• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

HD 4770 stopped working!

werg

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
My HD 4770 stopped working after I replaced the stock thermal paste with Artic Cooling MX-2. Here's what happened exactly: I overcloked my card with Riva tuner to 850 MHZ core and 950 MHZ memory. Seemed pretty stable, but ultimately I revered back to factory settings (750 MHZ and 800 MHZ respectively). Now everything was fine. I wanted to test my MX-2 thermal paste against the stock one, so having two HD 4770, I took the one I was using out, put the other one in, then ran Furmark, while I was applying the new thermal paste to the HD 4770 I had taken out. After this I put the card back in (with MX-2 applied) and.... it simply doesn't work. The fan starts, but the card sends no signal. I put the other card in (the one with no MX-2), and it works. Now, I used 99% alchohol to clean the old thermal paste and used MX-2, AFAIK, these two compounds are not conductive, so I don't imagine there could have been a short circuit. I also tried the card on another PCI-E slot, and it won't work either.

Does anyone have an idea what might of happened? The card was working fine until I took it out and applied new thermal paste...

EDIT: just learned that alcohol is conductive. I guess a short circuit is a very likely explanation.
 
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Messages
1,745 (0.27/day)
Location
The Nevada Wasteland
System Name 9th Level
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard MSI X570 Carbon wifi
Cooling EK Basic 360, x2 250mm, x1 140mm, x1 120mm fans.
Memory 32GB Corsair Vengeance 3200mhz.
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 3080 12GB FTW3
Storage 500gb ssd, 2tb ssd, 6tb HD.
Display(s) MSI 27" Curved 1440p@165hz
Case HAF 932
Power Supply Corsair HX850W
Software Windows 10 64bit
Sounds like you might have shorted it. Take it out and let it dry thoroughly.
 

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
28,472 (4.25/day)
Location
Indiana, USA
Processor Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory 32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super
Storage 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s) Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s) Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
If you didn't let the alcohol dry before puting the card back in, it could have fried the card. It could be any number of things though, it could be that you accidently bumped something on the card and damaged it, also, or that you overtightened the heatsink and cracked something.
 
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Messages
1,745 (0.27/day)
Location
The Nevada Wasteland
System Name 9th Level
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard MSI X570 Carbon wifi
Cooling EK Basic 360, x2 250mm, x1 140mm, x1 120mm fans.
Memory 32GB Corsair Vengeance 3200mhz.
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 3080 12GB FTW3
Storage 500gb ssd, 2tb ssd, 6tb HD.
Display(s) MSI 27" Curved 1440p@165hz
Case HAF 932
Power Supply Corsair HX850W
Software Windows 10 64bit
If you didn't let the alcohol dry before puting the card back in, it could have fried the card. It could be any number of things though, it could be that you accidently bumped something on the card and damaged it, also, or that you overtightened the heatsink and cracked something.

Was thinking exactly what newtekie said.

+1
 

werg

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
If you didn't let the alcohol dry before puting the card back in, it could have fried the card. It could be any number of things though, it could be that you accidently bumped something on the card and damaged it, also, or that you overtightened the heatsink and cracked something.

Hummm I don't know. Sometimes I read that isopropyl is conductive, sometimes I read it it isn't. Is there a way I can ultimately determine it's short circuit? In any case, 99% alcohol dries up in a few seconds, I don't think there could have been any residual alcohol when I put the card back in.
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
Just try reseating the cooler again. Inspect the card with the cooler off for any damage.
 

