"No AMD graphics driver is installed..." Error message on bootup

[Mong]

Hi, thanks for stopping by.

 

I have been greeted with this error message for 4 out of the last 7 days, when I boot up my PC. I've also noticed that the fans in the PC sound slightly louder for a for a brief period when this happens.

 

My system specs are:

CPU: Intel i5 4440, stock cooler

GPU: 2x Asus HD 7770's in Crossfire

Mobo: Asus H97-Plus

PSU: Corsair CX600M 

RAM: 8x2 1600Mhz Kingston Hyper X Fury

Storage: 120gb Samsung 840 Evo, 1TB WD Green, 2TB WD Green

OS: Windows 7 64bit Home Premium

BIOS version/date: American Megatrends Inc. 2103, 27/6/14

 

 

The system runs in Windows Basic, I can't monitor the GPU temps, Windows Device Manager gives this message on one or the other GPU's, AMD's driver autodetect tools say I need to install Catalyst Control Center again, even though it's already installed, and my second monitor fails to detect a signal. I normally get around this issue by reinstalling Catalyst Control Center. The computer works perfectly after I do this, be it in gaming (Crossfire working fine), rendering...etc.

 

After reinstalling CCC and rebooting, the computer normally works fine until the next power down. CCC picks up the two GPU's running in Crossfire, and 3DMark can detect and use both too. 

 

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the GPU drivers, reinstalling CCC, and using an older version of CCC, though I think it just updates to the newest version automatically. I've refrained from updating the BIOS because I'd had a bad experience with that in the past.

 

What do I do now? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Just let me know if I've left out anything or you need more system info. Thanks!

[wyattzx]

Would it be possible to install the card into a separate machine? It might be a faulty card, though it does sound software related. Much easier to install it in another PC than it is to reformat Windows entirely!

[Mong]

Well, which card? There are two in the machine and the device manager seems to display the error message interchangeably between them.  

[Juan Remes]

As NonaHexa said, test the cards separately and together in another machine, its easier and faster to determine this way if you have a defective GPU

or

you could make a partition in one of your HDDs and reinstall a copy of Windows there and see if it works fine or not, normally a Windows Clean install is the best way to check if it is a driver problem, but if you have not the space enough to make an extra partition it could be a serious problem (which is not your case)

[Mong]

Thanks for the reply.

 

I forgot to mention that I assembled this computer in late December, 2014. These problems are very recent. I was using one of the 7770's in a previous build and never had an issue with it. The second 7770 was RMA'd refurbished legacy stock from Asus that I just had lying around. They both worked fine in crossfire for nearly a month without any issues.

 

Is there any way of testing the cards without having to install Windows 7 on a partition on my HDD (I haven't the knowledge to pull this off properly; I'd probably end up breaking something), or without another machine to test with?-, I simply don't have another rig to mess around with. Perhaps someone knows of some way I be certain it's a hardware fault, rather than software issue.

[CoolaxGaming]

"Disable ULPS".

Google that and you will know what I mean.

[Mong]

Well I disabled ULPS, but the second GPU still appears to be sleeping. It's only when I'm in a game or a program like Blender where the second GPU appears to be active.

 

Is this normal?