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nVidia GeForce 635m disappeared

Tags:
  • Laptops
  • Graphics
  • Geforce
  • Nvidia
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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March 25, 2014 7:06:43 PM

On my Lenovo G780 laptop, things with my nVidia card started failing. Some things would crash and my desktop would change to random colors, then revert back to normal shortly after. Sometimes after turning on my laptop, everything would look like it was selected with a green version of an image editing software's dashed line select box. Then, just recently, the video card went completely missing in device manager after Windows said "a problem has occurred and your PC will have to restart". After restarting, I tried to open my nVidia GeForce Experience program, but it said drivers couldn't be found. I downloaded a new one from their website and ran it, but it said it couldn't install because hardware couldn't be found. I tried device manager, and it wasn't listed under display adapters.

I have no idea what is going on, so please help. I need that GeForce video card to play games at a decent FPS.

Lenovo G780 w/ nVidia GeForce GT 635m video card, 6GB RAM, Intel i5 3230m Processor, Windows 8 64 bit.

More about : nvidia geforce 635m disappeared

Best solution

March 25, 2014 7:11:14 PM

It's possible it was overheating and started to fail (or has failed).

Dust buildup and failing fans are a common cause for things like this in older computers.

If you want to give it a try:

* Remove as many covers from the laptop as you can so you can see the internal fans and parts.
* Blow out as much dust as you can.
* As an added plus, turn the computer on and watch if the fans inside still spin pretty well (make sure they still run).
* Don't actually touch any parts inside the computer ... just try to blow out the dust from what you can see.
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March 25, 2014 7:35:12 PM

KevinAr18 said:
It's possible it was overheating and started to fail (or has failed).

Dust buildup and failing fans are a common cause for things like this in older computers.

If you want to give it a try:

* Remove as many covers from the laptop as you can so you can see the internal fans and parts.
* Blow out as much dust as you can.
* As an added plus, turn the computer on and watch if the fans inside still spin pretty well (make sure they still run).
* Don't actually touch any parts inside the computer ... just try to blow out the dust from what you can see.


I don't really understand how that fixed it for me, but thanks!
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March 25, 2014 7:38:44 PM

Dylanwarrior77 said:
KevinAr18 said:
It's possible it was overheating and started to fail (or has failed).

Dust buildup and failing fans are a common cause for things like this in older computers.

If you want to give it a try:

* Remove as many covers from the laptop as you can so you can see the internal fans and parts.
* Blow out as much dust as you can.
* As an added plus, turn the computer on and watch if the fans inside still spin pretty well (make sure they still run).
* Don't actually touch any parts inside the computer ... just try to blow out the dust from what you can see.


I don't really understand how that fixed it for me, but thanks!


Essentially, the reason is this:
Parts in you computer generate a lot of heat. So much heat that they need a large heatsink (piece of metal) attached to them... and on top of that, need a fan to blow heat off that heatsink out of the computer. If your computer does not get rid of this heat, then the part will overheat, causing it to get damaged and eventually break or fail.
Sometimes when they overheat, they start causing problems with the computer (like the weird graphics you saw) because they are no longer working the way they should.

Over time dust collects in your computer, blocking airflow so heat can't be removed anymore. So by blowing the dust out, you computer can now get rid of the heat and run like it should.
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