Maximum PC

I'm running Sapphire's 9600XT (256MB version) and I'm loving it, kinda. When playing some games (specifically, FarCry and occasionally The Sims 2) the game goes back to the desktop (sometimes temporarily) with a "VPU Recovery" error message. Someone seen this in their own cards?

Also, I'm using the latest Catalyst drivers

The point of VPU recovery is it's supposed to increase stability. When your card is about to freeze up and cause a reboot, VPU recovery kicks in and prevents it. While it can be a positive feature, it can also be quirky if everything checks out.

Some possible problems that could be leading to your symptom include overheating, conflicting drivers, hardware problems, insufficient voltage, etc. Some things to try:

- turn off VPU recovery
- back off on OCing (if you are OCing)
- use Driver Cleaner to completely clean out old drivers before installing updating ones
- try using the OmegaDrivers
- disable fastwrites
- check for latest game patches