I've been having some odd display issues with IE10, for example, wordpress.org Home page opens as a blank page. In the MS TechNet forums, it was recommended that I check for driver updates for my graphics card.

This is a 1-month old Win 8 system, with an AMD Radeon card. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what the model name is... I pasted that into a text file on my desktop, but after upgrading the driver through Windows Update and rebooting, I have NO DISPLAY! I remember typing the model name in... something like 7850??

When I ran the Windows Driver update, it downloaded and installed a driver from Sept 2012 (the one installed had been from July 4, 2012.)

My screen flashed from on to black several times as it was installing, then flashed this warning:

"The AMD VISION Engine Control Center is not supported by the driver version of your enabled graphics adapter. Please update your AMD graphics driver, or enable your AMD adapter using the Display Manager."

This message was confusing to me because I had just updated the driver and it appeared to be enabled since I had a display. I opened the AMD VISION Engine Control Center with no issues, so I figured this error message was something that was triggered while the driver was being installed, during the the time when the screen was flashing on to black.

I opened IE10, cleared the cache and visited wordpress.org and it was still a blank page. So, I thought I better reboot. My system boots but I have NO DISPLAY now. I get the opening Acer screen, then the opening HP screen, then all goes black and remains that way.

Can I fix this by getting into safe mode or something? (I'm not even sure how to get into safe mode on Win8.) How can I roll back the driver without a display?

I need to get to work. Please help!! Thanks in advance!

ps. I'm reading some other forums, it's suggested that I restore Win8 using the installation CD... um, I bought this system a month ago at a Staples and they don't give you installations CDs. Will I have to take my computer in to get this fixed? Huge issue since I live remotely.

Edited: 02/14/2013 at 02:52 PM by intrepid3

Yea, never update video drivers via Windows Update. Press F8 during boot and select Safe Mode and use System Restore to go back to before you used Windows Update. Then stop using IE and switch to Firefox.

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Crosshair IV Formula, Phenom II x4 965 w/ Corsair H60, 8 GiB OCZ Platinum DDR3 1600, XFX HD 7970 Ghz, 512GB Vertex 4, 256GB Vector, 240GB Agility 3, Creative X-Fi Titanium w/ Creative Gigaworks S750, SeaSonic X750, HP ZR2440w, Win 7 Ultimate x64

Thanks for your reply!

Never update video drivers via Win Update, really, why? Shouldn't even be an option if it's screwed.

I got into "Safe Mode" (although there's no mention of "Safe Mode" on that screen?) Clicked F8, then F11 to get into System Restore.

1st attempt failed... unspecified error, suggested to run chkdsk. (Have not yet.)

Tried to restore to an earlier date, appeared successful, but the system ran into "a problem" while trying to reboot (twice) then showed "preparing an automatic repair", then "diagnosing problem", then "checking disk for errors, this could take hours" and then immediate kicked to a black screen with the HP logo. The system sounds like it's "thinking" but the black screen with HP logo remain. Is it running chkdsk?

I don't use IE. I'm a web developer and had to test some pages in IE10, that's what started all this. If I get this back up and running, I'll just screw IE10 testing on this machine and buy another. It will cost me less than all this fussing around with my workstation!

I managed to get into real Safe Mode via the command prompt (previously, I was just in the Windows Advanced Startup Options.")

The driver I have is:

AMD Radeon HD 7540D + 7450 Dual Graphics

Before I updated it, the driver date was July 4, 2012. The update that was installed was from September 19, 2012.

In the Device Manager, I now see two drivers:

AMD Radeon HD 7540
AMD Radeon HD 7540D + 7450 Dual Graphics

Both are dated Sept 2012 and for both, the Roll Back button is greyed out.

Presumably then, I need to uninstall these and reinstall manually.

Where can I find the one from July?

On the AMD site, the only option that's given to me for a driver is:

AMD Catalyst™ Display Driver

for Windows Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 64-bit

Does the Catalyst software now replace the AMD VISION Engine Control Center? Was Windows Update steering me the wrong way by installing a driver from September when this January 2013 update is available? Should I uninstall the drivers currently on my system, download this newer one and install?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just understandably nervous about what to do given what's been going on today. Thanks in advance!

Before installing the new Catalyst software and drivers, I checked under add/remove programs and removed the AMD Catalyst Install Manager. No other AMD/ATI software was listed.

I got an error message: "failed to load detection driver" but the software appeared to be removed.

Then through the Device Manager, I removed the AMD Radeon HD 7450 and 7450D + 7450 Dual Graphics drivers.

I tried to install the new Catalyst software and drivers mentioned in my last post, but got the same error: "failed to load detection engine" and the software did not install.

However, I noticed at this point that the old drivers, my original installs dated from July, came back, though they're named slightly differently from before, simply AMD Radeon HD 7450 and 7450D (the "+ 7450 Dual Graphics" part no longer displays in the name of the 2nd driver.)

