[stonedigger]

Hi, I have been having problems with my computer not entering sleep mode, or initiating the screen saver. I also have been unable to open the ATI Catalyst Control Center. When I try to open it, I get a wait icon that flashes a couple of times, and then nothing happens. I checked the Windows' "Performance Information and Tools" and saw that there were two performance issues, one said "Drivers are interfering with Windows entering sleep mode/hibernating." the other said "Drivers are interfering with Windows resuming from sleep mode." When I clicked on the issues to view details, I got a message saying "These drivers are causing Windows to stand by or hibernate slowly:

Name: ATI Radeon Kernal Mode Driver
Filename: atikmdag.sys
Publisher: ATI Technologies Inc.
Device: ATI Radeon X1270
Date Reported: Fri Mar 27, 2009 7:49 AM
Time taken: 10.0 seconds

When I tried to update the driver through Windows, I get a message saying that "Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date." I've checked online, and I can't find the correct driver on Dell's website or on ATI/AMD's website. Sometimes the screen saver does work, it just takes a long time. Recently, it's gotten to the point where the screen saver won't come on at all, neither will the computer go to sleep. I am afraid I'll get screen burn-in if this continues. Can somebody help me?



Dell Inspirion 1521
Service Tag: 4TBC5F1
Windows Vista Home Premium
Display Adapter: ATI Radeon X1270
Video Processor: ATI Radeon X1200 Series (0x791F)

 

[jusagamfrek]

You don't really need to worry about burn-in on modern screens unless you're leaving it run on a stationary frame for hours and hours at a time (I have seen laptops running stationary images overnight at conventions with no sign of burn-in, though I don't condone this). Power consumption should be a greater concern. All things considered, just close the lid when you're walking away for long periods and you'll be fine - just go into power management and set the computer to "do nothing" when you close the lid.

And now for the bad news. You may very well have the latest drivers, and they may simply be buggy - the issue you're encountering is fairly common. You can try reinstalling the driver or rolling back to a previous driver to see if the probelm persists. Your best bet is probably to uninstall the ati drivers and control center and start from scratch reinstalling them. (You'll find the Catalyst package here.) Keep checking back at that site from time to time. On the plus side, the X1270 seems to be a fairly new iteration being given more life by ultraportables, so it will likely see updates soon. On the minus side, it's still a laptop gpu, so relatively speaking "soon" just means withing the calendar year... hopefully.