Bricked my 290x.... any hope?

[ThackerSS]

Hey guys,

I have a launch Sapphire 290x that has been great since launch. I've overclocked it with MSI afterburner and had it stable for almost 2 years.

However, last night crimson prompted for a driver update. 16.5.2? I believe was the version.

I ran the driver update.

After the update, I did NOT reboot. I fired up MSI afterburner and reapplied my overclocking settings (which are very mild I might add, no voltage increase etc).

After that, I fired up the new Forza Apex beta.

Before it even loaded the menu, my graphics card went to 100% fan and the screen went blank.

I restarted the machine, GPU fan went to 100%, nothing on display, no post. Motherboard was throwing an error code 32 on the little digital display on the board.

I turned off the machine. Swapped the bios switch on the card from uber to quiet mode, restarted machine. No change.

Swapped in an older video card, machine booted fine. Swapped back in the 290x. No boot.

Any ideas what could have happened? D:



UPDATE: Issue is resolved.

Powersupply was the problem child. Replaced with a new 850, and card works fine in the machine again.

It also resolved some other issues I was having with the machine, like it not posting on the first power press, etc.

 

[MrTeal]

Do you get video, and can you get into the BIOS, see the Windows boot logo, etc?

Try starting in safe mode and running DDU.

 

[ThackerSS]

Do you get video, and can you get into the BIOS, see the Windows boot logo, etc?

Try starting in safe mode and running DDU.

No video, no post.

It doesn't seem to be driver related in that regard as I can't get into the bios, safemode or anything. Motherboard hangs with a 32 which is a generic error according to the motherboard documentation.

I also reset the CMOS to eliminate a possible bios issue.

Basically, turn on power, video card instantly goes to 100% fan, no post.

 

[MrTeal]

No video, no post.

It doesn't seem to be driver related in that regard as I can't get into the bios, safemode or anything. Motherboard hangs with a 32 which is a generic error according to the motherboard documentation.

I also reset the CMOS to eliminate a possible bios issue.

Basically, turn on power, video card instantly goes to 100% fan, no post.

Well, that's a bad sign. You said it's been stable almost two years, any chance it's not 2 years old and still under warranty, or did you maybe buy it on a Visa or something that gives you an extra year?

You could try running it in another system, but it sounds like a card fault.

 

[thesmokingman]

After the update, I did NOT reboot. I fired up MSI afterburner and reapplied my overclocking settings...

Were you trying to create problems? I'm trying to wrap my brain around this still. Note to self, never do this, ever.

it sounds like a card fault.

Sounds more like pricking your condom with needles just before going all in...

 

[ThackerSS]

Were you trying to create problems? I'm trying to wrap my brain around this still. Note to self, never do this, ever.




Sounds more like pricking your condom with needles just before going all in...

Not rebooting was a mistake no doubt. I just didn't figure it would brick a card like that.

 

[thesmokingman]

Not rebooting was a mistake no doubt. I just didn't figure it would brick a card like that.

It's hard to say or even know what happened during that state as the drivers are in a an known state you might have given AB direct access to hw w/o a driver there to mediate. This would be something for an AMD engineer, but either way it doesn't sound good.

 

[ThackerSS]

It's hard to say or even know what happened during that state as the drivers are in a an known state you might have given AB direct access to hw w/o a driver there to mediate. This would be something for an AMD engineer, but either way it doesn't sound good.

Understood.

Guess I'll wait until polaris and pick something else up.
:thumbsup:

 

[RussianSensation]

Fire up the PC with the old card, use System Restore to a previous restore point say 1 month away. Then reboot with the old card. Load windows, shut the system down. Turn off the PSU switch (OFF). Reset the BIOS on the motherboard manually (disconnect the pin). Take the old card out. Insert the 290X with BIOS 1. Turn on the PSU switch. Restart the system. If doesn't work, try the card with BIOS 2.

 

[KingFatty]

Are there any other instances of a software driver update, or Afterburner settings, being able to brick a video card?

If it doesn't even work in BIOS, it seems the software is not at issue, and you are dealing with a bricked card.

Any chance you have another computer you could put the car into?

or, at least try moving the video card to a different slot in the computer. maybe the current issue is just coincidence. that happens sometimes, where your hardware just up and dies on you randomly, and it's just that this happened to you now and has nothing to do with drivers/settings.

 

[thesmokingman]

Are there any other instances of a software driver update, or Afterburner settings, being able to brick a video card?

If it doesn't even work in BIOS, it seems the software is not at issue, and you are dealing with a bricked card.

Any chance you have another computer you could put the car into?

or, at least try moving the video card to a different slot in the computer. maybe the current issue is just coincidence. that happens sometimes, where your hardware just up and dies on you randomly, and it's just that this happened to you now and has nothing to do with drivers/settings.

Not quite so fast. The driver update went flawless. OP however did not reboot and started AB loading his oc profile and went into a game. That's not the card's fault is it?

 

[IEC]

You have a dual BIOS on the card. Have you tried the other BIOS switch?

