Solved BSOD 0x00000116 atikmpag.sys

[edhelharn]

Hello all,

I am getting an annoying BSOD 0x00000116. This started abouth three months ago, and at the beginning it only occurred during games (especially frequently during Alan Wake), but only while loading a next level/chapter, etc. or during in-game videos.

According to BlueScreenView, three .sys files were suspected: dxgkrnl.sys, atikmpag.sys and dxgmms1.sys.

I tried to uninstall the old ATI driver in safe mode (using Driver Sweeper) and installed the latest driver, but it did not work. Then I installed an older driver, namely AMD Catalyst 12.6 Beta Driver, and I did not get any BSODs for two weeks!

Then I got BSODs again. This time I updated other drivers as well (e.g., audio drivers, USB drivers, etc.), and BSODs failed to come again. The games in question, however, crashed at the "usual" critical points, but without BSODs and restarting of the system. (In the case of Alan Wake, I also got this error message: "Could not lock vertex buffer - Hardware device was removed".) A few days later I got BSODs again, but in these cases the computer totally crashed without restarting of the system, so I could not save .dmp files or check the blue screen error message using BlueScreenView.

This time I ran MemTest for several hours, basically all night (because one of my friends suggested that this could also be a memory problem), and fortunatelly memory seems to be ok. I also used CCleaner and cleared the registry, and what a miracle, I did not get any BSODs for 2-3 weeks. The games in question also ran perfectly without crashing.

Today, however, I got a BSOD again. I was just closing my web browser after watching an online video when it happened. Fortunatelly the sytem restarted this time, so I could saved the files needed. On the other hand, this is an other kind of BSOD, because according to BlueScreenView two .sys files are suspected this time (not those three mentioned earlier): the "good" old atikmpag.sys and a new one, discache.sys.

Here is my config and os:

Asus P8P67 REV 3.1
Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz
Kingston 8192MB DDR3 1600MHz KIT
ASUS ATi Radeon HD6950 2048MB
Samsung 320GB + WD Ext 1.5TB
Chieftec CTG-550-80P
Asus Xonar DX/XD/A
LG 23'' IPS231P-BN
Windows 7 64 bit

Thank you in advance!

Edhelharn


p.s. Sorry for my English, I hope I was clear.

 

[koolkat77]

Welcome to SevenForums

Start with filling in your PC specs:
__________________

1. Click on User CP on the top right of this page
2. Click on Edit System Spec
3. Fill in your computer specs
   • http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html

__________________
Please stop any sort of overclocking.

What's the age of your PC? What's the status of its warranty?

Did you go through this thread? It's related to graphic card, their drivers and your bugcheck.

http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html
​

[LIST=1]
[*]Start Menu\Programs\Advanced SystemCare 5	Public:Start Menu\Programs\Advanced SystemCare 5	Public
[*]Start Menu\Programs\DAEMON Tools Lite	Public:Start Menu\Programs\DAEMON Tools Lite	Public
[*]Start Menu\Programs\Nexus Mod Manager	Public:Start Menu\Programs\Nexus Mod Manager	Public
[/LIST]

Daemon Tools
Please uninstall DAEMON Tools. This software uses a driver called sptd.sys which is a known BSOD cause in Windows 7. Uninstall the software using Add/Remove Programs. Once the program is uninstalled, run sptd.sys uninstaller to remove the driver from your system.

As an alternative, many people recommend the use of Total Mounter or Magic ISO

System Optimisers
ASC5 and others are known to wreck the OS. Most people here do not recommend the use of automatic optimisation tools for Windows 7. Microsoft have improved Windows 7 significantly and it is much better at organising and optimising itself than its predecessors. Windows 7 is not XP. Automated optimisation software can delete important registry entries that can cause multiple problems with windows 7.

If you feel the need to use a registry cleaning or optimisation software, I recommend the use of CCleaner but make sure you back up the registry before making letting ccleaner delete anything. Also recommend the use of Puran Defrag to defragment your HDD. Check the "Boost Overall System Speed By Puran Intelligent Optimizer (PIZOR) under additional operations.

