Graphic Cards Wierd Issue after Installing New Graphics Card

[devvfata1ity]

Hey Guys

I am faced with a very wierd problem. I am helping building my friend a new rig. We had all the new parts save the GPU & the PSU for which I had asked your advice on a separate thread. The Final config of the rig is this. It has been running rock stable over the last couple of weeks since it was assembled.

Intel Core i7 2600k at Stock

MSI P67A GD55

4GBx2 Corsair XMS 3 DDR3 1600 CL9

Noctua NH-D14

500GB WD green, 500GB WD Raptor

Samsung DVD-RW

Dell ST 2210

NZXT Tempest EVO

Win 7 Ultimate 64

Now I had ordered the PSU & GPU for my friend from Tirupati. The PSU I selected was TX 850V2 and GPU I selected was a 100% reference HD6950 2GB with Unlockable Shaders.

Now for the past few weeks since the rig was assembled and since the new PSU & GPU were still coming in, I lend my friend my spare PSU & GPU. These were a VIP 750W Platinum PSU and a MSI GTX 260 Twin Frozr OC. Everything was hunky dory and all the games were playable at 1920x1080p at max settings. We were testing stability so daily the gaming sessions were for 4-6 hrs.

Now Yesterday the HD6950 2GB got delivered. We were very happy and wanted to take it for a spin. So I uninstalled the NVIDIA drivers and also used driver sweeper to clean the leftover bits. Even removed the device from device manager. Next I shutdown the PC, took out the GTX 260 and put in the HD6950 2GB. Plugged everything in and then started up the computer. There was no display coming and the LCD's standby led was on. So I turned off everything, reseated the card and switched on the PC. Again the LCD didnt get the signal. But the case fans were working and the HD6950 2GB fan was also spinning and it was exhausting air as its supposed to.

Seeing as this didnt help, I reset the CMOS, took out the battery unplugged the power cord for 15 mins and then plugged everything in and started the PC. Now the display came on and I was able to go into the BIOS to change settings. I saved the settings and rebooted. The PC went through post and then started loading windows. Its here that we got BSOD and the PC shutdown. Next when we restarted the PC, we got an error just after POST that "header is corrupt". So I again did a CMOS reset and restarted the PC. This time the PC wont even go to the BIOS the screen remains turned on but nothing is displayed. So I did a hard reset and the PC booted up and I decided to reinstall windows. The installation went smoothly and I was able to install all the drivers & softwares. Now here after a restart following the installation of the catalyst driver I again got a BSOD. Thereafter everytime I try to boot, I get a BSOD with a random error code each time just after the windows loading splash screen.

I thought may be the HD6950 is at fault and decided to check with the GTX 260 as it was working fine. I did a hard reset and installed the GTX 260. PC booted and I successfully installed win 7 again. Now after installing win 7 when the PC restarted I again started having issues as every time at the "windows is loading" screen I got again a random code BSOD. After a few BSODs trying to start the PC I stopped getting display as in the monitor stopped getting signal and went into a standby mode. I gain took everything out did a hard reset, reseated everything and tried to boot. I was able to get into the BIOS this time. I made the changes and saved and restarted. After the restart, the PC turns on, every light turns on, all the fans spin, the GPU fans spin and the monitor turns on but instead of the POST screen I get a blank screen. I have tried everything and nothing is working. If I cant get into BIOS to change settings I cant even install windows 7 again.

I am at my wits end about this very wierd problem. Dont know whether the HD6950 is to blame here but as the GTX 260 also dint work (where as it was working perfectly previously) I dont know what to think.

Please guys help out a friend in need.

TIA and sorry for the long post but it was necessary to make my situation clear.

Cheers

devv

 

[chiragsthakur]

I suggest you to check with TX850v2 if delivered... Before that you can give both cards a try on your personal rig... This is a better way to troubleshoot ,as you have already tried every other way to troubleshoot ..

 

[devvfata1ity]

^ I am also waiting for the TX 850V2 to be delivered and see if it solves the problem. I am also thinking the PSU might be the culprit but since it was running the same rig with the GTX 260 till yesterday, I frankly dont know what to think. I have a suspicion that the crossloads are messing up the PSU but in that case the same thing should have happened with the gtx 260 from the start. Also as I know for a fact that the GTX 260 is absolutely fine and also as while installing windows the HD6950 dint give any visual artifact I am also inclined to think that it may not be the culprit.

 

[chiragsthakur]

Yup, you shouldn't mess much with the new card now... Let the PSU get delivered... If problem persists, then we may well think in some different direction. Any UPS used?

 

[devvfata1ity]

UPS is APC 1.5 KVA

 

[chiragsthakur]

UPS is APC 1.5 KVA

Just an effort from my side, check by removing the UPS from the loop and plug in directly...I dont think its a prob, but just a try

 

[Hades.]

