Graphics Strange problem with GPU and PCIe slots

So I've got this really strange issue with my graphics card. Basically, it will work in the second PCIe slot on my board just fine (although it runs at x8 because that's the maximum speed of the slot in question), but it's not recognised at all in the first.

I've tried 2 different motherboard and the problem persists. I've also just tried a second CPU to rule that out, and yet again the problem persists. To add to that, I also tried reseating several times, checking for dust in the slot, checking the gold contacts on the GPU, clearing CMOS, reseating the RAM in different slots, and loosening the CPU cooler to make sure the board isn't warping... and none of that worked.

Has anyone ever seen a GPU behave in this way before? Any advice?

 

What board and GPU are we talking about?

 

BIOS update? Half hearted suggestion but worth a shot as you've covered a lot of bases

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

Board is Asus Maximus V Gene and MSI 7970OC.

I'm already running the latest BIOS so I can't update anymore.

 

Did I read that right, you have tried the GPU in 2 different mobos and it does the same thing
If that is the case I would say the GPU is at fault, because for some strange reason it is only working on 8 lanes.

Bit of a long shot try a bios flash or update on the GPU, it might get it back to normal. As in running on 16 lanes again.

 

Another random suggestion.
Pull power to pc, remove bios battery.
Go put the kettle on, make a brew put your feet up for 30 minutes them reassemble.

I had an issue with an Asus board and graphics, this fixed it. Sounds nuts, but true, cmos reset didn't work 30 minute bios battery removal solved it.

 

Yes that's right, same GPU in 2 different motherboards. Doesn't working PCIe slot 1 (x16), does work in PCIe slot 2 (x8).

I have looked into the bios issue. I think I'm right in saying my BIOS version is TV277MS.110, which is not the latest one.



I've installed MSI Live Update, but it doesn't seem to detect GPU BIOS in the 'Live update' tab, so I won't be able to update BIOS that way, and the MSI site doesn't seem to host them either. Any idea where I could get latest BIOS?

 

Techpowerup probably. I'm on my phone though so it's not easy to look


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I think these are the ones I need:

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/124215/msi-hd7970-3072-120628.html

I'm gonna switch to BIOS switch 2 and then flash BIOS the old fashioned way rather than use MSI Live Updater.

 

That looks like the right one. Has to be worth a try. Just remember to down load the bios you have now as well just in case it's the wrong one. That way at least you can flash it back to what you have and have a working card again.. Well, a sort of working card.

 

Yeah luckily I have dual bios on this card, so if I mess it up I can switch to the other one.

But does anyone have a BIOS flash guide. I'm trying to use this one but my command prompt doesn't seem to be working as in the guide:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1353325/tutorial-atiwinflash-how-to-flash-the-bios-of-your-ati-cards

The string I'm using is 'atiwinflash -f -p 1 HD7970.2012.06.28.rom'. When I hit enter something flashes up on-screen for a split second but the BIOS flash doesn't seem to be happening. I only have 2 PCIe slots on my board so I'm assuming the second one will be '1' if the first one is '0', as the guide states.

 

Run as administrator?

 

Yeah I've made sure to run as administrator. Not working.

 

What is the error message the flash is giving you? I'd recommend trying different versions of atiflash as i found only one type would work with my 7990 and my 295x2.

 

Hi Matt. The version I'm using is ATI Winflash 2.0.1.18. I'm not getting any error message. It just doesn't seem to 'work'. I do everything in the guide above, and nothing happens except something flashes up on screen too fast for me to see what it is.

Do you think I should look for another version of ATI WinFlash or just do it the old school way via bootable USB?

Edit: the above happens when I run ATI WinFlash via cmd.exe. When I try to flash by running ATI WinFlash as normal (i.e., in the application itself) I get an error which says 'Subsystem IDs mismatch'.

 

Stop using atiwinflash immediately!

Use Atiflash. I actually wrote a bios flashing guide on another forum so let me bring it here and it should walk you through step by step. This guide was written for 7990 users, but the same basic rules apply. You only have to flash one bios, not two as you do for the 7990.

Any questions before you flash - shout, and I'll be on hand to help.

EDIT

Obviously avoid step 7, don't use the 7990 bios!

Of course neither I nor AMD can accept any responsibility should anything go wrong, so please bear this in mind before you attempt to follow the guide below.

Bios Flashing Instructions

You might want to write parts of this down or print it out.

Included in step 7 is the download link to the two custom bios which you will flash. They are labeled Malta1 (master bios for gpu1) and Malta2 (slave bios for gpu2). Its very important you flash the master bios to gpu 1. If you flash the mater bios to the slave or the other way around the card will not function correctly. If you follow the guide closely you cannot go wrong.

First of all you need to create a bootable usb stick to flash the cards in DOS.

1. Download and install the USB disk format tool here.

2. Download the Windows98 system files here.

3. Create a folder called Win98boot on your desktop, extract the files from step 2 into the folder.

4. Plug in your usb stick. Launch the USB disk format tool. Copy these settings, then click format. You need to select quick format, tick dos startup and select the Win98 folder, like ive done below.



5. Click start, then ok and it should do it.

6. Download atiflash. Extract it onto the usb stick.

7. Download my 7990 bios. Extract it and cut and paste it into the usb stick.

8. If you've done everything correctly your usb stick folder contents should look like this. Do not worry if you have more or less files than what appears in the screenshot. You may have more files than in the screenshot, depending on what OS you use.



9. Make sure the 7990 in your pc is switched onto bios 1.



10. Uninstall gpu drivers and any overclocking apps. Do not keep settings delete everything.

11. Restart your pc. Before you hear the beep keep tapping F8. Boot from the usb stick.

12. You should be at dos prompt. Type atiflash -i to get the adapter number for both your gpu's. Typically it will be 0 and 1, unless you have a gpu in a third pci-e slot. You need the adapter number to tell it which gpu to flash.

13. To flash gpu 1 (master 7990) type atiflash -p -f 0 Malta1.rom and hit enter.

Wait for it to finish. It will prompt you to restart but before we do that we need to flash the second gpu as well.

Now do the second gpu (slave 7990)

Type atiflash -p -f 1 Malta2.rom

Once that has completed and you get a notification saying you can restart press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart your pc.

All going well you should get a display and boot back into windows. Now you can reinstall fresh new drivers etc. Boost voltage and boost clock is disabled, your card thinks its a non boost card from now on in and you have the option to select 50% power setting as standard with every driver install.

If something goes wrong and you get no display from the cards after flashing the bios. Turn the pc off and flick both cards bios switch to position 2 to use the stock backup bios. Turn the pc back on and all will be ok.

 

I don't know if you have already tried, but cleaning the contacts on the card with a soft pencil eraser might help, I have had cards and ram that have been assumed faulty, brought back to life by doing this.

 

I've just tried flashing using your method, Matt, and I must be doing something wrong because I'm getting this error:



I'm using the BIOS found here, which seem to be the latest available ones:

https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/124215/msi-hd7970-3072-120628.html

 

rename rom file to something easy (like new.rom) make sure its in the same location as atiflash then try again.

 

That worked. I renamed it 'newbios.rom' and it flashed first time.

Going to reinstall drivers and then move GPU over to slot 1 to see if it worked. I'll be back soon with an update...