Grey stripes issue

[Azhrei]

Hey all,

I've seen this talked about on the ATi forums but despite almost a full year having passed since it was first reported, and with AMD not responding to it, I doubt we'll ever get an official fix. My Radeon HD4870 has served me well but for the last few months it's been giving the dreaded grey vertical stripes issue. It started when I was watching YouTube videos - when I came out of a video, bam, it would lock up. So I turned down the hardware accelerated flash and hoped for an update to fix the issue, but the last few Flash and Catalyst releases have done bugger all.

Today I burned a dvd for a friend and I checked it to see if everything was okay. After making sure that the dvd was playing correctly, I quit out of Media Player (which had autolaunched - changing to VLC or MPC does nothing, it seems to be a hardware issue) and there it was again - entire system locked up, vertical stripes on my monitor.

I've seen reports of people on the ATi forums flashing their bios, as provided by their manufacturer, and I'd like to give this a go, also. However, Club3D being Club3D, they have no links to anything worthwhile - even their links to download drivers just redirects you to AMD. Nor are there any links whatsoever on the ATi forums to help, just threads about the flashing having worked for people.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has a bios update that I can safely flash to my Club3D Radeon HD4870 1GB? Below are images of the grey stripes I'm talking about -

 

[alexsubri]

Check your current BIOS date, see if any of them here are newer than your current BIOS. Once you flashed and still getting the same results, I would RMA it asap. Good luck and be careful when you flash.

 

[AsRock]

I've had some thing like that when the Graphics card ram is overheating. You clean the cooler out on it lately ?.

 

[Azhrei]

Alexsubri - thanks for that link, I'll have a look at them later and see if any of them are newer than the bios on the card.

Asrock - I last took the card out to inspect for dust a week or two ago and there was very little to none. The card is not overheating, and it never locks up during long sessions of intensive 3D gaming. It's only when it comes to exiting out of a Flash video that has video acceleration enabled, and for some reason now closing a dvd. It's a software or driver or bios issue, it started happening late last year and I haven't seen it until now because I kept video acceleration off in Flash.

It's only when it happened again after closing a DVD that I got annoyed at the lack of resolution on the part of ATi to fix this that I had a look around the 'net and found people talking about bios updates.

Edit -

Alexsubri - My card is the 750/900 version, and has the exact same bios as the one you listed.

 

[Azhrei]

Anyone have any idea?

 

[dir_d]

AMD fixed this it was called the Grey Screen of Death, what version drivers are you running? I used to get these but i changed my CPU and ram and they went away on their own. I had 965 c2 and crappy Gskill Ripjaws, try playing with your overclock settings.

 

[Azhrei]

Yeah, AMD apparently fixed this, but I'm still getting it. It's not overheating, it never crashes in games or sitting idly on the desktop like the 5xxx series - I could play intensive 3D games all day and never see a problem. It's something to do with video acceleration, that I first noticed with Flash video - but now I can't even watch a DVD on my pc.

I have been updating my drivers since whatever Catalyst version was around a few months back, and every successive driver following that. I read here on the forums in the Catalyst 10.8 thread that some people have issues with their 2D clocks and I knew that was linked to the grey stripes and crashing - if only in the 5xxx cards - so I thought it was worth a try, but no, after uninstalling Catalyst 10.8 and all ATi software completely, then installing Catalyst 10.4a, I still have the same issue. I don't think there's anything wrong with my 2D clocks anyway - as I said, the pc could be idling at the desktop all day long (it frequently is, in fact) and it has never crashed in this way.

Nothing in my system is overclocked, and I don't see buying a new CPU and RAM as a feasible resolution to the problem.

 

[Sir_Real]

It could be your gpu is becoming unstable while in 2D core speed & voltage. Playing a flash game/movie or a dvd will be much more likely to crash the rig than it just displaying the desktop or a webpage.

Try this install rivatuna & go to the overclocking part, enable it, then maually set the core & mem to your cards default 3D core & mem speeds.

If i'm not mistaken this will disable the 2D settings & your gpu will always run at the 3D core speed & voltage. Its fine to display 2D in the 3D settings apart frm the fact your gpu will be slightly hotter when idle.

Then if that solves your prob it might be worth editing the gpus bios so the 2D speed & voltage match to 3D. That way you wont need rivatuna.

 

[Azhrei]

My card isn't overlocked, and is running at the default speeds. Catalyst says that while idling on the desktop the clocks are 500MHz core, 900MHz memory. I'm guessing it ramps up the core speed to 750MHz whenever something that requires 3D display is started - a game, for example.

 

[DRDNA]

Just for kicks swap out the video cable and test.

 

[Azhrei]

The cable? How would the cable (which is a DVI) completely lock up the system? It's definitely not that, in any case, as I was using a HDMI cable for a while last month and it was happening then.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Have you tried using just 1 monitor? If not try that.

 

[Azhrei]

I'm only using one monitor at the moment. Those photographs were taken a while ago when I first had the problem.

 

[Steevo]

Could be a voltage issue with powerplay. Try forcing the clocks with afterburner and see if it happens.

