Trouble with video drivers

[Steve]

So if anyone noticed my post last week in Venting, my PC died last Tuesday. The shop I sent it to, a local UBreakIFix, found it was my video card dying, so I had it replaced with the same model - AMD Radeon 7770 HD (2GB). Today they call to inform me it came in and they installed it... but that they couldn't get the drivers to install after several attempts. They blamed it on my system being slow from registry errors - the first call even had the tech claiming I had a virus on the system too. The system is only supposed to work if I plug a monitor in via the VGA input through the motherboard's on=board system, which he said he did and verified the rest of the system works.

Their recommendation is a complete reformat so that a fresh install of Windows can install the video drivers. Which they were willing to do for $99.99. Which I don't have and can't afford for the time being. And honestly I find paying that much for a reformat to be ludicrous anyway.

What I'm writing to see is if anyone here knows about any known issues with this video card's driver sets and whether I might have an option other than the proposed "reformat it". I had one friend already advise that removing the pre-existing AMD drivers first and then fresh-installing the new ones might work.

[TheFeniX]

Reinstalling an operating system is like replacing brakes on a car: it isn't hard, it's just time consuming and annoying. New versions of Windows makes it much easier, but there is still downtime waiting for the install, backups to be done, drivers to be installed, and ensuring everything works right. $100 really isn't unreasonable, but it's a waste if you know what you're doing.

I haven't used a Radeon since pre-2000, but uninstalling the video drivers and reinstalling them can work for bugged NVidia driver installations. I somehow doubt "registry errors." But maybe a virus, who knows. Try reinstalling your video drivers: completely remove them, reboot, install freshly downloaded drivers.

After that, a backup and reinstall of the OS might be the case after you've tried a repair and possibly just reinstalling the same OS over what you've already got. With these options, you can repair any issues with Windows and the registry without having to restore anything from backup.

That said, still backup what you can if possible.

[Sea Skimmer]

Failure to remove old drivers first sometimes will cause problems. I would certainly want to try that before reformating.

Agreed on registry errors are absurdly dubious.

[Steve]

The tech removed the old drivers in attempting to install the new ones.

[Steve]

Does anyone know where I can find AMD Radeon drivers without running their catalyst installation package? It refuses to run on my system; this is apparently the failure that the tech couldn't get around, hence his "reformat and restart Windows" proposal.

[Executor32]

Does the installer fail to run entirely, or does it run but fail at some point during the installation process? If it's the latter, give this a shot:

"How do I install the graphics driver manually if the AMD Catalyst™ software suite fails to install?"

If it's the former, try downloading them again, making sure to download the version appropriate for your Windows installation (i.e. 32-bit or 64-bit).

Also, since you said in Venting that it doesn't show up in Device Manager, have you made sure the card has the auxiliary PCIe power cable connected? It should only require one, from the images I can find of various HD7770 cards.

[Steve]

Does the installer fail to run entirely, or does it run but fail at some point during the installation process? If it's the latter, give this a shot:

"How do I install the graphics driver manually if the AMD Catalyst™ software suite fails to install?"

If it's the former, try downloading them again, making sure to download the version appropriate for your Windows installation (i.e. 32-bit or 64-bit).

Also, since you said in Venting that it doesn't show up in Device Manager, have you made sure the card has the auxiliary PCIe power cable connected? It should only require one, from the images I can find of various HD7770 cards.

I did indeed plug the cable back in after I got the computer running (had to unplug it or I remained stuck on a black screen due to the lack of drivers).

As for the solution in that link, I can't do it because my device manager isn't showing the card at all, it only shows the Intel graphics unit driver.

[Edi]

Does the installer fail to run entirely, or does it run but fail at some point during the installation process? If it's the latter, give this a shot:

"How do I install the graphics driver manually if the AMD Catalyst™ software suite fails to install?"

If it's the former, try downloading them again, making sure to download the version appropriate for your Windows installation (i.e. 32-bit or 64-bit).

Also, since you said in Venting that it doesn't show up in Device Manager, have you made sure the card has the auxiliary PCIe power cable connected? It should only require one, from the images I can find of various HD7770 cards.

I did indeed plug the cable back in after I got the computer running (had to unplug it or I remained stuck on a black screen due to the lack of drivers).

As for the solution in that link, I can't do it because my device manager isn't showing the card at all, it only shows the Intel graphics unit driver.

Your motherboard may be borked, in which case you're looking at needing a new computer anyway. Or you could do the format and reinstall yourself, see if that helps.

[Steve]

Okay. I checked the BIOS, which is an Acer 2.14 BIOS and not like others I've heard of, and as close as I can tell, the BIOS does not see the card. Which is not surprising because in order to get the computer to boot up, I have to physically remove the six prong (3 wide, 2 tall) PCI-E connector from the card, otherwise my computer just does nothing upon the power button being pressed (the drive activity light shines for a bit and then poof, offline).

Now this was, I'm told, due to not having the drivers for it installed, and indeed there are no more AMD drivers installed on my system.

But given what I know about BIOS, the drivers should have nothing to do with it. It should simply know whether or not the card is installed. Which, of course, it can't, because whenever the computer starts up with the card plugged in fully, the computer refuses to actually start. As in you can't even get into the BIOS, it simply lights up the drive light for about three-five seconds and then that goes out and the computer does nothing.



A look at the only screen on my BIOS to mention video, just to demonstrate.

