Display driver nvlddmkm has stopped responding in Vista

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mormol

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Hi to all,
I am having this problem for some time now and it started about a month after I compiled my new pc. I have searched and tried many solutions given over the internet, including the one I found in a similar post in this forum.
Symptoms:
1.While in vista,after some time I get a blank screen and then the computer recovers with the message: "Display driver nvlddmkm has stopped responding and was recovered". This keeps appearing more and more often until the computer finally freezes.
2. If I restart the pc I am getting the same problem immediately,however, if I shut it down and turn it on in a couple of minutes,it doesnt appear for some hours.I dont know if this points to any direction.
3.In XP i dont get the blank screen but the computer will crash completely after aproximately the same time. I sometimes get a BSOD with "IRQ not less or equal" or "page file in not paged area" errors.
4.Some programs have stopped working

My system:
Intel core 2 duo 6700
ABIT Fatal1ty F-I90HD mATX
XFX 8800 GTS
2GB teamxtreem 3-3-3-8 RAM
Seagate 500GB SATA

What I've tried:
1.uninstalling and reinstalling various versions of nvidia drivers
2.Checking the nvlddmkm.sys file in system32, it is up to date
3. Flashing the BIOS
4. Various chipset drivers,currently on latest
5.Checking for overheating,no problem with that
6.Uninstalling ffdshow, as it was suggested on another forum

In a few words....HELP!!!
Sorry for the lengthy post, I wanted to be as descriptive as possible.
Thanx!
 
You have a driver problem. I would go to add and remove programs to remove the video card, then to the Device Manager to remove or disable it. Reboot, and try again.
Finally, I would run Windows XP in R or Repair mode to see what you can see... I assume you have Service Pack 2, but if any Microsoft Updates are in Doubt, I would download and install everything Microsoft has to offer.
 
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately,I have tried the solutions you propose with no result. It doesn't seem to be only a driver problem, since I have tried many driver versions and the problem persists. I suspect it has something to do with some configuration, something with the graphics card, Vista and maybe RAM,although I have run memtest86 with no errors. One other thought is that it might be an unknown virus,because a friend of mine got a similar problem after we connected our PCs, though he's got almost the same system and configuration. Any ideas?
 
Pull the ram - try 1 stick at a time for a couple days or until the error occurs again.

If no errors occur using single sticks, then in all liklihood the ram IS ok.
 
Download and run the latest version of HiJack This, then send the results to this forum for Momok, Kitty500Cat, and Howard_Hopkinso to peruse.
 
I have attached the log file here, and I will also send it to the users you told me-thanks.
Another thing is that AVG antivirus has stopped working since the day the first error occurred. I have checked for viruses with 2 or three different antivirus programs.
CCT thanks for your reply too,I will also try this out. I have also run memtest and it has shown no errors.
 
Hi,

Have HijackThis fix these two entries:
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {7E853D72-626A-48EC-A868-BA8D5E23E045} - (no file)
O13 - Gopher Prefix:

Apart from that, I can't really see anything nasty in your log. You may wish to download ComboFix from the link in my signature and run it to post a log just to be sure. Does your AVG antivirus run in safe mode?

Regards,
Your friendly momok =)
 
Thanks momok, I fixed the entries you told me. Combofix wont run in Vista, where my main problem is. I have also removed AVG because it was causing several problems since it stopped working. I am using avast antivirus now.
I am inclined to think that he problem is probably hardware/driver related and not so much of a virus or spyware infection. Could there be some sort of GPU BIOS corruption that occured at some time?
Thanks again.
 
Hi,

I am inclined to think that way too. I'm afraid I'm not an authority on BIOS corruption so I can't give you an opinion on that. I do know that Grisoft has different versions of AVG antivirus which work on XP and Vista respectively. Perhaps (remote circumstance probably) you have been using the wrong version.

How is the system now?


Regards,
Your friendly momok =)

This thread is for the use of mormol only. Please don't post your own virus/spyware problems in this thread. Instead, open a new thread in our security and the web forum.
 
Well, not much of an improvement,the problem persists, display driver still stops responding. Currently I am thinking of two possible causes: RAM overheating (it's the only component I cant monitor) and GPU BIOS corruption. I dont know if the fact that the problem doesnt appear for some time if I shut down the pc, whereas it appears immediately if I restart, points to any direction. Any ideas anyone?...
 
I would suspect a faulty video graphics card or port or driver, rather than over heated memory which is an exceedingly rare problem... But if the memory is "slow" value ram, that could be the problem... I am just a country boy in the high mountain deserts of the southwest, and have never heard of teamxtreem RAM
 
I have EXACTLY the same problem as you. I don't know how to solve it but i don't thinks its caused by a broken graphic card or memory. The problem is the driver, if you skip the installing drivers for your graphic card, everthing works fine. But as soon as you install them, the problems begins....

Would be very glad if someone could come up with a solution
 
Well, here's an update on what's going on:
I suspected all this was a RAM and GPU drivers issue, maybe also RAM overheating. I tried lowering the RAM voltage to 2.2 from 2.3 (the manufacturer suggested a voltage range between 2.2 and 2.3) and I also changed the tRFC (refresh cycle time) from 16 to 20. This made the system much more stable. It was running for 3 days continuously until it crashed again, thats a lot more than the usual 5-6 hours. The first "display driver has stopped responding" error appeared on the second day. Maybe I should try an even higher tRFC. Any ideas?
Thanks again.
 
