BSOD with atikmpag.sys error - still occurs with updated driver

[moomin]

Hello. A few days ago my system crashed with a BSOD that referred to atikmpag.sys. Any attempted restart produced the same problem. Having found this forum, I attempted to resolve the issue by following your advice to previous posters (i.e. download latest AMD Catalyst driver, uninstall existing driver, clean up leftovers with DDU, reboot and custom install new driver). Unfortunately this has not resolved the problem and I still experience the BSOD on startup. By the way, I first tried to fix this by installing the latest WHQL driver from AMD (14.12) and then then by installing an earlier version (14.4) - neither has been successful. Here is the zip file: View attachment 365231

Any help you can provide would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Arc]

Before we start troubleshooting, upload your MSINFO32.nfo file.

1. Click on the start button
2. Type "msinfo32" (without quotes) in the search bar of the start menu, click the resulting link. It will open the System Information window.
3. File>Save. In the "File Name" filed, put "MSINFO32" (without Quote), give the save location to desktop, and click the "save" button.
4. Give the time for processing, it will save a .nfo file on your desktop.
5. Zip it, and upload it following the instruction.

How to Create a System Information File in Windows.

 

[moomin]

Hello Arc. Here's the file you requested: View attachment 365243

 

[Arc]

Well, I have checked all your uploads. You do two things which will help us to find the root of the issue.

Report us the heat of the computer after a couple of hours of your normal usage. Upload a screenshot of the summery tab of Speccy. Alternatively, you can publish a Speccy snapshot too: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/311593-speccy-publish-snapshot-your-system-specs.html .

Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.

Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark
​

Take a screenshot of the furmark window before closing it. Upload the screenshot for us. Also let us know if you have experienced any crash/BSOD and/or artifacts during the test.

 

[moomin]

OK. Before I do this can you please clarify whether I should run the Furmark test in Safe Mode or in normal Windows mode. If the latter, will i t be ok if I disable the AMD Driver (to avoid the BSOD reocurring)? Thanks a lot Arc.

 

[Arc]

OK. Before I do this can you please clarify whether I should run the Furmark test in Safe Mode or in normal Windows mode. If the latter, will i t be ok if I disable the AMD Driver (to avoid the BSOD reocurring)? Thanks a lot Arc.

Furmark will not run in Safe mode at all.

You need to test the AMD device by using furmark, so disabling the AMD driver will nullify the objective of the test.

 

[moomin]

OK, I understand now. Thanks again.

 

[moomin]

Speccy screenshot attached: View attachment 365338
These temperatures look very high to me, no? A little while later the motherboard hit 90 degrees and my system crashed with the usual BSOD error.

Unfortunately I've been unable to obtain a FurMark screenshot. With my first attempt the test ran for about 20 minutes reaching a max temp of 105 degress before freezing (no BSOD though). The second try lasted just 2 minutes (94 degrees) before the screen turned black (again no BSOD). My final attempt ran for 1 minute (84 degrees) and resulted in the usual BSOD crash.

I hope you'll be able to offer me some advice based on this input. Many thanks.

 

[Arc]

Speccy screenshot attached: View attachment 365338
These temperatures look very high to me, no? A little while later the motherboard hit 90 degrees and my system crashed with the usual BSOD error.

It is not very hot, it is extremely hot.

Furmark should raise the heat to the graphics card .... but the processor and the motherboard are almost melting.

Dismantle the computer. Clean the inside very carefully without breaking anything. Clean all the air vents and fan grills with compressed air. While re-seating, add new thermal paste to the CPU.



If you cannot do it yourself (not underestimating you, saying it because the laptop's hardware is really very difficult), get it done by a professional hardware technician.

And, get a cooling pad.

 

[moomin]

Will do, Arc. Hopefully things will be back to normal afterwards.
Thanks once again for your kind assistance.

 

[Arc]

After completing the re-pasting the thermal paste etc, post another Speccy screenshot too, for comparison.

 

[moomin]

Hello again Arc. Apologies for the long delay in getting back to you.

As recommended, I've had my computer cleaned/pasted by a professional. You'll see from the attached Speccy screenshot that temperatures are much lower now.
View attachment 370529

Unfortunately, not long afterwards I started to experience the same BSODs again. At first the BSOD occurred after playing video for 10-20 minutes but now it happens immediately on rebooting, so I can only use my computer with the AMD driver disabled. I have tried different versions of the AMD driver but to no avail. Recent minidumps are included in the attached zip file.
View attachment 370530

I've also run Disk Check and Memtest86+ (8 passes) and neither found any problems. I would like to re-run Furmark but that's presently not possible due to the BSODs.

Any further advice you can provide would be gratefully received. Many thanks.

 

[Arc]

Unfortunately both the attachments are showing to be invalid, so I cannot check them. Can you please re-upload those?

 

[moomin]

Sorry about that. Let's try again...

View attachment 370551

View attachment 370552

 

[Arc]

[COLOR=Red]BugCheck 116[/COLOR], {fffffa8008254010, fffff88004e31cac, 0, 2}

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for atikmpag.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for atikmpag.sys

[COLOR=Red]Probably caused by : atikmpag.sys[/COLOR] ( atikmpag+ccac )

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

    Image name: atikmpag.sys
[COLOR=Red]    Timestamp:        Tue Aug 04 07:12:28 2015[/COLOR] (55C01884)

Uninstall the installed display driver using Display Driver Uninstaller. Then install the CCC 15.7 WHQL only.

http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/329659-latest-amd-catalyst-video-driver-windows-7-a.html
​

Let us know for any further BSOD after doing it.

 

[moomin]

Did what you suggested, Arc. Same BSOD appeared as soon as I rebooted. Dumps attached.
View attachment 370576

 

[Arc]

The latest crash dump included in the folder shows the same version of display driver that was installed there previously, and not the suggest one.

fffff880`0549c000 fffff880`05544000   atikmpag T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: atikmpag.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\atikmpag.sys
    Image name: atikmpag.sys
[COLOR=Red]    Timestamp:        Tue Aug 04 07:12:28 2015[/COLOR] (55C01884)
    CheckSum:         000AF3B6
    ImageSize:        000A8000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

So the same BSOD is supposed to continue.

 

[moomin]

I could only find version 15.7.1 via the link you provided so I reinstalled this version. If you could give me a direct link for the earlier version 15.7 I'll try with that instead. Thank you.

 

[moomin]

Since my previous message I finally found and installed version 15.7. My computer rebooted successfully and I've managed to play video for 1 hour without any problems. Fingers crossed that my BSOD issues are now resolved, I'll obviously let you know otherwise.

Many thanks for all your help and patience, Arc. Out of curiosity, are you able to explain why version 15.7 works for me when several earlier/later versions of AMD generate these BSOD issues?

 

[Arc]

Many thanks for all your help and patience, Arc. Out of curiosity, are you able to explain why version 15.7 works for me when several earlier/later versions of AMD generate these BSOD issues?

It depends on many a things. But, try to use a WHQL driver always .... coz those are the stable releases.

Sometimes, some WHQL drivers turn out to be buggy, they cause BSODs. Then it is better to shift to the earlier WHQL which provided stability there.

Sometimes, some games cause instabilities on their own, then the driver itself has nothing to do there.

There are some other environmental factors including hardware which often play in .... we try to find out and minimize them depending on the situation.

Overall, it is too hard to explain in a short span, when we are discussing about gaming related BSODs.