Black Screen of Death

[Grumpee]

After 5.0 my computer constantly crashes to black screen, but there is still power. i never get an error message or anything. the official forums have been no help at all(i even got one of my posts deleted for no reason) anyone have any clue as to what is causing this and what i can do to fix it? this problem only happened after 5.0 and only when im playing wow.

[jaymzkerten]

Do you still hear sound coming from the speakers when the screen goes black? Have you opened up your computer and cleaned it out recently? Could be an issue with your video card overheating and crashing.

[Chat]

My computer has been doing this exact same thing for the past few months. My screen goes black and the sound cuts off. I downloaded "WhoCrashed" and it says the following.

This was probably caused by the following module: atikmdag.sys (atikmdag+0x90817)
Bugcheck code: 0x3B (0xC0000005, 0xFFFFF88007EC1817, 0xFFFFF88005232900, 0x0)
Error: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\atikmdag.sys
product: ATI Radeon Family
company: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
description: ATI Radeon Kernel Mode Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an exception happened while executing a routine that transitions from non-privileged code to privileged code.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: atikmdag.sys (ATI Radeon Kernel Mode Driver, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.).
Google query: atikmdag.sys Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION

I uninstalled all drivers and reinstalled them... it's still doing the exact same thing.
I cleaned my video card as much as I possibly can but it still happens. Im seriously really close to throwing my computer out the window.

My video card is a ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series.

If anyone can help me with my issue aswell that would be awesome.. since this issue sounds the same.

Edit: Also it's not just with WoW.

[Azyle17]

My computer just started doing this yesterday. I have a GeForce 460x and it will randomly just power down while the computer stays on.

I have to believe its over heating because I took the side off after this and my videocard was VERY hot, but that doesn't make sense as to how it would overheat now and I've had it for a year or so.

[jaymzkerten]

My computer just started doing this yesterday. I have a GeForce 460x and it will randomly just power down while the computer stays on.

I have to believe its over heating because I took the side off after this and my videocard was VERY hot, but that doesn't make sense as to how it would overheat now and I've had it for a year or so.

Do you open up your computer and clean it out once in awhile? If you don't the dust buildup over the course of a year could significantly reduce the card's airflow, which would lead to higher temps.

Also define "VERY hot"; just hot to the touch? Video cards normally run 50-60C which is hot enough to burn you.

[Grumpee]

Do you still hear sound coming from the speakers when the screen goes black? Have you opened up your computer and cleaned it out recently? Could be an issue with your video card overheating and crashing.

no sound just darkness . and yes i clean my computer regularly . once a month usually. i cleaned it yesterday just to be sure but still happens. might be time for a new video card.

and it only crashes when im playing wow

[Azyle17]

Eh... Maybe it's not that hot then...

[Ravijn]

Could be a dying video card. Try running a gpu stress test on the card and see if it shuts down.

[c0rnel]

After 5.0 my computer constantly crashes to black screen, but there is still power. i never get an error message or anything. the official forums have been no help at all(i even got one of my posts deleted for no reason) anyone have any clue as to what is causing this and what i can do to fix it? this problem only happened after 5.0 and only when im playing wow.

Not wow related.

Doesn't matter which patch u have.

I would check a few things.

1) Is your cpu, ram, video card overclocked. If so try runnign stock settings.
2) If you have the latest driver, reinstall it (don't use the beta). Check the Ati control center and be sure you're running the stock speeds.
3) Check temps on your video card. Get furmark. Has gpuz and gpu shark builtin.

What video card do you have?

Maybe it''s overheating. Might be time to clean out the card and heatsink and put new thermal paste on it if u haven't done it in like over 2 years or more. Or it might be time to upgrade.