Catalyst 3.8 Support Thread

[Slammy1]

What a ride it's been. I went from a stable system to numerous BSODs whenever I did anything involving 3-D. In fact, just sitting there it'd throw out the odd BSOD. So, I went through the steps. Went back to 3.7, completely uninstalled all ATI programs (then used Driver Cleaner) and installed 3.7, reinstalled Windows (updated current install), reinstalled all my device drivers with no overclock, back upgraded my BIOS, and finally reinstalled DirectX this morning. No crashes since I reinstalled DirectX, but it's only been 1.5 hours (I did try to stress it some, but not extreme yet). I know a few others have had problems with the 3.8 Catalysts, thought I'd start up a thread for solutions. Please don't post how great it runs on your system, I really don't want to hear it. I'm not trying to argue Catalyst 3.8's merits, just posting for support. I hope my latest step fixed things, but if not my next step is reformat and reinstall.

 

[cockeyed]

You put in a lot of work so I hope it works out for you. Following is the method I use when I change CAT driver versions in WinXP.

1.) Remove old driver/control panel in ADD/REMOVE
2.) Install Driver Cleaner 2 if it isn't and then re-boot into Safe Mode.
3.) Run Driver Clenear 2 in Safe Mode.
4.) Re-boot, click cancel when asked for drivers
5.) Install new DX9 version if not installed
6.) Install CAT38 driver
7.) Install Control Panel.

Also, close any programs that loaded at startup before running the installer and always click cancel when new hardware is found. I also ran Driver Cleaner for Nvidia drivers to clear out anything that might be hiding somewhere. The CAT38's work well on my system with an ATI 9800np.

 

[Slammy1]

Very similar to the steps I take, except I only uninstall the drivers unless the program description states otherwise. I only have had to run Driver Cleaner twice (once early on, I think going from 3.4 to 3.6 - started on 3.2) and this time. I didn't think about running it in safe mode, that's a good idea. Still haven't seen a BSOD since I reinstalled DirectX 9.0b, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If it don't work I'll try Driver Cleaner in Safe Mode. Sometimes I think I just cling to a Windows install longer than I should. I have a 9700Pro AIW, btw.

EDIT: Just finished some stress testing, I'm thinking it's stable. Ran 2XPrime95 and Prime95+3dMark2k3, only anomaly I got was a sound thing that reduced the channels but increased my 3dMark score (scored 5810 while running a single instance of Prime95). Botmatch and 3dMark2k1 ran fine, scores just a little lower (50 points in 2k1, decimal place in Botmatch). I think I'm back to good, unless the issue is related to my NIC since I wasn't connected to the net while running them.

 

[Thor86]

Just demo loop 3dmark2001 to test your video for stability. Sorry to hear you had so much problems with the Catalyst 3.8s, but I'm not having any issues with it on my secondary comp with a 9800np. Still though, I'm only using 3.6s on my main gaming machine, since it runs everything perfectly anyway. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Slammy1]

I think that I try to fix things that won't be fixable until the next Windows SP (due out in December, but I imagine that will be delayed). Actually, having reinstalled everything except programs I'm feeling pretty good about speed and stability now, more than I have in a while. I'll probably be tinkering with 3.8 again in less than a week, I know me... I know how to fix it now if it does it again.