I rebooted normally and everything loads, so it appears that the earlier system restore combined with removing software/drivers manually resulted in a roll back.

There's no AMD or ATI software listed under add/remove programs however, and my display issues with IE10 remain.

I think I'll just leave well enough alone, but out of curiosity...

Should I have used some sort of driver "sweeper" software to remove all AMD/ATI bits before installing the latest Catalyst/drivers?

What software includes the detection engine? The Catalyst Suite?

Why, oh why doesn't the uninstall/install procedure work as smoothly as it does in the AMD support videos? How is a normal human expected to work with this stuff?

It looks like MS Windows Update led me to the wrong driver update, which is what seemed to bork all this. Is this why you suggest that video drivers should never be upgraded via Win Update?

Thanks!!

Can be a browser issue, especially knowing that it's IE.

Old beta drivers. One of the reasons why you should never accept any drivers from WU.

The typical symptom of WU f********ing up your system. It updates or downgrades the drivers, but leaves the mismatched CCC/VECC in place.

I'm starting to think that it's not a desktop PC. Then you should use the drivers provided by the OEM that made the laptop.

You're a happy alpha tester of M$ for free. Expect trouble.

Wait, not for free. You even paid for it...

Probably the system failed to recognise some digital signatures. Alpha, remember?

Some people do recommend it, it's even in the official driver install proedure suggestion. Still, I say, don't use them unless it's the only possibility. They're dangerous.

Yes, it's part of the installer. As the name suggests, it's used to determine what kind of video card you have, so it can install drivers for it (or deny installing if it's unsupported).

Usually it does. You either have a borked system (in that case, a golden medal to you, you only needed 1 month) or face bugs contained within the OS. (As I said, I suspect signature policy issues.)

You are also running a yet uncommon and strange config. (I mean dual graphics.) Expect trouble again.

Yes, in an ideal world, everything would work fine. These days both hardware and software are released in an uncomplete stage because companies care more about money than customers. You can see this in games, commercial software and a lot of faulty hardware that has to be RMAed after a few days/weeks.

What a "normal human" should do: Let go of the new stuff, it's not for you. Use older hardware with older operating systems. Not ancient, but something that can be researched, people wrote opinions about it, there are reviews etc.

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CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 810 @ 3250MHz | RAM: Kingmax 2x2GB DDR2 800 @ 833MHz| MoBo: MSI K9A2 CF v1.0 (BIOS: 1.D)| GPU: Asus HD 6850 1024MB (DirectCu) @ 850/1100MHz | Display: Chili Green Vision L24FHD | PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad | OS: MS Windows 95 x64 Edition

CPU: Pentium 4 Northwood S478 @ 3200MHz | RAM: 1,5GB DDR 400| MoBo: Gigabyte GA-8S661FXMP-RZ | GPU: Abit Geforce Ti 4200 | Display: Dimarson 19" CRT | PSU: Noname 400W | OS: MS Windows XP Pro, Fedora 18

Thanks for your comments!

Yes, that's what led me on this path to begin with. I'm simply trying to do some IE10 testing but I get strange behaviour from IE10--that others can't seem to replicate. MS TechNet help suggested it was a GPU driver issue.

Grrreat, thanks for the heads up. I don't want to repeat yesterday!

I guess I don't know the definition of a "desktop PC" because I would consider this one, though it is a HP that I purchased at a Staples and unlike Dells I have purchased in the past it did not come with OS installation disks. (The sales guy said no Win8 systems ship with OS CDs now?)

So I guess the Catalyst Suite is not compatible with *this* machine, despite it matching the requirements.

I guess so, since a search in Google for "AMD Radeon HD 7540D + 7450 Dual Graphics" turns up ONE result.

Well, I completely agree with you there and tend to live by it. This Win8 system was my first new computer in 8 years. I was on an XP before it and I simply replaced parts, added RAM, etc. over the years because upgrading is a HUGE time suck, and replacing software to work with new OSs costs more than the computer itself. I just need a tool that works, I'm not caught up in the "latest, greatest" race. The motherboard on my old system finally gave up the ghost and I needed a replacement stat so I could work, so I bought this system the next day. I've been pleased with it, despite the clear usability mistakes in Win8, but after yesterday's fiasco I'm not sure who to blame, MS, HP or AMD. Or maybe myself for being fooled into thinking that a driver update would be simple.

Thanks again!

ps. The HP site recommends another driver version, I guess that's where I should have gone, not WU and not the AMD site. I'm going to ignore this issue for now, I can't afford another work day lost to this.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=cp-113963-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&os=4132&product=5297018&sw_lang=

Edited: 02/15/2013 at 01:22 PM by intrepid3

The problem was "fixed" then returned again a couple of days later. After much fussing about and phone support with HP it was determined that the graphics card was faulty. Returned the computer and got an ASUS with NVidia card instead. Problem solved.