Gigabyte GTS450 causes random black screen

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  1. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64
    Thread Starter
       #11

    Thank you for all the inputs.

    So, after messing about, I think my OS has become unstable after the numerous times I have performed System Restore. So, I decided to re-install my OS. But this time, I had a plan as to what I will do in the process of installing the drivers, especially to avoid driver conflicts.

    My PC h/w specs:
    Processor: Intel Core I7 2600K
    MOBO: Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3
    Graphics: Gigabyte GTS450
    RAM: 2 x 4GB - Corsair PC1333
    HDD: 2TB - WD SATA 3
    OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64


    Here's what I have done so far and, touch wood, I have not seen a single BlueSOD or BlackSOD (hopefully this could come in handy for others):

    1. In the BIOS, disable the USB3 controllers
    2. In the BIOS, change the setting such that the BIOS will turn off the on-board display device if a GPU is detected on the PCI slots (this is to avoid any clash between the on-board graphics and the GPU, while also to avoid clash of the on-board HDMI port's hi-def audio device driver with the on-board hi-def audio driver)
    3. Install the OS (in my case, RE-install the OS)
    4. After the Win 7 installation completes, install the drivers for the MOBO using the provided CD - NOTE: Ensure that you do not install the Etron USB3 drivers - you should not see the driver in the list if you have already disabled the USB3 controller in the BIOS
    5. After the MOBO drivers have been installed, reboot, and then install the nVidia drivers - I used 270.61 from the nVidia website (as suggested by Britton30) - I would suggest that during the installation, you do not use the "Express" installation settings, but instead use the customised settings so that the Hi Def Audio Driver can be excluded from the install
    6. After the nVidia driver installs, open up Device Manager, and under the "Sound, video and game controllers", right-click and disable each of the "High Definition Audio Device", except for "Realtek High Definition Audio".
    7. Reboot, and you should be up and running

    I am sure some of you will feel that my steps above take a rather radical approach and that I am not doing justice by disabling some of the MOBO features in the BIOS, while also disabling some of the devices on Windows' Device Manager. The thing for me is, the steps above are more to help folks who have faced or are facing similar issues to what I have experienced, and just want to move on to use the PC without having to wonder when the system is going to crash again.

    A message to Gigabyte (I understand this is not a Gigabyte forum - but hopefully the message goes to them): Please test your MOBOs THOROUGHLY with all supported graphics cards and have a list readilly available of which graphics cards are supported/compatible with the respective MOBOs - It is VERY shameful when customers face compatibility issues between Gigabyte products on the same system.
    Last edited by drdunno; 21 Aug 2011 at 01:27.
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  2. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #12

    Sorry you had to reinstall but glad it all works now. Been there, done that, got a tee shirt.

    For Gigabyte: GIGABYTE - Support & Downloads - Technical Support
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64
    Thread Starter
       #13

    Sadly, BSOD encountered today.

    Windows Update installed IE9 and when I launched IE9, within a few seconds, I got a BSOD. The error I got on the BSOD screen said BUGCODE_USB_DRIVER, but it seemed to point to nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver).

    I am currently using GeForce/ION Driver v270.61. Should I try the GeForce 280.26 Driver? I remember Britton30 saying that the 270.61 driver was fairly stable and that the newer ones have been causing problems for many users.

    BTW, I have created a new thread to report the BSOD in the "Crashes and Debugging" forum (BSOD after opening IE9 - Win7 x64 - BUGCODE_USB_DRIVER).

    Any comments/suggestions for this new problem?

    Also, would you have any personal opinion on ATI graphics cards/drivers, compared to NVIDIA's graphics cards/drivers? Are ATI's products doing better in terms of issues being reported due to graphics hardware/driver related issues?
    Last edited by drdunno; 21 Aug 2011 at 08:14.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 6,292
    Windows 7 64 Bit Home Premium SP1
       #14

    Sorry to hear that.

    In Device Manager, under graphics adapters, is there just the one card listed?

    From my time on this forum I can tell you that we get issues posted for ATI and nVidia based cards about equally. It's not like one video engine or it's driver is more buggy than the other. Each company has it's bad days.

    Keep in mind that ATI and nVidia make the graphics chip (the video engine) and drivers for it. Other manufacturers make the graphics cards. The issues with a "bad card" come down to issues in the manufacture of the card, not the graphics chip or the video engine.
    Some card manufacturers have issues far less than others.

    If you remove the graphics card and run only on the onboard graphics, does the issue go away?
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64
    Thread Starter
       #15

    TVeblen said:
    If you remove the graphics card and run only on the onboard graphics, does the issue go away?
    Yes, it worked and no issue were seen because the onboard graphics does not use nvidia drivers. However, a point to note is that when I used the onboard HDMI port, I had uninstalled the nvidia drivers and used devcon to clean up the DriverStore.

    Hmmm... Very odd. For some strange reason, my post in "Crashes and Debugging" is missing Luckilly, I had copied the body of the thread I had posted. Will resubmit now.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 6,292
    Windows 7 64 Bit Home Premium SP1
       #16

    When the 450 is installed:
    In Device Manager, under graphics adapters, is there just the one card (the 450) listed?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 18
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64
    Thread Starter
       #17

    TVeblen said:
    When the 450 is installed:
    In Device Manager, under graphics adapters, is there just the one card (the 450) listed?
    Yes, only one graphics adapter is listed - NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450. This is because I have set the BIOS to disable the on-board graphics device if it is able to detect GPU on the PCI bus (or something to that effect).
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 6,292
    Windows 7 64 Bit Home Premium SP1
       #18

    Can you borrow another nVidia graphics card from another system to test with? Any PCI-e x16 card will do.
      My Computer


  9. mjf
    Posts : 5,969
    Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1
       #19

    I have a similar setup (see specs) but with an ASUS motherboard. It's a bit ironic that my Gigabyte GTS450 seems to work fine (touch wood!!!!!) even with the "280.26-desktop-win7-winvista-64bit-english-whql" driver.

    The GTS450 does recommend a minimum 400W PSU. I think trying another graphics card as suggested above is a good idea. Maybe the shop that sold you the card could oblige.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #20

    Well, you might give the newer 280.26 driver a go and see what happens now. It seems about 50/50 on whether it works on different systems.

    Also please fill out system specs with this tool. This will make them available in each of your posts. https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html
      My Computer


 
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