Vista - Install DVDRW Drivers-->Graphics Corruption

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP2 with latest updates
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4890 with latest Catalyst drivers
Mobo: Gigabyte EX58-UD5

Well, I had a bad day, and to top it off, I decide to try upgrading my DVD writer's firmware. Doesn't go well. It's a Samsung SH-S223B model, and the firmware I tried to install was Download Samsung SH-S223B DVD-Writer Firmware SB02 Driver for Windows 9X/ME/NT/2K/XP/2003/Vista/XP X64/2008 - Softpedia This was basically the only thing I did. No new hardware or anything. System worked fine and was running cool.

Anyway, I let the firmware installer reboot the computer, but when it started loading Windows, there was severe graphics corruption all over. Now, there are black horizontal lines across the screen, and there is severe graphics corruption everywhere. Explorer is also extremely unstable. At the beginning, I'd get a blue screen stop error, but it went away too quickly to be able to catch what it says. Now, I'm sitting here editing this post and waiting for the computer to power off (10 minutes so far); will probably have to turn it off cold.

When I boot into Safe Mode, everything seems fine, except for the fact that it's Safe Mode. If I try uninstalling the graphics drivers there, I can boot into Vista in Normal Mode, and everything looks and works fine, except for the fact that the display driver isn't installed anymore. Then, I try reinstalling the same Catalyst Drivers (after using Driver Sweeper), and everything seems to go well until I have to reboot. Same symptoms: Graphics corruption and system instability.

When Vista tries to check for problems, it concludes that the ATI graphics drivers are not functioning properly, which coupled with the display corruption, is why I've been focusing my efforts on the graphics drivers.

The DVDRW that I tried installing the firmware on appears in My Computer and seems to function normally.

I've tried restoring from a Restore Point made about an hour or so before I tried installing the DVD writer's driver, but that did not work. Same symptoms.

I'm in the process of backing up now for a reformat tomorrow, but I was just wondering if anyone had any last-minute suggestions for me to try.

Is it possible that the graphics card is permanently damaged, or is it really just a driver issue? If the graphics card were actually damaged, I would experience display problems with Safe Mode, right?

Also, is it possible that the BIOS could be corrupted as well? If I reformat, which seems inevitable, it would probably be a good idea to resolve any BIOS issues before getting on with the reinstallation process.

Thanks. -AK

Edit: Added 3 minidump files generated this issue.

Edit2: Added some more info.

Ugh, sorry. The forum keeps collapsing my paragraphs.

Seem to have fixed the paragraph issue.

I was going to say do a system restore but you did.I'd just roll back the video driver.

Just upgrading your firmware on your DVD should NOT have screwed up your graphics. Question: Why didn't you get your firmware at Samsung?
http://www.samsung.com/us/

If your Writer was such an issue, and if you unplugged it, all should be fine. I'm just worried about the file you d/l.

Ah, the firmware I linked above was just for reference since I couldn't remember where I downloaded it from at the time. I actually got it from Samsung's ODD (Welcome to Samsung Electronics ODD Division) website, since I couldn't find my exact drive at their corporate website. This was the exact firmware I downloaded

SAMSUNG ODD SERVICE

I also find it strange why the firmware upgrade took out my graphics. I actually tried disabling the drive in Safe Mode and booting as normal. Same results.

It can't be an actual hardware issue, can it?

Try going into safe mode and updating firmware again.

Thanks for the replies so far. I'll try giving that a shot when I get home later today.

Any more ideas in the meantime are welcome since I'll be checking this post periodically throughout the day.

two of those crash dumps points to your ATI drivers , you will have to update/reinstall those first to eliminate them , uninstall everything in control panet relating to yuor GPU drivers including the catalyst control center reboot and reinstall new drivers

i would also recommend using this Guru3D - Driver Sweeper (Setup) download from Guru3D.com in safemode after uninstalling

Here's what I did last night with the graphics drivers:

1) I uninstalled the graphics driver from Device Manager;

2) I used the Catalyst driver installer to uninstall leftover ATI remains (eg CCC);

3) I ran Driver Sweeper to clean the remains.

4) I reinstalled the same Catalyst drivers I was using before the incident.

None of this was done in Safe Mode, however. I'll give it another shot later this evening. Hopefully Safe Mode will make a difference!

Thanks for the suggestion!

(Mind if I ask what the third crash dump reports?)

first mistake you didnt uninstall the drivers via device manager you meerly uninstalled the device , did you not notice that when you rebooted and vista discovered the device again that it simply re enabled your old drivers?

you do NEED to use driver sweeper in safemode if you dont windows file protection will kick in and put some of the files back but you MUST install your GPU drivers in normal mode , same with uninstalling them

Im not saying this will solve your issue mind