Atikmpag.sys BSOD

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teroxgt

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Dec 14, 2010
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Hi guys, I have recently purchased a new system after suggestions and articles by the members of TH. Here are my specs:

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE 3.2 Ghz
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB GDDR5 PCIE
Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
Corsair XMS 3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 RAM [ 2 4GB kits totalling 8 GB]
WD Caviar 1 TB
Corsair TX650W
Cooler Master 430 Elite Black

The system as such is fine. No identifiable issues. The problem comes with the Unigine's Heavens Benchmark. When I run the benchmark, after sometime it freezes and the screen blacks out. Then I get a BSOD with the atikmpag.sys file and restarts. Now this problem is ONLY with Heavens Benchmark and every time I run it, it BSODs after sometime. Once I even completed the test and then it BSODed. All other tests are fine. 3Dmarks06 and Vantage run fine. PCMark also runs fine. Tried memory diagnostic and that was also fine. I tried the latest Catalyst 10.12, the earlier 10.10e and also the supplied Driver CD ( I followed the standard procedure of using Driver Sweeper during Safe Mode for removing the remaining files after uninstalling them normally ), but to no effect. I still get the BSOD when I run the said benchmark. Otherwise the system is working without any major hiccups so far( it froze once early on). So could you please help me on this?

Thanks
 
Solution
jaquith
QVL lists weren't created just for laughs, many combinations of hardware and software simply will not work or work well together. Example, have you ever configured a Dell online and the "incompatibility" highlighting required a change? The Atikmpag.sys is ATI software, and it can conflict and it is a known issue. Personally, I've known for years that ATI makes substandard software and drivers when compared to nVidia. I have both ATI and nVidia GPUs and even I get nervous 'updating' on a rig the already works...

In your situation, I also know NOT to purchase ANY MOBO with an onboard GPU 'if' a Dedicated GPU in it's future.

Yep, software can easily help or hurt performance significantly. In my 'Everyday' HD 5770 the WEI went from 7.2...
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Those numbers were there on the back of the sticks. And they were different for different boxes. Hence I thought of them as part or batch numbers. And they work absolutely fine in the arrangement I have done. No errors in memtest, prime95 ( I tested them individually as well).. So am i just lucky!! I even tried rendering in my system as a test and it batch rendered a 100 frame turntable of a car in 5 mins!! It used to take me more than an hour just to get few frames to render on my laptop!! (Dell XPS M1530: Intel C2D 2.4 ghz T7700, 2 gb ram, 8600mGT 256mb gddr3, 160 gb HDD 5400 rpm ).
With regards to Corsair I have already made a thread there, here it is http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=91919 . He tells it may or may not work, but I haven't told him about the RAM arrangement on the mobo. Should I update that thread with this. So far nobody over there seems to be interested in my case 😛
Oh and btw, my RAM is now approved by Corsair as the memory solution for Phenom
http://www.corsair.com/dram-memory/amd-memory-solutions.html
http://www.corsair.com/dram-memory/amd-memory-solutions/phenom-ii/cmx4gx3m2a1600c9.html
:lol:
 
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If it were 'me' the following:
CMP8GX3M2A1600C9 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 (2X4GB)
CMP8GX3M4A1600C8 1600 MHz 9-9-9-24 (4X2GB)

Since, I know 2X4GB is more efficient AND opens the door for 16GB later the CMP8GX3M2A1600C9.

Also, you can simply run them at 1333MHz.

Another tweak is CPU/NB Voltage {Manual}
NB Voltage 1.2~1.35V

This corresponds to QPI/DRAM Voltage.

Therefore, BIOS changes together:
AI OC Tuner {D.O.C.P,}
DRAM OC Profile {DDR3-1600}
verify that the DRAM Timing Control has the proper values of 9-9-9-24
CPU/NB Voltage {Manual}
DRAM Voltage 1.65v
NB Voltage 1.25~1.35V

I read 'Wired' response ask if the above changes are a good idea, remind Wired you have 1.65V RAM.
 
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Well, the thing is even without the NB Voltage, right now, its working totally fine. I mean after the reinstall, it hasn't crashed (touchwood! 😛 ). The only problem with the crash is when I put my graphic card in the grey pci exp slot with no switch card in the actual blue slot. That is the only time it BSODs. Otherwise the bootup, performance etc is as expected. What is the time frame when the memory starts showing up faults, any idea?
 
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sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question. I mean nobody can predict when the memory will start acting up, like for ex BSOD, freezes etc.. Can be a week, month or a year from now... 😗
I'm just so worried about getting the mileage from these sticks that I didn't even bother checking up what I asked... 😛
 
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RAM or any component is going to either fail from 0~30 days, and then it's typically good for years...{fingers crossed and typically}. Most good RAM 'now' comes with Lifetime Warranties ... so let it die for some new! Operative word 'typically.'

At least that's been my experience. Laptops...well that's another story.
 
