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At my wit's end with weird GPU / Black screen problem (Resolved).


Best Answer phillpower2 , 02 April 2017 - 02:46 AM

The symptoms are contradictory when in the BIOS and in Safe Mode and for the following reasons; Yes, with the 680 hooked up it displays only part of the BIOS screen (although i can navigate to... Go to the full post »


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#1
amtamtmt

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I was browsing (on chrome, windows 10) and everything froze (couldn't move mouse cursor, everything unresponsive) and after restart the computer booted normally though the windows loading screen and instead of a login screen the monitor said no signal and shut off while the computer itself stayed on and continued to run.
 
I then booted into safe mode, removed the drivers, resintalled them, and when it didn't fix the problem, tried to research the problem online with a lot of potential fixes listed but no luck.
 
If I remove the graphics drivers, the computer detects the card as a "microsoft basic display adapter", but if i install nvidia drivers it detects the card as a GTX 680.
 
I noticed that in the device manager, while connected to the GTX 680, the monitor shows "generic non-pnp monitor", while connected to the onboard graphics it correctly displays as a Benq monitor with the correct model.
 
I also noticed that while the monitor was connected to the GTX 680, when entering the bios, the menu appears too large for the screen. Initially i thought this may be some problem with the bios, but when i move a mouse cursor to the sides of the screen it moves the display as if the bios is "aware" it isn't being wholly displayed. This was not happening before these problems started. When I connect through onboard graphics and enter the bios, the bios is displayed properly with no weird scaling issue.
 
However, when starting Windows in safe mode the whole screen is rendered properly, albeit in very low resolution that can't be changed.
 
I tried booting into safe mode, removing the drivers with DDU and ccleaner, and manually installing drivers from NVIDIA, which didn't fix the problem.
 
I tried uninstalling the graphics card via the device manager, didn't fix.
 
Tried disabling the onboard graphics via the device manager (and the BIOS), didn't fix.
 
Tried plugging the monitor into onboard graphics and it worked normally, although I would obviously rather not use onboard graphics. Also tried plugging the monitor into a laptop and it was both detected and displayed normally, so probable not a monitor problem.
 
Tried updating mobo drivers and BIOS, didn't fix.
 
Tried disabling "fast boot" in windows, didn't fix the problem.
 
Tried using HDMI and DVI on all the available ports after driver install, didn't fix the problem. Don't have a display port cord.
 
Tried on a fresh install of windows, didn't fix the problem.
 
It occurs to me that it could be some sort of resolution problem with the card itself, although I don't know why it would say no signal instead of out of range if that were the case, and I don't know why it would persist through a clean install of drivers and a fresh install of windows. It is also odd that it would affect the bios menu as well if it were just a windows issue.
 
Tried unseating the card, cleaning it, and reseating it, didn't work
 
I don't feel like this is a windows problem because the problem has persisted through a clean install of the drivers and a fresh windows installation. The monitor works perfectly when connected to other devices, so it's not that. It could be a motherboad issue, but onboard graphics works normally and everything else seems ok other than this graphics problem. I would try another GPU in the slot but unfortunately I don't have one handy at the moment.
 
I also flashed the bios of the gpu with no change.
 
Is there anything else I can try or am i just stuck getting a new graphics card and hoping that solves things?
 
Thanks to anyone who made it this far.
 
Specs: 
 
OS: Windows 10
gpu: EVGA GXT 680 ftw+
mobo: asrock z77 extreme 4
cpu: i7 3770k
mem: 32gb corsair vengeance

Edited by amtamtmt, 29 March 2017 - 05:09 PM.

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#2
phillpower2

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:welcome:   amtamtmt,

 

However, when starting Windows in safe mode the whole screen is rendered properly, albeit in very low resolution that can't be changed.

 

 

If the above was when you had the GTX 680 hooked up as the video source it would normally suggest a driver/software issue.

 

Can you post the brand and model name or number of the PSU for us, if an older PSU can you also tell us how hold it is.


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#3
amtamtmt

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:welcome:   amtamtmt,

 

However, when starting Windows in safe mode the whole screen is rendered properly, albeit in very low resolution that can't be changed.

 

 

If the above was when you had the GTX 680 hooked up as the video source it would normally suggest a driver/software issue.

 

Can you post the brand and model name or number of the PSU for us, if an older PSU can you also tell us how hold it is.

Thanks for the reply, 

 

Yes, with the 680 hooked up it displays only part of the BIOS screen (although i can navigate to the other parts via moving my mouse to the edge of the screen), but in safe mode it renders the whole screen.

 

I tried it on a fresh install of windows with both the latest and older drivers from nvidia, choosing a clean install and using DDU to remove the old ones in safe mode each time. When I install any drivers it goes to black screen in the middle of the installation.

 

The PSU is a corsair HX750 that is about 3.5 years old.

