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HELP! AMD Catalyst update broke my PC - How best to reinstall Windows 7?
MilesAhead:
Sounds like the keyboard has sticking keys but one thing you could do is change the CMOS battery, (normally a CR2032), it's probably nothing to do with the problem but if you haven't changed it previously, then 5 years is a long time considering there's no knowing what state the battery was in to start with.
-4wd (September 11, 2015, 05:14 AM)
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Thanks, I never knew that existed!
Yeah, speaking of a 5-yr old PC and all the trouble it's causing me at the moment, I am seriously contemplating whether I'd be better off getting a new PC (or even an ultrabook, as it's about the same price). The thing that's holding me back is that this system was still fairly usable just a couple of months ago, so it seems like a waste not to try to restore it.
-dr_andus (September 11, 2015, 05:46 AM)
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You might hang onto it as your "guinea pig machine." When you want to experiment try stuff on the expendable machine first. ;)
dr_andus:
Well, I hit a dead end with my in-place upgrade installation pretty quickly. I'm following the instructions on www.winhelp.us, launched setup.exe from my Windows 7 DVD, and after I click on "Install now," I get the following error:
Windows could not retrieve infromation about the disks on this computer.
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When I checked the compatibility online, and downloaded and tried to run the "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor", It gave me the error message:
The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. THis can occur if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact you support personnel for assistance.
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When I Googled what could be causing the first error message, one suggestion was that "Virtual Disk Service" was not set to "automatic." I fixed that, but I still got the same error message after rebooting. Reading up more on the matter on the (Microsoft Forum), there are suggestions that
The install failure that you are describing is usually caused by driver problems with either the motherboard chipsets or the hard disk controllers. I would contact either your OEM or motherboard manufacturer and obtain the most current chipset and controller drivers.
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Well, this is above my skill set and patience level, so I presume there is not many other options left than restoring the PC to factory settings. I wonder whether even that is going to work, considering how vital drivers seem to be damaged. It's amazing that one AMD driver installation failure (plus the failed System Restore) could wipe out an entire range of essential drivers.
dr_andus:
OK, the deed is done. Restored my PC to factory conditions as of October 2010. Quite a time travel experience...
Boy, am I glad those recovery DVDs didn't deteriorate in all that time!
Now looking forward to a week of reinstalling software from scratch... But I learnt my lesson about incremental system backups.
Thank you to you all for all the help and advice.
dr_andus:
I did a clean install of Win7, and within the first 30 min I had a video hardware error (this is from Reliability Monitor):
Description
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.
Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
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Followed by:
Summary
Shut down unexpectedly
Problem signature
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
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Maybe this is really telling me that the AMD driver problem was maybe a video card hardware problem.
I don't really know where to begin with replacing a video card and whether it's worth it, but if that is really the culprit behind all my problems, then maybe experimenting with different AMD drivers is never going to solve the problem.
P.S. And then the only Windows update that failed so far was
ATI Technologies Inc. - Display - ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Display software update released in April, 2011
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4wd:
I did a clean install of Win7, and within the first 30 min I had a video hardware error (this is from Reliability Monitor):
Description
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.
Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
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-dr_andus (September 11, 2015, 05:41 PM)
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As a simple possible fix:
* Shut down the computer, if the PSU has a power switch turn it off, otherwise turn it off at the power outlet but leave the power cable plugged in. Push the computers power on switch for a few seconds, this will discharge anything left in the PSU. (Of course, if the computer powers up, you've still got power being supplied to it :) )
* Remove the side panel of the computer.
* Ground yourself by holding the metal chassis for a few seconds.
* Unplug the separate power lead going to the video card, if it has one - some do, some don't.
* Remove the video card, there will be a small plastic locking clip on the PCIe slot you'll need slide/push out the way as well as any screws/clips holding it at the bracket end. Avoid touching the contacts and/or any other bare component leads on the card if possible.
* Re-install the video card making sure it's properly seated and replace any screws that you removed.
* Keeping your fingers out the way, re-power the computer and let it run for a while doing whatever you'd normally do.
With any luck, it will have been just the contacts within the PCIe slot or on the card getting a little dirty. The reseating will normally fix that problem, the constant heating/cooling cycles also sometimes causes the card to shift possibly causing intermittent or high resistance contacts - depends how good the retaining fixtures are.
If it seems to be working normally again, put the side panel back on while powered down.
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