# ATI Radeon HD 4850 problems.



## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

Hello, last night while I was playing World of Warcraft, my screen suddenly started to glitch, and tons of artifacts [I believe that's what they are called?] appeared on my monitor in like a checkerboard pattern. Then my computer crashed and it tried to restart.

It got to the Windows start up screen, before it froze again, and this time I got a BSOD stating that "attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed". Couldn't really read much else cause it restarted quite fast, but I can try and get some more if you think it will help.

After that, the two large red lines started appearing during the boot process, persisting into the windows screen. Then it would go BSOD again, and repeat.

If I boot in Safe mode, I can actually get onto the desktop and everything will work properly, but there will be red [or blue occasionally] lines about a pixel wide across the screen. They don't seem to affect any programs or anything, they're just there and annoying.

I tried uninstalling all the ATI drivers and etc, restarting in safe mode, using drive sweeper, rebooting, installing latest drivers, rebooting but that doesn't work. If there drivers are installed on the computer, it just won't boot unless its in safe mode. I can uninstall the graphics card, and delete the drivers and it will boot normally fine, but obviously without the graphics card I can't play games, etc.

Also, even with the graphics card turned off, and the drivers deleted, the red bars at boot, and the lines afterwords are still there. 

I've been going through different forums and websites trying to find a solution but haven't had any luck. Some mention overclocking or underclocking the graphics card, and stuff about overheating etc, but I'm not really sure how to check that, or fiddle with its settings.

Here's my system info.

Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.101026-1503)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: XPS 625
BIOS: BIOS Date: 12/10/08 16:41:28 Ver: 08.00.15
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+ (2 CPUs), ~2.9GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 6132MB RAM
Page File: 1876MB used, 10386MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

Anyone know any solutions, or have any ideas on this? I would really like to get it fixed, and I'm hoping the graphics card isn't just busted as I can't really afford to buy a new one anytime soon...


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## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

Is the card under warranty?

It does seem that you have a faulty graphics card.

What PSU are you using? Open the case and look on the label if needed.


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## [email protected] (Mar 15, 2011)

Try installing drivers from this link if you have not tried : Drivers and Downloads

also try it from this link if you have not tried : ATI Radeon .. click on support & drivers..


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Same thoughts a Team Mate makinu1der2. If you are using the OEM PSU it is very likely it is insufficient for the 4850.


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## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

Well I have the PSU that the computer came with, which is a Dell one, cause I bought it as a complete from Dell.

It just says Dell on it, and then lots of chinese and some input and output calculation stuff. Not sure if that helps, I can copy out all the AC and DC info if you would like. 

But yeah, that's another thing I saw when I was searching for a solution, some other people were saying the PSU could be the issue. But I've been using this computer for almost two years, could the PSU work with the graphics card before, then suddenly be unable to power it?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

A PSU, as any other hardware, is subject to failure at any time. OEM PSU's are almost always low quality and have just enough power for the original hardware configuration. 
We suggest no less than a 550W good quality PSU for any PCI-E GPU.
At this time. the 650W XFX & Corsair are the best bang for buck at around $90 from Newegg.


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## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

It says the max voltage is 750 watts. But still, would it make more sense for the PSU to be broken rather then the Graphic card itself? Cause if so, thats great, I won't have to pay as much to get this fixed


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

To see the BSOD message, you need to disable autostart. Go to Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings, click the Startup & Recovery Settings button and remove the checkmark from 'Automatically restart'. Post back with the full message, stop code and file name.

If you're getting lines during the boot process (POST) and in safe mode, it's not a driver problem. It will be the card, the PSU or the motherboard's PCIE slot.

I think your motherboard only has one PCIEx16 slot. Open the case to confirm. If it has another slot, try moving the card to that one to test for artifacts.

To see if the PSU is performing properly, check the voltages in BIOS. Post back with the +12V reading and the system temperatures.

On the PSU label, does it say 'Model:H750E-01', and does it have four +12V lines, each providing 18A?


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## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

koala said:


> To see the BSOD message, you need to disable autostart. Go to Start > Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings, click the Startup & Recovery Settings button and remove the checkmark from 'Automatically restart'. Post back with the full message, stop code and file name.
> 
> If you're getting lines during the boot process (POST) and in safe mode, it's not a driver problem. It will be the card, the PSU or the motherboard's PCIE slot.
> 
> ...


The PSU does say 'Model:H750E-01', then there's lines beside it that say

AC output(50-60Hz)

DC output +5v 
+12v1 
+12v3 
-12v 

I'll do the BSOD thing now, and get back you y'all with that.


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## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

Okay, so strangely enough I'm running the computer fine right now with the graphics card enabled, and the drivers installed. No lines, or anything. Im a little hesitant to try running a game though, I'll do so in a few minutes.

But here's what the BSOD said.

Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed

Tech info: *** STOP: 0x00000116 (0xFFFFFA80054B64E0, 0xFFFFF88004A32D9C, 0x0000000000000000, 0x000000000000000D

*** atikmdag.sys - Adress FFFFF88004A32D9C base at FFFFF88004A20000, datestamp 49f199cd

Also, the 1 in the datestamp might be a I 

And, I'm not sure how to find, or check the temps in the bios. Not sure how to get into the Bios for that matter.

But I'd like to thank you all for all the help so far, really appreciate it


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## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

Okay, so I managed to open World of Warcraft, and run it on the lowest settings for a little less then five minutes before it froze, the screen got covered in red artifacts in a checker like pattern, then it gave me the BSOD again.

This is the first time it has let me boot the computer and run a game with the display drivers installed and everything.

And before I crashed, buddy on WoW said that if it's letting me on like that for a few moments, the graphics card may just be overheating. I've done my best to clean out the dust in it, as it was quite dusty, but until I can get a can of compressed air I won't be able to clean it completely.

Is there any way to tell if the graphics card is simply overheating? Cause that was my first guess when it crashed the very first time.


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## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

AND. How do I tell if there is another PCI slot. I'm not very handy with computer hardware 

There is another slot, that seems to resemble the one my cards in right now. Could that be another slot? Same length compared to the other slots on the motherboard.


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## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

To enter the BIOS (System Setup menu) press F2 at the dell logo.

The has 2 PCI-E x16 slots. Try the card in the other slot.


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## underwaterbear (Apr 25, 2011)

makinu1der2 said:


> To enter the BIOS (System Setup menu) press F2 at the dell logo.
> 
> The has 2 PCI-E x16 slots. Try the card in the other slot.


Kay word yeah, thought that was the BIOS, just didn't know where to look for the temps and such.


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