LA did something to my hardware.

LA did something to my hardware.

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

I’m not asking for assistance, i’m merely giving a heads up.

My current setup:
-Alienware m17x R4
-I7 3720QM 2.6ghz
-16gb Ram
-Nvidia GTX 675m

Last thursday, TNTD and Hobs were getting a warband together for WvW reset, we had 30+ people at one WvW gate in LA, and it seems a couple of other guilds had the same thing planned, and they had about the same numbers at another WvW gate.

That’s when things got messy for me.

to give a bit of tl;dr, the issue is, a few minutes in any intensive graphics situation (wvw battles, being in LA, or a match in world of tanks) my screen would go black, and the computer restarts, after it loads again it gives me an error telling me i got a BSOD most likely causes by a VIDEO_TDR_ERROR triggered by this file nvlddmkm.sys

A few minutes into the gathering, my computer crashed, i had no idea what the problem was at the time so i just restarted, but it happened again within 3 minutes, so i thought to myself it could be just team speak that’s causing this.

It’s been a week now, and during that week i’ve crashed at least 15 times, i tried everything that can be done (Disk error checks, disk and registry cleanup, malware and anti virus scans, defragmented, tried stock and latest drivers, and the drivers i had prior to the problem), heck, to eliminate any software possibilities i repaired my pc to factory condition, but i still get this problem, and to make it even more confusing, my pc doesn’t restart after getting the black screen now.

From what i understood from other people, LA by default requires high processing power, and coupled with WvW grade player gathering last thursday, i think it popped something in my graphics card.

i’m not sure where to go from here, i’m most likely going to RMA this alienware since it’s still within warranty, or try to fix it at least, but it doesn’t really matter if the cause will still exist.

if you have any comment on this please do give it.

notes: forgot to mention a couple of stuff, i’ve checked my temperatures during WvW play (nothing intense, just regular small group fighting) and both my CPU and GPU temps were going around 69~71 celcius, also i’ve had a couple of times where my laptop beeped 6 short beeps when it went black screen, according to this thread http://tinyurl.com/bdpblrr 6 beeps mean video card failure, but i’m being suspicious about this one since it only happened twice from the 15 times i got the black screen, and most games launch no prob and run for a few minutes no prob.

(edited by RapidSausage.4620)

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Posted by: Saulius.8430

Saulius.8430

sounds like hardware malfunction due defect. that’s what warranties are for. you funny guy (LA did smth… LMAO)

kill all ze thingz

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Posted by: Riseabove.6248

Riseabove.6248

Sounds like a cooling problem.
Laptops in general are not very good at displacing heat.
And Guildwars 2 in a pvp setting will generate alot of heat on any hardware.

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Sounds like a cooling problem.
Laptops in general are not very good at displacing heat.
And Guildwars 2 in a pvp setting will generate alot of heat on any hardware.

i think 2 friggin huge fans should do the trick, and they did, i’ve had this thing for 8 months and i’ve played GW2 everyday.

i forgot to mention i checked the termperatures.
in WvW, both my processor and gpu are at 69~71 celcius.

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Posted by: Riseabove.6248

Riseabove.6248

Sounds like a cooling problem.
Laptops in general are not very good at displacing heat.
And Guildwars 2 in a pvp setting will generate alot of heat on any hardware.

i think 2 friggin huge fans should do the trick, and they did, i’ve had this thing for 8 months and i’ve played GW2 everyday.

i forgot to mention i checked the termperatures.
in WvW, both my processor and gpu are at 69~71 celcius.

Do you monitor the cpu/gpu temp ?
That night in LA, might have lifted a heatsink on your GPU… therefore you continue to have problems.
Just a tought…

Edit: Anyways, Bsod is allmost allways hardware related.

(edited by Riseabove.6248)

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Do you monitor the cpu/gpu temp ?
That night in LA, might have lifted a heatsink on your GPU… therefore you continue to have problems.
Just a tought…

Edit: Anyways, Bsod is allmost allways hardware related.

please check notes aat the end of my post, i updated it.

