Vista and 7.3 Display driver atikmdag stopped responding error

I have the same problem as many in this thread. "Atikmdag.__ stopped responding..." or HAD actually, to be precise. Now I got a different problem on my head, more on that later.

For me, this occured mostly when playing games, but sometimes using other 3D applications. When doing "light" stuff such as playing old games in windowed mode, the screen would turn black, blink 1-2 times, and then you could play the game normally again. I can't actually tell if this was because I ran the application in windowed mode or because it was lightweight in system req.
When playing games such as CoD4 however, you would probably need to manually shut the power off and reboot the computer. The screen would stop at being black and play the recently played sounds over and over again. It would sometimes shift some colors and just freeze.

If I were to check for the problem in Vista after the reboot, it'd say something like (and I can't be precise here since I'm using a swedish version of Vista)
"Windows can no longer function because of a problem with your graphic hardware"
BCCode: 117
BCP1: FFFFFA8004312130
BCP2: FFFFF980048B248C
BCP3: 0000000000000000
BCP4: 0000000000000000

Now, I have tried loads of things listed on ATI:s support site. I've done a clean installation of Vista and reinstalled drivers. Nothing worked.

Now comes the ironic part. I downloaded THIS hotfix a couple of hours ago. It seems to have solved the atikmdag issue since no graphic problems have been reported in Vista, but whenever I play e.g. CoD4 now, I get a different kind of freeze. This time the game just freezes. I can still hear the sounds, but on my screen I only see frozen characters. No stuttering what-so-ever, just a plain freeze. And you can only reboot manually to get out of the game.

So what now? I'm clueless.

EDIT - System specs:

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64-bit
Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DSR
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 4094MB RAM
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD3870

 

M8 i get exactly the same with my HIS 3870 turbo , with the 8.3 cats , in COD4

 

Yep. So the hotfix didn't work at all for me. I decided I'd rather have the atikmdag error so you get something to troubleshoot. A game freezing without a problem report could probably be solved a 1000 ways

So what I did was the I tried Badmouth's solution with the combined 7.4+7.6+8.3 driver. That didn't work for me. It might have been because 7.6 isn't the right driver for my HD3870. But I got this with 8.3 so I couldn't rely on the method 100%.

After that I tried axmt's method. Since then I've been running CoD4 for 1½ hours without errors. That is a new record, but I will not jump conclusions here. Besides, that seemed like a temporary solution to the problem.

I hope that the new driver will fix this extremely annoying driver error, and that the solution I used will last till the release.

 

Ok, I'm getting pretty annoyed.

The methods I have tried to use to solve this problem are:

1. New, clean installation of Vista (x64)
2. Reinstallation of drivers. I have tried all 8.x versions, with and without CCC. The results vary, even between the times I use the same driver (e.g. atikmdag error always occurs right after vista says "welcome" and loads the desktop. Never did that before with 8.3)
3. Using axtm's method with manually installing drivers + editing registry.
4. Using Badmouth's method with a combination of 7.4, 7.12 and 8.3 (my HD3870 came with 8.3 so I tried 7.12 since it seemed to be the driver released about the same time as 3870)
5. Using a static 90% fanspeed when playing games (this resulted in a blue screen which I've never seen before with this computer).
6. Updating Vista to it's max, except for SP1 which isn't available for my language yet.

As I see it, there are still a few options available to me. First, I could try underclocking my card. This is something I feel very unfomcortable about since I have never touched clocking settings before ever. I am afraid I'll mess things up even more. So a little help there would be very nice (and not using rivatuner/ati tray tools, because drivers that aren't digitally signed don't pass, apparently, and I can't find info to fix that)-

Second, I could try messing with how much RAM my computer uses. I got the same reason here, afraid to screw things up. I don't want to REMOVE ram from my comp either, since that breakes the warranty.

I would be extremely grateful for any help on this matter, you would be doing me a huge favor.