First of all you shouldn't have tried to run your friends new rig on that VIP PSU... And i would warn you that stop trying so hard... Coz if the PSU is culprit it may blow up other things too. for example GPU, Motherboard , HDD , processor etc etc... And if you want to see that whether your friends GPU is good or is the culprit then try running that GPU on your rig... I think you have a pretty decent Corsair PSU... And also check your friends RAM on your rig... And run memtest after installing the RAMs... Check one RAM at a time...

 

[devvfata1ity]

First of all you shouldn't have tried to run your friends new rig on that VIP PSU... And i would warn you that stop trying so hard... Coz if the PSU is culprit it may blow up other things too. for example GPU, Motherboard , HDD , processor etc etc... And if you want to see that whether your friends GPU is good or is the culprit then try running that GPU on your rig... I think you have a pretty decent Corsair PSU... And also check your friends RAM on your rig... And run memtest after installing the RAMs... Check one RAM at a time...

I have tried running memtest on each module and they pass. Yes I have a AX850 but I cant test the GPU on my RIG as I am out of station and at my friend's house presently Also I have tried taking the UPS out of the loop but that dint help. Guess I will wait for the TX850V2 which will arrive on the 9th and then check. BTW what do you think? Is it mainly a PSU crossload issue that is causing this?

 

[Zloyd]

I think its ok to assume that both gpu's are ok and maybe you disturbed something while installing the new card that is causing the present issues.

So random shut downs all the time and sometimes bsod if it gets past windows screen.

Random shut downs are bad psu or overheating cpu so check if that darn intel cooler is on perfectly. (Cooler should not hinge or budge at all from socket if its mounted as intended it will be rock solid on it)

So now if cpu is fine , gpu is fine , psu is fine it leaves us with board and ram. Bsod will explain board or ram but your primary issue is getting the machine running at all dont think any part is bad everything was fine before your parts got here im thinking you disturbed cpu hs while installing new stuff.

 

[Hades.]

It could be the PSU which is causing you all sort of trouble... When i was building my rig i actually bought VX550 and it never worked in my PC... It used to work fine on other people PCs infact even on my old P4 PC... the issue that i had faced was a very f***king weird issue... Whenever i used to run my rig on VX550 my PC used to go into boot loop... it used to restart again and again... I replaced the VX550 and got a new one but still the problem was there... Replacing the motherboard didn't help either... My rig used to work fine on my old Gigabyte Superb 460w PSU which i sold to a guy before buying VX550.... And while i was facing this iNFAMOUS restart issue i tried to run my rig on Gigabyte Superb PSU after borrowing it from the person to whom i sold that PSU... My rig ran fine on that PSU... I got so f**king pissed i replaced the VX550 and bought Seasonic S12D 750w by adding some more money and the issue got resolved...

Note : After facing this issue i realized that no matter how technically good and knowledgeable you are sometimes even a small issue could make you feel like a n00b...

 

[devvfata1ity]

I think its ok to assume that both gpu's are ok and maybe you disturbed something while installing the new card that is causing the present issues.

So random shut downs all the time and sometimes bsod if it gets past windows screen.

Random shut downs are bad psu or overheating cpu so check if that darn intel cooler is on perfectly. (Cooler should not hinge or budge at all from socket if its mounted as intended it will be rock solid on it)

So now if cpu is fine , gpu is fine , psu is fine it leaves us with board and ram. Bsod will explain board or ram but your primary issue is getting the machine running at all dont think any part is bad everything was fine before your parts got here im thinking you disturbed cpu hs while installing new stuff.

First of all as I posted in the rig specs I am not using the crappy stock intel HSF, I am using a NH-D14. Also I am pretty sure I dint disturb anything while changing the GPUs. I am kinda used to building PCs. Been doing that since 99 so I can assure that I was extra careful and dint make any noob mistake. I even discharged all static before opening up the PC.

It could be the PSU which is causing you all sort of trouble... When i was building my rig i actually bought VX550 and it never worked in my PC... It used to work fine on other people PCs infact even on my old P4 PC... the issue that i had faced was a very f***king weird issue... Whenever i used to run my rig on VX550 my PC used to go into boot loop... it used to restart again and again... I replaced the VX550 and got a new one but still the problem was there... Replacing the motherboard didn't help either... My rig used to work fine on my old Gigabyte Superb 460w PSU which i sold to a guy before buying VX550.... And while i was facing this iNFAMOUS restart issue i tried to run my rig on Gigabyte Superb PSU after borrowing it from the person to whom i sold that PSU... My rig ran fine on that PSU... I got so f**king pissed i replaced the VX550 and bought Seasonic S12D 750w by adding some more money and the issue got resolved...

Dude the wierdest thing is that with the same PSU ie the VIP 750W the rig was running absolutely fine with the GTX 260. I am also suspecting the PSU but then again if PSU was the problem wouldn't I have got BSODs after assembling with the GTX 260? But then again you never know with these local PSUs. May be the extra load on the 12v rail put by the HD 6950 but dude even the GTX 260 OCed is notoriously power hungry. I am suspecting crossloads issue. Because if the CPU was overheating or something the BSOD error codes are usually 0x000000101 and 0x0000000124. RAM faults usually results in error codes of 0x000000001E. I know these coz I have faced enough of them during OCing . Board also seems fine as otherwise I wouldnt have been able to install windows 7 twice.