I would go to the Intel website, download and install the latest BIOS, Chipset, and all other hard ware drivers, then leave it alone. The kind of diddling you are doing will only make you pay in the long run.

The best thing you can do is get it back to dead normal for a couple of weeks before you start tweaking.
 
Sorry, maybe I wasnt clear enough. I'm not trying to tweak anything, I'm just trying to make my system work. I have already flashed the BIOS to the latest version and installed every recent driver, as I mentioned in my initial post. Since I got this error, I'm trying to find out what's going on. My last post was about downgrading the RAM, lowering the voltage and increasing the refresh cycle time. All settings are set to normal or lower than that.

By the way it seems that the 3-day non-error state was coincidential. After the last restart, or rather shut down and turn on, the usual 5-6 hour error appeared :(
I would appreciate any further help.
Thanks again.
 
You have already tweaked things by changing fundamental stuff... ram voltages and refresh recycle times.
Any time you mess with those timings and settings, trouble results. In our shop, you would benefit by going back to base fundamental settings, and see if it will run as designed without any variance from the manual's list.
If you brought that machine in our shop, we would immediately suspect video card, memory module, chipset, bios, and drivers.
It still appears to be a hardware error, but your BSOD for video implies that you have an incorrect driver... or a bad card. Of course, any changes in other settings that affect the video card make that more difficult to determine.
Sorry, I can be of no further non-help to you.
Good luck.
 
The thing is, I havent tweaked anything really. I just set the voltage values to what they should be, as suggested by the manufacturer. In fact after a BIOS reset, the RAM voltage is set to 1.8, whereas the manufacturer suggests 2.2 to 2.3. That's why I have changed it. Same goes for the timings. As far as the hardware is concened, I think that this is probably a driver issue, because this error occurs to many people and it's all over the internet. Some incompatibility probably between vista, RAM and the drivers, who knows. I have already tried all the latest versions of drivers for my card though.
Anyway, thanks for your help or your intention to help.
Take care.
 
Im Following you mormol. I have the same problem I have run one card then the other then together in SLI I get the same problem no matter what! and it acts much like yours. As for your team extream you should not run it at such low volts. Your motherboard is setting your volts at stock to low as most do. You wanna keep them somewhere in the the 2.0 to 2.3v range, although if you do go to 2.3 I would activly cool them. Those have Micron D9 Ic's and that is why the run such tight timmings, 3-3-3 is very tight as you well know. If you run d9's less then 2.0 at those timmings you will prob get errors and screw up all your data. Back to the prob at hand. I have had enough of this problem and nvidia is unwilling to admit that there is a driver conflict with something unkown ( check the nvidia forums about this problem, the post is like 80 pages long) I am determined to get down to the root of the problem. I am going to get the best people I can get from OCforums and Xtream systems and see if I can get them to help me with this problem. I wil post up back here and try to send you a link if we make progress. PM me your e-mail.
A forum like this (as good as it is ) is very unlikely to have the caliber of person to grasp this stupifing driver corruption/conflict let alone give helpfull advice on act solving this prob. First stop an e-mail to guru3d and viperjohn
 
OK here's a short update before I express my total gratitude to JustChill :p

I found out that Neverwinter Nights 2 is a game that makes problems appear almost instantly. Though in this case there is no "driver has stopped responding" error, but a BSOD with a video memory error. I found out that removing the one RAM stick solves the problem..
So this is a nice way to quickly check if a fix works.

JustChill: really appreciate your help. I will try the fix right now and see what happens, though I am in doubt, probably because of pessimism after all these weeks :p
What I did not get is if finally this fix works as it is or if I have to remove the one stick, which seems to solve the problem anyway,but is not the best solution.
Has this fix worked for you?
Anyway, I'll get back as soon as I've tested it.
Thanks again!
 
This fix will work for anyone who has not done the update that could not be applied (as stated in the post by jenbell over at ocforums) The one stick method will work as a proven solution but obv. just a band-aid. I am very confident that this problem will soon be worked out the slow way by M$ and Nvidia. It is very unfortunate that this MAJOR problem has almost killed what would have been a great combo, Vista and G80.....

Mormol did you ever get over to Nvidia forums and check out that thread I was talking about? over 90 pages now I think somethin like 3200 posts.. I know a forum that has a thread over 312 pages on this issue over 13400 posts. Nvidia did go on record and say that there is no problem. At least M$ has kept there fat mouths shut about it (smart move) so do not feel alone...

All in the quest for DX10 and its mind melting shaders and physics agression., Kinda begs the question......is it worth it..... Cryteck, care to answer?

JC
 
Hello,
I too am having the exact same problem. Im pretty good with hardware configuration, but terrible at windows registry level modifications.

I just read through the fix that JustChill linked to and had a bit of trouble following the instructions. I was wondering if someone has or could post a "fix for windows dummies".

Thanks
 
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