 

I ran across something that SEEMS very interesting to me relating to All the Aforementioned Problems, From the BSODS , Crashes, Lockups, forced hard reboots, and the AITKMDAG.sys has stopped but recovered error.

as I thought more about this , I started to Wonder if the ACTUALL Manufacturers of the ATI cards had Got wind of this and if so had they found something.

As such i went looking around there sites, HIS, DIAMOND, GECUBE, VISIONTEK..

I cam across ONE very interesting bit of information, it appears that the HD3870 was manufactured in 2 seperate Versions . Essentially, the hardware is IDENTICAL, However 2 VERY DIFFERENT VIDEO BIOSes were used..

I know this as VISIONTEK actually admits This, they state that there is a Known issue with one of the 2 series of cards. They Have a VIDEO BIOS UPDATE posted to address it, they say that the BIOS Issues seem to be the root of all the problems, and that if you have one of the cards in the Series the Spec, to Update the VIDEO BIOS.

While this is great news, to hear that it may Actually be the HARDWARE,not all of us just Being INSANE, and that the issues could be Fixed PERMENENTLY by a VIDEO BIOS UPDATE.. THERE IS ONE HUGE PROBLEM WITH THIS..

The VIDEO BIOS UPDATE they offer is For VISIONTEK 3870 cards, one for the 256 version and a seperate one for the 512 version.
THERFORE if you have a 3870HD THAT IS NOT MADE BY VISIONTEK this does not help you.

I was unable to find ANY INFORMATION on ANY OTHER MANUFACTURERS WEBSITES RELATING TO THE ISSUES OR A VIDEO BIOS UPDATE.

So if VISIONTEK ends up being right about the ROOT of the Problems in systems withTheir card BeingThe VIDEO BIOS . The folks who have VISIONTEK 3870HD cards will be happy.

However all the rest of us with cards made by OTHER MANUFACTURER will still be Equally Screwed.

Just thought I would post this Nugget, it might help someone and it is VERY INTERESTING. Considering the Blame for this problem has been bucked off and pinnend on Everything from USER STUPIDITY, to PSU's , RAM, MOBO's, OSes, The Sun, Moon, ETC, ETC

 

AXLRYD,

My "fix" worked for a few days but the problem returned and the problem eventually FRIED my entire system. A Resolution to this problem seems as though it won't happen directly. I have all but given up hope of finding an answer, as I got tired of being blamed, and having it infferrenced that Either I am Stupid Or My Systems Engineer is or both. I also got tired of spending HUNDREDs ,which turned into THOUSANDS , in the Process of BUYING NEW PARTS as one by on MY PARTS WERE BLAMED. Funny thing all the parts I had when the problem started were BRAND NEW and all were well tested..

 

So there really is no solution to this? It feels fucking WORTHLESS to have an error that can't be solved if you don't spend hundreds of dollars. The worst part is that THERE IS NO ONE TO BLAME. How the **** are you supposed to know whose fault this is? Everyone are blaming eachother. Whenever someone even mentions a driver problem, ATI fellas jump out of their chairs screaming "HARDWARE HARDWARE".

I feel angry and frankly a bit emo at the moment. This is just utter shit.

EDIT - Btw, tried updating BIOS and running memtest yesterday. That didn't work (SURPRISE!!!!). So now there are a total amount of 0 other possible solutions available to me.

 

I continue to have problems from merely annoying to full on lockups. This is after replacing even the motherboard! (see my previous posts in this thread) Only constant is the pair of 3270 cards (I started with one and another ATI card then tried two as a solution)...

 

AXLRYD,

Your Emo ?

Did You Read my other posts here? If not you should. How do you think I feel?
I have been Pushing the Envelope for over a Decade and have seen all sorts of problems, So when I ( and considerable Past experience ) and My Systems Engineer ( 20 years of Computer and software experience ) couldn't find an answer I turned to the Forums. I Posted the Details in Great Length, Posted Detail Specs on the Most Complex Machine I own ( My Primary ) , Made suppositions based on Data I had and My Prior experiences.

