That ATI has problems with its drivers and even more problem with their bloatware is not a Win7 problem.

I suggest you trace the BSOD the scientific way if you haven't already - by posting up the bugcheck and other required info in our Crashes forum. Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions - Windows 7 Forums

 

[Thornton]

I would establish a Clean Boot as given in these troubleshooting steps to eliminate that this is a Program at fault. My bet would be CCC bloatware.

i would like to establish that this is not ccc this is the driver itself at this point.

Then do so, by turning off CCC software at startup or uninstalling it to default to the driver only. Then you'll know for sure whether it is the software like we've seen here countless times before.

Are you asking for our help here or telling us?

im not saying your wrong, and ill certainly try it out... but if the prblem is what weve been dicussing the fix for, its the atikmpag.sys, which is associated with the drivers, if it where ccc crashing, the drivers would continue running the same and nothing would change othr than a popup with a crash report. asking for help, but keeping snipits of a journal kindof in here for anyone else looking into the problem or that may have it


edit: problem still isnt gone, i cannot install 12.1 drivers, nor 12.2, when it said drivers where up to date, they where not, they where earlier than 11.6, cannot update, not sure how to procede with fixing the "the inf file was not found" problem

 

[Thornton]

I read somewhere, maybe this thread even, that Overdrive bugs was the cause of the atikmpag.sys blue screens. I had of course set everything to default and disabled overclocking, but no joy - I think even ticking the overdrive box once screws you.

I have had a great amount of success the past two days with absolutely no bluescreens. Here are the exact steps I followed, so maybe it will help others:

Prereqs:
Winrar or equivalent
Driver Cleaner from drivercleaner.net (fully updated)

1. Uninstalled the display driver in Device Manager
2. Uninstalled the Catalyst 12.2 in Programs and Features
3. Rebooted into Safe Mode
4. Ran Driver Cleaner [make sure you update this with an internet connection or it will miss files]
5. Checked all the ATI filters, removed the ATI garbage

***EDIT - You do NOT want to remove the /Windows/WINSXS files or SFC will fail! The more I read about this (affects both Driver Sweeper and Driver Cleaner) the more I think you should not do this step unless you want to risk reinstalling Windows when the next SP comes out)***

6. Reboot
7. Unzipped the Catalyst 12.2 package with Winrar
8. Went into Device Manager, pointed the Display component to the unpacked Catalyst directory for driver update. (standard VGA driver was installed)
9. Reboot
10. Ran the Catalyst installer, installed *only* CCC. (nothing else checked even the AMD Display driver since its already installed in step 8 -except the required installer itself)
11. Reboot
12. Set my desired settings in CCC - but never *ever* have I accessed the Performance/Overdrive dialog
13. Used MSI Afterburner to set overclocking.
14. Play Skyrim

im getting a weird error "the inf file was not found" im not sure how important it is, but when i play games it doesnt seem to think i have the latest drivers, when i look at the log, it says my ati driver installation failed (miserably clearly).
i googled the issue and have been trying numerous things to fix it over the past 2 days. below is the process i used

1.uninstall drivers in device manager
2.uninstall drivers from programs and features
3.reboot
4.delete ALL amd files manually FIRST
5.run drivercleaner.net
6.reboot
7.install 12.1 drivers (about 30oa% i get the error)

games work but they warn me about not using the right drivers on entry

 

[alishathomaz]

The most important Blue Screen of Death troubleshooting step you can take is to ask yourself what you just did.

1) Did you just install a new program or a piece of hardware, update a driver, install an update, etc.? If so, there's a very good chance that the change you made caused the BSOD:
Startup using Last Known Good Configuration to undo recent registry and driver changes.
Use System Restore to undo recent system changes.
Roll Back device driver to version prior to your driver update.

2) Scan your computer for viruses. Some viruses can cause a Blue Screen of Death, especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector.

3) Update drivers for your hardware. Most Blue Screens of Death are hardware or driver related so updated drivers could fix the cause of the STOP error.

4) Return hardware settings to default in Device Manager. Unless you have a specific reason to do so, the system resources that an individual piece of hardware is configured to use in Device Manager should be set to default. Non-default hardware settings have been known to cause a Blue Screen of Death.

5) Return BIOS settings to their default levels. An overclocked or misconfigured BIOS can cause all sorts of random issues, including BSODs.

 

[Thornton]

The most important Blue Screen of Death troubleshooting step you can take is to ask yourself what you just did.

1) Did you just install a new program or a piece of hardware, update a driver, install an update, etc.? If so, there's a very good chance that the change you made caused the BSOD:
Startup using Last Known Good Configuration to undo recent registry and driver changes.
Use System Restore to undo recent system changes.
Roll Back device driver to version prior to your driver update.

2) Scan your computer for viruses. Some viruses can cause a Blue Screen of Death, especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector.

3) Update drivers for your hardware. Most Blue Screens of Death are hardware or driver related so updated drivers could fix the cause of the STOP error.

4) Return hardware settings to default in Device Manager. Unless you have a specific reason to do so, the system resources that an individual piece of hardware is configured to use in Device Manager should be set to default. Non-default hardware settings have been known to cause a Blue Screen of Death.

5) Return BIOS settings to their default levels. An overclocked or misconfigured BIOS can cause all sorts of random issues, including BSODs.

thank you so much for the help, i hope this helps someone else, there where SO MANY FIXES FOR THIS PROBLEM, i finaly figured it out yesterday though and forgot to post.
12.2 wasnt working most likely for the reason i stated before, nomater how i installed it, even if the drivers whent into windows right, im not the first to have issues, however, fixing it was more trouble than i wanted, i pulled my old favorite, the last stable one i was aware of, 12.1, and began install, clearly on both i got the error.
after 2 days of looking things up it finale hit me to manually install the driver, the driver inf wasnt missing, ati just wasnt looking in the right place for some reason.

continue installig through error... (press ok i mean)
so you go to device manager, update driver, manualy update, c:\amd\support\12.1\packages\drivers\display\W76A_INF

i dont know if that will quote end quote FIX my problem... but its another method of installing drivers that isnt too much work keeping in mind it saves the location, change of 1 number for new driver, they are updated. unfortunately i havent gotten to try yet, i will try at the next driver release to see if they fixed the bsod issues and to see if this fixed my inf issues

 

[gregrocker]

In Device Manager, double-click on the Device, select Driver tab, then Update Driver, Browse, then Let Me Pick. All of the drivers you've had installed since reinstall should be archived in the list, select another to try.

Otherwise import the driver file from Device Support Downloads webpage.