[Executor32]

Yikes, that is definitely not a driver issue, then. Try swapping the card into another full-length PCIe slot, if you have any. If you're lucky, it's just that slot that's borked and not the PCIe controller itself. Otherwise, you're going to need a new motherboard.

[TheFeniX]

Okay. I checked the BIOS, which is an Acer 2.14 BIOS and not like others I've heard of, and as close as I can tell, the BIOS does not see the card. Which is not surprising because in order to get the computer to boot up, I have to physically remove the six prong (3 wide, 2 tall) PCI-E connector from the card, otherwise my computer just does nothing upon the power button being pressed (the drive activity light shines for a bit and then poof, offline).

Please explain exactly what happens, in detail, when you press the power button. Fans spinning up, lights blinking, HDD sounds, etc. Does it "shut down" but fans continue to run? The fan in the PSU?

EDIT: I should add, no BIOS will to detect an un-powered Video Card. At least not in my experience.

The PC powering for a few seconds, then hard-powering off (goes 100% off, like you pulled the power) is usually indicative of a short on the board or not enough power. Anything else and you get POST beeps. Does the PC work fine using onboard video? Can you get into Windows and "do stuff?"

If so, the likely culprit is that your PSU is bottoming out and not producing enough power for your R7770. It's a beefy card. What type of PSU do you have?

Possible longshot option: the board has shifted or been damaged in an area that only causes issues when using the PCI-E bus. Weird shit, but I have seen it happen (to the PCI bus) .... back when AGP was still a thing. But this was one time and I could notice the blown capacitors.

Now this was, I'm told, due to not having the drivers for it installed, and indeed there are no more AMD drivers installed on my system.

Whoever said this is a fucking moron. Either that, or just really lazy and unethical. BIOS doesn't care about drivers: it either detects a device or it doesn't. In the case of a video card, it will (usually) disable the onboard video if it detects an aftermarket card: nothing more. There is no point in taking any future advice from this person. I wonder if your old card was even damaged. I'd get my money back.

[Steve]

I think the fans stayed on. The power light definitely did, but the HDD activity light went out after a few seconds and it does nothing else. It only actually starts up if I remove the cables from the video card.

[TheFeniX]

So, unpowered card means the computer boots up fine, gets into Windows, and you can browse internet or do whatever? But with the card, fans stay on but PC does nothing? And you say the same model card used to work just fine in this PC?

Does your computer have any "I'm booting up just fine beeps."? And are these present when you have the powered Radeon installed? Listen to your computer as it powers up correctly (without the video card). Do you hear HDDs spinning, CD-ROMs (whatever). What sounds different between card/no card?

When the new card is installed and powered: are you plugged into the outputs for said card? What output are you using vs the onboard card (HDMI, DVI, VGA)? Have you tried both the HDMI and DVI outputs (doubt you'd need to test displayport) AND made sure your monitor is set to the correct source (if it has multiple)? In case you think I'm being insulting, I'm not: I just did this on my new build and cost myself some time. Better to rule it out now.

[Borgholio]

Sorry if I missed it, but did you ever tell us what your power supply wattage is rated at?

[TheFeniX]

About the PSU: I'm assuming "same model" card means same brand as well. If not, certain brands may have overclocking, bigger fans, etc that can require more wattage than your old card. If this is the case, your original PSU might have been near it's limit. Since this is an Acer BIOS, I'm assuming it's a retail PC (Unless you bought an Acer board, but I don't think you can buy them for OEM builds. I mean, you could, but all that I've seen are replacement boards.). One thing retail almost always skimps on in the PSU, putting just enough in to run what's needed: no more.

If this is the same model and brand, then your PSU might be putting out less power than it should due to age or damage. Either way: You may have to replace your Power Supply.

[Steve]

The shop tested the system and said the video card was bad, they're ordering a replacement.

The failed replacement card was the exact same model as my original card, which worked fine for over three years.

The PSU is 750 watts.

The shop guy also insisted the card was working, just without drivers, when I took it home. But nevertheless the card is now dead and they're getting a replacement.

As for the failed boot ups with the card fully plugged in. It was not doing a normal bootup sequence because the HDD light would go out after a few seconds. The power light would stay on. I believe the fans continued spinning as well.

Anyway, I'll let everyone know what's going on when the second replacement comes in. I let them know I'm fine with something like an nVidia instead of AMD because AMD Catalyst is crap.

[Borgholio]

I'm surprised they didn't bench test the card on one of their computers to verify this first. That is usually SOP for testing hardware. If it fails in one machine, plug it into another and see what happens.

[Lord Revan]

The shop tested the system and said the video card was bad, they're ordering a replacement.

The failed replacement card was the exact same model as my original card, which worked fine for over three years.

The PSU is 750 watts.

The shop guy also insisted the card was working, just without drivers, when I took it home. But nevertheless the card is now dead and they're getting a replacement.

As for the failed boot ups with the card fully plugged in. It was not doing a normal bootup sequence because the HDD light would go out after a few seconds. The power light would stay on. I believe the fans continued spinning as well.

Anyway, I'll let everyone know what's going on when the second replacement comes in. I let them know I'm fine with something like an nVidia instead of AMD because AMD Catalyst is crap.

btw this might sound a strange question but did the computer make any noise after it had "powered down" since I remember when my previous PC broke down the screen powered down and it started making this hellish whine that wouldn't stop until I pulled the plug (well metaphorically I just rebooted from the powerswitch).

[Steve]

There was no whine. No noise.

And Borgholio, they actually say the card worked when it left their shop in my PC. They just acknowledge it's bad now.