I apologize for the delay in response, this past week has been busy and have begun troubleshooting another issue which I believe is related to this same issue.
I was looking through task manager when I noticed that my "System" process was consistently using 50% cpu, Process Explorer pointed to atikmdag.sys as being at fault.
I removed and re-installed the amd catalyst suite again, the problem persisted. At this point I was getting pretty frustrated and there was nothing on this pc that is irrecoverable anyway, so I did a clean re-install of the Windows 7 OS.
Starting with a brand new windows installation, I installed amd catalyst software suite again. Again, Process Explorer reports atikmdag.sys as using 50% cpu.
Upon looking online I saw multiple places that said atikmdag.sys errors can persist even after a clean windows re-install and the way to fix was by re-naming the current atikmdag.sys and manually extracting a new copy from atikmdag.sy_ from the AMD installation directory.
So, I renamed my current version of "atikmdag.sys" copied over an expanded version of "atikmdag.sy_" from the original install directory, restarted and "atikmdag.sys" is still using 50% cpu which leads me to believe it may be a .DLL issue which is causing atikmdag.sys to use 50% cpu. I am not really sure what to do from this point though as I don't which DLL is causing the issue or how to figure out which DLL is causing the issue or if the problem may be something besides a DLL issue...
Gigabyte HD 5870 Super OC
Problem most likely is caused by unstable or damaged video card. Windows default drivers don't use specific acceleration features of card that might be malfunctioning. Also the 16-bit colors also might be OK. Try to lower overclocking to default HD5870 speeds, it might solve the problem or make it less severe. But most likely the GPU chip is damaged and the whole card need to be replaced.
The computer also freezes (stops responding) at random times or when doing graphic intensive works or switching between modes?
While the card may be a Super OC edition, I keep this card under-clocked, currently running with 900 MHz engine clock and 1225 MHz memory clock.
The computer does freeze for a few moments (maybe 10 seconds) but only only on start-up when CCC is first opening (which is strange because it did not lag there before)
I skipped the post accidentally. Well then he should call the repairman to get everything fixed. He already screwed everything up by using safe mode and driver sweeper. As I know both ATI and NVIDIA drivers install and uninstall properly under normal mode. All those sweepers and cleaners do is fuck up the system so the divers might not install or work properly next time. Best is to find the drivers that work best with your card and are made in the same time when card was made. And stick to this one version unless something is broken and Changelog suggests that the new version is a solution.
Using safe mode + driver sweeper was the recommended uninstall in many places on the AMD support forums, it was not something I did without reason. I was attempting to fix my screen-tearing issue and pretty much every post was saying "do a clean uninstall in safe mode with driver sweeper as it is the ONLY way to entirely removed AMD drivers from your system".
I use the drivers recommended by Gigabyte/AMD for my specific video card and I only change them when I experience issues. I am 31 and I have been using computers since the days when Tandy was a major player in the game and DOS was the only operating system offered, so you can stop talking to me like I am four years old.
This was my next suggestion. Under the Catalyst Control Center >> Performance >> AMD OverDrive settings, you should be able to manually underclock the GPU. Start off with a little bit at a time to see if things get better.
Another thing to note is dust accumulation. A build up leads to overheating, and with an already overclocked card that could pose a problem.
He stated earlier that he swapped out the GPU with an NVIDIA card and the problem was still there.
Following up to this, one thing that wasn't mentioned was whether or not all GPU drivers were removed prior to the card being swapped. Having multiple driver conflicts can be a hell of a headache with surprising results.
While the card may be a Super OC edition, I keep this card under-clocked, currently running with 900 MHz engine clock and 1225 MHz memory clock. I also regularly remove it and blow the internals out with a can of duster to remove dust accumulation and even re-applied thermal paste to the chip recently after all the screen-tearing issues started.
I always do a clean removal of all related drivers when removing hardware from my system and I always do it before adding any new hardware. Thank you for the suggestions though.
Both Windows XP and Win7 usually have no problems with drivers when swapping video cards. Windows recognizes the devices and uses appropriate drivers. Unless the OS is modified by some 3rd party "optimizer" or some other shit. You don't have conflicts between WiFi and Ethernet drivers, why video drivers are different?
Very likely a hardware or OS problem. Did You reinstalled Windows from original DVD?
I do not know the history of the windows installation that was on it as I said earlier, this PC was a gift from a friend, but I did just do a clean re-install from factory ISO and the problem persists.
so what you want is to make the picture your destop background?
LOL, definitely not...
