Radeon 5870 - Screen goes blank + becomes unresponsive

[Zenze]

I bought a used computer from the classifieds and I am having some problems with it. My screen randomly goes blank and everything becomes unresponsive.

Let me elaborate a little bit... When the screen goes blank it is still on, the backlight is on and everything so its not going into sleep mode. When this happens the computer is completely unresponsive, even caps lock and num lock dont work, all I can do cut it off. The first time this happened I was in windows 7 (64 bit). I also had a time where windows said the graphics drivers were unresponsive but had recovered. I have also had a time where I got the gsod. If I leave it off for a while it seems to last longer before it happens again, if it happens and I reboot and try again it seems to happen again more quickly. This leads me to believe that its some sort of heat issue.

I wanted to format and reinstall win7 but that turned out to be a bad idea as I can't make it through the install before everything blacks out. It even does this when I am in the bios, so its not a driver issue.

I tried using a different video card and everything seemed to work out. I made it through the windows 7 install with no problems so its definitely something with the card.

Has anyone heard of an issue similar to this or have any advice for me? I really hope I didn't waste my money....

Thanks

 

[wa1]

We need more info here, list your full specs here...

 

[Helltech]

We need to know what GPU it is, and of course the rest of the specs as wa1 said.

 

[Dogsnake]

The title says Radon 5870, I figure that's the card. Can you please provide other hardware specs? Do you know the PS size and brand/Model number. That card calls for a 550W supply min. and it needs to be a good quality one. What version drivers are you using? Is the fan running on the card when the system is on. Check the CC and be sure the fan is not in manual control and set to slow.

 

[Zenze]

Specs:

GPU: Sapphire HD 5870 1GB (not sure of its the gamer edition)
Motherboad: ASUS P7P55D Pro
CPU: i5-750
PSU: OCZ 700W
OS: windows 7 64-bit
and then DVD drive and hdd
The other card that I tested and worked fine was a 8800GT

Also a quick update:
I reflashed the BIOS with the most recent one from ASUS. After this I was able to get through the install of win7 without it blacking out/locking up. I then installed the most recent drivers from ATI (10.6 I believe). I noticed that while installing windows the cards fan was pretty high and pushing a lot of hot air out the back. After I installed the drivers it got much cooler and the fan slowed down significantly. This isn't exactly surprising to me but I thought I would mention it.

After installing the drivers from ati everything went black and locked up. I then moved the card from the first pci-e to the second. When it got back into windows the resolution was low again (not using the drivers) and windows to some automatic driver installation. Then I rebooted and when it came back up it was using the ati driver again.

Everything seemed to be running ok at that point. I let the computer idle and kept an eye on it. After a while the screen went completely white but came back a few seconds later with windows telling me that "display driver amdkmdap stopped responding and has successfully recovered." I have left it running for a while now and have not seen it happen again.


I think that its working in the second slot is just confidence because the other card never had a problem in the first slot. While its working now I am not confident that the issue will not come back.

EDIT: I put the CCC on all default settings. The Overdrive feature is not enabled/unlocked.

 

[Zenze]

Its been running fine idleing... doing stuff like surfing the web.

Thought about testing it under load now so I booted up bad company 2 and was only able to play <10 minutes before the screen went black and I couldn't do anything but a hard reboot. Also, its idleing at around 39C, it blacked out before I got the temp for load. Ill test again and post results.



If anyone has any advice please let me know, I need some help as I am at a loss

 

[Dogsnake]

You say the system runs fine with the 8800GT. Does not run fine with the 5870. Sounds like a bad vid. card. I would contact Sapphire for an RA and send it back for fix or replace.

 

[wolfram23]

When you say you bought it from the classifieds, you mean 2nd hand, correct? So RMA might be out of the question here.

First of all, I'd open up CCC and check what ATI Overdrive says. Make sure it's at stock speeds. It might be worthwhile to flash the BIOS with the appropriate one for the card, because you never know what the previous owner did.

Secondly, download something like MSI Afterburner so that you can watch the temps and clock speeds. You could be having an issue with the idle being too low. Could be an issue with overheating. Possibly if it's an original 5870 the previous owner never cleaned it out. I'd suggest you unscrew the cover and clean the heat sink out as it doesn't take too long for dust to clog it.

 

[Zenze]

Yes, it is second hand.

