After installing AMD drivers Windows won't boot

[PvtRanger]

I've had this problem for a few days now and it's driving me crazy. Last week I decided to buy and build my own PC for the first time. I installed Windows 7 Ultimate (the 64-bit version) and managed to get the system up and running. Then I installed the motherboard drivers and important Windows Updates. When I try to install the AMD Radeon HD driver, the Catalyst Install Manager asks me to reboot the system so that the driver will take effect. However, when I restart the system, the system freezes during the Windows logo and reboots the system again shortly after. After this, I get a black screen with text saying that I have to restore my system to a restore point before I had downloaded the AMD driver. This 'error' occurred every time I tried to install the driver.

Using Safe Mode (F8), which worked fine, I checked my GPU in the device manager, but the graphics card was recognized. In Safe Mode, I restored Windows and tried both downloading the drivers from the AMD website and the Update Driver option in the device manager, but this also didn't work. I tried to install a newer beta driver of AMD which doesn't work either. My BIOS settings give priority to the PCI-Express GPU and I haven't got the driver of my onboard graphics card installed. However, I am sure that my onboard GPU isn't being used because when I disconnect the AMD card from the power supply, I don't have any display. Finally, I also tried to re-install Windows and download the driver before any other driver was installed, which gave me the very same problem.

I've looked everywhere on the internet and haven't been able to find a working solution. Any ideas would therefore be much appreciated!

System specs:
CPU: Intel i5 3570k
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7870
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
Memory: 8GB DDR3 RAM
Drives:128GB SSD
1TB SATA Hard Drive
PSU: OCZ ModXStream 600W

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... you might check your BIO's version... they have version 2.80 now... first thing to install after Windows, on a new build, is the the chipset drivers.

 

[PvtRanger]

Hello... you might check your BIO's version... they have version 2.80 now... first thing to install after Windows, on a new build, is the the chipset drivers.

I have the newest version installed but it doesn't help.

 

[smorizio]

check that the 4/8 pin pci power cable is plugged in and the video card has all of it power plugs connected. make sure your using the pci video slot next to the cpu. boot into safe mode check in add/remove program for Lucid Virtu Universal MVP
or mvp software. if you installed it it going to hang your system. it buggy software that lets you bond the ipgpu and gpu to get higher frame rates.

 

[PvtRanger]

check that the 4/8 pin pci power cable is plugged in and the video card has all of it power plugs connected. make sure your using the pci video slot next to the cpu. boot into safe mode check in add/remove program for Lucid Virtu Universal MVP
or mvp software. if you installed it it going to hang your system. it buggy software that lets you bond the ipgpu and gpu to get higher frame rates.

I re-installed Windows again, made sure that no programs or drivers were installed and downloaded the AMD drivers, but I still got the same boot up failure. Also, the GPU is connected in the 'PCIE 2' slot below the CPU and both the 6 and 8 pin connectors are connected to my GPU. Could it be my PSU preventing Windows from booting to the login screen because the drivers draw too much power? Or did I do something wrong in terms of building the PC?

 

[ronintexas]

Try this: Disable "igpu multi monitor" settings..

In bios => Advanced => North Bridge configuration => igpu multi monitor -> Disable..

 

[PvtRanger]

Disabling IGPU multi monitor didn't work too... But should I disable this at a particular point or no? I also have some few additions to the thread:

- When in device manager, the GPU is recognized as "Standard VGA Graphics Adapter". Now, if I try to install the drivers from there, Windows has determined that the driver software is up to date, even though I am not able to run any game.
- After the Windows logo freezes during the reboot, there is no DVI input signal for like 5 seconds, then the system starts to reboot again.
- My AMD GPU is manufactured by XFX. I don't know if this is of importance, but it might be worth mentioning.

I'm going to contact the webshop I ordered some of my parts from (including the motherboard and GPU), maybe they will cooperate...

 

[JeremyRamsey]

Have you checked the XFX support pages?

 

[PvtRanger]

Today I went to the webshop and they said that the GPU wasn't working as it should. They replaced the GPU by a new one which I later tested at home. However, this new card gave me the EXACT same problem. I tried to install de drivers before the GPU. I rebooted the system, installed the driver from the disc and afterwards plugged the GPU into the motherboard. The fans of the card started making a very loud noise. I shut down my system and restarted again - Windows freezes again.

I question more and more whether the PSU could be the cause. The GPU is connected to the PSU by both the 8-pin and 6-pin PCI-E power connector. Should I have more than 600w for my build for getting Windows to boot while having the GPU driver installed?

 

[smeezekitty]

Can you try the drivers on AMD's website instead?

 

[wakwak]

I installed Windows 8 on my machine and decided to change my 256M Invidia G9400 for an AMD 6570 with 2G of Ram. I have a Asus P5G41T-M LX3 mother board and after the welcome screen, all I got was a flicker on my monitors.

After I fought it for more hours than the video card is worth (based on my hourly rate) I took the card back to the shop. The tech (actually a computer hardware engineer) at the shop said The AMD Card may not be compatible with the Intel chipset on the motherboard The refunded my money. I bought an Invidia g210 with 1G of Ram. As soon as I booted up all 3 monitors came to life. I have been problem-free since then.

I would say the AMD board is conflicting with your motherboard based on a weekend of frustration.

 

[PvtRanger]

A few days ago we returned to the shop and took the whole PC with us. The staff said that this GPU also didn't work properly and they threw in a different brand (Sapphire Radeon HD 7870). We installed the AMD drivers again and this time Windows was able to boot. So it probably had to do something with that particular brand (XFX) which caused the boot failures.Fortunately, everything works like a charm now. Thanks for all your suggestions!

 

[balegar16]

https://youtu.be/Ve1P8pnhI2Q
just follow this video only first boot into safe mod and under device manager uninstall graphic driver.after that win should boot normaly and then just follow the instructions !!

 

[Jason_5]

I just had this problem myself so I googled this thread. Turns out because I am running multiple monitors (to a tv and my main monitor) it switched the screens around and extended the desktop over my main display, switching them back or setting the display to my main monitor fixed this.

 

[deva m]

A few days ago we returned to the shop and took the whole PC with us. The staff said that this GPU also didn't work properly and they threw in a different brand (Sapphire Radeon HD 7870). We installed the AMD drivers again and this time Windows was able to boot. So it probably had to do something with that particular brand (XFX) which caused the boot failures.Fortunately, everything works like a charm now. Thanks for all your suggestions!

i am too having the same problem, its definitely the problem with this xfx.................*&*^&%&**^&%&^

 

[digitalself]

I have the exact same issue of the OP with a Sapphire HD 7870, so Im guessing xfx does nothing to do with it. Im still trying to find a way out of this

 

[quinten203]

I have the same problem .. Radeon 370 R7. Tried loads of things.. anyone suggestions?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Thread is over four years old. Closing. If you are experiencing a similar issue, start a new thread.

Wolfshadw
Moderator