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Posted by: DrixTrix.7168

DrixTrix.7168

The Fan on the GPU might be failing, does the sound do any skipping or anything or is it an instant restart?

what i will say is the temp might say its fine, but seriously check the fan any ’’load’’ put on might make it stress, a good way to check in your computer while its running put your small finger in the GPU fan, if it stops its too weak and on the way out if it hurts a little (wont take your finger off) then its not the GPU fan.

http://www.ocbase.com/ is a good site to test the GPU and system, dont rely on windows diag.

and this is a laptop? i know its a silly question but are you sure its on a hard, level ventilated surface? as this defiantly sounds like a cooling problem, at the very least a hardware problem.

have you got any warranty/insurance on it?

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Posted by: Shimond.2478

Shimond.2478

Maybe 69-71c on a laptop is normal but I’d be worried if the GPU in my PC ever got that hot. Anyway it’s certainly not “LA” doing this to your machine, it’s that your machine can’t handle “LA” for whatever reason.

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Posted by: ShiningSquirrel.3751

ShiningSquirrel.3751

I have seen more then my fair share of Alienware laptops with video problems. It’s actually nothing more then a Dell with a pretty skin after all. If you received the 6 beeps, BSOD and black screens, your video card is failing/failed. Either send it in for warranty or RMA it as it is only going to get worse.

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Posted by: DrixTrix.7168

DrixTrix.7168

Shimond, he also said enduring simply Gathering so its not just a LA problem, either way LA shouldn’t ’’suddenly’’ start causing problems if it does it is certainly highlighting an underlying problem.

and i didn’t point that out but yes that is hot for a GPU.

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

The Fan on the GPU might be failing, does the sound do any skipping or anything or is it an instant restart?

used to be a 5 second wait then restart, now it just stays black and i have to manually restart.

what i will say is the temp might say its fine, but seriously check the fan any ’’load’’ put on might make it stress, a good way to check in your computer while its running put your small finger in the GPU fan, if it stops its too weak and on the way out if it hurts a little (wont take your finger off) then its not the GPU fan.

The fans are performing as they always did, nothing falling short.

http://www.ocbase.com/ is a good site to test the GPU and system, dont rely on windows diag.

tried this software but it’s very confusing for me to read.

and this is a laptop? i know its a silly question but are you sure its on a hard, level ventilated surface? as this defiantly sounds like a cooling problem, at the very least a hardware problem.

It’s on a flat marble desk.

have you got any warranty/insurance on it?

Still within its 1 year warranty.

(edited by RapidSausage.4620)

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Posted by: DrixTrix.7168

DrixTrix.7168

As its still got a warranty i would send it back personally i know its not the ideal situation but that’s what i would do.

i would still check the fan, don’t write any problem off until you have properly checked.

if you have a spare GPU i would replace it and see what happens, if this invalidates your warranty i wouldnt even try.

p.s. take a screenshot and post the diagnostics, we’ll be more than happy to read it for you.

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

As its still got a warranty i would send it back personally i know its not the ideal situation but that’s what i would do.

i would still check the fan, don’t write any problem off until you have properly checked.

if you have a spare GPU i would replace it and see what happens, if this invalidates your warranty i wouldnt even try.

p.s. take a screenshot and post the diagnostics, we’ll be more than happy to read it for you.

if that’s possible, can you guide me on how to do the test for the parts that need testing?

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Posted by: DrixTrix.7168

DrixTrix.7168

sure, i am at work at the mo so ill post the info as soon as i can, ill look at the model of your laptop too on the net before i start telling you what to unscrew and what not

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

sure, i am at work at the mo so ill post the info as soon as i can, ill look at the model of your laptop too on the net before i start telling you what to unscrew and what not

i’d prefer not to void my warranty, i’m taking it to be repaired at the dell guys on monday.
i just need to identify where the problem lies and how to take countermeasure to prevent it from happening in the future.

also my laptop is not exactly and R4 or an R3, it’s sort of a mix, so what you find on the net might not be the same as what i have.

really appreciate the help btw.

