AMD/ATI catalyst & driver failure

The other day AMD popped a message up on one of my boxes asking if I wanted to update the management/driver software (Catalyst), so I said "OK".

The update failed towards the end so I rebooted, and was greeted with a black screen and a plaintive "no signal" message from the monitor.

Fortunately (?) the MoBo has an onboard AMD 4250 chipset, and connecting to that got me a visible screen and a pop-up warning that there was no AMD Radeon driver loaded. Obviously the image was very low resolution and the system was using a Windows 7 default driver.

Sooooo................ I downloaded the upgrade from AMD's site and ran it.....................no joy, and on top of that the damn thing was trying to update the HD 4250, and ignoring the HD 5770 card that was installed.

Sooooo................ I replaced the HD 5770 with an HD 5670.......................still no luck!

I used the AMD uninstall software, then ran a registry cleaner then rebooted............nope!

I removed the software again and ran the Sapphire CD installation disk (both cards are sapphires BTW)......... it "said" that it had installed successfully, but only for the HD 4250 onboard chipset.

I finally downloaded "DriverSweeper" and deleted all things AMD; then re-ran the Sapphire installation CD and now everything works fine with the HD5670.............. not the sharpest tool in the box but it does score 7.0/7.9 on the WEI (the HD 5770 scored 7.4)

My "plan B" is on the floor next to my chair.................An Asus GeForce EN210..................... cheap and cheerful but couldn't give a rat's ass about AMD/ATI drivers :D............. I didn't have to go that route as it turned out, but I might have if there hadn't been onboard graphics, as Windows 7 didn't use a default driver for the HD5770.

My recommendation is to get a free copy of "DriverSweeper" right now, as they have been taken over and you have to pay for the replacement. It is still the same team though.

My other advice is to NOT let AMD update your machine, as they are obviously doing it on-the-fly or in "realtime", which is not a good idea IMO. Better download the software to your HDD and run it from there.

Hope that is of help/interest :)

Yes, I have known for 14 years that updating to the latest video drivers can cause problems like that. Once you fine a driver that works to your satisfaction, never break it by trying the upgrade route.

Thanks for the heads up on that $$$ factor.

Guru 3D has always been where I got it. FREE!!!!
http://www.guru3d.com/content_page/g...r_sweeper.html

Hi Shay,

Like yourself, I have had problems over the years with ATI/AMD drivers. With old cards it isn't even worth thinking about updates, because they are meant for newer models. I distinctly remember back in 2001 when I was building a Windows XP box with the latest ATI card that was only 6 weeks old................. the driver didn't work properly, so I checked on the net, and sure enough there was a new driver about 2 weeks old!

Sure, I have had problems with nVidia cards as well, but far less frequently.

The link you provided is the exact same software that I mentioned, so go get it folks! :)

As a general rule of thumb I will agree with Shay that if it ain't broke don't try to fix it...............manufacturers keep the same model numbers but change the specs for newer versions...............the new drivers are only for the newer specs.

In my toolbag I always keep a PS2 mouse and keyboard and a cheap ATI/AMD and an nVidia video card..............helped me out many a time ;)

Quote:

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In my toolbag I always keep a PS2 mouse and keyboard and a cheap ATI/AMD and an nVidia video card..............helped me out many a time

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nihil
Fact is, I am using a ps/2 keyboard. It ain't broke so why fix it, applied again.
Actually, nvidia has given me more fits than ATI. But, that is just my experience. :(

Good list, but I am not working on client rigs anymore. :D :D