Hp Desktop Windows 7 Restarted Unexpectedly And Now Won't Start

I was chatting with a local repair joint, and they tell me they have been informed by Microsoft that their servers are prioritizing Windows 10 users. Consequently, this small company reports it can take up to 24hours to get a full set of updates on any given Windows 7 clean install. I have another two machines which I allowed to update for awhile (9+ hours for windows 8.1) which finally updated. All anecdotal, though. I find no evidence of this server prioritization when searching the net.

Question: My modem occasionally drops the internet connection. If this happens while a machine is searching for updates. is it smart enough to continue searching when the connection is re-established a few minutes later, or will it be hung up by such an event?

 

reply error. deleted.

 

reply #102 is a user error.
can comments or replies be deleted on this forum?

 

This worked. Thanks. M0ving on...

 

217 updates successfully completed.
Another 28 important updates underway.


I have an ATI Video Card installed that the system is not recognizing in the device manager.
I see only a "Standard VGA Graphics Adapter" there, and in properties in states after searching that best driver for this device is already installed.
Driver Provider: Microsoft
Driver Date: 6/21/2006
Driver version: 6.1.7600.16385
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows


Interestingly enough, I am getting a pop-up at every restart that says:
" The Catalyst Control Center is not supported by the driver version of your enabled graphics adapter. Please update you ATI graphics driver, or enable your ATI using the Displays Manager."


I am vaguely remember that I had to disable the preloaded generic graphics adapter for the system to recognize the installed ATI, but that was six years ago. Does that seem right?

The ATI Catalyst Control Center is showing up on the program list (!!!?), so I'm also guessing that this was somehow being generated by the card itself? Neither the CCC Wizard nor the CCC Advanced View can run because the device selected is unsupported:

"Catalyst Control Center cannot be started because the current active GPU is not supported."

Continuing with windows Updates in the meantime...

 

Which ATI/AMD video card do you have? Have you tried downloading/installing the most recent Catalyst version?

 

I believe it is a FireproGL, but since the system isn't recognizing it, that is from memory. I'll have to dig around a bit.

Haven't downloaded or installed anything yet, save for the card itself of course, which was already seated at the time of the 'clean' install. That's why I'm a bit surprised it's even on the system in the first place.

There is a bunch of bloatware from HP that was reinstalled, and according to the reliability manager, is causing problems. It's mostly all trial-ware that is far out-dated. I intended to install Revo again and get rid of it eventually.

The last batch of updates were successful. Installing more now.

I've never used, nor do I intend to use, the wireless hardware. Can that be exploited by hackers?

 

I finally found the box for the video card.
It's an ATI FirePro 3D Graphics / Professional Graphics v5800.

Went to the AMD site and downloaded the latest software package and drivers (dated December 2015) and installed it. Upon restart, I have no visual display whatsoever.

Is removing the card itself and a restart now in order?

(I also guess that the originally installed Catalyst Center was a part of the AMD II Phenom chipset or the HP OEM package, though that's just a guess)

 

seems like the evidence all points to a failed video card, but I'm hoping it wasn't permanent. Hoping to find what may still be done in terms of troubleshooting, despite the indicators.

I do have a vague memory of having to uninstall the onboard video card during the original installation, but I remain uncertain as to the accuracy of this memory

 

Use DDU to remove the display drivers, ensure your download from AMD is for the latest Catalyst drivers, not the more recent Crimson, which are very unlikely to contain anything better for your older card. Install the Catalyst package/drivers, test.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/display_driver_uninstaller.html

 

I would leave the card in and restart I safe mode- this will not load the suspect driver(s)
Then uninstall the video card driver from your device manager, and this will use Windows generic driver - then restart and it should try to give a suitable driver for the card.
Just noticed satrows post, and it basically says the same-
I am a believer that newer is not always better- sometimes an older driver will work better .

 

Hi Satrow. Thank you.

Something interesting: I powered down and then opted to go to safe mode; the ATI Card is now visible.
I restarted into the full windows environment, and aw the start logo appear, but then the screen went black.

