Windows 7 Need help: BSOD caused by AMD Radeon R9 290 series

[Askin]

My specs:

• CPU: QuardCore AMD Phenom II X4 Black Edition 965, 3415 MHz
• Mainboard: M5A78LLE ASUS
• RAM: 8 GB RAM
• GPU: Sapphire Tri-X R9 290
• Power adapter: SF-550P14HE 550W 230V only
• System: Windows 7 Professional

So, whenever I use my Sapphire Tri-X R9 290 my computer crashes absolutly randomly (playing games, using windows, whatever, even if I do nothing):
Link Removed

So, here are the important parts:
I previously had the exact same error with a Powercolor R9 290, what I tried:
- removing all drivers that could cause the problem
- updating my mainboard BIOS
- trying multiple drivers and AMD catalysts
- testing my RAM and CPU
- Windows reinstallation
- many other things I don't remember anymore

This problem does not occur with my Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 and the weird thing is, I can play games on ultra (with the new Sapphire Tri-X R290) and it doesn't crash. Then, I go do something in Windows and it crashes, it is absolutly random... sometimes it crashes 1 minutes after boot, and the next time it may crash 20 minutes after boot.
When I sent my Powercolor R9 290 back, they told me that the GPU was absolutly fine and worked 100% when they tested it.

I really don't know what the hell is going on... I tried to find a solution in the internet, I tried everything. The next thing I'll do is replacing everything (Mainboard, CPU etc.). But it will take some time until I can do that, so fixing the problem now would be really good.

 

[Askin]

I have done chkdsk already, everything was ok. Like I said, with the old card the PC never crashed, not once. It has to be the cables, I fixed it again, but I bet tomorrow I'll have to readjust the connectors again...

I don't know...

 

[jjmusicpro]

I'm glad I found this.
I'm having the same exact problem.

I've tried everything.

It's only when I run this card it randomly freezes
Or says the driver stopped working but recovered.

When I use my old 6950 it works flawless

 

[kemical]

It's likely a driver issue as these cards are still relatively new and I remember the old 5870 series had similar issues too. Have you tried various drivers?
This page from Guru3d gives you a whole raft of different drivers:
Link Removed

 

[Askin]

Yes I tried. The problem occurs every new day. Once I fixed it, the PC runs without crash until I go to sleep. Once I start it in the morning again, it crashes. Then I try farious positions with the connectors and at some point it somehow works again.

 

[jjmusicpro]

Connector cables are not my issue.
Same random crashes, or ive seen the the error" Radeon Drivers stopped working but was recovered".. Computer wont stay on for more the a few minutes then completly locks up.

I put hack in my older 6950 and it works fine.

I see alot of people have this same issue. I put this card in my other intel based system, and it works fine.

-- ALSO YOU GAVE US THE LINK TO NVIDIA CARDS NOT RADEON

 

[kemical]

Apologies.. force of habit.

The AMD section :
Link Removed

Can you post the spec of the two systems you mention. The one that does crash and the one that doesn't maybe we can find a link between Askins and yours.

 

[jjmusicpro]

Only difference between Askins system and mine is the AMD FX8350 processor.
My PSU is 850W, 16 gig rams, did all the same test as stated here, but this card on that system freezes.

My other system is an i5 intell based system, 650w PSU, 16gigs, card runs fine.

 

[kemical]

I just spent a few minutes looking through google using the search term 'AMD R9 290 freezing issues' and it's depressingly prevalent. It seems no solution is in sight either unless it truly is in the driver and they eventually sort it out.

 

[jjmusicpro]

Yeah kemical its sad they cant get this fixed, luck for me i had another computer i could put the card in but its only an i5-2400 boooo

 

[kemical]

After looking at those search results I tried to find out if AMD has even acknowledged anything about this fault and it seems not. Have you looked through the AMD forums at all?
Link Removed

 

[Askin]

It's really weird. It mostly crashes when watching anything related to flashplayer. Also, when I am in fullscreen, I get weird sound buggs. It only happens to the flash player plugin. If I watch a movie in VLC, it's all good. If I listen to a youtube video in the background, and I'm in zBrush fullscreen for example, there are weird sound buggs.

My computer crashes everyday I start the computer, but I somehow get it fixed by shaking connectors in the pc. Or maybe it's just coincedence. But it definitely does not crash at all after I fixed it, until I turn off the PC and turn it on the next day. Really weird.

