Hi there,
I'm looking for help with my AMD graphics card. I've been trying to work my way through the issue for months but the time has come to throw my hands up and admit I just don't know what to try next. Any help you could give would be hugely appreciated.
AMD Radeon HD 6630M 1GB discrete switchable
Radeon Software Crimson Edition 15.201.1151.1008
Dell Vostro 3550 Laptop
Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated (9.17.10.4459)
Intel Core i5-2430M @ 2.40GHz
4GB RAM
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit v. 1809 (formerly Windows 7 Professional 64-bit)
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0DJW0H A12
My machine previously had Windows 7 on it and was working fine until about 6 months ago when I suddenly started getting BSODs whenever my laptop woke up or tried to play games (stop codes 0x000000EA and 0x00000116 concerning atikmpag.sys). I Googled the stop codes and responses to people with similar problems and tried what they had been suggested, namely:
- I did a clean reinstall of all video drivers, using both AMD Cleanup Tool and Display Driver Uninstaller from https://www.guru3d.com/ and downloading the newest drivers from the Intel and AMD sites;
- I did the same again, then copying and expanding atikmpag.sy_ from two separate locations to System32/drivers;
- I carried out virus, malware, rootkit scans (no threats found); and
- I tried to carry out a system restore to before the problem but Windows couldn't find restore files, even with anti virus off.
None of this worked however. With nothing left to lose, and Windows update crashing if I tried to upgrade to the newest Windows 7 version, I updated my computer to Windows 10. This brought great improvements. The computer seems a lot happier and quicker and I no longer got the BSODs.
However, whenever I tried to play a game, new problems appeared. For example:
- Skyrim - screen goes black and game not visible. Sound from game can be heard in the background;
- Football Manager - game will not launch and I get a message stating "Application has been blocked from accessing graphics hardware"; and
- The Long Dark - Game will not launch and cursor and screen flickers until restart.
Googling these issues, I found new suggestions. I updated all my hardware drivers and BIOS - no luck. I used RegEdit to change the TdrLevel and TdrDelay, but this just resulted in the computer hanging.
I also found an article that suggested that the newest Intel and AMD drivers could clash, causing this issue. I therefore prevented Windows 10 from updating drivers automatically and tried to find older drivers. With the AMD card uninstalled and a 2012 version of the Intel drivers, games would work (albeit on the very poor integrated card) but, as soon as I installed any version I could find, new or old, of the AMD graphics, I received a new BSOD: "THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER".
I'm now completely at a loss and I'd love to hear any help you can give. I'm happy to repeat any of these steps if you think it's necessary. I really can't afford a new machine!
Thanks in advance.
T.
kingfish, I hope you don't mind me tagging you in this. I see that you've assisted a number of people with similar problems in the past and I'd love to hear what you thought. Please ignore if it's a hassle though. Thanks!
