GPU-Z failing to start - Win 10 Home v1709

[MagicSmoker]

Do you have a spare HDD on which you could install fresh Windows to check whether GPU-Z works on a new install on the same system?

As a matter of fact I do, and I just finished prepping it for the installation of the W10 1709 ISO I d/l'ed yesterday. The intent is to use my old mobo/cpu/dram/gpu as a video card test bench but testing GPU-Z is certainly possible, too.

It'll take a few hours to get everything ready, however, as I need to rig something up to support the mobo, etc., as I don't have a spare case nor really want to use one.

^ This. Although, I still recommend a fresh install anyway as 1709 was a major update and fresh installs are historically more stable and less problematic.

That's a bit more work and risk than I am willing to take on to track down this particular problem. Also, W10 doesn't really allow you to fully roll back updates, even when you had the foresight to use system restore. I do run a backup to an external HDD every night, but I only save the last 3 images and, well, 1709 came out a few months ago so that image is long gone (I also saved the original image from when I got the computer - but that one is from January of this year so a bit too old to be useful).

EDIT - I thought my reply didn't post so posted another and the forum decided to edit this one... so, something is borked with the forum, too...

 

[lexluthermiester]

It'll take a few hours to get everything ready, however, as I need to rig something

Let us know how it goes. Kind of fascinated/intrigued by this situation.

 

[MagicSmoker]

Let us know how it goes. Kind of intrigued by this situation.

Will do - I hate it when some noob gets on a forum, asks for help, then disappears without letting anyone know the outcome!

 

[W1zzard]

rig something up to support the mobo

Random cardboard box has always served me well

 

[MagicSmoker]

Random cardboard box has always served me well

Unsurprisingly, the special version of GPU-Z you made for me works fine... It isn't quite ready for prime time on account of all those annoying popups that just say, 1, 2, 3, etc..., however.

So this really is an issue with the Windows installation on this one desktop and I guess the next step - painful as it may be - is to somehow fix what is broken in it... Not looking forward to this, but I can't think of any way around it.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Unsurprisingly, the special version of GPU-Z you made for me works fine... It isn't quite ready for prime time on account of all those annoying popups that just say, 1, 2, 3, etc..., however.

So this really is an issue with the Windows installation on this one desktop and I guess the next step - painful as it may be - is to somehow fix what is broken in it... Not looking forward to this, but I can't think of any way around it.

What about a the normal version of 2.5? Been reading up on similar problems. Might have something to do with an improper config in either Windows Defender or the inbuilt Windows Firewall.

 

[MagicSmoker]

What about a the normal version of 2.5? Been reading up on similar problems. Might have something to do with an improper config in either Windows Defender or the inbuilt Windows Firewall.

As in, does the normal version of GPU-Z work on the other, cobbled-together W10 computer? I suppose it probably does, but the special version worked fine after clicking through all of the (diagnostic) popups.

I don't think this is a firewall problem, and I already tried disabling Windows Defender to see if that was the culprit, but no change. The Very Important Clue (hint, hint) is the reporting of an Access Violation in Event Viewer... Something is already present at a memory location GPU-Z needs to write to and that is the real problem. What that actually is, I have no clue, but I suspect it either shouldn't be there or else it is merely something our fearless leader (and presumed author of GPU-Z) didn't anticipate.

I wish there was the software equivalent of an oscilloscope that I could hook up to the memory and probe for what is writing where... that would tell us who the offender is pretty quickly.

 

[W1zzard]

Unsurprisingly, the special version of GPU-Z you made for me works fine...

The special version should be no different than the normal version. I only added the popups to diagnose the application crash, which doesn't seem to happen anymore?

 

[MagicSmoker]

The special version should be no different than the normal version. I only added the popups to diagnose the application crash, which doesn't seem to happen anymore?

I was kidding about the popups not being too consumer-friendly, but yes, that version runs fine on a fresh copy of Windows 10 1709.

It still does not work on the computer I actually use myself (and which has a side gig mining cryptos), but I am just about ready to do the "use Windows 10 setup to repair Windows 10 without (theoretically) messing up your existing programs, settings, etc.".

Of course, that means more reboots and interrupted mining, but the issue with GPU-Z strongly suggests there is something wrong with Windows itself... and who knows, maybe MW4 will work again?!

 

[lexluthermiester]

It still does not work on the computer I actually use myself (and which has a side gig mining cryptos), but I am just about ready to do the "use Windows 10 setup to repair Windows 10 without (theoretically) messing up your existing programs, settings, etc.".

Do backup all your data to an external drive.

