Catalyst 8.12 + Vista64 + 3 Series + Ram = Error

[FiXT]

It has barely been 48hours since the release of the almighty ATI Catalyst 8.12 drivers and already forums are abuzz with complaints. And it is not just the usual performance improvement disappointment posts, but it would appear something is SERIOUSLY borked on the driver side of things when certain conditions are present.

Having run into this issue myself today - Hopefully for users experiencing the same issues it will shed a little light - and hopefully, eventually, a solution.

The gist of it goes like this:

Users who have upgrade to the Catalyst 8.12 Drivers and have the following hardware have been receiving an error along the lines of:
"No ATI graphics driver is installed, or the ATI driver is not functioning properly. Please install the ATI driver appropriate for your ATI hardware."

The conditions involve a complete combination of the following
1) Windows Vista 64Bit
2) ATI Radeon 3XXX series video card (Some user reports of the 2XXX series as well)
3) >4GB Ram (More than 4GB)

I have deduced that the 3rd factor (the ram) appears to be part of the equation after my own troubleshooting.

Basically users with these "items" are getting the error and no amount reinstalling is getting results.

For those experiencing this problem - please attempt the following:
The only solution to this issue I have run across so far, is to run the system with only 2GB-4GB of ram.
For myself 4GB of ram still allows the system the run the graphics driver no problem, only 5GB or higher causes issues. However other users have had trouble with only 4GB or so reports say...

Feedback from users experiencing this problem would be much appreciated or if anyone hears of a further fix or solution - that would be great
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A Quick Update Regarding Hotfixes:

The Latest 8.12 Hotfix Drivers (8.561.3 HF#3) DO NOT alleviate the problem. This is also true of the previous 8.561.8 (a high number but HF#2).

 

[SKYMTL]

PLease go through with us the process by which you uninstall and install your drivers.

 

[FiXT]

It was a completely FRESH install
I hadn't even installed the motherboard drivers yet
The second system was done using driver cleaner pro par usual.

Downgrading to 8.11 worked fine, upon upgrade, the same issues.

This issue is exhibiting itself using both a 3850 and 3870 on two systems. One being a core I7, x58 with DDR3 the other a C2D with x38 and DDR2

 

[SKYMTL]

Methinks ATI is just compounding their driver issues by insisting their driver staff releases a new revision every month.

 

[Mark]

I have

Vista 64bit
4 gigs of Mushkin Ram
Asus ATI 4870x2 videocard

Works perfectly with SPORE, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and I'm folding 24/7 with the gpu and cpu cores so it must be related to the 3 series cards since all is equal otherwise?

 

[FiXT]

Yup it is a combination of the 3 factors.
If any one of the three does not exist - e.g. 4 series card or 4GB of ram or less then the issue will not be present.

 

[kybeer]

"No ATI graphics driver is installed, or the ATI driver is not functioning properly. Please install the ATI driver appropriate for your ATI hardware."

The conditions involve a complete combination of the following
1) Windows Vista 64Bit
2) ATI Radeon 3XXX series video card
3) 4GB+ Ram

I have the exact same problem, and my machine fulfills the three criterias above. However, I'm too lazy to remove any RAM . BUT numerous 4870x2 users also seems to have to problem.

 

[Eluder]

Yup it is a combination of the 3 factors.
If any one of the three does not exist - e.g. 4 series card or 4GB of ram or less then the issue will not be present.

Not true as I exhibit a similar problem where when I enable CF the OS reports a driver error and kills off the second video card. I'm using 2x4850's with 8GB of RAM under Vista Ultimate 64bit. So it's not just the 3800 series of cards.

 

[FiXT]

Not true as I exhibit a similar problem where when I enable CF the OS reports a driver error and kills off the second video card. I'm using 2x4850's with 8GB of RAM under Vista Ultimate 64bit. So it's not just the 3800 series of cards.

Thanks for the feedback however

I never stated that this error is limited to JUST the above combination - I have got the error on other rigs, with other drivers are different times as well - this error is not new or unique to the hardware combination.
However, if the above mentioned combination exists the chances are INCREDIBLY high, if not guranteed that the error will manifest and for most, decreasing to 4GB of ram or less SHOULD solve the issue temporarily.

I have not tested with the 4850's in CF, but the issue does not seem apparent when using a 4850, 4870 or 4870X2. I have also heard reports of it being exhibited when a 2 series card is present but cannot confirm.

Try using just 4GB of ram or less to see if it solves the problem. If it doesn't than your issue is seperate from the issue I am describing.

 

[Chilly]

Hummm, I've got the driver downloaded but not installed yet, I think I'm gonna skip this one for now. I have no issues with my 8.11's