Can't stop Ati3duag.dll BSOD, please help

Lunarbob21

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Feb 4, 2014
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10,510
Hi, I am reaching the end of my rope of patience here with my video driver. I tried to overcome this on my own with days of poring over message board posts, but nothing has worked.

My problem is this, I don't know when it started but I really noticed it a month or two ago while playing The Witcher 2. I am playing a game, and it runs just fine, but then out of nowhere 1 of 2 things happen. Either the screen freezes on the image and automatically reboots the computer a few seconds later or the screen goes black and the same thing happens.

I have tried a LOT of things to fix this. I was using a floor fan to keep my computer cool, so I thought the problem was overheating. So I took the cpu apart outside and cleaned it out and applied new thermal paste. The fan situation is normal again and things run much cooler, but still I get the BSOD.

So I tried everything I could think of including.

1. Updated CCC to newest drivers, downgraded to older driver, uninstalled and re-installed drivers.

2. Run as Admin, disabled Avast, lowered graphic settings, unplug gamepad, try offline mode.

3. Tried setting the game.exe to a single core, and tried setting to high priority.

4. Set the GPU to stock settings, ran Memtest to no errors, ran defrag.

No matter what I tried, still the same random BSOD. Finally I thought I had it figured out and did the following.

1. Log on Admin account and uninstall from Add/Remove. Then uninstall the adapter through device manager.

2. Reboot into safe mode, Run Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), boot back into safe mode.

3. Look for left over ATI files, Here I had a problem where the computer automatically detected and installed the 6800 card]. I could still see the same old ATI files.

4. Restarted computer normally, installed the driver [I even tried the driver directly from HIS], restarted.

5. Tried gaming, and absolutely nothing has changed.

I have ran WhoCrashed and everytime it is the Ati3duag.dll causing problems, except once when it crashed youtube and it was ati2 then.

So now I have ran out of ideas, and implore the experts out there to help me figure this out please.

I have this problem for:
The Witcher 2, Dishonored, and Starcraft 2, so I know it is not the game itself.
So far Torchlight 2 has ran without a single video crash.

My specs are: Windows XP SP 3
Motherboard
===========

Manufacturer: AsRock
Model: M3A770DE
Chipset: AMD 770 Rev.00
Southbridge: AMD SB700 Rev.00
LPCIO: Wnbond W83627DHG-P

Bios

Brand: American Megatrends Inc.
Version: P1.60
Date: 05/20/2010

CPU
===========
Name: AMD Athlon II X3 445
Code Name: Rana
Max TDP: 95W
Package: Socket AM3 (938)
Technology: 45nm
Core Voltage: 1.368V
Specification: AMD Athlon(tm) II X3 445 Processor
Family: F Model: 5 Stepping: 3
Ext. Family: 10 Ext. Model: 5 Revision: BL-C3
Instructions:

Memory
============
Type: DDR3 Dual Channel
Size: 4GB
NB Frequency: 1995.6Mhz

Module Size: 2048 Mbytes
Max Bandwidth: Pc3-10700 (667Mhz)
Manufacturer: G.Skill
part Number: F3-10600CL9-2GBNT

Graphic Card - HIS Radeon 6850 IceQX Turbo
============

Name: Radeon HD 6850
Code Name: Barts
Technology: 40nm
Clock Core: 820 Mhz
Clock Memory: 1100 Mhz
memory Size: 1024 Mbytes
Type: GDDR5

Power Supply
============
Seasonic S12II Bronze 520w
 
Solution
If the version of XP is the same on both the HDD and on the XP upgrade disk (at SP1), then there should be no issues.

However, if Windows XP on the HDD has been updated to SP2 or to SP3 (via the internet), then there will be issues as the installation disk at SP1 will not match SP2 or SP3 on the HDD. In this case, another XP installation disk could be created and updated to the same service pack as that on the HDD by a process called "Slipstreaming".

Slipstreaming requires a bit of work and extra files to be downloaded. The procedure is here for SP2 upgrading, and procedure is here for SP3 upgrading.

Once the new disk has been created with the updated service pack, use that disk to match the service pack...
-boot into BIOS and reset it to defaults, reconfigure and reboot. This will rebuild the hardware database that the BIOS creates and sends to windows.
- confirm that you don't have any overclocking enabled for the GPU
- if you have done this, then provide the actual memory .dmp file, just put it on a cloud server so it can be looked at with a windows debugger.

-also, you may want to make sure that the motherboard does not overclock the PCI bus ( should be 100 Mhz)

- you might want to underclock your GPU by 100 Mhz
- you might want to go to your windows device manager, find the graphics card and disable the High definition audio support if you don't get sound from your monitor speakers via your GPU video cable.

Note: just noticed you have windows xp. It has been a long time since I have run that but my suggestions still might help.
 

Lunarbob21

Honorable
Feb 4, 2014
12
0
10,510
Thank you for the suggestions and help. I have not had time to try any of this yet, but I just disabled the auto restart so I could write down the blue screen error code, might help.

Ati2dvag *** STOP : 0x000000EA (0x87E12218, 0x89ABD390, 0xBA4E7CBC, 0x00000001) The device driver got stuck in an infinite loop.
 

Lunarbob21

Honorable
Feb 4, 2014
12
0
10,510
Thank you for replying to help me.

I don't have any overclocking enabled, I am using MSI afterburner at startup with CCC disabled. I have some logs from GPU-Z of my last two tries gaming. drive.google.com/file/d/0BxJm-D4o617dZ0wzd1o5b3pOT0U/view?usp=sharing .

- Would you suggest that I update BIOS first, or try my current default first?

- How do I check if my motherboard is overclocking the PCI bus?

