HD 6870 malfunction: black screen during Windows boot.
HD 6870 malfunction: black screen during Windows boot.
Hello,
I own an HD 6870 and have encountered a significant issue. I plan to cover all aspects thoroughly.
I adjusted my frequencies using the AMD Crimson Overdrive, increasing them by approximately 5%. There were no temperature concerns—my maximum reached was around 65°C, but it operated at about 55°C thanks to good airflow in the case.
For a few days now, I've been running these settings. However, today while playing, the screen suddenly flickered, stretched, and displayed strange graphical glitches for a short time before going completely black.
Now, immediately after the "Welcome" panel on Windows 7, right after logging in, my screen goes black entirely.
The only way to access the desktop is through Safe Mode. In Safe Mode, I was able to uninstall the drivers and then restart using Windows normal mode with the built-in GPU. But this didn’t help because I couldn’t run any games.
The problem remains: in Safe Mode, I can’t use AMD Overdrive or any overclocking tools. Also, the drivers need to be installed before I can enable them on normal mode.
I tried multiple driver versions (the latest supports my GPU version 15.2), but none changed the outcome. Between each installation, I used Display Driver Uninstaller to ensure a clean removal of previous drivers and cleared all AMD-related folders.
Then I remembered I had an extra graphics card—an HD 6770, which is from the same series as my HD 6870 and uses the same drivers. I installed it, repeated the process, and it booted up correctly! In Overdrive, the frequencies matched the standard HD 6770 specs.
This raises a concern: could this mean my original HD 6870 is no longer functioning properly? As mentioned earlier, it has never overheated...
I also wondered where the Overdrive settings are stored. Was it on the local drive (after I cleared everything related to my GPU between each driver update), or in the BIOS (where I checked but found nothing about GPU frequency and voltage)? I attempted all possible solutions to reset them.
I’m worried about my GPU, though it’s still relatively old—it’s not a bad unit at all.
Please let me know if you have any advice or information.