device driver problem

[ray316]

can someone plese help me, the problem started about 2 weeks ago. l have a Toshiba A60 laptop which is 10 months old. The problem is it justs keeps shutting down on me and this is what message comes up when it shuts down:--A problem has been detected and windows has shutdown to prevent damage to your computer.The problem seems to be caused by the following file:Ati2vag. The device driver got stuck in an infinite loop. This usually indicates problem with the driver itself or with the device driver programming the hardware incorrectly. Please check with your device vendor for any driver updates.....Techical information:STOP:0x000000ea(0xff332da8,0xffbb59bo, oxfaf9fcbc,0x00000001) Ati2vag beginning dump of physical memory--END. Can someone tell what this means, where to look to repair this, and why this has happened. l,m a real novice to all this so could you keep it as simple as possible. Thank you in advance.

[isogonic]

sounds like your ati video card driver. first i would identify what card you have. device manager should provide a clue, next i would visit ati web site for FAQ/troubleshooting. at least thats where i would start, somebody else will post with more info.

[thevoelk]

Since it's a laptop, you'll probably have to find it at Toshiba's site, maybe Windows Update, since that card was probably made specifically for Toshiba. Toshiba is not very good for tech support, but I wish you the best of luck.

[ray316]

it,s a ati mobility radeon 7000 igp, and someone has told me to go to ati.com/support and update the card will this delete the present one.

[thevoelk]

You probably won't find it there. ATI, generally from my experience, will refer you to the manufacturer of the laptop for the mobility cards. They're, again generally, specifically made for one manufacturer for a series of laptops (i.e Dell LatitudeC8xx, Vaio PCG-7XX, etc). My best guess (never really cared to question) is that the manufacturers of the laptop do some sort of mod to the card so it will fit and work with the laptop componenets (I may be wrong on this, but it seems logical).

If it just started happening, I'm guessing one of three things happened:

1) The card or RAM is on it's way out the door
2) You somehow (probably without realizing it) updated the driver and it's obviously a bad update
3) The file ATI2Vag is corrupt

For 1), since it's a laptop, probably the only thing you can do is contact Toshiba for a replacement video card, or test the RAM installed in your computer and possibly replace it. For 2), see if you can revert back to a previous version through Device Manager. If it just started happening, odds are the last version of the driver worked. For 3) you should be able to get the original driver from either Toshiba's website or the Restore CDs.

I hope this helps.

[ray316]

ok heres goes, l,ve not got a clue about computer parts and where they are.So where is the card and driver to different issues.What does the card do and what does the driver do.l have got a recovery disc, a tools&utilities disc and additional software disc, which one would l use to first unistall off the computer and then put back on with the correct disc.

[TooLFooL]

the card is the hardware inside that generates the video. the driver is the software that tells the card what to do. your driver is probably outdated and needs to be updated. if newer software sends instructions to an older driver, and this driver does not understand or know what to do, it generally will get an error and shut down.
personally, i would go to ati.com and search for the latest driver. next try windows update.

[thevoelk]

Try this:
http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_dtlViewDL.jsp?soid=730957&moid=713736...ngdgmm.0&ct=DL

This is for s Toshiba Satellit A60-S156. There are several other A60-S15XXX and A60-S16XXX laptops. If the above mentioned isn't your model, go here:

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_modSel.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@120975361...ceghdgngdgmm.0

And select the correct model and look for the video driver, it should be listed as "ATI displayt Adapter". It may also be a combination like "ATI Display Driver, Chipset, SM Bus controller", or something similar, so don't be alarmed if you can't find just the display driver.

To find your exact model number, look on the bottom of the laptop for the Toshiba tag, and I'm guessing that the numbers listed after A60 are the beginning characters of the serial number. I'm not too familiar with Toshiba's laptops, so I'm not sure exactly where to find the model number. You may have luck at ATI's site, but last time I checked they referred you to the manufacturer of the laptop for their mobility line for drivers.

[ray316]

Thanks for the help and advice, most useful. l have first had a go at deleting and reinstalling with the tools and utilities disc, up to now seems fine.Just wonder if it will need updating though, and could you explain why updating is important.Thanks again

[TooLFooL]

updating is important because people are constantly finding new flaws in software, adding new features to software, etc. you want to keep software updated so you get all these latest patches/upgrades. its very common to buy new software and/or hardware that already has a sticker on the box advising you to immediately download the latest updates/upgrades.

[isogonic]

updating is important for security reasons- a unpatched OS/Browser is vulnerable to all kinds of nasties.
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us


updating hardware drivers is a different story. some people might update drivers with every new one that comes out, others like myself will only update a driver if iam having certain problems with hardware, like a video card.