[SOLVED] Sapphire Pulse RX 6600 XT - screen color changes on boot (and randomly thereafter) ?

[asayanna]

Hi folks,

I have a brand new build with an extremely frustrating issue - Screen color spontaneously change from perfectly normal to exhibiting a Green Tint.
This happens after system boot, and appears to be as the AMD drivers are loading. The screen goes from a perfectly normal tone to tinted Green. It affects ALL applications.

Build details:
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X;
MSI MAX Mortar B550M WiFi;
CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX 2x8GB DDR4 3200MHZ C16;
SAPPHIRE PULSE RX 6600 XT GAMING OC 8GB;
CRUCIAL P5 500GB NVME; CORSAIR RM650X; Windows 10 64-bit

Graphics Driver: 21.30.25.01-210929a-372232C-RadeonSoftware [Adrenalin 21.10.2 Optional]; vBios: 020.003.000.030
Monitor: Philips 246e9qjab with Freesync enabled (75hz). Connected via HDMI.

Steps to re-create:

1. Reboot machine
2. System tray icons load. Just before AMD Software loads, the screen swaps from normal to take on a Green tint.
3. Opening the AMD software, click on "Desktop Color", and "Cancel" reverts the color to normal.
4. Wait a while and it randomly reverts to a Green Tint. Step 3 needs to be repeated, but is a huge problem especially during gaming. It seems to be a Driver issue. The driver appears to be randomly changing the Windows color profile.

Troubleshooting 1:

• Uninstalled all AMD software using amdcleanuputility.
• Reinstalled ONLY the Drivers.
• Restarted the computer. Screen changes to a Green tint during startup.

Troubleshooting 2:

• Removed all Drivers using amdcleanuputility and reverted to the Microsoft display driver.
• Rebooted
• No issue. Screen loads and remains normal.
  • I've tried the current and prior version of the Driver (Adrenalin 21.8.2 Recommended (WHQL)). It didn't fix the issue.
  • If clicking "Desktop Color" and "Cancel" in the AMD Software the screen reverts to the correctly working color profile. \
• Notes
  • I do not experience the color shift if connecting via remote desktop because that's using the "Microsoft Remote Display Adapter"
  • If I click "Desktop Color" it fixes the tint. If I click "Arrange Displays" it causes the tint. This might be helpful diagnosing.
  • This is a BRAND NEW build with a 1st time install of all software. The problem was present as soon as the AMD Drivers were installed. I did install TriXX first, the clicked Drivers, and installed the AMD drivers from within the TriXX link.

Troubleshooting 3, 4, 5, 6

• Completely uninstalled the Monitor drivers (incl. remove software checkbox). Reinstalled. Problem persists.
• Cleared the Windows Color Profiles, re-created, and attempted to reset them. Problem persists.
• Tried unchecking "Turn on fast startup" in Windows Power Options. Shut down. Waited a minute. Restarted. Problem Persists.
  • Re-enabled "Turn on fast startup"
• Connected a different Monitor using the DP port (rather than HDMI). Problem Persists.

I'm at a complete loss. I've shared all of the above with Sapphire and they can't help further. They said I should contact the retailer and go through the RMA process.
That's going to SUCK!!! There are no available replacement cards. I got this on Release, so at MSRP less a discount running at the time. I don't have a card lying around, so the PC will be out of commision seemingly for months (post card back, wait 10 or more days for an answer, debate another week, then... wait for replacements??? think that's not going to happen. The instock cards (at other retailers) are almost DOUBLE what I paid).

Hoping that someone can help solve this.
It absolutely appears to be a Software issue. The Drivers appear to be messing with the Windows color profiles.

Thx!!

 

[COLGeek]

Try booting your system with a Live Linux distro (means booting Linux from a USB drive). Intent is to see if this happens while running Linux (Windows install not affected when using live distro). If happend in Linux, then you have confirmed a hardware issue.

Also, are you overclocking anything (CPU, GPU, memory)?

 

[asayanna]

COLGeek thanks for the great suggestion. Will boot it with a Linux distro.
No overclocking at the moment. Memory is running on XMP, but using the clock timings on the box.

 

[asayanna]

@COLGeek. Tried Ubuntu 21.10 Live CD. Noted that it's running the amdgpu drivers. Card was correctly reported (using lshw -class display). Didn't note any desktop color changes. I was not however able to aggressively test. Ubuntu simply wouldn't detect WiFi (onboard MSI MAG Mortar B550m WiFi). But was good enough for me . Clean start, now crazy color changes. Definitely appears AMD Windows Driver related.

 

[Greeko85]

Silly suggestion but what happens if you disable freesync/lower refresh rate?

 

[asayanna]

@Greeko85 tried the suggestion. Sadly no change.

So figured the following - seems like Windows and the Driver are each trying to change color profile (about the only idea I have).
I can consistently reproduce by going into "Settings" where the screen takes on the Green tint, and then into either "Settings --> System" or "Settings --> Ease of Access" where it corrects itself. . Bizarre. I've even loaded v27 of the Radeon Driver, which was included in the latest Windows 21H1 update. So should be Windows approved, however no dice. Same issue results.

I've logged a case with Microsoft. They tried to pan me off to AMD, who don't deal with Graphics Card Support. Sapphire were ... well... unhelpful.
The only leg I had to stand on... or rather my unrelenting position 😉 was that the issue occured with a Microsoft delivered driver.
The consultant relented and I have a call setup for next week with a technical specialist (well I hope they are specialized enuf to figure this out).

I've also tried WindowShade... a powershell script to set color profiles. This sadly didn't fix the issue, but is a nice piece of functionality so I thought I'd share.

 

[asayanna]

Hey all,

Issue resolved. Microsoft turned out to be helpful 😀.
The issue isn't the drivers, but turned out to be the MSI Dragon Centre software playing havoc with color settings.
Isolated by turning off all non Microsoft services and viola.

Steps to isolate (in the event that you're experiencing similar)

• Open "System Configuration"
• Go to the "Services" Tab
• Check "Hide all Microsoft Services"
• Click "Disable all" and "OK"
• Reboot
• Turn them on in stages until the issue is isolated.

Thanks to all for the assistance.