Of course, that means more reboots and interrupted mining, but the issue with GPU-Z strongly suggests there is something wrong with Windows itself... and who knows, maybe MW4 will work again?!

Yeah, seems like something got borked. If MW4=MechWarrior4, don't hold your breath..

 

[MagicSmoker]

This morning I woke up to a computer that had rebooted about 9 hours ago - and therefore wasn't mining - and the start menu was once again inaccessible whether by clicking or pressing the Windows key. This happened after upgrading all of the hardware guts, but was solved by simply rebooting the PC again; not this time, so I figured since I'm already down 9+ hours of mining why not prolong the misery and do the "repair in place" of Windows 10. Fortunately I have another desktop and 2 laptops to work with here.

It took about 1.5 hours of wrestling with moronic Windoze to repair everything - during which time my UEFI boot settings got screwed up somehow (this is my first UEFI BIOS mobo, so it's a brave new world for me here) - and now there is good, weird and bad news:

1. The good: GPU-Z now works! So lexluthermeister gets the gold star for suggesting the correct course of action, even if it took me a day or two of kvetching and whining before I followed it...

2. The weird: at some point in this process - not simply as a result of rebooting - the BIOS modded RX 570 is disabled with Windows reporting error 43 and the start menu completely blocked by a background process which I suspect is a prompt to reboot the computer, but which does not show up in task manager. Running Pixel Clock Patcher again then rebooting restores full operation of the card. A modded BIOS might be hot $*** for mining, but think twice before using one for your "daily driver" as there is an extra level of annoyance involved.

3. The bad: MechWarrior 4 still crashes soon after a mission starts to load, so once again lexluthermeister was correct...

Anyway, hope this bit of feedback helps someone else out in the future and thanks to all for the patience and help!

 

[lexluthermiester]

A modded BIOS might be hot $*** for mining, but think twice before using one for your "daily driver" as there is an extra level of annoyance involved.

Out of curiousity, how much benefit is the modded FW giving you over the stock FW? And is it enough to warrant dealing with the headache being produced? Not trying to be condescending , only curious.

 

[MagicSmoker]

Out of curiousity, how much benefit is the modded FW giving you over the stock FW? And is it enough to warrant dealing with the headache being produced? Not trying to be condescending , only curious.

My particular card - an XFX RX 570 Black Edition - went from around 22 MH/s before the BIOS mod to around 25 MH/s after, so ~10% improvement. That might not seem like much, but its about $0.30/day (per card) at the current price/difficulty of Ubiq (which uses the same Ethash algorithm as Ethereum). Of course, the price and difficulty change on a second by second basis, but a gain of 10% is a gain no matter what.

Straight out of the box - without any overclocking or BIOS mods - this card barely reached 19 MH/s, though. You definitely have to like tinkering with computers and not be afraid of a command line to do mining.

 

[lexluthermiester]

My particular card - an XFX RX 570 Black Edition - went from around 22 MH/s before the BIOS mod to around 25 MH/s after, so ~10% improvement. That might not seem like much, but its about $0.30/day (per card) at the current price/difficulty of Ubiq (which uses the same Ethash algorithm as Ethereum). Of course, the price and difficulty change on a second by second basis, but a gain of 10% is a gain no matter what.

Straight out of the box - without any overclocking or BIOS mods - this card barely reached 19 MH/s, though. You definitely have to like tinkering with computers and not be afraid of a command line to do mining.

So there is benefit then. Kinda cool.

 

[vforvangelis]

I had the same problem and I solved it by disabling mandatory ASLR for GPU-Z. Specifically,

1) Open Windows Defender Security Center.
2) Go to App & Browser Control.
3) Scroll down to Exploit Protection and select Exploit Protection Settings.
4) Go to Program Settings and add a program by choosing the exact file path of GPU-Z.
5) Find Force Randomization for Images, override it and disable it.

After doing that it was problem solved for me. I think that maybe it can be solved by recompiling the program but I'm just guessing here. Anyway, that's all.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I had the same problem and I solved it by disabling mandatory ASLR for GPU-Z. Specifically,

1) Open Windows Defender Security Center.
2) Go to App & Browser Control.
3) Scroll down to Exploit Protection and select Exploit Protection Settings.
4) Go to Program Settings and add a program by choosing the exact file path of GPU-Z.
5) Find Force Randomization for Images, override it and disable it.

After doing that it was problem solved for me. I think that maybe it can be solved by recompiling the program but I'm just guessing here. Anyway, that's all.

