Hello everyone,
I am currently in the process of upgrading the hardware of a humble gaming config with :
- CPU : Ryzen 5 2600
- GPU : SAPPHIRE RX 280 8GB
- MB : TUF Gaming B450
- 8x2 GB of Corsair RAM
- a Sabrent 256GB M2 SSD
I completely reinstalled Windows 10 so previous hard drives don't really matter here, as most of my testing was made with only the M2 SSD plugged in (which is where Windows is installed).
I encounter several problems here :
- Windows frequently BSOD'd with the error : atikmpag.sys / VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE
- this is now less random after having updated the BIOS with latest version
- Windows doesn't get the name of my GPU in Device Manager unless I boot in safe mode : it shows a generic windows name instead of my GPU's model name, but this is correctly detected/displayed in safe mode.
- Windows crashes with the same BSOD as earlier described everytime I try to update graphic drivers, whatever way I use (device manager, downloading AMD driver program from the website)
- usually Windows needs to go through a quite long and random repair process before letting me access the Desktop again
- according to several sources, I tried uninstalling all AMD driver with DDU in safe mode, this simply allows me to boot into Windows properly again, without fixing anything
- atikmpag.sys and its sibling are nowhere to be found in my system32/drivers folder
- I tried going through Windows update (which seemed to have AMD related updates to do) to see if they would be restored, but that made me crash again
- sometimes the BSOD is replaced with the GPU suddenly stopping the video stream, and my monitor saying there is no signal, and I have to restart the computer with the power switch
UPDATE: The computer seems to run smoothly with the old GPU (HIS R9 280X), and I was able to install the latest AMD drivers and all windows updates. I'm going to try and plug the newer card now.
This is where I stand as of now. I cannot really test out if my GPU is broken, but it was snuggly waiting in its original packaging for a few weeks until I could get to installing it, and it hasn't really moved.
I have tried many things in many ways, but I still really want to believe the card isn't broken, because buying a new one is not really an option here.
I am open to every guess, as I have been struggling with this for a few days now.
Thanks in advance, and I will EDIT out this message if anything changes or works out.
