Windows boots to blank screen with MSI Radeon 6970 Lightning

S

shanepez

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
165
My old PC had the MSI 6970 Lightning (which I bought from a user on this forum 4 years ago). I had an AIO liquid cooling system on both the GPU and CPU.

I recently upgraded my current PC and moved the AIO liquid cooling system from my 6970 to my new GPU. I reinstalled the old air coolers on the 6970.

The first time I booted the old system with the 6970, it posted, and Windows looked like it was going to start, then the screen just went black.

I have tried, and made no difference:
-Reinstalling windows
-Different RAM
-Reinstalling the AIO liquid cooler on the GPU
-Switching the bios options on the GPU (It has a performance mode switch)
-Different monitor
-Different resolution
-Different inputs (HDMI, DVI)
-Ran Memtest for 4+ hours (no errors)

I have tried the following, which did work:
-Safe mode (boots into Safe mode just fine)
-Different GPU on the same motherboard (this worked fine)

Things that I cannot try:
Different PSU (I only have one PSU that has 2x 6+2pin headers)
Different motherboard (I don't have a spare)
Putting the 6970 into another PC (This thing is a BEAST and physically won't fit into my other case)

Because I am able to boot into Safe mode, I have a feeling it might have to do with the resolution. Has anyone ever had a problem with a card being able to display a lower resolution, but not a higher one?

Is there anything trivial or simple that I haven't tried yet? Literally the only thing that changed was removing the AIO GPU cooler and replacing the air cooler. I am a bit worried that some physical damage may have occurred, but I am generally pretty careful.

Any help is appreciated!
 
When you reinstalled Windows using the GPU with issues how far did you get? All the way until it was time to boot? Because it sounds like a driver issue. Although it could be a failing card as well. Higher resolutions could be beyond what it's capable of right now.
 
Sounds like it's a driver issue. I suggest switching back to an older or newer version. If that doesn't work, then I guess you're sol.
 
I reinstalled Windows, got all the way in, played games, no problem.

It was only after I removed the AIO Liquid GPU cooler that it no longer booted. I tried reinstalling again, got all the way until boot, then it didn't load.

I will try another driver, older and newer. I can download both, install one through Safe mode and see if that works.

In other news, I plugged the video card into the X4 PCIe slot instead of the X16 and it logged in to Windows for about 10 minutes, then the fan went into over-drive mode and then crapped out. I wonder if it over-heated... I'll have to get HWmonitor on my USB stick as well.
 
UPDATE:

After booting into Windows via SafeMode, it looks like Windows cannot find a driver for the "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter", or the "Generic PnP Monitor".

Usually I don't see the 2nd one, I wonder why Windows can't automatically find those drivers. I will search online for answers.

EDIT: Ignore the part about the "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter". I enabled the onboard graphics, and Windows won't automatically install the drivers in safe mode.
 
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If drivers won't install for a video card it usually means the card is dead, sorry to tell you. You might have inadvertently caused damage to it when you were swapping out coolers.
 
shanepez said:
UPDATE:

After booting into Windows via SafeMode, it looks like Windows cannot find a driver for the "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter", or the "Generic PnP Monitor".

Usually I don't see the 2nd one, I wonder why Windows can't automatically find those drivers. I will search online for answers.

EDIT: Ignore the part about the "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter". I enabled the onboard graphics, and Windows won't automatically install the drivers in safe mode.
Click to expand...

You broke the card swapping coolers. Likely knocked a component and broke the solder connection with the main PCB. Boards do all sorts of weird shit when components aren't properly connected.
 
Arcygenical said:
Is it a black screen with the cursor movable error?

What monitors are you using?
Click to expand...

Cursor is not movable. Can't do anything other than hard reboot.

I have tried a 22" Acer, 24" Dell, both 1080P. I have tried VGA, DVI, and HDMI. All of them have the same result.

Armenius said:
If drivers won't install for a video card it usually means the card is dead, sorry to tell you. You might have inadvertently caused damage to it when you were swapping out coolers.
Click to expand...

http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/
 
You should take the cooler off and inspect for any visible damage. If you can't find anything, bake it :)
 
Baking has always done good for me....the people who argue against it usually lack any common sense. None functioning hardware with no warranty equals nothing to loose. As long as your careful not to burn it...i think youl be good
 
Baked it at 385º for 8 minutes, as per the Lifehacker article. No changes.

(I took the time to remove all stickers and plastic pieces very carefully.)
 
-=SOF=-WID99 said:
plus you have to use older drivers your 6900 series card may no longer be supported
see http://betanews.com/2015/11/24/amd-kills-gpu/
Click to expand...

AMD 6000 series and 5000 series card drivers are still included in the latest versions of Catalyst. AMD simply isn't updating them anymore. There is no need to look for "older" drivers.

The following products have driver support for Windows® 10 and DirectX 11:

AMD Radeon™ HD 6000 Series/AMD Mobility Radeon™ HD 6000 Series Graphics
AMD Radeon™ HD 5000 Series/AMD Mobility Radeon™ HD 5000 Series Graphics

If your graphics adapter is included on the list of supported products, please install the latest AMD Catalyst™ Driver for Windows® 10 to fully enable its feature set.
Click to expand...
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/Win10-Driver-Support.aspx
 
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