So again, I just had crashes over and over again. And again, the driver crashed when I watched a youtube video, the screen freezed, tried to open task manager, which worked. Then I closed google chrome, shaked the connectors a bit, and put them closer together and voila, no driver crashes, no freezes, no crashes whatsoever. Everything is working, and from the expiriences I made the past few days, the computer will not crash until tomorrow morning, when I start the computer again. (yesterday was actually a lucky day, and I didn't have to do anything, it worked without a single crash the whole day)

Is it possible that some software error causes something in the hardware to do it wrong, and when I shake it something within the hardware moves so it doesn't crash again? I know it sounds weird, but the whole situation is weird.

 

[kemical]

Do you use the Chrome browser? I only ask because a while ago I had a user with a bugcheck 124 error (blaming his cpu) although the issue eventually turned out to be the flash player in the chrome browser he was using. Updated chrome and all was good....

 

[Askin]

Same problem with firefox.
Running a youtube video, going to steam and maximizing the window (not fullscreen) causes sound buggs, for a few seconds. I have no idea what it could be. It also happens when I render something in zBrush. I guess it's related to the graphics card.

Also, the whole problem is related with my hardware. The cards work perfectly fine. It works in other systems.

The question is, how does shaking parts in my computer possibly fix a problem that is unfixable by so many people. These cards are somehow incompatible with the hardware. Or maybe the drivers cause issues in relation with certain hardware.
But like I said, why does shaking fix it, and why does the problem occur over and over again? Why does the problem occur on so many systems? I have the exact same problem others describe, so how can it be a defect hardware on my side? And again, why would shaking inner parts help with anything? It obviously does, I am very certain of that. When I shake the pc again fox example, it is very likely to crash within the next minutes.
What I think is happening over night is that some of the parts inside move out of the position that would prevent the crash. It cannot be the fault of the connectors, neither the graphics card. If it was them, the problem would not occur on so many systems, also I have a new PSU, so it is very unlikely to be defect.

But like I said, the most important question in my opinion is, why shaking a system, that is probably perfectly fine, solve te problem? Why does shaking make something incompatible, compatible?

 

[kemical]

If it was me that owned the card I'd try this. I'd start off with the very basics, strip the system back to components that I was pretty sure that worked eg, motherboard, RAM, HDD, DVD-ROM, GPU and PSU. Everything else apart from the obvious keyboard, mouse and monitor is removed.
I'd then wipe the drive and start with a new install. Install just the gpu driver and test the card. If all is good I'd then apply any updates and service packs followed by the rest of the drivers but test after each set of updates and each driver.
I know it sound tedious and laborious but troubleshooting is simply that. I'll tell you one thing though by the end of it you really get to know your system.....

Just to add I have had to do this myself in the past when looking for issues and I can honestly say it is worth taking the time to do it if only to get to know your system better. (I mean no disrespect by that either)

 

[Askin]

I just noticed something. When my PC is uncrashable, there are very low FPS when I load into a game. Just for a few seconds, it stabilizes pretty fast. But when my PC is in "crash mode" it does not have low FPS at all. It is runs perfectly from the beginning, just that it crashes after a while...

Maybe it can help to categorize the problem. I think it maybe has to do something with loading the textures in?

 

[kemical]

It's probably a driver issue of which you and many others are experiencing. Until they work out the bug's there probably isn't a great deal you can do apart from check forums for 290 owners and gpu driver forums. Probably your best bet is other users.. You've basically done everything else, updated driver and bios, checked HDD and RAM, changed PSU and re-installed... What else is there left to do?

Going by what you say above though, one could surmise that when the card is in 2D or desktop mode which hardly strains the system, the machine runs fine. Once the card has loaded a game and changed over to 3D or gaming mode, which creates a considerable strain on the system, the machine crashes. Check for heat spikes not on just the usual stuff but things like HDD's and motherboard too.

 

[undess]

i have same problem SAME 1:1 with that graphigs card,i dont know what to do, lagging sound when i watching video in full hd ,computer crashing when i using windows 2-3 mins ....., but in games all ok
TS tell me if u fixed this problem.

 

[kemical]

i have same problem SAME 1:1 with that graphigs card,i dont know what to do, lagging sound when i watching video in full hd ,computer crashing when i using windows 2-3 mins ....., but in games all ok
TS tell me if u fixed this problem.

Try opening your own thread Undess in the Support section. That way many more will get to see it and then hopefully offer advice.

 

[Azrael]

Hi Guys , same problem..

Have you test your graphic card memory ? with tools like VMT or memTestCL ?

 

[kemical]

Askin see this thread here for further tests to check on the R9:
http://windowsforum.com/threads/bsod-with-r9-series.194336/#post-612097