For monitoring the heat/celsius of the system, use Speccy or HWinfo:

• Speccy - System Information - Free Download
• CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

You may want to see if lowering the settings of the games (i.e remove any enhancements made for the graphics of the games look better)

Run the System File Checker that scans the of all protected Windows 7 system files and replaces incorrect corrupted, changed/modified, or damaged versions with the correct versions if possible:

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

See if there is a newer version for your BIOS:

BIOS-verzió/-dátum	American Megatrends Inc. 1904, 2011.08.15.

Following is for information purpose only;

[FONT="Verdana"]Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
.....
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 116, {fffffa8009428010, fffff88006719250, 0, 2}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for atikmpag.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for atikmpag.sys
Probably caused by : atikmpag.sys ( atikmpag+9250 )

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

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

VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa8009428010, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff88006719250, 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.

Debugging Details:
------------------


FAULTING_IP: 
atikmpag+9250
fffff880`06719250 4055            push    rbp

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  GRAPHICS_DRIVER_TDR_FAULT

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  1

BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116

PROCESS_NAME:  System

CURRENT_IRQL:  0

STACK_TEXT:  
fffff880`0233d888 fffff880`07d2e000 : 00000000`00000116 fffffa80`09428010 fffff880`06719250 00000000`00000000 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`0233d890 fffff880`07d2dd0a : fffff880`06719250 fffffa80`09428010 fffffa80`08bc5d50 fffffa80`090f3010 : dxgkrnl!TdrBugcheckOnTimeout+0xec
fffff880`0233d8d0 fffff880`0720ff07 : fffffa80`09428010 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`08bc5d50 fffffa80`090f3010 : dxgkrnl!TdrIsRecoveryRequired+0x1a2
fffff880`0233d900 fffff880`07239b75 : 00000000`ffffffff 00000000`000003b1 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000002 : dxgmms1!VidSchiReportHwHang+0x40b
fffff880`0233d9e0 fffff880`072382bb : 00000000`00000102 00000000`00000003 00000000`000003b1 00000000`00000000 : dxgmms1!VidSchiCheckHwProgress+0x71
fffff880`0233da10 fffff880`0720b2c6 : ffffffff`ff676980 fffffa80`090f3010 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWaitForSchedulerEvents+0x1fb
fffff880`0233dab0 fffff880`07237e7a : 00000000`00000000 00000000`0000000f 00000000`00000080 fffffa80`086a8c58 : dxgmms1!VidSchiScheduleCommandToRun+0x1da
fffff880`0233dbc0 fffff800`02f2be5a : 00000000`02be7b83 fffffa80`09061210 fffffa80`06d11990 fffffa80`09061210 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWorkerThread+0xba
fffff880`0233dc00 fffff800`02c85d26 : fffff880`009ec180 fffffa80`09061210 fffff880`009f6fc0 00000000`00000001 : nt!PspSystemThreadStartup+0x5a
fffff880`0233dc40 00000000`00000000 : fffff880`0233e000 fffff880`02338000 fffff880`02bfcd70 00000000`00000000 : nt!KiStartSystemThread+0x16


STACK_COMMAND:  .bugcheck ; kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
atikmpag+9250
fffff880`06719250 4055            push    rbp

SYMBOL_NAME:  atikmpag+9250

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: atikmpag

IMAGE_NAME:  atikmpag.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  4fbc3898

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x116_IMAGE_atikmpag.sys

BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x116_IMAGE_atikmpag.sys

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

1: kd> lmvm atikmpag
start             end                 module name
fffff880`06710000 fffff880`06771000   atikmpag T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: atikmpag.sys
    Image path: atikmpag.sys
    Image name: atikmpag.sys
    Timestamp:        Wed May 23 07:08:40 2012 (4FBC3898)
    CheckSum:         0006872A
    ImageSize:        00061000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4[/FONT]

Let us know what you find out

 

[edhelharn]

Thank you for answering.

Well, I bought my PC about one year ago (last December if I right remember), so it is still with a warranty.

I am definitely not overclocking, I do not even know how to do that.

