"Display driver atikmdag stopped responding..." - help needed

Hello:
New to this forum and need help with video display/driver issue.
Platform: 3-month old Dell XPS 420 running Vista Ultimate SP1 (x86) with ATI Radeon HD3450 graphics card, 4Gb RAM, Quadcore chipset.
~1 month ago, started having "blue screen" restarts of the OS (error code 4e) for no reason.
Tech'd via Dell YTT: "bad hardware" -> Dell replaced MoBo memory.
No problems for 3 weeks.
Another blue screen (code 4e again) last Sunday.
Extensive troubleshoot w/Dell (including running Diagnostics, installing and running Windows Debugger, etc): "bad video hardware or drivers" -> installed new(er) video driver downloaded from Dell website AND Dell replaced video card.
~Immediately began having new problem: instead of "blue screen" and Vista restart, now have intermittent loss of video display (goes to pixelated colors, then black, then recovers), the error code 117 ("video hardware") and the error message in system tray: "Display driver atikmdag stopped responding and has successfully recovered".
FWIW, this seems to occur shortly after a reboot or system restart, and even with only browser open (I do not have gaming software, TV tuner, dual monitors or other hardware/software).
Most recent call to Dell (today): they seem to have no clue and advise OS reinstall, claiming the registry must be somehow corrupted (after THEY blundered through the driver uninstall/reinstall/update:sa: and may not have followed the completely correct steps to do all this, from what I read at the ATI site).
After some research on my own, it seems this is a pretty commmon occurrence with Vista and ATI video cards.
I have seen proposed causes and fixes that run an extensive gamut, such as: a MS patch (KB938194), disabling Aero, uninstalling the Catalyst Control Suite (just install video display driver), changing the display color scheme to default, a simple logoff-logon after system start, installing RivaTuner, etc.
I also found an even newer driver suite for this video card on the AMD website and am considering uninstalling the version we installed this week, and replacing it with this newer version.
I'm not a computer-illiterate, but I'm no engineer, and this hardware/driver stuff is a bit over my head, especially with such a range of "solutions" and fixes".
Aside from NOT reinstalling the OS (which my gut told me was NOT going to solve the problem and would only cost me days of lost time and productivity), what has worked well for others with this problem???
(And forgive me if there's already an extensive thread on this; I couldn't seem to locate it...)

Thanks much in advance!

Hi, welcome to the forums

You should go herel Drivers & Tools | GAME.AMD.COM and download the first option which is 47MB in size and called the Catalyst Software Suite This will update all the software for your video card.

Next click on the link in my sig and do everything there, that will update vista and reduce compatability errors and improve speed.

Once you've done all that (it will take several hours) if your still having problems then come back here.

Hi, Stew2:
Yup, I discovered the AMD/ATI site with the new software suite during my research yesterday, but hadn't done it yet. I assume I have to manually uninstall the old drivers FIRST, though? As for the other stuff (utilities, updates), I'll give those a try. The computer is only 4 months old and I don't have a lot of stuff on it (and I regularly use the Windows disk cleanup and defrag), but it's worth a try. Thanks! I'll let you know how it goes...

No problem. You should just download and then install the Catalyst Software Suite it will automatically install the new drivers, without you having to uninstall the old ones.

Those updates i listed you'll need as they dont come through windows update so you definitely dont have them. The diskcleanup and defrags in the .zip file are just shortcuts but to more advanced versions for example one of the shortcuts defrags boot files and the other defrags files that the normal vista defragger misses

See below, embedded.

stew2 said:

No problem. You should just download and then install the Catalyst Software Suite it will automatically install the new drivers, without you having to uninstall the old ones.

That's cool. I thought that there's a fairly laborious process of removing old drivers (either through an uninstall utility that comes with) or through Windows add/remove programs (or whatever they call it in Vista <LOL>), sometimes in safe mode, to be sure all the software is gone. And I though that, if you DON'T do this, the old driver leaves behind traces in the registry (etc) that cause problems.
I guess what you're saying is that the new version of the suite contains an uninstaller that will take care of this?

Those updates i listed you'll need as they dont come through windows update so you definitely dont have them.

Hmmmmmm, that .NET framework v 3 (or whatever version you mentioned) ISN'T part of Windows update? (I have AU set to "notify me to download and install", and I always do install the important & recommended patches; I sometimes wait a day or so after they are pushed out, to be sure they aren't creating a new problem).
How do I check my system to see what version I'm running?
And those other utilities are safe????
(I have done a Windows files/folders and complete PC backup to my external hard drive, before I start all this, but I'm getting a bit squeamish about the extent to which I have to go to get this problem resolved. Sigh.)

Anywhoooooooo, I'll be back in touch when I've gotten through it all.

Oh, what about MS KB 938194? From my research it seems that this MIGHT fix the issue, since it seems to address the very problem I'm having. I don't see it listed in my list of installed updates; SP1 was OEM on the system, but I don't think this particular patch was included. It wouldn't seem that it would hurt.

The diskcleanup and defrags in the .zip file are just shortcuts but to more advanced versions

Will the log/history of all the crashes be deleted (much as they would be when I do a Windows disk cleanup as administrator)? I'd like to retain these records until the problem is resolved, so that there's a paper trail with Dell, MS, etc.

Opened a ticket with Redmond, as well and am waiting to hear back, having just sent them the requested screenshot of the error message, my system info, the results of Windows debugger, etc.

GOSH, I sure hope I can get this resolved. System was fine for nearly 3 months. I suppose I knew it couldn't last. (Had tried to keep my old Dell Dimension 4400 running til Win 7, but it had other ideas around Xmas.)