- I don't actually know what is meant by reinstalling chipset drivers.

Unfortunately I don't have anyone to borrow or test cpu components off of, nor another computer to test on.

- I believe this is the memory dump file, though I could be wrong. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxJm-D4o617dWjNxdjdxYVRTcVU/view?usp=sharing
 
looked at the bugcheck but you have xp, and drivers from 2001 up to current ones.
basically the bugcheck code was
THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER_M (100000ea)
(graphics driver)

sorry i am not much help. I stopped looking at XP bugs 10 years ago



 
Update BIOS.
Reboot.
Load default settings/configuration in BIOS.
Reboot.
All default settings should now apply to the system (and the PCI bus should not be overclocked now, if it was previously).

Chipset drivers should be reinstalled from the optical disk that should have come with the motherboard.

Not having spare components and not having access to another computer does make troubleshooting difficult. However, hopefully the above procedures may have resolved the issues.
 

Lunarbob21

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Feb 4, 2014
12
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10,510


Updating BIOS doesn't affect anything installed right? I don't need to back up things or worry about my programs?

If I'm reading this right, then all I need to do is download the 1.80 Windows BIOS, unzip it to a folder on the profile with Admin privilege, close all programs and run it. Am I right?

How long should I expect this to take running, like minutes or hours?
I'm being extra careful here in asking since I never updated the BIOS before.

- As for the chipset drivers... I don't actually know if I have such a CD. I own this computer jointly with my father, and he was the more tech sided when we put it together years ago. I'll have to ask about that next I see him, no guarantee he would remember either though.

-Thanks for the continued support.
 
Updating BIOS does NOT directly affect installed programs and data.

However! In the unlikely event the BIOS update fails, or there is some related problem, it is possible the motherboard may be rendered useless due to corrupt BIOS. In this case another motherboard will probably be required to replace the now unusable motherboard. In the meantime programs and data stored in the HDD will not be accessible. This is more of an inconvenience than anything else, since programs and data still remain untouched on the HDD.

Just to be extra cautious, important files/data stored on the HDD could be copied to to a USB Flash drive and/or written to an optical disk before attempting BIOS upgrades.

Download the latest BIOS from here. You will note there are three versions to download, "Instant Flash", "DOS", and "Windows". It is suggested that the "Windows" version of the latest BIOS be downloaded as it slightly easier to use.

The BIOS updating procedure is found by clicking on the 'red cross' symbol under the tab "How to Update". In this case, for Windows installation mode the BIOS updating procedure is here. Please read the instructions carefully before attempting BIOS updating and follow instructions precisely.

The BIOS updating procedure should only take a minute or so.

The chipset drivers for Windows XP (32 bit) can be downloaded here. The file you want is named "AMD all in 1 driver ver:8.512".

Run downloaded "Setup.exe" to install drivers. You may have to select appropriate drivers to install from a list. Once done you may have to reboot computer.
 

Lunarbob21

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Feb 4, 2014
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10,510
I just about gave myself a heart attack here. I updated the BIOS and loaded the default, but next time I booted I got an "NTLDR is missing" error. Thankfully I have a tablet so I was able to google it, and realized that it was trying to boot from the wrong drive so I was able to switch it back.

Installed the chipset drivers as well. I am feeling a bit wiped after that scare now, so I'll see if anything works differently later.

-One strange thing, MSI afterburner now has the core/clock set to 410/550, it was 775/1000.
 
Darn!

Try scanning/repairing system files using "sfc" via command prompt. Procedure is here. Note there are links that help explain other procedures such as how to open a command box.

Please note that the original Windows XP operating system installation disk may be required at some stage to repair files, so make sure it is available before running the scan.

Try running games again.

If there are still issues then try Windows XP installation repair. Procedure is here, or here. Original Windows XP operating system installation disk will be required for this procedure. Although important programs and data should not be affected by this repair procedure, just in case, important files should be backed up first to USB drive or optical disk.

Try games once again.

If there are still problems, then full and thorough wiping of the boot drive and re-installation of the operating system and other programs will be the next step.
 

Lunarbob21

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Feb 4, 2014
12
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10,510
I was just informed of something I had forgotten.

We have the Windows XP Home Upgrade CD, not an original XP installation disk. I upgraded to Windows XP from Windows 98.

Does this change anything you've said? And would the upgrade CD still be usable in the "sfc" command?
 

Lunarbob21

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Feb 4, 2014
12
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10,510
I did a little searching, and this I see a post here saying that the installation disc needs to match the service pack level, I'm sure my disc is SP 1. http://

The link you gave me made no mention of this, thoughts?
 
If the version of XP is the same on both the HDD and on the XP upgrade disk (at SP1), then there should be no issues.

However, if Windows XP on the HDD has been updated to SP2 or to SP3 (via the internet), then there will be issues as the installation disk at SP1 will not match SP2 or SP3 on the HDD. In this case, another XP installation disk could be created and updated to the same service pack as that on the HDD by a process called "Slipstreaming".

Slipstreaming requires a bit of work and extra files to be downloaded. The procedure is here for SP2 upgrading, and procedure is here for SP3 upgrading.

Once the new disk has been created with the updated service pack, use that disk to match the service pack installed on the HDD for doing "sfc" procedure, and for doing Windows XP repair also, if required.

It is a lot of work! But there is no guarantee that carrying out sfc and Windows repair procedures that it will solve the freezing/rebooting issues. This depends on the actual cause of the system issues.

A consideration might be that to save time, a complete HDD wipe and re-format be done now instead of running sfc and trying Windows repair. Disadvantage is that important files must be backed up first and any files missed will most likely be permanently deleted.
 
Solution