Ran bad company 2 for about 20 mins and everything was fine. Temps in overdrive and GPU-z showed 74C at full load with the fan at 31%.

Just from what I can see by looking inside the card it seems very clean and dust free but I'll go ahead and open it up, can't hurt I guess...

It seems to be a common issue. This 103 page thread in the ati forums is all about the issue. After reading through a bunch of it I didn't really see a single solution though. Does anyone know if there are any official fixes for this? To me it seams like there are countless different solutions that may or may not work.

EDIT: Updated the temps

 

[dirkw83]

To add to that, the "driver has stopped responding and has recovered successfully" has been broadly discussed and you can find topics on it all over the internet. Some people (including me, on a 3870 HD) have solved it by slightly underclocking the videocard (just 1 tick below stock speeds), while others have found other solutions. Changing power management from balanced to performance (Windows7) just to name one.

Also, bear in mind that of the 2 pci-e slots, there is only one that can operate at max (x16) bus speed. As far as I know, the other slot mostly goes to x4 maximum. This doesn't necessarily have to have a significant impact on performance, but for people who are perfectionist on things like this, it may matter. You can use CPU-Z to easily find out your current speed.

Edit: didn't see your latest response before I typed this down . But no, to answer your question, there is no official solution to this problem, probably because it seems to be an overarching error report. Neither ATi nor Nvidia have officially acknowledged it, mostly because it's unclear as to what causes it. This means you may find a solution or you may not, really.

 

[wolfram23]

Well looks like there's 2 things to try. The first is to go to the manufacturer's site for you card and download their specific drivers. There should be a logo somewhere on the card. First, however, I would probably try lowering the mem speed by 10mhz and see if that fixes. If not try another 10. If that doesn't, leave it there and lower core clock by 10. And again. If that doesn't work, then do the driver install from the manufacturer.

 

[Zenze]

All was working well today with it in the second pci-e slot. Then I tried to see if it would work in the 1st slot again and all the issues started back. Moved it back to second slot and they are continuing. Everything locks up before I can even get into windows.

 

[wolfram23]

Well if you can figure out a way to get it to boot up, I'd really recommend you find the proper BIOS for your card and flash it. I say this because I've flashed my cards many times now, and sometimes it doesn't quite work and a reflash fixes it.

 

[Zenze]

I reset the mobo bios to factory settings and it started working in the second slot again. I dont know why this made any difference as I never made any changes to the bios.

Ill try reflashing the cards bios and let you know who it goes.

I couldn't find a bios of sapphire's website though. Is it safe to use another companies bios and will this ruin any possibility of having it replaced by sapphire?

I'll also try reflashing the mobo bios again just for good measure as its behavior is also suspect to me at this point.

 

[wolfram23]

Agreed that it could be the mobo. Have you gone into the mobo BIOS and checked that everything is normal?

Flashing your card with a different brand's BIOS shouldn't be too bad but I don't know if the manufacturer would warranty it. You can always reflash to the original (if you saved it).

However, if you have the option of replacing the card (RMA) then I'd try that, and the mobo too if it's possible. If not then I'd say just flash to the ASUS Bios or whichever you found.

 

[Dogsnake]

You can go to the Sapphire site, register the card in your name. You will need it's serial number. If the previous owner did not do this you can activate the warranty. Even if they did, it still might work.

 

[Zenze]

I reflashed the bios again and the card is currently working the the 1st slot. Hoping it keeps up!

 

[wolfram23]

Great! I hope it works out for you.

 

[Dogsnake]

Sounds great good luck

 

[Zenze]

Ahhh!

Nevermind... after a reboot its back to its old ways.... 2nd slot works find 1st causes black screen before it gets through bios.

At this point I think its the mobo, I'll be giving Asus a call.

 

[-devious-]

Ahhh!

Nevermind... after a reboot its back to its old ways.... 2nd slot works find 1st causes black screen before it gets through bios.

At this point I think its the mobo, I'll be giving Asus a call.

Did you ever find a solution to this?
I just put together my computer:

MB: Gigabyte H67N-USB3-B3 Mini ITX
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4GHZ Sandy Bridge 8MB
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Fermi 732MHZ 1280MB
RAM: Corsair XMS 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1333
PSU: Corsair TX650W
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 Extended Sandforce 120GB 2.5IN SATA2
DVD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA
FAN: Coolermaster Blade Master 120 Black 120MM 600-2000RPM
CPU COOLING: Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H50 High Performance CPU Cooler System

I am having the exact same problem you describe. even down to the caps lock not working on the keyboard and the fact that if I leave it off for a longer period (over night) it will take longer until it does it again but it will at least within 20 mins.