Thanks again!
Talk to ya soon!



for example one of the shortcuts defrags boot files and the other defrags files that the normal vista defragger misses

Click to expand...

The days of having to uninstall drivers before installing new ones for graphics cards are long gone. By just installing the Catalyst Software Suite the new drivers get installed and the old are placed in the driver store so if you ever need to rollback the driver you can.

Some updates they dont include (I dont know why) in Windows Update but to check which version of .NET you have installed simply go to your Uninstall or change a program

All the utilities in the .zip are safe as they are shortcuts not programes. They are already a part of your operating system whether you download them or not. All im doing is giving you access to them. The diskcleanup wont clean event logs but if you want to keep your minidumps etc. then just uncheck the box. If your unsure of using it then dont use it and just use the defrag ones.

KB 938194 seems like a good update for you to install.

Hi, Stew:

OK, so it turns out KB938194 was already installed (must have been bundled into SP1, since it's not listed with my installed updates).
And Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 was already installed.
And we successfully installed the new Catalyst suite v. 9.4 from the AMD site.
I also disabled Google Toolbar and Google desktop from the startup menu (not sure what the rationale was, but...)
We figured it might be a good idea to pause at this point, to see if the problem might be resolved, rather than making a whole lot of changes simultaneously.
The bad news: problem reappeared shortly after doing all this.
The (sorta) good news: it has only happened once in the past 24 hours, and that was yesterday morning.
The Dell guy took a look at the other apps you listed in your performance enhancement list. He was going to do a bit more research before we follow-up today.
But I also took a look (even though this level of technical jargon is admittedly a bit over my head). The Windows Installer looks pretty innocuous, so I'll probably install that one today.
I do have a couple questions about the others, though:
DirectX End-User...: The link you pointed me to is for version **9.26.1050**, dated March 2009. However, the version I think is installed on my computer is version **10**:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/directx.aspx
I must be misunderstanding something here; perhaps the feature you're recommending is separate from the actual DirectX 10 components that are already installed?
The other somewhat dicey aspect is that it cannot be uninstalled; hence, if it doesn't help (or worse, creates some new problem), I guess I'll be stuck with it?

As for the C++ item, the Dell guy didn't seem to think I'd need that, since it's pretty much a gaming thing and I don't game??? But it would be harmless to try it?

(And I haven't yet had the chance to run the defrag and cleaner utilities, but they're on my list.)

FWIW I did call AMD and open a ticket. The guy I talked to was pretty helpful. After confirming that the system had an adequate power supply to drive the video card (it does, 375 W), and running through most of the steps we had already done or checked (checking for newer Bios version, replacing card, replacing mobo memory, updating video drivers, etc), he suggested the following:
1) Updating the Intel Chipset drivers -- I've heard horror stories about this sort of thing (hopeless system corruption, etc), so I'm squeamish, but he suggested that this might the sort of situation in which this would help.
2) Replacing the mobo.
3) Substituting a new, different video card for the ATI Radeon HD 3450.
4) LAST resort: OS reinstallation (which, of course, is what Dell keeps pushing me to do, naturally).

Every indication thus far is that this is a HARDWARE/DRIVERS issue, or something inherently incompatible with Vista per se. So, REINSTALLING Vista would hardly seem like the correct approach (unless the OS/registry has somehow become corrupted, which I suppose is possible, if unlikely).

The prospect of Step 4, with all the additional days of down time and lost productivity makes my blood boil (I telecommute and NEED this system up and running; more days without a computer, not to mention the aggravation, is entirely unappealing). And I have the nagging feeling that, after all the time and effort that this will entail, I'll either still have the problem and/or will have new ones.
The dingbats at Dell are pushing back hard on this, patting me on the hand and telling me it's no big deal.
1) I know better.
2) Since weeks and weeks of teching this with them has failed to solve the issue (and most of the research getting close to a solution was MY research), I have little faith.

I'd like to get them to replace the mobo if trying the chipset driver update doesn't work. That's "easier" for me, but more expensive for them. But, heck, they've already replaced the RAM and the video card. By the time they're done, they'll have replaced the entire system. And it's costing them to have to spend hours on the phone with fruitless tech support....

Sigh. This seems to be a relatively common problem, but NOT common enough that either MS or AMD or the computer makers are willing to devise a real solution.

THANKS for your help! I REALLY appreciate it!

rm

So, I digress.

What are your thoughts about:
1) updating the chipset driver?
2) replacing the mobo?
3) installing a DIFFERENT video card?
4) the *apparent* (forgive me if I misunderstand) version incompatibility between the DirectX 10 on the system and the DirectX EU Runtime Web Installer v. 9.26?
5) OS reinstallation?

daledoc1 said:

The Dell guy took a look at the other apps you listed in your performance enhancement list. He was going to do a bit more research before we follow-up today.

Click to expand...

I would stop speaking to them as if they need to do more research on those then you shouldnt take there advice.

For the directX it doesnt matter if your using version 9, 10 or 10.1 you still need that update. OS reinstall is entirely up to you but if you do make sure you run a virus scan first and remove any nasties then back up your data and do a full format on the hard drive and install your anti-virus. The next steps iv listed below and this should be done wether you reinstall or not.

1- Click the link in my sig and do everything there (I've updated it)
2- Download and run CPUID then post a screenshot here

After doing that your pc should be in good shape and if you have done the full reinstall then you can now install your data and apps.

If i was you id hold off from replacing the motherboard or graphics card (unless they give you better ones lol) and just do the steps iv listed above.