ATI 4850 screen randomly flashes black

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willdude

n00b
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
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So I have a problem with my system where the screen will randomly flash to black, and then come back. Sometimes it'll be for just a second, sometimes long enough for the monitor to decide there's no signal at all; sometimes it will just do it once, and sometimes it will be so frequent and severe that it keeps happening for several minutes, even when I've rebooted. This seems to happen most often when I'm on the desktop with just a couple windows open, surfing the web, but has also happened while playing games. I don't think it's a heat issue because I can play a game for hours without a problem, and at most the temperature gets to low 80s C, according to the CCC. When the blinking starts, and I flip over to the CCC, the temp isn't any higher. The fact that it's happening regardless of the strain I put on the GPU and that it's not something I can recreate is very frustrating. If anyone can offer any insight as to what might be the cause, or what I can look for next time it happens, I'd be most appreciative. System info is in the signature.
 
I have the same problem it just happens out of the blue, and always on desktop only (havent at it happen in game yet). I get a 'display driver not responding' error on vista.

I have a somewhat similar build, Q6600, DS3R board, Vista 64 and a HIS 4850 card. I use dual monitors though and ATI's drivers seems to always mess up the refresh rate on my HDTV, where I have to reapply settings to it
 
Firebot said:
I have the same problem it just happens out of the blue, and always on desktop only (havent at it happen in game yet). I get a 'display driver not responding' error on vista.
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I've read of others seeing this error but have never actually seen it myself. Nothing shows up in the system event log, either. I wonder if there's something I have to tweak to make this error appear. What I've done for now is switch from using a DVI-to-HDMI cable to using a VGA cable for my monitor (which has both), and so far I haven't seen it happen again. I do seem to remember it happening with VGA way back when, but that was before I reinstalled Vista completely due to driver problems. We'll see.
 
Twice now I've seen someone post that the cause of random blackouts is incorrect refresh rates in the video card drivers, but both times they failed to explain how to fix this. The most recent post like that is here.
 
Have you tried switching to a different monitor? There is a chance your monitor is going bad right? The other thing is.. if your resolution is being changed by an application, it will cause your screen to go blank. For example, if you run at 1024 x 768 in a game and alt tab to desktop which is 1600x1080 then your screen is going to go black
 
willdude said:
I've read of others seeing this error but have never actually seen it myself. Nothing shows up in the system event log, either. I wonder if there's something I have to tweak to make this error appear. What I've done for now is switch from using a DVI-to-HDMI cable to using a VGA cable for my monitor (which has both), and so far I haven't seen it happen again. I do seem to remember it happening with VGA way back when, but that was before I reinstalled Vista completely due to driver problems. We'll see.
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My HDTV is currently on a DVDI to VGA adapter (waiting on an HDMI cable shipped). It's so random and bizarre though. I've also had this problem where the HDTV loses its refresh rate and gets a 'not supported mode' error (does not affect my main monitor). This has only happened with my new system and with ATI / Vista, my old system I changed a week ago with a Nvidia card and XP had no issues at all.
 
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