werg

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
Got the cooler off, and the thermal paste off, I couldn't see anything wrong. I put back some thermal paste and the fan, tried it again, still won't work. This has all the symptoms of a short, but I'm still somehow unconvinced this is what happened.
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
1,644 (0.29/day)
System Name Black Killing Machine
Processor Delidded NO IHS mount Intel i7-4770k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z87X-OC
Cooling Swiftech DIR655 pump, Watercool HEATKILLER® GPU-X³ 79X0 Ni-Bl gpu, DT SNIPER CPU block, UT60 420 RAD
Memory Gskill Trident 2400mhz CL9 Samsung IC9
Video Card(s) SAPPHIRE HD7950 OC 950mhz Edition, VaporX HD7950
Storage 2xM4 Crucial 64GB RAID 0, 1 OCZ AGILILITY 3 60GB, WDCB 500GB x2RAID0, WD Green, Hitachi 1TB
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster 226BW and 24" 120hz BenQ gamer
Case SilverStone Raven rv-02
Audio Device(s) Audio Technica ATH-AD900 headphones, Topping D2 DAC/Headphone AMP
Power Supply Seasonic Platinum 860
Software Windows 7 Pro 64bit
Benchmark Scores http://hwbot.org/user/sonda5/ Delidding is magic. http://valid.canardpc.com/2878462
Bummer.

The only thing i can think of a possible fix is to put another working Ati card in the primary PCI slot and get it booted up and working with the other ati card. Next put the non working HD4770 in the other pci slot as a "slave". Next you will have to get a good working BIOS for the HD4770 and force flash the HD4770.

Force flashing it with a good BIOS may fix the problem.
 

werg

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
Bummer.

The only thing i can think of a possible fix is to put another working Ati card in the primary PCI slot and get it booted up and working with the other ati card. Next put the non working HD4770 in the other pci slot as a "slave". Next you will have to get a good working BIOS for the HD4770 and force flash the HD4770.

Force flashing it with a good BIOS may fix the problem.

What if I used GPU-Z to save the BIOS for the good working card and use it to flash the other one? I mean, they should have the same bios, but who knows.
 
Last edited:

werg

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
Forgot to ask: how would flashing the a new BIOS help?
 

ToffeeC

New Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
6 (0.00/day)
I've heard of putting your card in the oven... the idea is to melt the soldering a little to correct bad contacts. I'd try that as a last resort though.
 
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
1,226 (0.22/day)
Location
The Netherlands
System Name Silent allround
Processor i5 750 @ 3,0Ghz 1.04v / 3.4Ghz 1.11v/ 3,6Ghz 1.15v
Motherboard Gigabyte P55-USB3
Cooling Thermalright IFX-14 + Scythe Slip Stream 140mm @ 600RPM
Memory 2 x 4GB Samsung M378B5273DH0-CH9 @ 2000 MHz 9-10-10-27 T1
Video Card(s) Sapphire HD 5870 Vapor-X @ 940/1270
Storage Intel Postville 80GB SSD & Western Digital Green 2TB
Display(s) Dell Ultrasharp U2412M
Case Bitfenix Merc Alpha
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar D2 with Unified Drivers
Power Supply Nexus NX-5000 R3 530W
Software Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Benchmark Scores Super pi 1M : 8,549s @ 4,7Ghz (Core i7 920)
I've heard of putting your card in the oven... the idea is to melt the soldering a little to correct bad contacts. I'd try that as a last resort though.

Heard the same about putting hardware in the freezer.

also can't you just RMA te card?
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
1,644 (0.29/day)
System Name Black Killing Machine
Processor Delidded NO IHS mount Intel i7-4770k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z87X-OC
Cooling Swiftech DIR655 pump, Watercool HEATKILLER® GPU-X³ 79X0 Ni-Bl gpu, DT SNIPER CPU block, UT60 420 RAD
Memory Gskill Trident 2400mhz CL9 Samsung IC9
Video Card(s) SAPPHIRE HD7950 OC 950mhz Edition, VaporX HD7950
Storage 2xM4 Crucial 64GB RAID 0, 1 OCZ AGILILITY 3 60GB, WDCB 500GB x2RAID0, WD Green, Hitachi 1TB
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster 226BW and 24" 120hz BenQ gamer
Case SilverStone Raven rv-02
Audio Device(s) Audio Technica ATH-AD900 headphones, Topping D2 DAC/Headphone AMP
Power Supply Seasonic Platinum 860
Software Windows 7 Pro 64bit
Benchmark Scores http://hwbot.org/user/sonda5/ Delidding is magic. http://valid.canardpc.com/2878462
What if I used GPU-Z to save the BIOS for the good working card and use it to flash the other one? I mean, they should have the same bios, but who knows.

If they are the same identical cards and they were made during the same time frame then there is a strong possibility they share the same bios.


