BSOD caused by AMD Graphics Driver

[Zer]

I need a bit of help in installing the graphics drivers on my laptop. It's been bugging me for a long time.
My laptop's a Samsung Notebook Series 3. It's GPU is supposed to be AMD HD 7670M. Thing is whenever I install the drivers, be it from the Samsung or AMD website, it always gives me a BSOD. It has different error codes, but it usually starts with the atikmpag.sys code. It differs from then on. I had concluded that the graphics card is the main culprit because I have the Standard VGA drivers on here and it doesn't BSOD on me.

I did a clean install of Windows 7 using the Recovery Disc.
Another thing to mention is I brought this laptop to a technician a few months back to upgrade its RAM. They updated my drivers for free. They connected and external HDD and used some sort of software, I don't know which but it sure did bring back the AMD drivers flawlessly. No blue screens, no crashes, and it definitely made me play games at a stable frame rate. Before they fixed it, I was using Standard VGA drivers too.

I have done a bit of tinkering and tried the following:
-Uninstalling the AMD drivers using the AMD Uninstall Tool and reinstalling
-Using the command prompt to expand the atikmpag.sys
-Installing different kinds of versions of the AMD drivers

Other things to note:
-One time after installing the drivers it didn't produce a BSOD, it shut down unexpectedly and give a BSOD after rebooting just before the Windows logo
-Safe mode works and it's what I'm using right now

This is my first time posting in the forums, I'll be your eyes and ears for the duration of fixing this. Thanks in advance!

 

[Laith]

Hiya and welcome to SevenForums!rb:

Run MemTest86+ for at least 8 passes, It must be MemTest86+. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html

Run SeaTools(DO NOT RUN FOR SSDS) http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/313457-seatools-dos-windows-how-use.html

 

[Zer]

Memtest went through 8 passes without any errors

As for the Seatools, I get an error concerning SpawnCLR.dll. The specified module can't be found.

 

[Laith]

Okay, good. As for SeaTools, can you please run the DOS version? It's better to run the DOS version.

 

[Zer]

Booted Seatools from BIOS, it said that no hard drives were found.

 

[Laith]

Hmm, try GSmartControl.

 

[Zer]

Ran it, what should I be looking for here?

 

[Laith]

Single click each drive to see Drive Information to identify your drive, after that double-click the drive to see Detailed Device Information and finally click on the Attributes tab and tell me if you see any red or pink entries.

 

[Zer]

There's one pink entry.
ID 196
Reallocation Event Count

Here's a screenshot

 

[Laith]

There's nothing to be worried about there, but one thing to keep in mind is that some of the entries say 'pre-failure' which of course means that it is close to failing. I would suggest to back up your data regularly so important stuff doesn't get lost. Although it says pre-failure I would suggest trying another hard drive to be completely safe that it isn't your hard drive so we can rule that out.

 

[Zer]

I just recently did a clean install of Windows 7 so backing up data isn't too big of an issue at the moment.

Would there be another to rule my hard drive out? I don't have any other hard drives to switch it with.

Is the current state of the hard drive affecting how the graphics driver works?

 

[axe0]

Hi Zer,

Welcome to the 7forums

Although it looks like Laith is on the right path, I would like to add a few suggestions that may contribute to your problem.

Please make sure that Windows Update is up to date, install all updates available except for Windows 10 update.

Hotfix(s):                 20 Hotfix(s) Installed.

   Warning

Programs that claim to update your drivers install either the wrong or corrupted drivers.
If you have installed any driver with Driver Booster 3, please remove them as it may cause trouble.

You could use a system restore point to remove the drivers.

Please remove either of your memory sticks or replace them with a memory kit, running mixed memory can cause problems.

[Memory Device (Type 17) - Length 34 - Handle 0046h]
  Physical Memory Array Handle  0044h
  Memory Error Info Handle      [Not Provided]
  Total Width                   64 bits
  Data Width                    64 bits
  Size                          4096MB
  Form Factor                   0dh - SODIMM
  Device Set                    [None]
  Device Locator                ChannelA-DIMM0
  Bank Locator                  BANK 0
  Memory Type                   18h - Specification Reserved
  Type Detail                   0080h - Synchronous
  Speed                         1333MHz
  Manufacturer                  Hynix/Hyundai
  Serial Number                         
  Asset Tag Number                        
  Part Number                  [COLOR="Red"] HMT351S6CFR8C-H9 [/COLOR]
[Memory Device (Type 17) - Length 34 - Handle 0049h]
  Physical Memory Array Handle  0044h
  Memory Error Info Handle      [Not Provided]
  Total Width                   64 bits
  Data Width                    64 bits
  Size                          4096MB
  Form Factor                   0dh - SODIMM
  Device Set                    [None]
  Device Locator                ChannelB-DIMM0
  Bank Locator                  BANK 2
  Memory Type                   18h - Specification Reserved
  Type Detail                   0080h - Synchronous
  Speed                         1333MHz
  Manufacturer                  Samsung
  Serial Number                         
  Asset Tag Number                        
  Part Number                   [COLOR="red"]M471B5273DH0-CK0  [/COLOR]

To answer your question about the HDD if it is possible to rule it out, I would suggest to run a benchmark and scan it for errors with a few other tools so we have a better insight.
Yes it is possible that the status of the HDD can affect the drivers.

Diagnostics Test

 HDD TEST

Run chkdsk
Disk Check - Windows 7 Help Forums

Run HDTune to

• scan for errors, no quick scan but full scan
• benchmark.

It may take some time, but please take the time you need to perform it properly.
When above is done please make screenshots of the following

• the error scan,
• the benchmark incl. following
  • transfer rate,
  • access time,
  • burst rate,
  • cpu usage.

Please fill in your system specs

Please follow this tutorial and download the tool. The tool will give you detailed information about your system specs, please fill in your system specs more completely.
How to fill in your system specs:

 

[Laith]

Has your computer got slower and slower by time? Do applications crash frequently?

EDIT: Seems like axe0 beat me by 2 minutes!

 

[Zer]

Did everything so far aside from the mem sticks. Will try to get a memory kit in the near future.

Disk Check showed no problems
Attached in this post are the screenshots of HDTunes
And I also updated my System Specs

Slowdowns occur, but only with tasks like watching a video on Youtube. Facebook, Googling and forums don't show slowdown but only because I assume I'm running on integrated graphics. I have not tried running games yet.

 

[Laith]

Very interesting graph on the second screenshot.

 

[axe0]

Looks like I forgot a thing, please upload the log of chkdsk for review
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/96938-check-disk-chkdsk-read-event-viewer-log.html
Scroll down to option 2 and upload the .txt file that is created with following the instructions in option 2 of the tutorial.

 

[axe0]

Very interesting graph on the second screenshot.

Indeed, it indicates what you already figured out

 

[Zer]

What does the graph mean?

And here's the chkdsk results

 

[axe0]

It shows how much data was read from your hard drive per second, unfortunately a part is very low what indicates a failing hard drive.

Chkdsk has made some corrections to the file system, but I doubt it is enough with the low transfer rate.

I recommend that you backup the data you do not want to loose and replace the drive.

 

[Zer]

So it's actually the hard drive that's causing the problems and not the drivers?