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Posted by: DrixTrix.7168

DrixTrix.7168

aah ok, the best thing to do then would be to let the guys isolate the problem as they will know a lot more about that particular model than i could find around however i have found that a few people have had this problem and the general ’’solver’’ was to turn off windows automatic updates and roll back the driver software.

previous driver software : http://www.geforce.co.uk/drivers/results/55205

i have guessed your on windows 8 if not heres the win 7 : http://www.geforce.co.uk/drivers/results/55205

and if your unsure this will automatically select a driver if you are just select legacy drivers to find a previous version (try to avoid BETAs) http://www.geforce.co.uk/drivers

do the below to run a diag check (sorry if you all ready know this! haha) but this should show up any conflicts / discrepancies within the system

Hardware Diagnostics Check:

Run diagnostics on the computer (restart the computer by holding FN and Power button simultaneously) let the diagnostics complete.

p.s.s. check the airvents, make sure there not full of dust, i doubt they are but that will add to whatever problem you have.

(edited by DrixTrix.7168)

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

aah ok, the best thing to do then would be to let the guys isolate the problem as they will know a lot more about that particular model than i could find around however i have found that a few people have had this problem and the general ’’solver’’ was to turn off windows automatic updates and roll back the driver software.

previous driver software : http://www.geforce.co.uk/drivers/results/55205

i have guessed your on windows 8 if not heres the win 7 : http://www.geforce.co.uk/drivers/results/55205

and if your unsure this will automatically select a driver if you are just select legacy drivers to find a previous version (try to avoid BETAs) http://www.geforce.co.uk/drivers

do the below to run a diag check (sorry if you all ready know this! haha) but this should show up any conflicts / discrepancies within the system

Hardware Diagnostics Check:

Run diagnostics on the computer (restart the computer by holding FN and Power button simultaneously) let the diagnostics complete.

p.s.s. check the airvents, make sure there not full of dust, i doubt they are but that will add to whatever problem you have.

before i comment on what you said, i’ve run OCCT (GPU tab), i changed idle times to 0 minutes, and test duration to 1 minute, DX10, Full screen, 1920×1080, shader 7, max FPS 120.

the first time i ran the test with these settings it worked for 80 seconds, the second and last time it didn’t last 10 seconds.

to reply to you comment, i’m running the stock nvidia drivers that came with the laptop (296.39), i have not disabled windows update, and i have not done a diagnostics check, i will do both now.

as for the air vents, i regularly clean them, almost everyday just removing dust form the outside manually, and every month or so i vacuum the vents (i know i shouldn’t be doing this with the vacuum, but i can’t get any compressed air where i am).

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Posted by: SolarNova.1052

SolarNova.1052

Best thing to do is get it sorted by the manufactoerer or retailer u got it from.

That is ..after u have gone through all possible software related issues.

I know u said u reset to factory default.. have u tried a full format and reinstall ?

if u have then its most deffinatly hardware related.

No software will cause such hardware failures issue on a perfectly working computer.. it certainly wasnt GW2’s fault.
A computer should always be able to hand 24 hour constant max performance without any issues. Thats GPU full load and CPU full load, RAM full load etc.
If it cant ..its faulty.

I always advise people to stress test there computers when they buy them. Get a GPU benchmark grogram to stress the GPU to max, same goes for the CPU. Keep those stresses running for long periods. Not only does this test for stability, it also tests how well the rig deals with heat. If it overheats ..or crashes from instability, get a refund/repair/replacment.

3930k 4.6ghz | NH-D14 Cooler | P9x79 Pro MB | 16gb 1866mhz G.Skill | 128gb SSD + 2×500gb HDD
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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Run diagnostics on the computer (restart the computer by holding FN and Power button simultaneously) let the diagnostics complete.

just ran diagnostics (and thorough test as well), everything came out clean.
i also disabled windows update, and after all this i did the gpu stress test with OCCT
on lowest resolution, dx9, 1 shader…basically the lowest of everything i could find.

i crashed 10 second into the test.

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Posted by: DrixTrix.7168

DrixTrix.7168

hmm, only thing i could suggest is try DX11, DX0 is quite old now, also lower the resolution to something silly like 600×420 or something then slowly go up see what happens during the tests, might do nothing but might be a work around until the manufacturers have sorted it out.

up side is you have warranty so they have to fix it, silver lining!

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

hmm, only thing i could suggest is try DX11, DX0 is quite old now, also lower the resolution to something silly like 600×420 or something then slowly go up see what happens during the tests, might do nothing but might be a work around until the manufacturers have sorted it out.

up side is you have warranty so they have to fix it, silver lining!