Only to get told I was making uninformed ASSUMPTIONS, Getting Blasted for not posting info On My Other machines, having My Software and hardware Blamed. I also had the Knowledge of my Self and my Systems Engineer Questioned.

I am really upset, but then I should have expected the kind of response I got, it seems to be standard.

You want cost ? Try this My simplist Machine's custom Parts cost a total of $ 5,000.00
We replaced every part ( Except the Case ) due to the parts bieng blamed one at a time.

Now I have 4 Custom Machines Ranging from a cost of $ 5 k to $ 7 K ( the Machine I spec'd here ) and we have done the REPLACE EVERY SINGLE PART ONE AT A TIME wih every LAST MACHINE.

So you figure the Cost there. It is'nt hundreds it is THOUSANDS before you figure in my Systems Engineers Time and Labor , That is a Few thousand More.

So At this point I have spent $ 35,000.00 and what I have to show for it is this. Enough parts to Build 8 Very high end Computers, 8 essentially Worhtless ATI GRAPHICS cards,
the Knowledge that ONLY one of the ATI manufacturers Thinks it is a VIDEO BIOS ISSUE, the knowledge that This ATI manufacturer is the ONLY one who Has a VIDEO BIOS update availible ( VISIONTEK ) , and the Knoweldge that I Just essentially wasted THOUSANDS to Find out that I should have Either Bought DISCONTINUED ATI CARDS or Really Low end NVIDIA CARDS..

Like I sadi in an earlier Post LIVE AND LEARN. I will make all the Parts save the Graphics cards work in some configuration that will help my Company.

 

here is a list of those parts by Comp,

Comp 1 OS Win XP PRO 32 bit

Mobo - Intel x38bt x 2
PSU - NZXT 1000 Watt x 2
Sound - X-FI Fatality PRO x 2
LG Super Multi DVD w/LightScribe x 4
CPU - Intel QX6950 x 2
Graphics - DIAMOND RADEON 3870HD 512Mb x 2
WD 500Gb SATA2 W/RAFF ENTERPRISE EDTION x 4
RAM - 4 Gb OCZ DDR3 1333MHz ( 2 - 2Gb Kits ) x 2
Chassis - THERMALTAKE ARMOR LCS

Comp 2 OS Win XP x64

Mobo - Intel x38bt x 2
PSU - NZXT 1000 Watt x 2
Sound - X-fi Fatality PRO x 2
LG Super Multi DVD W/lightscribe x 4
Cpu - Intel QX6950 x 2
Graphics -DIAMOND RADEON 3870HD 512Mb x 2
WD 500 GB SATA2 W/RAFF ENNTEPRISE EDTION x 4
Ram - 8 Gb OCZ DDR3 1333MHz ( 2 - 4 GB Kits ) x 2
Chassis - THERMALTAKE ARMOR LCS

Comp 3 OS WIN Vista ULTIMATE EDITON 32 bit

Mobo - Intel x38bt x 2
PSU - NZXT 1000 watt x 2
LG Super Multi DVD WLightScribe x 4
CPU - Intel QX6950 x 2
Graphics - DIAMOND RADEON 3870HD 512Mb x 2
WD 500Gb SATA2 W/RAFF ENTERPRISE EDITON x 4
Ram - 4Gb OCZ DDR3 1333Mhz ( 2 - 2Gb Kits ) x 2
Sound - X-Fi Fatality PRO x 2
Chassis - THERMALTAKE ARMOR LCS

Comp 4 ( MAIN COMP ) OS Win VISTA ULTIMATE EDITON 64 Bit

Mobo - Intel x38bt x 2
Psu - NZXT 1000 watt x 2
LG Super Multi W/LightScribe x 4
CPU - Intel QX6950 x 2
Graphics - DIAMOND RADEON 3870HD 512Mb x 2
WD 500Gb SATA2 W/RAFF Enterprise Editon x 4
Ram - 8Gb OCZ DDR3 1333Mhz ( 2 - 4Gb Kits ) x 2
Sound - X-FI Fatality PRO x 2
Chassis - Thermaltake ARMOR LCS

Now you might ask Why Buy every part For every Computer Multiple times ?
Simple really for 2 reasons, Firstly, It could have been a bad bit of hardware in one or more of the Comps and the only way to know is to replace parts ONE AT A TIME.

Secondly, No Company Will RMA any part UNLESS it can be proven that there Is a Problem with the Part and with this type of Error the Problem Is like a Ghost. So the only way to get new part to test is,,, BUY a New part.

Please note this - all the Hadrware is IDENTICAL with the exception of the amount of RAM . And it Should be Noted that NONE of the machines have a Problem Of any kind with an OLD ATI X700 Graphics card In them, NOR do they have a Problem With an NVIDIA 7950 GTX 512Mb Running the 169.25 Drivers.

We have only seen the problem WHEN we ( myself and My Systems engineer ) Install the 3870HD cards in them..

According to All the Other Manufacturers , INTEL, OCZ , CREATIVE, LG, NZXT. All the System Settings , Timings and operating varibles are SPOT on.

We have not tested with a 2xxx Series Ati Card nor with any other Card in the 3xxx Series as I am not going to spend more money to see if say a 3850 or a 2xxx series card has the same issue

I have spent WAY to Much so far.

So as i said befor this is a LIVE AND LEARN situation.

 

Visiontek 3870 512mb Bios Update

hey there, having the same issue and I have visiontek hd3870, doesn't fail on every game, but consistently and frequently in Bioshock(so annoying) I save alot. Seems to run like butter until freeze though. Also have random yet consistent freezing in UT3, OH AND BY THE WAY THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED ON XP 32/XP64/VISTA32/VISTA64. I'M hoping this means the bios update that i can't find(AHHHHHHHHH), WILL fix my problem permanently, I appreciate all the hard work everyone has put in on this issue...apparently the causes for everyone are different, but the resultant errors are the same.
ANYWAYS, JUST WONDERING IF U HAVE A LINK FOR THIS VISIONTEK 3870 BIOS....THANKYOU.

 

VisionTek Forum • View topic - BBA HD3870 512MB PCIE BIOS Fix here.

 

No ATIKMDAG.SYS message pop up driver packages:
Ok folks I know I said this previously that it will be my last post, but there was something bothering me as to why some modifications of the drivers worked and others did not.
After analyzing the driver packages, I came to the conclusion that the start of the ATI driver bug begins with the 7.6 drivers. Doing further study, I also realize that the old driver versions such as 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5 are the only drivers that are ATIKMDAG.SYS message free. I used one of my old ATI cards with the above packages and no crashes, blue screens and message pop ups occurred. However, I could not run some of my games because the card was too old.
From this, I decided to convert a mixture of the 7.4, and 7.5 drivers into recognizing my card ATI HD 2600 XT PCI-EX and newer cards that the 8.3 driver package recognizes.
The following are the results of these driver packages:
7.4 driver package:
1. Vista performance test pass.
2. No crashes, blue screens and ATIKMDAG.SYS message pop ups.
3. All games that I have previously mentioned in my instructions run good, except the BIA still crashes occasionally on to the desktop with a (General Protection Fault) message box.
4. When un-installing the drivers as soon as the driver is removed, you will get a black screen, you then need to shutdown, or restart your computer.

7.5 driver package:
1. Vista performance test pass.
2. No crashes, blue screens and ATIKMDAG.SYS message pop ups.
3. All games that I have previously mentioned in my instructions run good, except the game Crysis slow as crap. However, this can change by setting medium and low graphic options.
4. When un-installing the driver removes normally.

Now for the driver package 7.4 mixed with 7.5 files:
1. Vista performance test pass.
2. No crashes, blue screens and ATIKMDAG.SYS message pop ups.
3. All games that I have previously mentioned in my instructions run good, except Crysis still very slow in the introduction and main menu. I would need to repeatedly press the [ESC] key and left mouse button to pass the introduction and load my save game. Nevertheless, as soon as the game loads whoosh fast as hell.
4. When un-installing the driver removes normally.
Now I am not going to say that the driver packages are going to work with every card especially the newer cards. However, they do work with mine and with some old and newer cards. Also, note that these drivers are ONLY for Radeon type cards and no other type.
I would like to also point out that since these are old driver versions, don’t expect to utilize the full graphics potential of your card, since they do not support special graphic operations that your card model may include.
I cannot stress this enough, if you are not going to follow the directions in removing the current drivers you are using, DO NOT even bother to install these older driver packages. I got a call last night from a neighbor asking me as to why the 7.4 driver package crash her system. I said did you remove the driver’s accordingly to my instructions. She said, “Yes I used the Program and Features to remove them!” I said did you go into safe mode and used the driver cleaner to remove left over components? She said, “O, I forgot!” This is why you must remove them as stated in my instructions, because the setup program is not going to overwrite newer driver components already in your system. If you don’t you will have a mixture of the old and new driver components, which can crash your system or worse.
For Vista 64-bit users I am sorry, I did not create such a package, since I am not using or ever going to use a 64-bit system again. I had my fills with these 64-bit systems and I feel the extra 16-bit processing power is not worth the headaches.
For those who are new and have not downloaded my instructions they can be found here:
RapidShare: 1-Click Webhosting
All must do the following steps as in my instructions before and after installing the driver packages:
1. Do steps 1 – 9 to remove the drivers.
2. Install the drivers.
3. Then do steps 16 – 19.
Note: I am not going to reply to any comments whether positive or negative, I did what I had to do in making my system run smooth until the ATI team members fix these issues in their new release.
The driver packages, which are in WinRAR format, are located here:
RapidShare: 1-Click Webhosting
RapidShare: 1-Click Webhosting
RapidShare: 1-Click Webhosting
Realize that these old driver packages are only here for 15 days, and will be deleted after that, so get them while you can. Also, note you can install the (Catalyst Control Center) software package version 7.6 which you can download from here:
Previous Catalyst™ Display Drivers for Windows Vista (32 bit)
I have not tested the control center with driver package 7.4, so I do not know if it will work.
Now I can rest!

 

Just thought I'd report in:

I'm now 2 weeks without a single TDR error, let alone the lockups I used to get at least 2-3 times a weeks. I had been getting the (harmless) TDRs several times a day.

All I did was:

Uninstall the 8.3 drivers (made sure to go into Safe Mode and use a driver cleaner to make sure they're gone)

Install the 8.3 driver without CCC.

Install Vista SP1.

I'm on Vista 64bit.

I'm in agreement with Badmouth.. You NEED to go and remove completely the driver in safe mode. I had removed it several times before, and THOUGHT it was gone, but it wasn't. I used the ATI cat-uninstaller.exe program to do that.

 

I am sorry if you took my post the wrong way, and it was not directed to you. Of course I don't see my problem from YOUR point of view. I think, wether you payed hundreds or thousands of dollars, that there shouldn't be a problem in the first place.

I don't have a system engineer or whatever, I am just a regular user who bought a perfectly normal computer from a perfectly normal store. And now I can't get it to work, even though I'm in WAY deeper waters than I usually swim in when it comes to computers. Flashing video BIOS and clocking my graphics card are not things I usually do. That is why I bought a freaking computer without building it myself.

 

I would like to make something clear.

We are not blaming everyones system hardware as being the source or root of the problem. Actually, all we know is that the TDR event can be caused by any number of different problems, drivers or hardware. Overclocking is a good example of something that will eventually lead to a TDR if you push too hard. Some users, could indeed, be experiencing a bug in the graphics driver that leads to a TDR.

As I have said before and you so elegantly imply, the TDR message is decidedly unhelpful at getting to the root of the problem.

I have been trying to accomplish 2 goals by commenting in this thread.

#1- I want people to understand that there are possible system hardware sources for the TDR that they experience. As such they should take measures to eliminate potenial hardware sources. (Down clock, test memory, etc, etc). If for example overclocking is causing a problem then blaming the driver and waiting for a solution will not help! Blaming the driver also leads to recent sufferers not keeping an open mind to the possibility of a hardware problem and simply waiting for a driver fix.

#2- I am looking for a pattern to the TDR occurance. A pattern and events that do not lead to the random TDR events. Lets face it when the TDRs occur anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 days apart, the pattern is random. With that goal in mind I also review the NV TDR threads looking for clues. Unfortunately, they are suffering just like ATI users, maybe even more.

For goal #2 above the most interesting reported issue has been with dual display in Vista64. However, even it has a somewhat random nature. But the transition from 1 to 2 displays certainly seems to be the trigger.

Our driver is being improved such that we can capture better details from the TDR events and hopfully be in a position to fix or workaround problems as we determine why they actually occur.

Also remember, that Microsoft is collecting OCA data on the TDR events but to my knowledge has not been able to see any clear trend that could be used to alleviate the problem.

I am sorry if that doesn't help, but it is the current state of affairs.

CC

 

Patterns of getting the error

This is all in the interest of trying to help, please read it that way.

CC:
In the interest of patterns, I would think ATI would go to the effort to put their hands on machines that experience the problem when brand new. If creates a test bed to attempt driver variations, and assures, as much as possible, that hardware components are not to blame.

For my case, I'm on Vista 32. I've removed CCC and installed just the driver as related in the earlier post. Still getting the problem, but I only encounter it when a second monitor is attached. I think that simply causes sufficient load in my case. See diatribe below.

The error, and why the timing is difficult, seems to be related to rapid, "big" changes in the display. For example, Vista puts the computer into screen saver mode and immediately moving the mouse to bring it back. My psuedo-code understanding tells me that the driver sends, go all black, followed rapidly by all back up. For another example, I sometimes get the error when rapidly alt-tabbing between applications that use animation. A Flash program (like mycokerewards.com as an example) is running in IE, and I'm switching from a more static web page, like CNN. The display had gotten fairly lazy on the static page and there were few changes and then I flipped into an application that had constant changes and significantly higher demand.

As a programmer, this strikes me as a multi-threading error in the code of the driver. One set of commands is still running and colliding when a conflicting command is sent.

Overall conclusion, based on insufficient information: when there is sufficient load on the driver and card, the code encounters collisions, probably related to poor exception handling in multi-threaded code. Either there should be a manager class that captures requests and kills requests that are no longer valid to avoid the problem or holds new requests until old ones are confirmed complete or your team should find another solution.

Programmers sometimes tend to assume that code runs at an infinite speed and that just isn't true. Takes time to switch a 0 to a 1.

They should be able to replicate the problem by going between high-load and low-load scenarios at different speeds.

I don't have ATI's equipment or resources, but just to hear that they had created some tests to replicate the error in-house would create some level of confidence.

Thank you,

SilverDev
-=-

 

Thanks for the input.

I will say that there is an ongoing investigation on the TDR events which has definately driven the need to capture more detail about what the GPU(s) are doing when the TDR occurs.

Currently attention is being directed at how the drivers handle VSync. Of course Vsync occurs regularly but GPU 3D operations occur in a more variable manner. So it is possible that there are certain GPU operations that don't repond well to the Vsync event. (Complete speculation on my part) BTW: I believe these would be the collisions you mention. In any case that would result in a very random occurance of the problem. It would also mean that it is next to impossible for a user to list the app level steps that cause the TDR. It would also mean that app configuration and overall system and GPU performance would play a big part in the frequency of the problem (collision.

Short of solutions, all I can really say is that we are aware and are doing what we can to reduce the problems. We understand it is not pleasant for users and that in turn is not good for us.

 

Catalyst,

First let me apologize for being less than gracious in back and forths with you previously.