 

[Zloyd]

Hmm missed D14 there , I think all thats left then is the psu itself , never faced cross loading issue myself but a quick google and its a high possibility on cheaper psu's. Way to test that would be if you had some el cheapo vdo card ala 8400gs or something of the likes that will run on any psu.

 

[Hades.]

So your best bet is to wait for the PSU... if the rig runs fine on that PSU then good if the rig doesn't then you can be rest assured that the GPU is the culprit...

GTX 260 also dint work (where as it was working perfectly previously) I dont know what to think.

Also if the PSU is not the culprit then the GTX260 should work fine the way it was working before right? I am pretty sure that the VIP PSU is killing your other components slowly...

 

[Zloyd]

Just noted something interesting , you say in your original post that the problem started after catalyst install (after you had reinstalled). I think catalyst is enabling 6950 so its putting more strain on the psu. (Maybe simple effects in windows only causing 6950 to clock up and psu cant keep up)

I think continuing to trouble shoot with big ? on psu will be frustrating you just have to wait on TX850 looks like it will solve everything.

 

[devvfata1ity]

So your best bet is to wait for the PSU... if the rig runs fine on that PSU then good if the rig doesn't then you can be rest assured that the GPU is the culprit...

Also if the PSU is not the culprit then the GTX260 should work fine the way it was working before right? I am pretty sure that the VIP PSU is killing your other components slowly...

Cant say that the PSU is killing off parts slowly coz I ran the gtx 260 on the very same PSU for the last couple of years before I upgraded to a different rig. Never had a problem there. But I think since the PSU is a couple of years old and probably all the capacitors in it are not from a good OEM like chemicon or rubycon may be due to capacitor aging the PSU is not able to handle the crossloads when I installed the HD 6950 and later even for the GTX 260 as may be by that time the damage was already done.

Just noted something interesting , you say in your original post that the problem started after catalyst install (after you had reinstalled). I think catalyst is enabling 6950 so its putting more strain on the psu. (Maybe simple effects in windows only causing 6950 to clock up and psu cant keep up)

I think continuing to trouble shoot with big ? on psu will be frustrating you just have to wait on TX850 looks like it will solve everything.

Thanks mate. I am praying the TX850V2 will solve the problem. But only time will tell although by the looks of it and since the other components are confirmed to be working fine I can only assume the PSU is screwing things up. The reason I am suspecting a crossload issue coz the system is running 6x12cm high rpm fans and 2x14cm high rpm fans, 2x HDDs and 1x DVD-RW. Also I dont have a cheapo GPU to test this.

I dont think catalyst will enable HD6950 to put more strain on the PSU as when windows loads up and along with it the catalyst, it actually downclocks HD6950 to 2D clocks.

But the most frustrating issue is that after a few BSODs I am even unable to get into the BIOS due to the screen freeze (Display turned on but blank screen)

 

[pradymumbai]

From the All Above post , I have Seen that u Have faced The BSOD many times, As Your post Explain all the Possibilities , PSU , GPU or Motherboard is not at all the problem , I Recommended you to flash your Bios with Latest from Mfg web site of your board.May be due to your T&E your Bios got corrupted & now its not Supporting your Hardware. Try Same & update , if it will not Solved Then the only option is your PSU.

 

[devvfata1ity]

From the All Above post , I have Seen that u Have faced The BSOD many times, As Your post Explain all the Possibilities , PSU , GPU or Motherboard is not at all the problem , I Recommended you to flash your Bios with Latest from Mfg web site of your board.May be due to your T&E your Bios got corrupted & now its not Supporting your Hardware. Try Same & update , if it will not Solved Then the only option is your PSU.

I am running the most current BIOS for my motherboard that I am aware of, but I can flash to a newer/older BIOS but I doubt it will help. Moreover even in order to flash the BIOS I need to get into the BIOS at first place which I am unable to do as I am faced with a blank screen even though everything is turned on.

 

[pradymumbai]

Are u sure Your motherboard is not Faulty ?

 

[devvfata1ity]

^It was running fine till date before I tried installing the new GPU. Again inspite of the issues I am having I was able to re-isntall windows twice although its a different issue that I BSODed again after re-installing. Kind of rules out a faulty mobo

 

[anfjavid]

^It was running fine till date before I tried installing the new GPU. Again inspite of the issues I am having I was able to re-isntall windows twice although its a different issue that I BSODed again after re-installing. Kind of rules out a faulty mobo

It cant be concluded that just if the O/s installs properly, the mobo isnt faulty. IMO majority of the mobo components start to work at their 100% potential only after the drivers are installed. For example if there is an onboard audio issue with the mobo, you may get a BSOD error or freezing only after installing the drivers or atleast windows... IMO most of the BSODs start to show up only after installing drivers or atleast windows (which may have inbuilt drivers)

Correct me if i am wrong..