OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP2 with latest updates
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4890 with latest Catalyst drivers
Mobo: Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Well, I had a bad day, and to top it off, I decide to try upgrading my DVD writer's firmware. Doesn't go well. It's a Samsung SH-S223B model, and the firmware I tried to install was Download Samsung SH-S223B DVD-Writer Firmware SB02 Driver for Windows 9X/ME/NT/2K/XP/2003/Vista/XP X64/2008 - Softpedia This was basically the only thing I did. No new hardware or anything. System worked fine and was running cool.
Anyway, I let the firmware installer reboot the computer, but when it started loading Windows, there was severe graphics corruption all over. Now, there are black horizontal lines across the screen, and there is severe graphics corruption everywhere. Explorer is also extremely unstable. At the beginning, I'd get a blue screen stop error, but it went away too quickly to be able to catch what it says. Now, I'm sitting here editing this post and waiting for the computer to power off (10 minutes so far); will probably have to turn it off cold.
When I boot into Safe Mode, everything seems fine, except for the fact that it's Safe Mode. If I try uninstalling the graphics drivers there, I can boot into Vista in Normal Mode, and everything looks and works fine, except for the fact that the display driver isn't installed anymore. Then, I try reinstalling the same Catalyst Drivers (after using Driver Sweeper), and everything seems to go well until I have to reboot. Same symptoms: Graphics corruption and system instability.
When Vista tries to check for problems, it concludes that the ATI graphics drivers are not functioning properly, which coupled with the display corruption, is why I've been focusing my efforts on the graphics drivers.
The DVDRW that I tried installing the firmware on appears in My Computer and seems to function normally.
I've tried restoring from a Restore Point made about an hour or so before I tried installing the DVD writer's driver, but that did not work. Same symptoms.
I'm in the process of backing up now for a reformat tomorrow, but I was just wondering if anyone had any last-minute suggestions for me to try.
Is it possible that the graphics card is permanently damaged, or is it really just a driver issue? If the graphics card were actually damaged, I would experience display problems with Safe Mode, right?
Also, is it possible that the BIOS could be corrupted as well? If I reformat, which seems inevitable, it would probably be a good idea to resolve any BIOS issues before getting on with the reinstallation process.
Thanks. -AK
Edit: Added 3 minidump files generated this issue.
Edit2: Added some more info.
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4890 with latest Catalyst drivers
Mobo: Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Well, I had a bad day, and to top it off, I decide to try upgrading my DVD writer's firmware. Doesn't go well. It's a Samsung SH-S223B model, and the firmware I tried to install was Download Samsung SH-S223B DVD-Writer Firmware SB02 Driver for Windows 9X/ME/NT/2K/XP/2003/Vista/XP X64/2008 - Softpedia This was basically the only thing I did. No new hardware or anything. System worked fine and was running cool.
Anyway, I let the firmware installer reboot the computer, but when it started loading Windows, there was severe graphics corruption all over. Now, there are black horizontal lines across the screen, and there is severe graphics corruption everywhere. Explorer is also extremely unstable. At the beginning, I'd get a blue screen stop error, but it went away too quickly to be able to catch what it says. Now, I'm sitting here editing this post and waiting for the computer to power off (10 minutes so far); will probably have to turn it off cold.
When I boot into Safe Mode, everything seems fine, except for the fact that it's Safe Mode. If I try uninstalling the graphics drivers there, I can boot into Vista in Normal Mode, and everything looks and works fine, except for the fact that the display driver isn't installed anymore. Then, I try reinstalling the same Catalyst Drivers (after using Driver Sweeper), and everything seems to go well until I have to reboot. Same symptoms: Graphics corruption and system instability.
When Vista tries to check for problems, it concludes that the ATI graphics drivers are not functioning properly, which coupled with the display corruption, is why I've been focusing my efforts on the graphics drivers.
The DVDRW that I tried installing the firmware on appears in My Computer and seems to function normally.
I've tried restoring from a Restore Point made about an hour or so before I tried installing the DVD writer's driver, but that did not work. Same symptoms.
I'm in the process of backing up now for a reformat tomorrow, but I was just wondering if anyone had any last-minute suggestions for me to try.
Is it possible that the graphics card is permanently damaged, or is it really just a driver issue? If the graphics card were actually damaged, I would experience display problems with Safe Mode, right?
Also, is it possible that the BIOS could be corrupted as well? If I reformat, which seems inevitable, it would probably be a good idea to resolve any BIOS issues before getting on with the reinstallation process.
Thanks. -AK
Edit: Added 3 minidump files generated this issue.
Edit2: Added some more info.
Attachments
Last edited:
My Computer
System One
-
- Manufacturer/Model
- Custom
- CPU
- Core i7 920
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte EX58-UD5
- Memory
- 12.0 GB Corsair DDR3 1600
- Graphics card(s)
- Radeon HD 4890
- Sound Card
- Onboard