So... As you suggested, I uninstalled Damon Tools and ran sptd.sys uninstaller. Then I used Puran Defrag to defragment my HDD. I also downloaded Speccy and checked system temperatures. I also tried to update the ATI driver again (there is a brand new driver), but this time without Catalyst Control Center.

Well, I still get BSODs, and to make matters worse, more frequently. I had at least two BOSDs when I was working on a PowerPoint presentation, three others when I was wathing videos, and I also had a nasty series of BSODs, too. In the latter case, the system restarted after a BSOD and in a few minutes I got an other BSOD, and after system restarting an other one, etc. I could only start Windows in safe mode, so I quickly reinstalled the old ATI driver with Catalyst Control Center. But it did not work. I got an other BSOD when I was editing a picture in PowerPoint, and then an other series of BSODs. I am using safe mode at this moment...

Now I am totally desperate. So far only games have caused BSODs, now they can occur nearly at any time. And I checked them with BlueScreenView, they were not the same, various .sys files were suspected, moreover in one case, I even got a 0xa0000001 BSOD (see attachment).

On the other hand, it is quite interesting, because sometimes the system restarts without a blue screen, and sometimes there is no BSOD, only the screen flashes, and I get the "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error message.

By the way, overheting may not be the casusing of BSODs, because according to Speccy, system temperatures (including that of the GPU) were slightly over 40°C just before the BSODs.

 

[koolkat77]

It could be that the graphics card went bad? Did you go through this thread?: http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html

If your motherboard has on-board GPU, connect and see how the PC works there. You could also try another graphics card, by borrowing from a friend or neighbor?

PS; Same 116 bugcheck.

 

[edhelharn]

It could be that the graphics card went bad? Did you go through this thread?: http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html

If your motherboard has on-board GPU, connect and see how the PC works there. You could also try another graphics card, by borrowing from a friend or neighbor?

PS; Same 116 bugcheck.

Well, it turned out that my HDD caused the BSODs.

To tell the truth, I do not understand how could a HDD (with - presumably - bad sectors) trigger BSODs concerning the graphics card driver and how can be the BSOD-free periods explained, but whatever.

What matters is that now I have a SSD with the OS installed on it, and everything works fine.

 

[koolkat77]

Thanks for the update.
Glad you got it sorted, please mark the thread as solved after few days of observing. It may help users with the same issue.
Good luck!

 

[ghafoor87]

Hi Edhelharn. I am having the same problem as you had faced. The BSOD shows only a problem with atikmpag.sys file. Sometimes the screen itself does not start. Can you tell me how you found out that the problem was with your HDD? I had defragmented my drives a couple of weeks back, cleaned all cache and other temp files.

 

[edhelharn]

Hi Edhelharn. I am having the same problem as you had faced. The BSOD shows only a problem with atikmpag.sys file. Sometimes the screen itself does not start. Can you tell me how you found out that the problem was with your HDD? I had defragmented my drives a couple of weeks back, cleaned all cache and other temp files.

Well, the funny thing is that BSODs started again a few month ago, so it was not the HDD that had caused the problem. This time, however, I think I found the solution. I simply took out the video card, than I put it back, furthermore I bolstered it up with a small plastic supporter. No BSODs since then.

I think it is worth a try, maybe your card is also not in the right position on the motherboard.

Or you can try this:

Fix atikmpag.sys / atikmdag.sys blue screen errors (BSOD)

 

[ghafoor87]

Hi Edhelharn. Thanks for your reply. I came across that link earlier when i was looking for a solution. My command prompt and manually myself is not able to find the file atikmpag.sy_. So i guess that solution is ruled out in my case. I am using a laptop, so I can't change my graphics card either. If i have to do that, i'd have to change the entire motherboard. The funny thing is, I had this same problem earlier in June 2013. When i consulted with a technician, he said the only way out is to change the motherboard, which i got it done. I don't want to change it again now.

At the moment, my display does not even turn on so I could work on safe mode. It turns on occasionally. So i'd have to wait and see if re-installing the driver would help.

 

[Arc]

Hi ghafoor87.

If you want SF to help you get rid of your BSOD issue, start your own thread following the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions.