BSOD 7970 Multi Monitor Driver Issue

I'll try and keep this short and concise...

My currently build is in my signature. I am running two 1920x1080 monitors on the same 7970. The primary monitor is running via HDMI and the second is running via DVI.

I installed Windows, did some stability tests with a single monitor, and had no issues. I did a clean reinstall of Windows due to a bad Windows update screwing up my system and preventing it from booting into Windows at all, and, at the same time, I got my second monitor installed. Soon after, I started to get BSOD about once every 3-5 hours. The BSOD STOP: 0x00000116 "atikmdag.sys" appears randomly, regardless of whether the computer is active or not. (i.e. I've noticed it happen when I return to my desk after going out for lunch.)

The error appears by everything on my screen (including the mouse) becoming unresponsive. The primary display goes black, a momentary pause, followed by the second monitor going black. Then the BSOD appears and all is not well.

My temps are 35* C idle and don't usually exceed 60*C unless I'm running a burn test, in which case, it maxes out at 80*C with 50% fans. Most likely not an overheating issue.

EDIT: Also tried lower fan speeds to check if vibrations from the fan may have been causing problems. Reduced fan speeds to 15% which cause it to idle at 45*C but that is still well out of overheating range.

Everything worked prior to the reinstall and my secondary monitor. So I don't think it is a hardware failure.

Dxdiag.exe shows driver version 8.950.0.0. CCC shows catalyst version 12.3. (but it is really 12.2 from what I understand...) It seems like I am running on the most recent drivers.

I am not sure whether it is a driver issue (well, 0x00000116, by definition, is unresponsive drivers, but that aside...) with the 12.2 not being able to handle two monitors properly and if I should downgrade my drivers to see if there is a change or whether it is an issue with my monitor just being derp and not playing nice with HDMI (it is a cheapo 24").

I also have tried reinstalling drivers via AMD's setup tool and I've just been telling it to install drivers over what is currently there. When I attempt to uninstall the drivers before reinstalling a new set, when I hit "Uninstall", both of my monitors go black (due to drivers shutting down??) and I am unable to get any feedback on what the uninstaller is doing. The best attempt I've made is that I hit uninstall, waited about 15 minutes, came back to hold the power button down and force a shutdown, (when I boot back up, it does not show any drivers installed so i assume it worked.) followed by reinstalling drivers.

Any help you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Same issue here, using a reference 7970 with 2xDell u3011, cat 12.2 (or 12.3)

and the sequence before BSOD is the same as you

with the oldest 11.12 driver I don't have any BSOD, may be you can give it a try.

I just update the bios from 113-C3860100-100 to 113-C3860100-X00, and now I don't have BSOD for an hour with the 12.2, which normally I will BSOD with 10 mins with the old bios. May be you can give it a try.

p.s. make sure you know how to use the bios switch to resuce your card if anything goes wrong.

Hi, I just bought a Gigabyte HD7950, and I'm having the exact same issue with 2 x 22" monitors using the DVI & HDMI ports. Sorry for your headache, but I'm relieved that it's not just me. I was about to RMA the card, but it really does look like driver issues.

After thinking it was some residue from my poor attempt at removing a sticker from the PCB, I went in and cleaned the thing. Not much change. :s

DummyPLUG said:

I just update the bios from 113-C3860100-100 to 113-C3860100-X00, and now I don't have BSOD for an hour with the 12.2, which normally I will BSOD with 10 mins with the old bios. May be you can give it a try.

p.s. make sure you know how to use the bios switch to resuce your card if anything goes wrong.

Click to expand...

My BSOD appears in intervals of 5-12 hours. Not frequent, but enough to get on your nerves since I'm on my desktop anywhere from 10-14 hours a day. I may give that a try if I'm feeling exceptionally frisky one of these days but I may end up just downgrading the drivers until 12.3 (12.4) comes out.

Cruxie said:

Hi, I just bought a Gigabyte HD7950, and I'm having the exact same issue with 2 x 22" monitors using the DVI & HDMI ports. Sorry for your headache, but I'm relieved that it's not just me. I was about to RMA the card, but it really does look like driver issues.

Click to expand...

Yeah it really is a relief that it isn't just me experiencing this issue. I am at college so I'm not really in a position to RMA a card due to poor habits on the part of the University's mail distribution service. (They tend to leave things outside your door where it is very easy to be taken by anyone who happens by.)

Exact same problems here

I am having the exact same problems described by the OP. Hopefully it's a driver issue.

Case: Cooler master Sniper Black Edition
PSU: Antec TruePower 1000W Quattro
Mobo: ASUS P8P67V3
CPU: Intel i7 2600K
RAM: 8GB G.SKilll DDR3-1600
Video: Gigabyte 7970
Monitors: 1 x ASUS 24 inch, 1 x DELL 24 inch

I'll be keeping checking back here for a fix / update.

Cheers

Not sure much can be done at current time. Reality seems to be that AMD simply got a lot of driver issues. They made like biggest changes in architecture ever and got Nvidia hitting theyr back. I guess the best medicine is to wait. Guess they already working day and night to adress the matters. I still consider driver as AMDs weak spot because the hardware could do lot better than that.

I'm getting the exact same issue! exactly on que...anyone have a solution for this

If any of you are still having this problem I fixed it by putting one of my monitors on VGA and the other on DVI. It happens when we have two monitors both connected with DVI. At least my computer is not freezing anymore since not having two monitors on DVI.