Time for new graphic card?

Nvlddmkm.sys is an Nvidia driver, so you're having either driver issues or the card's going out (I had the same problems when my 9800gx2 was dying).

Try using driversweeper and remove the old Nvidia driver and then install the most up to date drivers you can get. If the card still crashes, it's likely a dying card.

OR

Use driversweeper, remove the old nvidia drivers, install another video card (a spare you have laying around, from a friend, etc.), install that card's latest drivers, and see if you still have crash issues. If the new card doesn't crash, it's because the old card is dying. If the new card crashes too, then your problem is somewhere else.

It could be driver problems or a dying GPU, so try some more troubleshooting first.

Thanks
ya I forgot to mention that i tried updating to the most recent driver
BUT
I didnt remove the old one first so I will try that next and post results
...stay tuned

update:
tried using driversweeper and reinstalled the latest nvidia driver but still the same symptoms

took out the card and installed it into another computer and it ran fine for about an hour until i shut it down....
put it back into my computer and same problems as before mostly the screen freezing and the screen turning off

tried a system restore to before i did a windows 7 update and it worked for like 10mins which was an improvement then i left it and came back and it was frozen on the desktop

looking up Nvlddmkm.sys seems alot of people had this issue in like 2008/2009 but has since been resolved so i have no clue what to do next

anyone got anything to try???
THANKS

picking up the following now: (the hal.dll is new)

On Fri 1/28/2011 4:38:52 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\012711-21687-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: hal.dll (hal+0x12903)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA80033B68F8, 0xB2000000, 0x70F0F)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\hal.dll
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Hardware Abstraction Layer DLL
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system which cannot be identified at this time.


On Fri 1/28/2011 4:38:52 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (nvlddmkm+0x186622)
Bugcheck code: 0x124 (0x0, 0xFFFFFA80033B68F8, 0xB2000000, 0x70F0F)
Error: WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys
product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 258.96
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 258.96
Bug check description: This bug check indicates that a fatal hardware error has occurred. This bug check uses the error data that is provided by the Windows Hardware Error Architecture (WHEA).
This is likely to be caused by a hardware problem problem. This problem might be caused by a thermal issue.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 258.96 , NVIDIA Corporation).
Google query: nvlddmkm.sys NVIDIA Corporation WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR

anyone ???

If you installed it into a diff comp and it ran fine, there could very well be a problem with the pci-e slot in the mobo itself. What mobo do you have? More importantly, how old is it?

its old
asus a8n-e

i havnt really narrowed anything down from everything ive read it could be:
software (tried updating and rolling back nvidia drivers)
gpu (worked in an XP machine for an hour straight till shutdown)
pci-e slot
ram - (win memory diagnostic ran fine)
psu

i dont know why it would just act up all of a sudden i hadnt updated anything beside AVG i manually update windows 7 soo not sure its software...
and if it was gpu i would think it would act up in the other pc which was XP not win 7 btw...
annnd it happens within 5min of it being on and also happens in safe mode its not only when i run a game or anything graphic intensive

im at a loss with what to do or try???

Update:

got fed up with the problem sooo took out the HDD and GPU and 2sicks of RAM and inserted them into my old computer which ran everything fine for over 2hrs until i shut it down...

so its down to the PSU or MOBO i think

is their any way to test these things???

also if the pcie X16 slot is gone on the mobo
then all i have left is pcie X4 / pcie X1 / and 3 pci slots....
is there any cards that will give me the same or better performance than the 7800gt that will fit in one of these other slots?

thanks again

sounds like it has to do with the mobo. considering the 7800 is old, its not really a power hog. i can run a 460 gtx on a 400 watt power supply. but considering it USED to run fine, that eliminates the problem of the psu. if you really wanna be sure of that though, try switching out the psu on the computer with the problem and see if it keeps acting up. if it does, it's the mobo.

ya my guess is the mobo unfortunately
come to think of it the screen would just go blank but the computer fans and lights and wutnot would stay running sooo guessing its the pcie X16 slot...

so i guess my only question to everyone is the one i posted above...

all i have left is pcie X4 / pcie X1 / and 3 pci slots....
is there any cards that will give me the same or better performance than the 7800gt that will fit in one of these other slots?

running with a 450W PSU

THANKS