Nv4_disp stuck in an infinite loop

[Twinklebutt]

Hello,

I have a nVidia Geforce 8800 GT and lately I've experienced an interesting problem. If I try to play a game, watch a dvd, or use the computer too long, something along the lines of the screenshot will happen.

No, this isn't from my computer, or even a game I've played, but this is what it looks. I will either be forced to reboot or get a blue screen, which occasionally says there's an error with "nv4_disp" or "nv4_disp.all".

When the computer comes back, I'll recieve an error saying the display drivers were caught in an infinite loop. Last night, after the computers colors went bad and I had to reboot, I could't get to the desktop without getting the blue screen. This happened numerous times. When I finally got to the desktop, I recieved the serious error again saying the drivers were caught in an infinite loop.

I've unistalled and reinstalled the display drivers, and even had the video card replaced. I really don't know what to do anymore. And sorry, but I'm not THAT computer savvy, but this is the best I can explain it.

Thank you.
Oh, and I have a Dell XPS/Dimension XPS 720.

 

[EXCellR8]

Are you running XP or Vista?

First thing I would try is uninstalling the video drivers the normal way (i.e. Add/Remove Programs) and then running Driver Sweeper, which is available for free. This handy tool will completely clean out the existing video driver files and then you can do a fresh reinstall of the drivers downloaded from www.nvidia.com once you have rebooted. Reboot again after the installation is complete and the try running a game for at least an hour.

If the blue screen or error message(s) appear again, you might want to look into updating your chipset drivers, which are for the motherboard and are usually found on the Dell site in your case. There is also the possibility that the card is overheating. 8800GTs, depending on which model, can run quite hot especially whilst gaming. If I were you, I would download RivaTuner to monitor GPU temps and adjust the card's fan speed manually. This way, you can run the fan up higher before playing games and hopefully the heat levels will be suppressed.

Worst case scenario is the card's vRAM is corrupt. This is quite rare but we've seen it before, even on replacement cards! In that case, your best bet would be to find something else or have it serviced.

 

[Twinklebutt]

Thank you for the response. I tried completely unistalling the drivers, using the driver sweeper, and re installing them, still a no go. I set my video card's fan to a faster speed and I'm still not able to keep the computer running long enough to GET to Dell's website. Unless I do it in Safe Mode, that is.

And I am running XP. I called Dell's technical support and they told me I would need to reinstall my operating system.