 

https://www.amazon.c...2?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I have since looked at the windows event log and the following warning seems to happen around the times a restart has happened:

 

This appears to be the same device id (SWD\...{fb7bdf79...} as some partitions on my SSD. Once in Windows I can access all the data in those partitions normally, execute programs, etc. They also happen when I boot with onboard graphics, where everything appears normal and I don't have any black screens.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device SWD\WPDBUSENUM\{fb7bdf79-13f3-11e7-9bc2-806e6f6e6963}#0000000400100000.


Edited by amtamtmt, 01 April 2017 - 05:20 PM.

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#4
phillpower2

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✓  Best Answer

The symptoms are contradictory when in the BIOS and in Safe Mode and for the following reasons;

 

Yes, with the 680 hooked up it displays only part of the BIOS screen (although i can navigate to the other parts via moving my mouse to the edge of the screen),

 

 

No third party drivers are loaded while still in the BIOS so this would suggest either a MB BIOS or GPU issue.

 

but in safe mode it renders the whole screen.

 

 

This is what is contradictory, if the card was bad in the BIOS it should also be bad in both Safe and Full Windows.

 

 

I would suggest that if you can you have your card tested in another appropriate spec computer or by a tech store or if you are ok with working inside of a computer you try swapping the GPU into the other PCI-E slot on the MB, you should pull the CMOS battery from the MB when you do this as it will restore the MBs factory defaults settings, this in case a BIOS setting has been changed somehow, let us know if you need guidance for either task.

 

 

Good quality PSU with more than adequate output, still with 3+ years warranty on it so less likely to be of any problem. 

 

I have since looked at the windows event log and the following warning seems to happen around the times a restart has happened:

 

 

After reinstalling Windows 10 did you also reinstall the MBs drivers and starting with the chipset drivers first.


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#5
amtamtmt

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The symptoms are contradictory when in the BIOS and in Safe Mode and for the following reasons;

 

Yes, with the 680 hooked up it displays only part of the BIOS screen (although i can navigate to the other parts via moving my mouse to the edge of the screen),

 

 

No third party drivers are loaded while still in the BIOS so this would suggest either a MB BIOS or GPU issue.

 

but in safe mode it renders the whole screen.

 

 

This is what is contradictory, if the card was bad in the BIOS it should also be bad in both Safe and Full Windows.

 

 

I would suggest that if you can you have your card tested in another appropriate spec computer or by a tech store or if you are ok with working inside of a computer you try swapping the GPU into the other PCI-E slot on the MB, you should pull the CMOS battery from the MB when you do this as it will restore the MBs factory defaults settings, this in case a BIOS setting has been changed somehow, let us know if you need guidance for either task.

 

 

Good quality PSU with more than adequate output, still with 3+ years warranty on it so less likely to be of any problem. 

 

I have since looked at the windows event log and the following warning seems to happen around the times a restart has happened:

 

 

After reinstalling Windows 10 did you also reinstall the MBs drivers and starting with the chipset drivers first.

I tried removing and replacing the graphics card in a different PCIE slot, but while the motherboard said it was connected in the BIOS, windows didn't even recognize it at all.

 

I managed to borrow another card from a friend to try, and after putting in the PCIE slot I had the same problem as with the other card, so I tried your other suggestion. My motherboard had a "clear cmos" button, so before removing the battery I tried unplugging the power supply, holding the power button, and then holding the "clr cmos" button for about a minute, before putting everything back together. 

 

After doing this, the BIOS screen was rendered normally and I was able to install graphics drivers without getting another black screen. Why did flashing/updating the CMOS not work but this did?

 

However I have found a new problem, namely that now the front usb ports on my case still don't work (the back ones do, and the one on my keyboard does also). They stopped working when I reinstalled windows after the first time, and don't work even after I resintalled windows and the latest chipset, etc after the graphics card started working. I tried plugging the connector in to 2 different sets of pins in my mobo and in the BIOS there is nothing and in windows nothing. I didn't try taking apart the back panel of my case yet though, so it could be that something got knocked loose there or otherwise turned off, although nothing in the main part of the case was disturbed. After this whole fiasco I am a bit reluctant to pull the entire thing apart again, but I will if I must.

 

In any case the display appears to be operating normally again, which is a huge quality of life improvement, and I can live with no front usb ports for a bit if I have to as long as it's not some sort of warning flag that other things could be failing or potentially damaged.

 

Thanks so much for your help with this.


Edited by amtamtmt, 04 April 2017 - 11:10 PM.

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#6
phillpower2

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Good work on your behalf  :thumbsup:

 

My motherboard had a "clear cmos" button, so before removing the battery I tried unplugging the power supply, holding the power button, and then holding the "clr cmos" button for about a minute, before putting everything back together. 
 
After doing this, the BIOS screen was rendered normally and I was able to install graphics drivers without getting another black screen. Why did flashing/updating the CMOS not work but this did?

 

 

Computers can be fickle I`m afraid so you may never know why  :headscratch: using the "clr cmos" button is meant to do the same as pulling the CMOS battery but to be thorough I prefer to remove the battery every time.
 
You are welcome btw amtamtmt  :)
 
NB: Be happy to help you with troubleshooting the USB ports when you have the time to look into it.

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