OCCT doesn’t have DX11, plus GW2 runs on DX9 anyway.
i ran the test at 640×480 and 1 shader, and i still crashed immediately, there wasn’t even any animation, the model was frozen all the time.

could i have dislodged a heatsink somehow?, how do i know if i did?!

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Posted by: SolarNova.1052

SolarNova.1052

you would have to take it apart possibly voiding warranty. best to get it sorted by manufacturer or retailer.

3930k 4.6ghz | NH-D14 Cooler | P9x79 Pro MB | 16gb 1866mhz G.Skill | 128gb SSD + 2×500gb HDD
EVGA GTX 780 Classified w/ EK block | XSPC D5 Photon 270 Res/Pump | NexXxos Monsta 240 Rad
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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

i ran a CPU stress test with the same program as well.

i ran it 64bit for 5 minute on large packet load, max temperature was 90 celsius but it only reached that number near the end of the test, and only 2 cores reached that temperature, the other 2 cores ran under 82 celsius at all times.

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Posted by: abomally.2694

abomally.2694

Your graphics “card” is failing; have the laptop replaced since it’s under warranty. It’s a common problem on many Dells and Alienware. This is why BGA mounted chips are a terrible engineering design (in my opinion).

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Your graphics “card” is failing; have the laptop replaced since it’s under warranty. It’s a common problem on many Dells and Alienware. This is why BGA mounted chips are a terrible engineering design (in my opinion).

they’d probably only replace the gpu.
but my concern is if this happens again outside warranty it’d be a monetary problem.

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Posted by: SolarNova.1052

SolarNova.1052

Then in all honesty if ur worried about that, get a refund and buy from another brand.

Asus
MSI
Sager
Razer

They all seem to be other popular performance laptops u can get in the US.
http://www.xoticpc.com/index.html

3930k 4.6ghz | NH-D14 Cooler | P9x79 Pro MB | 16gb 1866mhz G.Skill | 128gb SSD + 2×500gb HDD
EVGA GTX 780 Classified w/ EK block | XSPC D5 Photon 270 Res/Pump | NexXxos Monsta 240 Rad
CM Storm Stryker case | Seasonic 1000W PSU | Asux Xonar D2X & Logitech Z5500 Sound system |

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Then in all honesty if ur worried about that, get a refund and buy from another brand.

Asus
MSI
Sager
Razer

They all seem to be other popular performance laptops u can get in the US.
http://www.xoticpc.com/index.html

i’m not in the US, i’m in Egypt, and i can’t refund since i didn’t buy it from dell directly, i bought it from CompuMe in Dubai.

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Posted by: SolarNova.1052

SolarNova.1052

Cant u get a refund form the retailer then ?

3930k 4.6ghz | NH-D14 Cooler | P9x79 Pro MB | 16gb 1866mhz G.Skill | 128gb SSD + 2×500gb HDD
EVGA GTX 780 Classified w/ EK block | XSPC D5 Photon 270 Res/Pump | NexXxos Monsta 240 Rad
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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Cant u get a refund form the retailer then ?

i doubt it, we do have CompuMe in egypt, but i bought the laptop from a branch in Dubai (Dubai is in another country), i doubt this will work.

But even if it’s possible, there are currently no laptops better than what i have now, so i’d prefer if they fixed the issue.

(edited by RapidSausage.4620)

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Posted by: SolarNova.1052

SolarNova.1052

Well if its the same company then region matters little in most cases. The money goes to the company as a whole so …

But if u cant get anything as good or better in ur area then fair enough ..go with a repair.

3930k 4.6ghz | NH-D14 Cooler | P9x79 Pro MB | 16gb 1866mhz G.Skill | 128gb SSD + 2×500gb HDD
EVGA GTX 780 Classified w/ EK block | XSPC D5 Photon 270 Res/Pump | NexXxos Monsta 240 Rad
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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Well if its the same company then region matters little in most cases. The money goes to the company as a whole so …

But if u cant get anything as good or better in ur area then fair enough ..go with a repair.

i just hope this is a minor issue, it seems my gtx 675m has suffered damage/dislodged and i’m guessing it costs quite a hefty sum of money to replace if not within warranty.

i also hope it doesn’t take long to fix, i need my laptop for my graduation project, it’s the only computer i have.

