Lenovo IdeaPad 500-15ACZ Graphics Issue

[RzrBak0402]

I asked this on Lenovo Community and haven't had any responses so I thought I would try here.

I hope someone can help me with this issue. Bought this laptop about a month ago and started having display issues. I have searched the forum on this issue and haven't found a resolution particular to my laptop model (then again, I could have overlooked something).

Issue started a couple days ago presumably after a Windows update and started getting a message saying "display driver stopped responding and has recovered..." The screen kept blacking out, hang up then display the desktop. This happened over and over and every 4th or 5th time the laptop would restart. I eventually started getting "Windows didn't load correctly" and I had to boot into "safe mode".

After 3 days of searching, I found many "resolutions" that included uninstalling the drivers and downloading the latest which I did, but to no avail and the issue continued. The only way I can use the laptop is to NOT reinstall the AMD drivers. Hopefully the following information will help someone with more technical experience provide a solution.

System:
Processor: AMD A10-8700P R6
Installed Memory (RAM): 8.00 GB
System Type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-based processor

AMD AutoDetect program displayed the following:
Graphics Hardware: A-Series APU
Best Driver for this device: Radeon-Crimson 15.12 Minimal Setup
Chipset Driver: AMD Cipset Drivers Crimson Edition 15.12

I've tried both of the above drivers but the issue comes back. I also tried the Crimson Edition 16.1 Hotfix and the issue comes back. So, I uninstalled them and right now my display adapter is set to the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.

On other forums I've seen posts saying to download the latest drivers from Intel. I don't know if this shold be done seeing as I have AMD GPU and APU in my laptop.

Another resolution stated that if after downloading the latest drivers the issue still persists, it could be RAM related. I don't know how to proceed from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Laptop_Nerd]

Hi,

Please do try doing the clean install method that may solve the problem. Do refer to the link below for the complete guide and tools you can use.

http/www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2767677/clean-graphics-driver-install-windows.html

If these will not work you may need to reinstall Windows as your last resort.

 

[RzrBak0402]

Hi,

Please do try doing the clean install method that may solve the problem. Do refer to the link below for the complete guide and tools you can use.

http/www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2767677/clean-graphics-driver-install-windows.html

If these will not work you may need to reinstall Windows as your last resort.

LN,

Thanks for responding. I've already downloaded DDU and ran the uninstall/clean install of all AMD drivers. I had to do this several times because of the "trial and error" method I was in for the Crimson Edition version 15.12 and 16.1 (hotfix). I also performed several restore processes from different points and even the "Reset This PC" process.

What started all of this was my wife was watching Netflix and needed me to look at the screen. It had these random patterns running through it. She had already Googled the issue and said the memory may be bad (she doesn't know anything about computers). She's probably feeling a little guilty because she may have caused the issue. She's been watching a lot of movies, videos and DVDs (for hours at a time) since she got it. She's usually covered up with a blanket with the laptop sitting in her lap. When I asked her if the laptop got hot, she said it was but just move it to another spot so I'm pretty sure it was overheating.

In my online searching I ran across AMD's YouTube support videos and watched one called "AMD Support: How to Troubleshoot Checkerboard Pattern Display Corruption". Memory failure was one of the symptoms and caused by overheating. I was planning to eventually upgrade the memory but this may have forced my hand to do so. Once I have it installed, I'll try the drivers again and hopefully have success...if not, then I may have to try reinstalling Windows.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW1wsI1-U0k&index=4&list=PL6CFEA6C71BB14979

UPDATE:

I still had the issue after trying numerous "fixes" so I performed a clean install of Windows 10. Finally got all of the missing drivers back i.e. USB 2.0, network adapter etc. Display Adapter is set back to Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.

Tried reinstalling the Radeon-Crimson 15.12 (Driver version 15.30.1025.1001) and the issue is back. I need to find a working driver because even though the MS basic adapter works, anything video related is crappy! Any other suggestions?