Interesting! Wondering if MS has listed GPUZ as a potential threat or if it is a behavioral flag?
This could be why I couldn't replicate the problem. Windows Defender does not exist[has been forcibly deleted] on any of my systems as it is responsible for many problems like this.

 

[W1zzard]

So I found a second user who's affected by this, and found a fix.

If you encounter this issue, please contact me. Here on the forums, or w1zzard@techpowerup.com or Skype w2zzard

 

[MagicSmoker]

I don't think this was a Windows Defender issue, otherwise my reinstalling W10 wouldn't have solved the problem. A more likely suspect was a corrupt dll, either from an update or from installing a run-time library for some program or another.

I am curious to find out the actual cause, if such can be determined, andI am being notified of posts to this thread so if a culprit is found please post here.

 

[m21_1]

Hi All, having same problem starting GPUZ when using Win 10 /Pro v 1709 build 16299.192
Getting same error as above.

Upon ok'ing UAC (User Account Control) dialog during install dialog closes then nothing...
looking at

System Event Viewer >Windows Logs>System> Event 26 General TAB reveals "Application popup: GPU-Z.2.5.0.exe - Application Error : The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000005)". Which does not popup by the way..​

Also, the program UnHackMe v8.31, and Lotto Pro (Lotprox86) exhibit the same error​

interesting: CPU-Z works fine.

Using intel q9550 engineering sample, on EVGA 780i 8gb ram, EVGA GTX 970 GM204 rev A1 super clocked. All programs working fine up until the win update.

 

[MagicSmoker]

Hi All, having same problem starting GPUZ when using Win 10 /Pro v 1709 build 16299.192
Getting same error as above.
...

AFAIK, an actual cause has not been found, but a solution that worked for me was to repair the existing Windows 10 installation by d/l'ing the latest ISO build, using Windows Media Creation Tool to make a bootable USB, then running setup but selecting "keep all personalization settings and apps" or some similar sounding option.

It's a tedious process but it worked for me.

EDIT - here's the ISO for Build 1709: http://windowsiso.net/windows-10-iso/windows-10-creators-update-1709-download-build-16299-15/

 

[m21_1]

m21_1 update: 1-11-2018 0941
MagicSmoker - Which build are you using?
You can find out by right clicking win icon (lower left corner) , selecting run, then typing "winver" (without the quotes of-course). That will give you your exact Build. Keep in mind when ever there is an update to the OS then this number will change.

I sent my info to Microsoft two days ago, someone was listening I guess. I'm impressed.
I tried the suggestion of the Windows defender and that worked for GPU-Z.
It also worked for UnHackMe virus, exploit removal tool.
It also worked for lotPro2000 lottery program.

Thanks all for your quick responses, it is truly appreciated.
m21_1

 

[MagicSmoker]

Apologies for the terminology error - the version is 1709 and the build is 16299.192.

I got the exact same error as you, though, which I found by digging through the labyrinthine depths of Event Viewer.

 

[m21_1]

Attn: W1zzard

Yes the build you sent me works fine as well. Thanks for the quick response, you are awesome !

 

[upapi_tech]

Hi,
I have the same problem on my PC running W10 1709 (Build 16299.125) with NVIDIA Geforce GTX 980 Ti (Driver 390.65).
When starting GPU-Z 2.5 the UAC screen appears and then nothing happens. No events in the Event Viewer, no crash, no process, no splash screen

I can use GPU-Z 1.2, NVIDIA Inspector or GPU Caps Viewer but not GPU-Z above 1.2.

Interesting is that I've found the same behaviour on two other PC's with other graphic cards or onboard graphic but all the same Windows versions.
problem of OS? Even adding GPU-Z to Windows defender in order to Force Randomization for Images did not work for me.

Any ideas would be truly appreciated
regards Uli

 

[lexluthermiester]

Hi,
I have the same problem on my PC running W10 1709 (Build 16299.125) with NVIDIA Geforce GTX 980 Ti (Driver 390.65).
When starting GPU-Z 2.5 the UAC screen appears and then nothing happens. No events in the Event Viewer, no crash, no process, no splash screen

I can use GPU-Z 1.2, NVIDIA Inspector or GPU Caps Viewer but not GPU-Z above 1.2.

Interesting is that I've found the same behaviour on two other PC's with other graphic cards or onboard graphic but all the same Windows versions.
problem of OS? Even adding GPU-Z to Windows defender in order to Force Randomization for Images did not work for me.

Any ideas would be truly appreciated
regards Uli

W1zard has stated that he's working the problem. He'll chime when it's fixed. Thanks for the heads up.