Hello problem solvers,
In a period of 10 years I have been able to self-help my way out of computer troubles. However, there comes a time when I'm not able to. This time has come. So, let's get to it.
My specs:
Dell XPS 15 L502 bought in February 2012
Intel Core i7-2670WM @ 2.20 GH
Geforce GT 540M - Stock (no overclocking).
Ram: 8 GB
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
I've been having trouble with this kind of error for several weeks at minimum. I'll tell you what happened.
I've been enjoying playing Tomb Raider 2012 since I picked it up on a sale. I knew this game has some serious bug-troubles. Unfortunately I experienced extreme frame drops and sound distortion. After Civ 5 performance decreased as well, I went to my good friend: mr. Google.
It seems the XPS 15 series has a history of inability to get rid of heat. The thermometer agreed with the internet. So I bought some Artic Silver 5 paste and applied it to the CPU and GPU.
Of course I got the interior dust-free via vacuuming. This resulted in happier gaming time with Civ 5, but not with Tomb Raider. This was the first time it happened: Tomb Raider went CTD and in the corner, there she was: display driver stopped responding and has recovered.
I went to the event viewer and saw, for the first time in my life: nvlddmkm doesnt work and has recovered.
Foolishly, I blamed it on the Tomb Raider game for being bug-ridden.
Then, later, I picked up Crysis 2. After 5 minutes or so, a CTD. With the same error.
Then, this week: I picked up Saints Row IV. After 10 minutes, a CTD, with the bloody exact same error.
This couldn't be blamed on 'bugs'. This is a structural problem.
I went to my main friend again and found the following correspondence on the issue:
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/413110/geforce-drivers/the-nvlddmkm-error-what-is-it-an-fyi-for-those-seeing-this-issue/
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1777546/dreaded-tdr-error-crashing-worse-budget-airline.html
Besides these there is loads more, mostly blame it on the nvidia drivers.
What have I done?
- ruled out driver issues by:
1. tried several drivers. Did the correct way of installing them via driversweeper.
2. disabled the 3d driver (I have no 3d screen).
- run memtest86 for 8+ hours. No errors found in memory. 5 passes were done.
- experimented with several configurations in nvidia configurations screen (settings on/off).
- Ran several GPU intensive test, including 3DMark 11, OCCT, Furmark. These test only showed that the GPU worked fine under stress.
- ran some Dell diagnostics (complete test / stresstest GPU) via their website. Everything was fine there as well.
- Format and re install of windows 7. This was not a 'clean' installation, because I have no other version of windows 7 kicking around. I did however deleted almost everything Dell related in Software.
As you can see, I did several things.
The poor guy with the same error in this forum did many more things, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Guys, what else can I do? I'm losing my patience as nothing seems to work.
Should I contact Dell for a out-of-warranty-but-still-in-legal-warranty-because-EU-rules!1!- inspection and/or replacement of parts? Im all out of ideas.
In a period of 10 years I have been able to self-help my way out of computer troubles. However, there comes a time when I'm not able to. This time has come. So, let's get to it.
My specs:
Dell XPS 15 L502 bought in February 2012
Intel Core i7-2670WM @ 2.20 GH
Geforce GT 540M - Stock (no overclocking).
Ram: 8 GB
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
I've been having trouble with this kind of error for several weeks at minimum. I'll tell you what happened.
I've been enjoying playing Tomb Raider 2012 since I picked it up on a sale. I knew this game has some serious bug-troubles. Unfortunately I experienced extreme frame drops and sound distortion. After Civ 5 performance decreased as well, I went to my good friend: mr. Google.
It seems the XPS 15 series has a history of inability to get rid of heat. The thermometer agreed with the internet. So I bought some Artic Silver 5 paste and applied it to the CPU and GPU.
Of course I got the interior dust-free via vacuuming. This resulted in happier gaming time with Civ 5, but not with Tomb Raider. This was the first time it happened: Tomb Raider went CTD and in the corner, there she was: display driver stopped responding and has recovered.
I went to the event viewer and saw, for the first time in my life: nvlddmkm doesnt work and has recovered.
Foolishly, I blamed it on the Tomb Raider game for being bug-ridden.
Then, later, I picked up Crysis 2. After 5 minutes or so, a CTD. With the same error.
Then, this week: I picked up Saints Row IV. After 10 minutes, a CTD, with the bloody exact same error.
This couldn't be blamed on 'bugs'. This is a structural problem.
I went to my main friend again and found the following correspondence on the issue:
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/413110/geforce-drivers/the-nvlddmkm-error-what-is-it-an-fyi-for-those-seeing-this-issue/
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1777546/dreaded-tdr-error-crashing-worse-budget-airline.html
Besides these there is loads more, mostly blame it on the nvidia drivers.
What have I done?
- ruled out driver issues by:
1. tried several drivers. Did the correct way of installing them via driversweeper.
2. disabled the 3d driver (I have no 3d screen).
- run memtest86 for 8+ hours. No errors found in memory. 5 passes were done.
- experimented with several configurations in nvidia configurations screen (settings on/off).
- Ran several GPU intensive test, including 3DMark 11, OCCT, Furmark. These test only showed that the GPU worked fine under stress.
- ran some Dell diagnostics (complete test / stresstest GPU) via their website. Everything was fine there as well.
- Format and re install of windows 7. This was not a 'clean' installation, because I have no other version of windows 7 kicking around. I did however deleted almost everything Dell related in Software.
As you can see, I did several things.
The poor guy with the same error in this forum did many more things, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Guys, what else can I do? I'm losing my patience as nothing seems to work.
Should I contact Dell for a out-of-warranty-but-still-in-legal-warranty-because-EU-rules!1!- inspection and/or replacement of parts? Im all out of ideas.
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