Question R9 290 Black Screen...

[bobbysmith]

Hey guys,

I have an XFX Radeon R9 290 Double D 947MHZ 4GB (R9-290A-EDFD) that goes to a black screen from about a year ago. Once it started I pulled it out and recently tried to fix the issue. I have tried everything from different AMD Drivers (new, old, those based on forums), DDU cleans, NIMEZ drivers, fresh Windows install, HDMI vs Display etc. Over 8 hours of every combination. I stumbled across a forum which indicated either a Bios update or a Bios tweak (apparently voltage can cause this?) may fix the issue.

Any guidance on how to do either would be much appreciated!

FYI: When i plug in the GPU my screen goes to black after the ASRock screen, even if I have my screen plugged into my motherboard. If the GPU is plugged into the motherboard it goes black. The only time I can get anything on the screen is via Safe Mode. Im running ASRock H97M Pro4, i5-4690.

Thank you in advance!

 

[pete_101]

Do you know where the dual BIOS switch is on the card, and have you tried it? It will be a very small switch, probably on the edge of the PCB. It's the only solution I can see as you can't install drivers in safe mode, and you can't use the motherboard graphics with a graphics card inserted.

 

[bobbysmith]

Do you know where the dual BIOS switch is on the card, and have you tried it? It will be a very small switch, probably on the edge of the PCB. It's the only solution I can see as you can't install drivers in safe mode, and you can't use the motherboard graphics with a graphics card inserted.

I have not tried the BIOS switch, though I have not yet touched the BIOS at all. I was hoping to update BIOS or get it adjusted while in Safe Mode...?

 

[pete_101]

I have not tried the BIOS switch, though I have not yet touched the BIOS at all. I was hoping to update BIOS or get it adjusted while in Safe Mode...?

No, you can't do that from safe mode. However, the card has two BIOS settings, each independent of each other, one is often set for higher performance than the other. This is also very handy if the BIOS becomes corrupted, as you can simply switch to the 2nd BIOS to get the card working again. Maybe something else has gone wrong with your GPU, but the 1st thing to do is try the other BIOS and see what happens.

 

[rcald2000]

bobbysmith Flick this GPU BIOS switch and see if the issue is better, worse or the same.



** notes **

https://www.legitreviews.com/xfx-radeon-r9-290-double-dissipation-video-card-review_138612

 

[bobbysmith]

bobbysmith Flick this GPU BIOS switch and see if the issue is better, worse or the same.



** notes **

https://www.legitreviews.com/xfx-radeon-r9-290-double-dissipation-video-card-review_138612

I switched to the 2nd bios and on first reboot it was black screen like before Then on 2nd reboot (not safe mode) it worked for a short while, made it to Windows, and once I got on this forum it went black screen again. Third reboot was black screen right from the start. Pulled the GPU out....

 

[rcald2000]

I'm sorry to hear that the positive result didn't last long. It sounds to me like the gpu remains broken. It's too bad because the R9 290 was a great cards back in it's day. With that being said, could you perhaps purchase a replacement? Techpowerup shows that a new RX 6600 is approximately twice the performance of your R9 290. I recently purchased one here in the US for approximately $200 USD, during Thanksgiving week.

** notes **

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-r9-290.c2397

 

[bobbysmith]

I'm sorry to hear that the positive result didn't last long. It sounds to me like the gpu remains broken. It's too bad because the R9 290 was a great cards back in it's day. With that being said, could you perhaps purchase a replacement? Techpowerup shows that a new RX 6600 is approximately twice the performance of your R9 290. I recently purchased one here in the US for approximately $200 USD, during Thanksgiving week.

** notes **

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-r9-290.c2397

Indeed it is unfortunate as the R9 290 was perfect for my game - Xcom 2, GTAV etc... Is there anything else I can try - update VBIOS another way or would a mobo bios update help too?

 

[rcald2000]

GPU BIOS: Updating the graphics card BIOS is beyond my experience, so I'll leave that question for others. But since your card has two BIOS' it's worth a shot, assuming that it's possible to do so in it's current state.

Motherboard BIOS: I doubt that updating the MB BIOS will have an effect on this issue. Am I correct in assuming that this graphics card was working perfecting fine on this exact system for years and just one day stopped working? Regardless, it couldn't hurt to update the motherboard BIOS, so you might as well try, but don't get your hopes up.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/h97m pro4/#BIOS

 

[bobbysmith]

GPU BIOS: Updating the graphics card BIOS is beyond my experience, so I'll leave that question for others. But since your card has two BIOS' it's worth a shot, assuming that it's possible to do so in it's current state.

Motherboard BIOS: I doubt that updating the MB BIOS will have an effect on this issue. Am I correct in assuming that this graphics card was working perfecting fine on this exact system for years and just one day stopped working? Regardless, it couldn't hurt to update the motherboard BIOS, so you might as well try, but don't get your hopes up.

https://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/h97m pro4/#BIOS

Yes, it was working perfectly for years and then it just stopped...Other than these wo options anything else you recommend or should I get a new one?

 

[rcald2000]

No, I have no other reasonable courses of action. You could try to find someone with technical know-how to attempt a repair on the GPU, but I doubt that you could get this done for a reasonable cost.

Question: What is the manufacturer and model of this power supply in this system? Any chance that that you could take a photo of the side of the power supply, and a second photo of the entire inside of your system? Then upload to imgur and share the links here? This has nothing to do with solving your problem, as I don't think there is any solution except to replace the card. I'm personally curious which power supply you have, because I'm wondering if it slowly degraded your GPU. You mentioned that your CPU is a core i5-4690, and I'm aware that there are many Dell and Lenovo pre-built computer with that processor. I'm also curious if your power supply natively had the two 8-pin cables available to power your GPU, or did you have to use an adapter of any sort. And if so, what sort of adaptor was it?

 

[bobbysmith]

No, I have no other reasonable courses of action. You could try to find someone with technical know-how to attempt a repair on the GPU, but I doubt that you could get this done for a reasonable cost.

Question: What is the manufacturer and model of this power supply in this system? Any chance that that you could take a photo of the side of the power supply, and a second photo of the entire inside of your system? Then upload to imgur and share the links here? This has nothing to do with solving your problem, as I don't think there is any solution except to replace the card. I'm personally curious which power supply you have, because I'm wondering if it slowly degraded your GPU. You mentioned that your CPU is a core i5-4690, and I'm aware that there are many Dell and Lenovo pre-built computer with that processor. I'm also curious if your power supply natively had the two 8-pin cables available to power your GPU, or did you have to use an adapter of any sort. And if so, what sort of adaptor was it?

I built the PC myself. its an Antec HCG-620M 620W ATX12V Modular PSU. Ive done research and apparently its a high quality model...

I appreciate your help with this! I may give the MOBO a BIOS update and call it a day if it doesnt work