ATI has a feature for its display driver known as "VPU Recover." This feature can be disabled, if so desired, in the Catalyst Control Center. Whenever the display driver notices that the GPU is no longer responding, that's when the VPU Recover kicks. It attempts to restart the GPU when it notices no response from the GPU, which is supposed to eliminate the need to restart the computer. However, this often leads to the 3D application that you were using, to crash, or even the entire system (causing the computer to force a restart).

Attempting to solve

Merely searching the internet shows that many are having this problem. I should point out a few things that are generally not the cause of the problem:

• Operating System—at least concerning the different versions of Windows
• DirectX (albeit the same program but with OpenGL may not have the problem)
• The card overheating
• Display driver version
• Card manufacturer or model
• VPU Recover being enabled
• Lack of power from power supply unit—as people tend to go overboard with watts when purchasing a PSU

However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't check if those are the cause of the problem. But what generally is the case is an incompatible BIOS setting—at least that's what it was for me.

How i solved it

In my motherboard's BIOS it has a feature for setting Fail-Safe Defaults. I merely applied those defaults and restarted the computer, and i was able to use heavy 3D applications (games) without coming across any more VPU recovery errors. I restarted and entered the BIOS again to set the timing on my RAM to its advertised timing, and when playing games i did not come across the VPU recovery error. At least i can conclude that it was not the RAM timings. I have not tried to figure out what exactly in the BIOS was causing the problem, as i am now a satisfied customer, but i may try again later.

Others possibilities

Some suggestions floating around may help solve the problem for you. Here are some things you can do to try to solve it if it isn't an incompatible BIOS setting (even if they are generally not the case):

• If you are overclocking your graphics card, put it to its stock settings
• Disable VPU Recover (does the system crash?)
• Update your BIOS to the latest stable if there is anything new—obviously with caution
• Check if your PSU is providing enough juice to the card (in case you are using an old PSU)
• Update motherboard drivers (note this is not the BIOS)