I verified also that I installed the correct software from AMD, which included Catalyst

 

There could still be something left over from the old Catalyst install loading with Windows, which the DDU routine should also remove, allowing a clean install of working drivers.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. I had intuitively at least gone into safe mode.
Others here, Satrow included, have recommended against allowing Microsoft to pick the drivers through optional updates. Does that wisdom or advice also apply to working with drivers through the Device Manager?

I did download the most recent package from the card manufacturer, and downloaded the display driver uninstaller as well.

I ask these questions not only to find a solution, but to train myself in healthy diagnoses and best practices.

 

Got it. Thanks. Proceeding as advised.

(there's a little crosstalk-lag going on here with my replies)

 

side note: there is a new, minor, rattling sound emerging from the videocard onboard fan

 

That could well be the small fan on the graphics card- that could be your problem.

 

if you can power down and check if the fan has an obstruction (dirt, or, fluff) or, if it has become unbalanced- if so, you could try cleaning it, but I never had much luck when I tried that on graphics cards.
The bearing might also be faulty on the graphics fan

 

thanks for the tip; i'll come back to that soon

 

Okay Satrow, here's what I probably should have noticed from the beginning. The pre-installed onboard video card is an AMD Premium Vision card, which probably accounts for why the older version Catalyst Center is preloaded.

The Display Driver Uninstaller gave three options, and I ran it from safe mode and with a shutdown.
When powered back up, the old Catalyst Center is a gain present in the programs list.

I'm now installing the new version again.

 

Catalyst version 15.201.2401-whql-firepro-retail
downloaded from AMD's site with a manual search for this card in a windows 7 environment

it contains the following components:

AMD Display Driver version 15.201.2401.0000
AMD Catalyst Install Manager 8.0.916.0
HDMI Audio Driver 7.12.0.7723
AMD Drag and Drop Transcoding 2.00.0000
AMD FirePro Control Center 215.1104.2211.39859

 

it finished and said that warning logs were generated.
I viewed them and made a pdf, but they said that all programs were installed successfully (?)

when I was prompted to restart the system, it returned another black screen;

rebooting to safe mode again now

 

also blew out the card fan with compressed air - running quietly again

 

Giving this a shot next. have to step out. Thank to all. will report back soon

 

Hmm, sounding more like there's either a fault with the card or with the motherboard (not feeding enough power through PCiE?) now.

 

that is dreadful news, given that I have unfinished projects on this system. how can I determine which of the two it might be?

it's also actually in a full PCi port

unfortunately also, baklogic's advice for uninstall from the device manager yielded no new results

 

I went remove the card and realized something worth reporting.
Even though the device manager on recognized a generic graphics card and driver, both of the monitors were both on an showing an identical image.

I wonder if that indicates that I might still be able to work with the card? I guess I have some testing to do. I'm guessing I won't regain the dual-screen environment without the correct driver (we'll see) but at least perhaps the 1GB of GDDR memory will still function for the old edit suite.

I temporarily removed the card. Turns out the rattling fan is more likely to be from the power supply itself, and given the cycling sound, perhaps the ball-bearing theory is accurate. It sounds different, less noisy, while in a vertical position, but still noisier than I am accustomed to.

The main monitor is now hooked up to the onboard graphics display adapter port. I get an image with a black border I have not seen before, but I haven't configured this one either, if there is an configuration to be done.

discouraging.

I will try re-installing the video card now, but hopefully some will have some advice for further troubleshooting too.

 

The easiest way to check the GPU card is by testing it in a known good PC.

If the PSU isn't feeding the 'board with enough power, that could give similar results, too.

 

I seem to be screwed at every turn. Went to my son's little-used machine, only to discover it won't turn on.
I started another thread in the hardware forum for that one.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/index.php?threads/power-supply-troubleshooting.314944/


Pulled a retired machine out of the closet which worked the last time I used it. It also will not power-up.
Do power supplies have a habit of failing from disuse? Feeling sick.