(edited by RapidSausage.4620)

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

anymore input into the issue?

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Posted by: abomally.2694

abomally.2694

If the GPU on that laptop is replaceable (mini PCI-E), you could actually do it yourself. Just look around the internet for videos for your specific model. You can also check if it has become partially dislodged.

If the GPU is built onto the motherboard, then you would need to replace the motherboard.

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Posted by: Corvi.3278

Corvi.3278

Yes this is defective hardware or insufficient cooling which can happen if you use your laptop in a manner that prevents proper airflow.

Get a cooling system that sucks air from the laptop rather than blowing air into it.

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Yes this is defective hardware or insufficient cooling which can happen if you use your laptop in a manner that prevents proper airflow.

Get a cooling system that sucks air from the laptop rather than blowing air into it.

this thing has 2 big fans, one for the processor and one for the GPU.
the temps are normal (same as they ever were) but it still exhibits the problem.

I’m thinking about flashing the BIOS, same BIOS version and everything, but i’m not sure if this is the same version i have or not.

The version i’m looking at says the memory clock is 750 mhz, but notebook check says the 675m has a memory speed of 1500 mhz, is there a difference between memory speed and clock?

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

i downloaded the BIOS i need but it’s in .rom format, how do i use it? (without opening the laptop)

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Posted by: Nitro.4732

Nitro.4732

The version i’m looking at says the memory clock is 750 mhz, but notebook check says the 675m has a memory speed of 1500 mhz, is there a difference between memory speed and clock?

Hi RapidSausage,

Memory used in todays computers are DDR (Double Data Rate) based technology, meaning if you had for example a clock speed of 750MHz you effectively get a data rate of 1500MHz.

I would also have to agree with the majority of this post that the problem is most likely related to a graphics card malfunction, wether this be caused by overheating, lack of cooling, improper use, overclocked hardware or even manufacturing defects.

If the laptop is within warranty it would be best to contact the manufacturer (in this case DELL), it is their responsibility to honour the warranty not the retailers, and DELL operate globally and will most likely have an approved services and repairs center based in Egypt.

Although the laptop has two big fans built in, gaming laptops are notorious for having many problems related to graphics cards and overheating, and it is no surprise there when you try to shove high performance hardware into the small form factor case.

What most people do not think about, when monitoring their computers temperatures is that although a CPU or GPU may be able to withstand certain limits and stress levels, their surrounding components cannot, and its usually these components that develop a fault or break well before the CPU or GPU reaches its thermal limits.

So even though a GPU may be able to withstand 100+ degrees celsius, many other components surrounding the graphics processor may not and as the hotter your processors like the CPU and GPU get the hotter the surrounding components get.

I hope this helped

Nitro.

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(edited by Nitro.4732)

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

The version i’m looking at says the memory clock is 750 mhz, but notebook check says the 675m has a memory speed of 1500 mhz, is there a difference between memory speed and clock?

Hi RapidSausage,

Memory used in todays computers are DDR (Double Data Rate) based technology, meaning if you had for example a clock speed of 750MHz you effectively get a data rate of 1500MHz.

I would also have to agree with the majority of this post that the problem is most likely related to a graphics card malfunction, wether this be caused by overheating, lack of cooling, improper use, overclocked hardware or even manufacturing defects.

If the laptop is within warranty it would be best to contact the manufacturer (in this case DELL), it is their responsibility to honour the warranty not the retailers, and DELL operate globally and will most likely have an approved services and repairs center based in Egypt.

Although the laptop has two big fans built in, gaming laptops are notorious for having many problems related to graphics cards and overheating, and it is no surprise there when you try to shove high performance hardware into the small form factor case.

What most people do not think about, when monitoring their computers temperatures is that although a CPU or GPU may be able to withstand certain limits and stress levels, their surrounding components cannot, and its usually these components that develop a fault or break well before the CPU or GPU reaches its thermal limits.

So even though a GPU may be able to withstand 100+ degrees celsius, many other components surrounding the graphics processor may not and as the hotter your processors like the CPU and GPU get the hotter the surrounding components get.

I hope this helped

Nitro.

Thank you for the reply nitro, very well structured and to the point.

If it’s alright to ask for a bit more insight from you, i ran AlienAutopsy tests, the one attached is the gaming test, it tests HDD, CPU, GPU, and RAM.