 

[Black Panther]

I had the same issue and the following method was the only cure so far:

So many owners of 5 series cards are experiencing issues with video playback (namely Flash Player). On the 5870 and 5850 specifically, 2d clocks are set way down to 175/300 to save on power. This is most likely not enough to play HD video, especially if the bios isn't switching to video mode. To fix this without flashing your bios, all you need to do is create a profile in CCC and edit it.

Step 1​

• Open Catalyst Control Center (Advanced View).
• Options-->Profiles-->Profiles Manager.

http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp112/erocker414/2d1.jpg

Step 2​

• Enter a profile name in the field.
• Below the name field, under the "Composition" tab, select "all Catalyst Control Center settings"
• Tick "Save" next to where you put your profile name, then close. Do not activate the profile yet.

http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp112/erocker414/2d2.jpg

Step 3​

• Now you will need to make sure you can view hidden folders on your system by going to the Control

Panel-->Folder Options-->View tab and select "Show hidden files, folders and drives." Close.

• Go to your "My Documents" folder and open the AppData folder. From there it's Local-->ATi-->Profiles-->"Your profile name.xml" Right click and tick Edit.

• From there you change the two values below. 300Mhz GPU / 575Mhz RAM worked best for me. I got stuttering at the tops of windows with 300/500
• With multiple GPU's each GPU is listed separately in the profile (0,1,2,3,etc.). Tested and working with CrossFired 5850's.
• Save it, restart, go back into CCC and activate your profile

.
http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp112/erocker414/2d3.jpg
http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp112/erocker414/2d5.jpg
http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp112/erocker414/2d4.jpg

 

[Azhrei]

I completely uninstalled all ATi software, deleted the leftover folders and any entries in the registry, then installed Catalyst 10.8... and yes, the problem remains. Black Panther, I appreciate your reply, but the problem only ever happens when coming out of a video playing (specifically, Flash and DVD video) - nothing is overheating. It only happens when coming out of a video, so it has something to do with video acceleration in the drivers or something like that. Thanks for your post, but I'd be wary about messing with clocks on my 4870 in a guide created specifically for the 5850 and 5870.

This is doing my head in... it has to be a software issue. Temperatures do not rise or anything, and the problem can only be duplicated when coming out of a video.

 

[Solaris17]

If you refuse to try our ideas then what exactly was the point of posting? after burner etc over clocks any card like any other card. ATI cards have had an issue with video that still happens to this day and in some cases DVI cables were the cause. thats why that idea was made. How would you know if it froze the system if you cant see anything? care to explain that you know your not over heating? and please dont say finger test. that could easily be half the issue. if its not making contact it doesnt get hot. imagine that. if its GPU-z then how is that possible? if it crashes under video load and grey screens how can you read GPU-Z? maybe if you gave us more information instead of telling us how impossible our ideas are we may be able to help you better.

Also iv had this happen on my nvidia cards. same thing. it was vram.

 

[Athlon2K15]

This seems to be an issue when the card transitions from 3d to 2d clocks maybe look for a bios that has a better voltage for each

 

[Azhrei]

If you refuse to try are ideas then what exactly was the point of posting? after burner etc over clocks any card like any other card. ATI cards have had an issue with video that still happens to this day and in some cases DVI cables were the cause. thats why that idea was made. How would you know if it froze the system if you cant see anything? care to explain that you know your not over heating? and please dont say finger test. that could easily be half the issue. if its not making contact it doesnt get hot. imagine that. if its GPU-z then how is that possible? if it crashes under video load and grey screens how can you read GPU-Z? maybe if you gave us more information instead of telling us how impossible our ideas are we may be able to help you better.

Also iv had this happen on my nvidia cards. same thing. it was vram.

A lot of your post makes little sense to me. I have no idea what Afterburner is, and as I stated already I never overclock my components, and I never use GPU-Z. There seems to be a lot of assumptions going around in this thread, that I use all these software applications that everyone else on these forums are using, just by default. I've also said that I had a HDMI cable connected at one point and the same thing happened, so it's not the DVI cable. How do I know the system is frozen? Well, that's rather simple to work out - you know, noticing and hearing no hard disk activity, no sound coming through the speakers, no response to keyboard commands, lights on the network card not active, and so on.

I am not so technically illiterate that I would gauge temperature by opening up the case and actually touching the card. Who would be stupid enough to do that? Who would actually think that by touching the edge of the card and barely feeling any heat at all that the rest of the card must be the same? Clearly, you think I may be doing that. I have GPU Observer constantly running, and I'm always monitoring the temperature inside Catalyst while recreating the crash. Temperature while idle on the desktop doesn't change at all when playing Flash videos or DVD videos, and idle temperatures are around 46 degrees celsius while the fan is at 55%.

I am willing to try the solution suggested by Black Panther, but seeing as it is a 5xxx series specific guide, I will only try it once all other avenues have been exhausted. As for -

if its not making contact it doesnt get hot. imagine that. if its GPU-z then how is that possible?

This sentence makes no sense and I have no idea what you are trying to say.