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heh.. yeah, laptop rams can be a bit bitchy... Been through some, and it mostly (in my case atleast) shows corrupted texts everywhere( DOS prompt, even in BSODs :) ).
Well I asked my dealer and he said he wont be able to take the RAM back since they are still working. If they had any fault then he would replace it but he would not be able to change it for another type of RAM (In my case either the XMS 8gb or the Dominator 8 gig and best part is he didn't have both since according to him its useless to stock these modules as no one buys them!). So I guess I'm stuck with the set I have. But one quick question: What if I had bought 4 gigs of RAM and later on decide to upgrade to 8 , 12 or even 16 gb? In that case, I would have to throw away the current 4 gigs and buy the 8, 12 or 16 gigs as a set. Why can't I keep my current 4 and look for the same part number and add a 4 later for upgrading to 8 and likewise to 12 and 16. I mean when you say to get 2 x 4gb set to have more room for adding memory later [quote by Emperus in my other thread: Two 4GB modules.. That'll help you maximize your ram amount later if and when the need arises.. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/284078-30-budget-motherboard#t1949808 ], isn't it kind of pointless since you will have to throw away that set to get a kit of 12 gb with 3 4gig stick as mixing of sets are detrimental. Or do you think its marketing BS by companies for making people buy these sets for more money where in practice they can upgrade incrementally for less $$.. What do you think?
 
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Hi Teroxgt

I believe your system is fine the problem is you video card!!! & catalyst driver unfoutunitly I believe 10.12 is the only supporting driver for the HD6970 the problem is your driver stops responding & the system crashes but I bet it's just the video card is not sending out a picture & you are doing a hard shut down right?

last month I was tearing the hair from my head trying to find out what the hell was wrong with my system after installing the HD5870 I had your problem but it was during game play I got the gray stripe GSOD randomly it could be 5 min or 20 min or hours I tried everything all drivers from 9.11- 10.12 it got better with 10.10 but it never was fixed! my system has always be stable never a problem so I removed the HD5870 from my system & put back my HD4850 my problems where solved system back to being totally stable !!!!!! not a hicup....... now I purchased another HD5870 from amazon from Visiontek to my surprise the cards not the REF card that's it's suppose to be that amazon is showing on their site it has a huge heat sink & fan in the middle of the card I was pissed, but I tried it out with 10.10 which was the most stable with the other card but at some point it orange screened for a sec & recovered so I installed 10.12 I get a stutter with this driver on both the old & new Hd5870 so now I installed the ver of catalyst which came with my new card 10.6 so far no problem for five days now. I'm reading these trends because for the same price I paid for my HD5870 I could have purchase your card Hd6970 after seeing your trends I don't know what to do anymore🙁 so I thought I'd share this with you to save the hair on your head !!!! try changing you graphic card to anything you have even if it's a old card don't use any ATI driver in the 2010 which is Jan 2010 would be ver 10.1 feb would be 10.2 & so on. best of luck & please let me know if you find a fix for our cards Happy New Year

Marty (nightraven)
P.S Note: before driver install I removed all ati drivers with Driver Sweeper and removed all ATI Graphics drivers from windows folders

My System
Windows 7 pro 64 Bit on drive 1 WD Caviar Black 1TB 6gb/sec
Drive 2 Seagate 1 TB Windows Vista home premium 64 Bit
Drive 3 Shared Storage WD 1TB
Intel i7 920 2.67
6 gb ram (triple channel)
Corsair 850HX
HD5870 1GB
 
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I'm the last person to ask, I don't mix-match RAM including density. All day I see 'mix-matched' RAM causing problems. A solution is to eBAY the old RAM and get what you want. Most places have a 30-day exchange policy!

Can it be done yes, in the manual it states yes {p 2-11}. At minimum get the same brand and style e.g. Dominator, hopefully with the same IC's, same CAS timings, speed, and voltage.
 
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Happy New Year to everyone here.. And I just finished playing Black Ops. It ran super smooth at 1360 x 768 with 8x AA and 16x AF with all other stuff maxed out. I checked GPU Z and at load it touched only 60-62 degrees. So I dont suppose its overheating. I couldn't find any graphical corruption in the game ( even though I heard its quite a buggy game). Played Dirt 2 and Metro 2033 as well. They both ran at max settings with max AA, and no problems so far. Only Crysis Warhead showed some corruption ( lots of white dots on the foliage). But I take it thats the problem with Warhead. Haven't tried the original Crysis though.
 
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This is why I've done everything possible to STAY with Nvidia. ATI is always problematic. even 9 years later after I stopped using them. everywhere I go there is NO definitive answer for why this .sys file crashes and blue screens WINDOWS 7... BLUE SCREENS should have DIED with XP! I ws FORCED to use ATI with an ATI system when I stuck with my 6 core AMD. I REFUSE to use Intel...haven't used 'em for years. LOVE the AMD performance I get...now I have to use this ATI JUNK. I know I could put an Nvidia card in an AMD motherboard, but that would cause MAJOR problems I just know it. 25 years of history of building literally hundreds of machines tell you this. SO HOW is this actually SOLVED? I've sat here and read for 10 min. and I STILL haven't found where this problem is solved... WHY? did I miss something? who wants to sit here and read tons of posts paragraph after paragraph of useless information to fix an ALREADY FRUSTRATING problem?!!??

Someone please direct me how to FIX this problem. other than doing what I knew I should have done in the first place when I bought this AMD/ATI bundle. BUY AN NVIDIA card!

Thanks.
 
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