Did you try a new PSU? motherboard?

 

[Zenze]

Yea, I figured out what the problem is/was.

Basically the card isnt making a great connection with the pci-e slot in the mobo. If I lay the computer on its side, so that the card is vertical, if pretty much always works fine. However, when the computer is standing vertically if the card is not exactly in the right position it will not work and demonstrate the symptoms described. In fact, sometimes when playing a game I will get the vertical bars and quickly reach down and slightly push up on the card for a second and it will work correctly again.

I wouldn't call this a fix but I am able to use my computer now. Sometimes it will go for 3-4 weeks with no problems. Other times I'll have to take the card out and readjust it every couple days.

 

[-devious-]

Yea, I figured out what the problem is/was.

Basically the card isnt making a great connection with the pci-e slot in the mobo. If I lay the computer on its side, so that the card is vertical, if pretty much always works fine. However, when the computer is standing vertically if the card is not exactly in the right position it will not work and demonstrate the symptoms described. In fact, sometimes when playing a game I will get the vertical bars and quickly reach down and slightly push up on the card for a second and it will work correctly again.

I wouldn't call this a fix but I am able to use my computer now. Sometimes it will go for 3-4 weeks with no problems. Other times I'll have to take the card out and readjust it every couple days.

Thanks for the quick reply! Makes sense actually. I built in a tight mITX case and the video card barely fit.. I had to put a bit of stress on it to fit it in the case and probably is bending down on the PCIe slot with torque. I'll try to remedy that. Hope I haven't damaged the motherboard though with all that stress...

thanks again and I'll post an update.

 

[-devious-]

Yea, I figured out what the problem is/was.

Basically the card isnt making a great connection with the pci-e slot in the mobo. If I lay the computer on its side, so that the card is vertical, if pretty much always works fine. However, when the computer is standing vertically if the card is not exactly in the right position it will not work and demonstrate the symptoms described. In fact, sometimes when playing a game I will get the vertical bars and quickly reach down and slightly push up on the card for a second and it will work correctly again.

I wouldn't call this a fix but I am able to use my computer now. Sometimes it will go for 3-4 weeks with no problems. Other times I'll have to take the card out and readjust it every couple days.

So, I opened up my case. The video card was bent a bit downward since it was rammed into the case before (I really did try to be careful when installing it before, it was just a really tight squeeze). So I pulled up on it to straighten it and heard a loud crack sound. The card was straightened but I was basically pooping my pants because I thought I broke something. Booted up my machine, and no issues. In fact I have not had the problem happen again! Fingers crossed but I think straightening the card did in fact fix the issue!!! Thanks so much man! much appreciated.

 

[majesticlizard]

Yea, I figured out what the problem is/was.

Basically the card isnt making a great connection with the pci-e slot in the mobo. If I lay the computer on its side, so that the card is vertical, if pretty much always works fine. However, when the computer is standing vertically if the card is not exactly in the right position it will not work and demonstrate the symptoms described. In fact, sometimes when playing a game I will get the vertical bars and quickly reach down and slightly push up on the card for a second and it will work correctly again.

I wouldn't call this a fix but I am able to use my computer now. Sometimes it will go for 3-4 weeks with no problems. Other times I'll have to take the card out and readjust it every couple days.

I have had this problem with video cards before. What I do is use brasso and rub the metal leads to remove the layer of varnish and possibly mildew off of the leads. Then I rub the brasso off (VERY THOROUGHLY) with rubbing alcohol and coffee filter pads. If you do this thoroughly it can greatly improve contact problems. This also works with old RAM modules. Beware though, if you do not remove all of the chemicals from the contacts you might fry your components or your motherboard.

I would recommend you turn the fan speed on the cards up to 80 to 100 percent at all times and also make sure you have blown any dust that has accumulated in the card and your case out with compressed air. If your video card is reaching 74 C regularly, that means that the components are often expanding and contracting which will lead to microfractures eventually.

My GTX 580 (overclocked) only runs 34 C idle and around 60 C on demanding games after playing for a few hours. The fan is fixed at 70 percent.