Calling all ATI guru's...I need some help please.

[MIAHALLEN]

I recently purchased two used 4870x2s. One of them works perfect. The other one is giving me problems.

The problematic card only works in the basic VGA mode....once drivers are loaded, it stops outputting any image.

For instance, a fresh load of Windows Vista, without any pre-loaded drivers. The card is working fine. While attempting to install the drivers, about half-way through, when the display normally cuts in and out....the screen goes dark, and my only option is to hard reset the system.

Using the known good card, I can install the drivers fine, and everything works as it should. If I get everything working with the good card, and then insert the other one. When the machine boots up, everything is normal until after the Windows Vista splash screen disappears. Right when the desktop would normally appear. The display goes dark.

I've attempted to use the card with Windows XP x86, Windows Vista X86, and Windows 7 x64...all with the same results. I've attempted flashing the factory BIOS, and then I tryed another BIOS...no change.

I also had a waterblock waiting to be installed on it, but wanted to get the problem fixed first. When I was unable to solve the problem, I went ahead and installed the waterblock tonight. While I had the card naked, I gave it a close inspection, but everything looks good. So I proceeded to install the waterblock, but that didn't change anything either.

Is this something anybody has seen before...is there any hope for the card? I'd really like to do some quad-fire benching, but I'm stuck until I can get the second card working...:shrug:

Thanks :cool:

[MIAHALLEN]

I guess I should also mention...I've also attempted installing both cards together in quad-fire configuration. Hoping that the weird card might work in the master or slave position, but I had the same problems anytime the card was in the system, regardless of it's position :(

[icebob]

Miah, what happen if you crossfired them, using the good one as your output? I had the something similar happened to me with 2 4890, they were different kind and one of them had that HDCP compliant prob, so I just ran them in xfire, with the output plugged into the known good one. also did you tried both output on the card? Hope that help

[icebob]

oups, we post at the same time!

[CharlieCS]

Clock the card down on both mem and core , that's the only suggestion that comes to mind .I red this happening before but on NV card, don't remember how it turned out.

[icebob]

Oh and I also seen some card not liking some monitor, I build a comp for a friend with a 4890 in it and here with my monitor it work fine and when he went home, plug it and as soon that the windows screen show up, black screen, he tried another monitor and work fine

[MIAHALLEN]

Clock the card down on both mem and core , that's the only suggestion that comes to mind .I red this happening before but on NV card, don't remember how it turned out.
Can't clock the card until after the drivers are installed...so this won't work :(

Oh and I also seen some card not liking some monitor, I build a comp for a friend with a 4890 in it and here with my monitor it work fine and when he went home, plug it and as soon that the windows screen show up, black screen, he tried another monitor and work fine

No, after attempting to install the drivers, I can load up windows in safe mode and see the driver was properly installed on three of 4 GPUs.

Attempting to reinstall the driver says it is successful, but when trying to boot again, I get the same results :(

[icebob]

It was the same thing for him, work in safe mode but not in full win

[MIAHALLEN]

You mean the incompatability with the monitor :confused:...weird.

I'll test tomorrow, I gotta get some sleep....thanks for the suggestions Bob :beer:

[icebob]

Yeah he brought the comp here 2 times and with my monitor it work fine, but at his place, didn't work, so he tried another monitor and bam work fine, I know it's weird but that's what fixed it!

[Deanzo]

Don't know,

But just as an idea, try much older drivers from when we were all running these cards.
I never had the above issue.

[MIAHALLEN]

I'll try some older drivers Dean....right now they are both flashed with the same BIOSes, so I'm not sure if the 2nd monitor thing is worth the effort...but I'll try if you guys think there's a chance.

[CharlieCS]

Can't clock the card until after the drivers are installed...so this won't work :(





Bios mod:p ? But really sounds like one of the GPUs on the card is dead/malfunctioning.

[MIAHALLEN]

OK, I just went back and flashed the original BIOSes from my good card. It is a VisionTek.

On Deanzo's suggestion, I tried using older drivers....Cat 8.12 for Vista x86 in this case.

Back then, driver installation required reboot, so the drivers actually all installed successfully. But, upon reboot, the screen still want black.

Here is a screenshot before I attempted the driver install. Notice that Vista says it installed one of the two "Standard VGA graphic adaptor" was installed, the other "failed" :(
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/4870x2/4870x2_1.jpg

After attempting to install the Cat 8.12 drivers...the system screen blanks after the splash screen. So I went in via safe mode, and disabled the second 2 adaptors in the device manager.

Then rebooting into Windows was successful. Here is a screen:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/miahallen/4870x2/4870x2_2.jpg

[MIAHALLEN]

Thanks again for all the suggestions and help guys. I got the card working in single GPU mode. And it's now listed for cheap in the classifieds :)

SORRY, NO LINKING TO CLASSIFIEDS.

g0dM@n
Moderator