This seems to be an issue when the card transitions from 3d to 2d clocks maybe look for a bios that has a better voltage for each

Yeah, that was one of the first things I tried, but the only bios available is the one already installed on the card. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

 

[Sir_Real]

If you refuse to try are ideas then what exactly was the point of posting? QUOTE]

+1

He dismisted my last post & never even gave it a try. It does seem to beinstability in the transition between 2D & 3D. I explained a way around this prob yet he hasnt even tried it.

 

[Solaris17]

A lot of your post makes little sense to me. I have no idea what Afterburner is, and as I stated already I never overclock my components, and I never use GPU-Z. There seems to be a lot of assumptions going around in this thread, that I use all these software applications that everyone else on these forums are using, just by default. I've also said that I had a HDMI cable connected at one point and the same thing happened, so it's not the DVI cable. How do I know the system is frozen? Well, that's rather simple to work out - you know, noticing and hearing no hard disk activity, no sound coming through the speakers, no response to keyboard commands, lights on the network card not active, and so on.

I am not so technically illiterate that I would gauge temperature by opening up the case and actually touching the card. Who would be stupid enough to do that? Who would actually think that by touching the edge of the card and barely feeling any heat at all that the rest of the card must be the same? Clearly, you think I may be doing that. I have GPU Observer constantly running, and I'm always monitoring the temperature inside Catalyst while recreating the crash. Temperature while idle on the desktop doesn't change at all when playing Flash videos or DVD videos, and idle temperatures are around 46 degrees celsius while the fan is at 55%.

I am willing to try the solution suggested by Black Panther, but seeing as it is a 5xxx series specific guide, I will only try it once all other avenues have been exhausted. As for -



This sentence makes no sense and I have no idea what you are trying to say.



Yeah, that was one of the first things I tried, but the only bios available is the one already installed on the card. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

WTF am i reading? Your making assumptions? did you even see the post before me mentioning after burner/RT? did you grasp the context in which I was referring to GPU-Z? I apologize in the most respectful way possible for you not understanding my posts. But if you are going to quote and respond to me in a manner that indicates you are under the ASSUMPTION that idk WTF im talking about i think i'll leave this thread.

 

[Athlon2K15]

Yeah, that was one of the first things I tried, but the only bios available is the one already installed on the card. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Try a bios from a different manufacturer

 

[Azhrei]

WTF am i reading? Your making assumptions? did you even see the post before me mentioning after burner/RT? did you grasp the context in which I was referring to GPU-Z? I apologize in the most respectful way possible for you not understanding my posts. But if you are going to quote and respond to me in a manner that indicates you are under the ASSUMPTION that idk WTF im talking about i think i'll leave this thread.

Yes, I did, and I still don't know what Afterburner is. I'm guessing it's some overclocking software, but I've never heard of it before. Just because you repeated it's name does not mean I automatically know what you guys are talking about. And I have to say that no, I didn't grasp the context in which you were referring to GPU-Z because, "care to explain that you know your not over heating? and please dont say finger test. that could easily be half the issue. if its not making contact it doesnt get hot. imagine that. if its GPU-z then how is that possible?" makes no sense at all to me. I don't know what a finger test is but what I gather is that you meant physically touching the card to see how hot it is. Then you say that "if its not making contact it doesnt get hot" - what? If the card isn't making contact with what? Properly making contact with the PCI-EX slot? And then the mention of GPU-Z and "how is it possible". So what I thought you were saying is you thought I would touch the card to see how hot it is, made some reference to the card not being in contact with something, then wanted to know if GPU-Z was involved in all of this.

So you see, I don't understand what you mean. I was a little shocked that you would think I would open up the case to touch the card, so I was a tad testy in my reply, and I apologise in return. But I have to say, I still don't know what you were trying to say.

Try a bios from a different manufacturer

I have noticed that it's basically the same reference card as the HIS model and a few others, I may give that a try, thank you.

 

[Sir_Real]

I replied directly to your post but didn't try what you suggested because you and Black Panther, while suggesting the same thing, went in different directions when it came to speeds. You wanted me to set the card to 3D speeds, where the core clock would jump from 500MHz to 750MHz, while Black Panther wanted me to scale them back the opposite way.

So why not just try both ways ? Ya never know one of them might work. Ya av to keep tryin different ways till ya find one that works & if nothing works ya give up & put up or buy a new gpu.

 

[Azhrei]

I tried what you suggested, RivaTuner asked to reboot, then when it did the clocks were set to the default 750/900. I tried a DVD and... no luck, I'm afraid. I did notice that since I've reinstalled Catalyst 10.8, the grey vertical stripes are darker than before... if that means anything.

I had a look at the HIS bios collection and tried loading all of the bios' that had the 750/900 clocks, going from the latest to the oldest. The only one that ATIWinflash recognise as compatible is the one that's already installed on the card, unfortunately. If anyone has a bios for the 113-B50703-102 reference that's dated later than December 2008, I would be very grateful.

I was trying out Black Panther's suggestion, but stopped when it came to changing the values in the profile, because, my card being a 4870 and not a 5850 or 5870, has very different values, and I'm not sure whether his suggestions are okay for my card. Black Panther, in case you are watching this thread, here are the default values in my profile -