Vista - I got a clistart.exe-bad image error message!

Before i start.This is probably related to my problem in trying to play the sims 2.Below is the thread i made requesting help for the sims 2 problem i had so you can read the steps i took to rectify the situation as well as any problems encountered.The link below will bring you up to date with everything that happened yesterday.Since the problem seems to be graphic card related,i created this thread and will use it instead of the one linked to receive a proper audience that deals with graphics cards frequently and specifically.

Sims 2 won't start after university expansion installed!

Now for today's problems.I just booted up my computer and got the following message....

Clistart.exe - bad image

c:\windows\system32\atiadlxy.dll is either not designed to run on windows or it contains an error.try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.

This message was followed by....

no ati graphics installed or the ati driver is not functioning properly.please install the ati driver appropriate for your ati hardware.

Any help resolving this issue would be appreciated.My graphics card is an ati radeon 3850 512mb pci-e.Current driver is 9.5.I had some problems with 9.6 as related in the thread linked above.

I won't uninstall any drivers yet until i get some help.I'll wait for specific instructions and not just uninstall and reinstall stuff and cause further problems.

I checked the device manager and noticed under display adapters that the ati radeon hd 3800 series icon has a down arrow symbol.I checked properties and under the general tab the device status says....

This device is disabled(code:22)

There's a enable device button,but i won't do that yet until someone who's read this and the linked thread advice me.Don't want any more complications than there already is.

ATI control center is corrupted , have you tried reinstalling your gpu drivers? or downloading and installing new ones?

Yes.Didn't do anything.I'll try again and get back to you with the results.

I just uninstalled ati catalyst 9.5 and have a question i just thought of.What i need to know is there anything i need to do to ensure there isn't any ati files(corrupt or otherwise) anywhere on my computer that uninstall didn't uninstall for some reason?Maybe some leftover files somewhere are causing my woes or unrelated windows files i'm unaware of.

I just finished backing up all files incase something goes wrong.I was in the device manager when i noticed that ati radeon hd 3800 series display adapter was not enabled.I enabled it,then got a found new hardware dialog window with three options...

1.locate and install driver software(recommended)
2.Ask me again later
3.Don't show this message again for this device

What i want to know is do i use option 1 above to install drivers for my video card or is it better to download ati catalyst 9.6 from ati website and install that instead?

Also,i noticed an ati technologies folder in c:\program files(x86).I found ati related folder in c:\users\administrator\appdata\local
" "\roaming

I found possible ati related files in different directories of and in c:\windows

Should i delete the three ati related folders?Or are they necessary and shouldn't be deleted?What do i do with the files i found in c:\windows?I don't want to do something stupid and need guidance.


Also,my default sound had changed from speakers high definition audio device to digital output device(hdmi) 2-high definition audio device.I reset the default to speakers.Have sound back!Just thought you should know incase there's a connection with my video card driver issues or the blue screen events of yesterday.

I tried using the 1st option for installing the driver and after it searched windows update it tried to install,but i got the following message...

Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.

ati radeon hd 3800 series

driver is not intended for this platform.

I'm going to try installing ati catalyst 9.6,although i got a blue screen last time i'll try again.If that fails i'll go backwards and install previous catalyst versions until something works.

Just installed ati catalyst 9.6.Installation complete,warnings occurred.Below is the log.


Catalyst® Install Manager
Installation Report
06/30/09 14:10:31

Hardware information
NameATI Radeon Graphics ProcessorManufacturerATI Technologies IncDevice ID0x9505Vendor ID0x1002Class Code0x030000Revision ID0x00Subsystem ID0x2245Subsystem vendor ID0x1787Other hardwareExisting packagesMicrosoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 RedistributablePackages for install
Catalyst Control CenterFinal Status:SuccessVersion of Item:2009.0520.1631.27815Size:150 MbytesATI Catalyst Install ManagerFinal Status:SuccessVersion of Item:3.0.728.0Size:20 MbytesATI Display DriverFinal Status:FailVersion of Item:8.620.0.0000Size:90 MbytesHDMI Audio DriverFinal Status:SuccessVersion of Item:5.00.60000.49Size:1 MbytesCatalyst RegistrationFinal Status:SuccessVersion of Item:2.01.0000Size:1 Mbytes
Other detected devices
ManufacturerATI Technologies IncDevice ID0xaa18Vendor ID0x1002Class Code0x040300Revision ID0x00Subsystem ID0xaa18Subsystem vendor ID0x1787
Error messagesDriver Install: the installation failed

i did system reboot after installation and got the following messages in order of appearance...

Clistart.exe - bad image

c:\windows\system32\atiadlxy.dll is either not designed to run on windows or it contains an error.try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.

This message was followed by....

no ati graphics installed or the ati driver is not functioning properly.please install the ati driver appropriate for your ati hardware.

Device manager shows my ati radeon hd 3850 as "unknown device" under other devices.I tried disabling it and reenabling it,but to no avail.I'm waiting for advice beforee i do anything else.Someone out there MUST have a clue what's going on.


I've uninstalled ati catalyst 9.6(hopefully with no leftover files that are corrupted).Now i'm going to reboot computer and try getting that video card of mine recognized as something other than "other device"!

I used the uninstall driver option in the driver tab of "unknown device",then scanned for new hardware and have found "video controller(vga compatible)".I'm not sure wheather to "locate and install driver software" using the found new hardware or use an ati catalyst from ati website!Either way seems to lead to dead ends.

I've tried installing drivers for my video card,but again failed install.Device manager says my "video controller(vga compatible)" is once again "unknown device".I give up!I'll return later in the evening to see if anyone has a clue what the problem is.Looks like i'm headed for a complete reinstall of windows vista or buying a new video card barring a miracle.

I finally got the sims 2 to work.I installed ati catalyst 9.2.Versions 9.3+ apparently besides being besides win vista 64bit drivers were win 7 beta or win 7 drivers which must have have caused a conflict with sims 2 in the win 7 part of the driver.Just a guess.Don't know if thats the case.Ati catalyst 9.2 was win 64 bit driver only and it works.Hopefully it stays put and doesn't have problems like today when i rebooted with catalyst 9.5.