Am I correct in assumming you Mean VERTICAL SYNCRONAIZATION, When you say VSYNC ?

On another thought the DUAL MONITOR point/thought . Yes true the problem seems to be more Frequent and Persitant with DUAL MONITORS. However, it is there with a Single Monitor ( seemingly more Random ) for Myself.

If I might put forth some thoughts I have here. Would it it be to Far fetched at this Point to think that this "Problem" Might actually be 2 seperate Problems that are Exhibting the same results ?

I will expound, here ( this is just a thought ) Most of the Posts I have seen Say they are running DUAL MONITORS and a smaller Number Claim SINGLE MONITOR status.

Might the Problem Actually be a Problem with the SECOND output ( or the way the Card Addresses it ) for the Folks with DUAL MONITORS
BUT then Purely Software Glitching (and Possibly hardware for a few)for those running Single Monitors?

I put this out here as speculation based on the results we have seen. For us at Least one of the replacement Cards Deffinitely has a Problem with the Second OUTPUT, we know as the card even with the latest Catalyst can not see the second Montior when Plugged in. All of our NEW cards seemed to work ok at first when testing SINGLE MONITOR ,that is untill we Plugged in the second Monitor , after the "problem" presented itself we tried to double check using a SINGLE montior and We then saw the Problem in a single Montior setup.

Now with an Old X700 running DUAL MONITORS ( tested VISTA x64 machine First ) there were ZERO errors during an 4 day test Period. We are in the process of testing Each of the Other machines with this Card and DUAL Monitors as I write this.
Currently The VISTA x64 machine has an NVIDIA 7950gtx in it with 169.25 drivers running DUAL MONITORS and is not presenting Error of any kind.(this setup was NOT reccommended NOR endorsed by INTEL as the X38BT MOBO is designed For ATI and CROSSFIRE EXCLUSIVELY)

What I find Intriguing here is that the 3870HD has DUAL DVI Outputs and it Appears that one of them is not functioning Properly ( which is strange in itself ) and that the problem ( at least in my case ) gets ugly when I try and use BOTH the DVI Outputs.

However as I stated using both of these outputs on the X700 shows no Issues , nor does the use of Both DVI outputs on an NVIDIA 7950GTX.

Hence My Thought that this may actually Be 2 Seperate Issues presneting the Same results.

 

AXLRYD,

My Dear fellow, I must apologize for the way I appear to have come off, stress, anger,lack of sleep and Tax Season have got me Disjointed to put it mildly.

I realize that your post was not Directed at me , that it was/is simply a vent of emotion at the feeling of helplessness this issue puts those of us who are having it in.

I could not argue with how you said what you said, nor could I find it in me to say something about the language. I would love to be free enough to state thing that Bluntly.

I made my post for 3 reasons , first my Exasperation at the Length and cost of the issue to this point ( for Me ). Secondly, to show you that their others who are equally emotionally torn at this point, even if it may not seem so on the face.
And Lastly, to emphasize that EVEN if you do go to great lengths in replacing this that and the other thing,, It won't neccisarraly SOLVE the Problem.

(Sigh) I have to Defend Catalyst here on ONE POINT. ATI has not ( Nor NVIDIA ) DIRECTLY blamed a users hardware. Rather they have Posed questions that for the stated reason they given (for the part they ask about) Give some folks Pause, and ( as In my case ) ask the question themselves, "could it be the ?"

And Keep in mind that EVEN if something APPEARS to test good, it does not always mean that there is NOT a problem with it. The Test may just not show the problem.

I had the money to exhaustivly replace EVERY part in Every one of my personal Computers One at a time, so In the interest of checking the "What if it is the " I did so. For me it is not a Total Loss , I have options , i can find use for the Parts in computers at my Business, or I can build a few really Nice computers and sell them through My Systems Engineer's Computer store or I can just hold on to them for future use.

LOL, Bleeding Edge Computing is my Mistress and man she is an Expensive mistress to Keep.