 

[KingFatty]

Not quite so fast. The driver update went flawless. OP however did not reboot and started AB loading his oc profile and went into a game. That's not the card's fault is it?

What I mean is are there any other situations where something like this has happened, so maybe there are other example solutions for this situation? Either due to driver update or AB settings (or combination, anything)?

I'm suspecting it's just coincidence and the card failed due to just randomly dying from hardware issues. he could have not changed any software at all and I'm guessing this failure still would have just happened out of the blue, bad luck.

 

[thesmokingman]

What I mean is are there any other situations where something like this has happened, so maybe there are other example solutions for this situation? Either due to driver update or AB settings (or combination, anything)?

I'm suspecting it's just coincidence and the card failed due to just randomly dying from hardware issues. he could have not changed any software at all and I'm guessing this failure still would have just happened out of the blue, bad luck.

Hmm, I suppose it is a coincidence, bad timing if we consider how the driver works with the bios. The card has built-in protections/controls in bios that are only taken over by the driver once the encryption is unlocked. I'm guessing during driver install, the driver has already unlocked the card, then the driver is unloaded for the new driver to be installed, however the new driver isn't actually loaded. This is where rebooting comes into play. Beyond this it's anyone's guess what happened. However I don't think it would have just randomly failed. Read the OP, there's no sign of a previous issue so there's no reason to think it would have fubar'd on its own.

 

[Z15CAM]

Didn't reboot - Do you mean a BLACK Screen and the the OS Booted with no Blue Screen ?

If so ensure your PSU outlets/Cable and the 290X interfaces are clean and well seated. Possible your PSU is weak.

 

[thesmokingman]

Didn't reboot - Do you mean a BLACK Screen and the the OS Booted with no Blue Screen ?

If so ensure your PSU outlets/Cable and the 290X interfaces are clean and well seated. Possible your PSU is weak.

NO. He installed driver, did not reboot. Instead started up Afterburner load oc profile and run game. Then it went black. PPL read his posts more carefully.

 

[Z15CAM]

NO. He installed driver, did not reboot. Instead started up Afterburner load oc profile and run game. Then it went black. PPL read his posts more carefully.

That's typical black screen resulting from insufficient power getting to a hungry 290X - I know because I own 3 of them and have been running CF 290X's for 3 years up to 1230x1500 Mhz's under water with at least an reputable 850W PSU.

An OC'd 290X requires a reputable 750W PSU.

Consider your retort before commenting and often run ;o)

 

[thesmokingman]

That's typical black screen resulting from insufficinet power getting to a hungry 290X - I know because I won 3 of them.

Consider your retort before commenting ;o)

Yea, his psu suddenly failed after two years of no issues? READ THE POSTS. I'm not trying to argue but you're ignoring the issues.

 

[Z15CAM]

Yea, his psu suddenly failed after two years of no issues? READ THE POSTS. I'm not trying to argue but you're ignoring the issues.

The OP does not refer to his PSU, cables or dirty interface contacts - Only the 290X GPU.

I'm offering him feasible alternatives to consider before concluding the 290X is Dead.

 

[thesmokingman]

I know because I own 3 of them and have been running CF 290X's for 3 years up to 1230x1500 Mhz's under water with at least an reputable 850W PSU.

You think because you can overclock somewhat you know something?


http://www.3dmark.com/fs/3758613

 

[sm625]

Its just AMD clearing out their old inventory. Too bad they couldnt at least wait until they had new cards on the market. Sheesh.

 

[Puffnstuff]

The OP should use a digital voltage meter to check the rails on his ps and definitely check the atx cables to the card to rule out a weak ps. To me it sounds coincidental that a driver change occurred just before it stopped working. Can the card display anything during post and has he tried it in another pc?

 

[MrTeal]

The OP should use a digital voltage meter to check the rails on his ps and definitely check the atx cables to the card to rule out a weak ps. To me it sounds coincidental that a driver change occurred just before it stopped working. Can the card display anything during post and has he tried it in another pc?

He tried another GPU, and it worked fine. Another PSU could eliminate that as a power issue, but he's currently even unable to reach the BIOS, so it's not like his 290X will be pulling pushing amounts of power.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hmm, I suppose it is a coincidence, bad timing if we consider how the driver works with the bios. The card has built-in protections/controls in bios that are only taken over by the driver once the encryption is unlocked. I'm guessing during driver install, the driver has already unlocked the card, then the driver is unloaded for the new driver to be installed, however the new driver isn't actually loaded. This is where rebooting comes into play. Beyond this it's anyone's guess what happened. However I don't think it would have just randomly failed. Read the OP, there's no sign of a previous issue so there's no reason to think it would have fubar'd on its own.

This sounds feasible.

 

[ThackerSS]

UPDATE: Issue is resolved.

Powersupply was the problem child. Replaced with a new 850, and card works fine in the machine again.

It also resolved some other issues I was having with the machine, like it not posting on the first power press, etc.