Vista - Restart adversely effects graphics driver....

Hi - thanks for reading my post.

I am having an issue with my graphics driver not functioning properly if I shut down my PC. When I power it back on, some features no longer work.

Currently, I have a fresh install of ATI's graphic driver 9.6 for my Radeon HD4850 1GB card. I have not restarted the computer yet and I am very happy with how it is running.

If I restart the machine now, it will loose the ability to run my son's game Fallout 3. Vista gives an error "Fallout 3 has stopped working" (no kidding). Also, a game called Crysis Warhead will only run on DX9 64bit setting, where as before the restart it would run on DX10 64bit.

So far, suggestions from the graphics card driver company did not solve the problem. The makers of the Fallout 3 game have had me try some things to no avail either.

I'm really starting to think that it is a Vista issue.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Ed

i highly suspect your graphics driver's state is corrupted.
That's very hard to fix as the reason varies from machine to machine.
If that's really the case, probably asking your card vendor would never settle your trouble.
One possible and working solution is to reinstall your vista.
i know it's very hard to accept cuz re-installing can give you much extra inconvenience. But i think it might be the fastest way if your PC doesn't have massive apps registerd.

[still, i hope there exist some other solutions. It's true that everyone hates reinstalling ]

Dex

Dex,
Thank you very much for the information.

I thought that reinstalling Vista may solve the problem but as you said it is a Major inconvenience. I am glad that you suggested it as a very probable solution though. I will feel much better about undertaking such drastic action with your reply in mind.

Is there anyway to reinstall Vista without reformatting the hard drive?

Thanks again.
Ed

hi,

reinstalling vista is very easy:
just follow the wizard, then you are done with it.
No reformatting is required at all.

Here is a simple guide:
Easy reinstall for Windows… - Cyberwalker.com

However, for safety reasons(virus, corrupted data file, hdd bad sector etc), you may want to firstly format your Vista root drive (for example, C:\).
To do this, you should find the disk preparation page of vista's installing wizard. With a single click, you can have your root drive formatted.

hope this helps

Dex

Thank you Dex.
I printed the instructions I found at Cyberwalker and will give it a try.
Ed

DeXtml,
Thanks for all of your guidance.
I successfully re-installed Vista and the graphics card function is no longer diminished by re-starting the PC. Joy!

I compared DxDiag's from before and after the re-install to see if there were any clues as to the cause of the issue in the first place. What I saw was a bit surprising.

Before reinstall - Graphics card not fully functional:
*Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.lh_sp2rtm.090410-1830).
*Page File: 1753MB used, 13464MB available.
*DDI Version: 10
*Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-D702-11CF-C372-6E22A1C2CA35}

After reinstall - Graphics card fully functional:
*Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.090302-1506)
*Page File: 1407MB used, 10972MB available.
*DDI Version: 10.1
*Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-D702-11CF-6C71-6E22A1C2C535}

*Every Graphics Card driver was the same.
*A significant number of changes showed up under the DirectShow Filters.
*There were also changes to audio drivers.

Do you think that it could have been the Service Pack 2 that caused my problem?

Here is my concern as of now: Windows Update wants to install Service Pack 2 again!

Do you think that it will cause the same problem to occur if I go ahead and install it? I am holding off installing it as yet.

I would really appreciate hearing your advice on this.
Thanks very much,
Ed


(Perhaps, a topic for another thread: How to deal with the Windows.old folder...ie: Should the files and programs be copied back to their original location? Should you run programs from their new location in Windows.old?...etc. )

hello,

AFAIK, vista SP2 should NOT be the cause of the problem. Starting from catalyst 9.1, SP2 is supported by AMD. i also searched the web, hardly to find any issue about this.
i think WHQL certificated drivers are proven for great compatibility.

Your problem may be caused by some other unrelated issues. You can proceed safely to install SP2.
In case you are unsure about the impact, contact your vendor for compatibility info.

Before upgrading to SP2, make sure you have minimum apps installed, best if your OS is clean -- this can avoid inter-software damages.
[However, perhaps you have already installed some vital programs. i advise you NOT to uninstall them if you did follow a correct way installing them.]


about the Windows.old:
it's the folder that backs up your previous windows copy, which is not functional anymore.
You can, of course, copy your important data to a new location.
But for programs, you have to reinstall them all. (That's why i mentioned if your system has massive apps registered, reinstallation could turn out to be a nightmare.)


Hope this helps

Dex

DeXtmL,
I want to thank you for all of your help.
I went ahead and installed service pack 2. Everything seems great with the graphics and I am able to use the most recent driver for my card. The games that were giving me trouble are running at their maximum settings. DX 10.1 with Vista SP2 is really incredible and it is nice to be able to take advantage of it as it was designed.
Thanks again.
Ed

u are welcome.

CHEERS!

Dex