ATI Crashes Vista w/ DVI

thunderclap · Jun 30, 2007, 12:52 PM

I posted this in the Mac section but haven't had any responses so I'm moving it here.

I bought a new Mac Pro to replace my aging G5. Also picked up Windows Vista Home Premium. Installed the latest Boot Camp, checked to make sure I had the latest firmware, then set out to install Windows.

The first problem was when the computer reboot to install Vista the screen blanked out. Turns out that booting into Vista caused problems with the ATI X1900 card in my machine. (It apparently didn't like the DVI signal.) So I hooked up the DVI to VGA converter and plugged in a VGA cable into my Hyundai LCD monitor.

Install went smoothly and booting into Windows works without problem. Have installed several games and they run beautifully.

So I go to switch back to the DVI input thinking maybe it was a driver related issue. Screen blanked for a minute and then Windows appeared. This proves Windows and the DVI on the ATI card like each other.

I reboot the computer (holding down Control) and I choose to start Windows. Monitor goes black and, after some hard drive crunching (trying to start Windows I assume) the computer restarts. It's a vicious cycle until I plug in the DVI-to-VGA adapter and the VGA cable to the monitor and then it boots fine.

When I get back into Vista after a crash it tells me the problem is the the ATI Graphics Controller. I've re-installed the Boot Camp 1.3 Beta drivers and that doesn't fix the problem. I currently have the 7.6 Catalyst drivers installed and the problem is still there.

Anyone have any idea what's going on? It's really aggravating because I want to use the digital display, not analog. I can't be the only one with this issue. Has anyone resolved this problem?

DJShamrock · Jul 1, 2007, 02:50 AM

I have the same problem with my x1900xtx on Vista Ultimate. I have no idea why so I can't help.

**ChaosMinionX** · Jul 1, 2007, 02:07 PM

Wouldnt be a HDCP issue would it? Since HDCP is used when using a DVI...

thunderclap · Jul 1, 2007, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosMinionX

Wouldnt be a HDCP issue would it? Since HDCP is used when using a DVI...

I'm not sure and I'm not sure of any way of checking. Do you have any recommendations?

[hobo]eclipse · Jul 1, 2007, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosMinionX

Wouldnt be a HDCP issue would it? Since HDCP is used when using a DVI...

i could be wrong but i think the HDCP only comes into effect when called up, like starting a HDDVD/BluRAY. Can you try on a different monitor with DVI? cause if you used the DVI to VGA adapter and it worked the signal still leaves the GPU from the DVI port, so it seems to get borked somewhere in the wire or in the monitor itself, maybe try a different monitor or DVI cable if possible.?

thunderclap · Jul 1, 2007, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [hobo]eclipse

i could be wrong but i think the HDCP only comes into effect when called up, like starting a HDDVD/BluRAY. Can you try on a different monitor with DVI? cause if you used the DVI to VGA adapter and it worked the signal still leaves the GPU from the DVI port, so it seems to get borked somewhere in the wire or in the monitor itself, maybe try a different monitor or DVI cable if possible.?

I don't have access to any other DVI monitor but I will try another cable (not sure if I've done this yet). It's strange, though, that booting into OS Xwith the DVI doesn't cause any issue while booting into Vista does.

I'll let you know what happens.

thunderclap · Jul 1, 2007, 03:25 PM

So I tried a new DVI cable and the same thing happened. I also tried using the second DVI output on the video card but the outcome was the same.

I looked at the DVI cable and the DVI-to-VGA adapter and there is a SLIGHT difference in the pin configuration. The DVI cable is a DVI-D Single Link whereas the DVI-to-VGA is a DVI-I Single Link. I don't know if that helps at all.

thunderclap · Jul 5, 2007, 12:13 PM

I filed a support ticket with ATI and this was their response:

-----

Lockups and hangs in the operating system can frequently be attributed to out of date or non present chipset drivers for the motherboard, missing Windows updates or corrupted or outdated video card drivers. In most cases, loading updated chipset drivers, updating video card drivers and installing available Windows updates will resolve these issues. Click the following link for more information on chipset drivers and VPU recover errors:
ati.amd.com/online/customercare/solutions/oslockups.html
If these suggestions don't help to resolve your issues, please respond to the ticket and one of our qualified support representatives will assist you. To respond to this ticket you must visit http://support.ati.com and login to My Support.

-----

First, the link they take you to is for AGP graphic cards, not PCI-e like the one in the Mac Pro. But that aside, does anyone know if there is a way to verify in a Mac Pro that all the drivers are up to date for the motherboard? And if they can be updated could this corrupt the Mac side of the computer?