The reason why I suggested force flashing it is because there is a possibility that the BIOS that was on it is corrupt and that is why the card(device) will not work right.

By forced flashing a card with a "corrupt" BIOS with a working BIOS the card may come back to life if that is BIOS is the problem.


The BIOS(software) could have went bad due to an electrical problem and the rest of the hardware may still be good.

Kind of like when over clocking and the irregular voltage being supplied to the CPU effects the OS and causes a computer to crash. A crash is usually fixed by reformating the hdd/ssd/storage where the OS is at.
 

vbx

New Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
720 (0.13/day)
Processor E8500 Core 2 Duo
Motherboard ASUS P5Q-EM
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper Z600
Memory Gskill 4gb DDR2 1066
Video Card(s) HIS 4670
Storage WD 320gb black
Display(s) Asus MS226H 21.5 monitor
Case Antec P180 Mini
Power Supply Antec NEO ECO 620C
Software Windows 7 x64
this is what happens to people who are board and decides to fix stuff that isn't broken. we all been thru it. not sure about what you can do though. I never had that problem. maybe you killed it via static
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
1,644 (0.29/day)
System Name Black Killing Machine
Processor Delidded NO IHS mount Intel i7-4770k
Motherboard Gigabyte Z87X-OC
Cooling Swiftech DIR655 pump, Watercool HEATKILLER® GPU-X³ 79X0 Ni-Bl gpu, DT SNIPER CPU block, UT60 420 RAD
Memory Gskill Trident 2400mhz CL9 Samsung IC9
Video Card(s) SAPPHIRE HD7950 OC 950mhz Edition, VaporX HD7950
Storage 2xM4 Crucial 64GB RAID 0, 1 OCZ AGILILITY 3 60GB, WDCB 500GB x2RAID0, WD Green, Hitachi 1TB
Display(s) Samsung SyncMaster 226BW and 24" 120hz BenQ gamer
Case SilverStone Raven rv-02
Audio Device(s) Audio Technica ATH-AD900 headphones, Topping D2 DAC/Headphone AMP
Power Supply Seasonic Platinum 860
Software Windows 7 Pro 64bit
Benchmark Scores http://hwbot.org/user/sonda5/ Delidding is magic. http://valid.canardpc.com/2878462
this is what happens to people who are board and decides to fix stuff that isn't broken. we all been thru it.

:nutkick:


Upgrading thermal paste usually isn't hard to do. Unfortunate results in this case. :(
 

werg

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
8 (0.00/day)
I had the BIOS saved into my hard drive (saved it with GPU-Z before the card went kaput). I forced flashed the card with the BIOS with atiflash, but that didn't solve the problem. I don't imagine there could be any better BIOS than that... I guess all I have left is ToffeeC's suggestion :(

I don't know if this helps for the diagnosis, but it seems the core heats up... also there's the fact that atiflash detected the card and was able to flash it. It's like it's executing instructions, but not sending a signal!
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Messages
1,745 (0.27/day)
Location
The Nevada Wasteland
System Name 9th Level
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard MSI X570 Carbon wifi
Cooling EK Basic 360, x2 250mm, x1 140mm, x1 120mm fans.
Memory 32GB Corsair Vengeance 3200mhz.
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 3080 12GB FTW3
Storage 500gb ssd, 2tb ssd, 6tb HD.
Display(s) MSI 27" Curved 1440p@165hz
Case HAF 932
Power Supply Corsair HX850W
Software Windows 10 64bit
I've heard of putting your card in the oven... the idea is to melt the soldering a little to correct bad contacts. I'd try that as a last resort though.

Thats only for overheated hardware, not fried hardware.

I had the BIOS saved into my hard drive (saved it with GPU-Z before the card went kaput). I forced flashed the card with the BIOS with atiflash, but that didn't solve the problem. I don't imagine there could be any better BIOS than that... I guess all I have left is ToffeeC's suggestion :(

I don't know if this helps for the diagnosis, but it seems the core heats up... also there's the fact that atiflash detected the card and was able to flash it. It's like it's executing instructions, but not sending a signal!

Its fried, RMA it.
 
Top