I skipped the tests that use full screen 3d graphics, since i only seem to crash when running fullscreen 3d applications, and sometimes videos.

I have run individual tests on the CPU, RAM, Monitor, and other hardware to rule out any hardware other than the GPU.

If you can take a look at the results and give me your opinion i would be grateful.

Regadless of what the problem might be, i have already contacted Dell “representatives” here in Egypt, and i’ll be taking my laptop to be repaired on monday, how long it will take i have no idea, but i do know where laptops that require repairs go (i know where the plant is).

p.s: wouldn’t hurt for others to take a look and give opinions as well
p.s2: Prior to the problem became at such severity, i had tested the temperatures for my GPU and CPU, both of which peaked at about 72 degrees Celsius (heavy gaming), and i don’t know if this is normal for laptops

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Posted by: UserX.8217

UserX.8217

It sounds like you are getting a STOP Error after a TDR. TDR or Timeout Detection and Recovery error are a way for the GPU to reboot in the event of a hang, freeze or other issue. A STOP error is a BSOD that normally is caused by hardware failure or when the OS interaction with hardware fails AKA, driver or bad/corrupted software issues.

It appears that your system is unable to recover giving you a BSOD. There have been reports of TDR problems with the latest NVidia 314.07 driver. If you are using 314.07 then ripping and installing a different driver may alleviate the issue. If you are on old drivers installing a new on may help also.

Many people that are on 314.07 and experiencing TDRs are now using 310.90 to clear up the issue. Unfortunately there are so many things that can cause this so it can be very difficult to troubleshoot.

Here is an article linked by Ashley Segovia on TDR.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/389688/geforce-drivers/nvidia-statement-on-tdr-errors-display-driver-nvlddmkm-stopped-/

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(edited by UserX.8217)

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Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

It sounds like you are getting a STOP Error after a TDR. TDR or Timeout Detection and Recovery error are a way for the GPU to reboot in the event of a hang, freeze or other issue. A STOP error is a BSOD that normally is caused by hardware failure or when the OS interaction with hardware fails AKA, driver or bad/corrupted software issues.

It appears that your system is unable to recover giving you a BSOD. There have been reports of TDR problems with the latest NVidia 314.07 driver. If you are using 314.07 then ripping and installing a different driver may alleviate the issue. If you are on old drivers installing a new on may help also.

Many people that are on 314.07 and experiencing TDRs are now using 310.90 to clear up the issue. Unfortunately there are so many things that can cause this so it can be very difficult to troubleshoot.

Here is an article linked by Ashley Segovia on TDR.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/389688/geforce-drivers/nvidia-statement-on-tdr-errors-display-driver-nvlddmkm-stopped-/

yea, i’ve read that article several times.
I’ll try the 310.90 drivers and see how it works, i doubt i’ll have much success with it though.

LA did something to my hardware.

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Posted by: SolarNova.1052

SolarNova.1052

Personaly i still use the 306.97 drivers lol. I rarely update drivers unless i know a significant performance increase is involved. otherwise i stay with what i know works.

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LA did something to my hardware.

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Posted by: Nitro.4732

Nitro.4732

Thank you for the reply nitro, very well structured and to the point.

If it’s alright to ask for a bit more insight from you, i ran AlienAutopsy tests, the one attached is the gaming test, it tests HDD, CPU, GPU, and RAM.

I skipped the tests that use full screen 3d graphics, since i only seem to crash when running fullscreen 3d applications, and sometimes videos.

I have run individual tests on the CPU, RAM, Monitor, and other hardware to rule out any hardware other than the GPU.

If you can take a look at the results and give me your opinion i would be grateful.

Regadless of what the problem might be, i have already contacted Dell “representatives” here in Egypt, and i’ll be taking my laptop to be repaired on monday, how long it will take i have no idea, but i do know where laptops that require repairs go (i know where the plant is).

p.s: wouldn’t hurt for others to take a look and give opinions as well
p.s2: Prior to the problem became at such severity, i had tested the temperatures for my GPU and CPU, both of which peaked at about 72 degrees Celsius (heavy gaming), and i don’t know if this is normal for laptops

If you are going to run diagnostic tests it makes sense to fully test all aspects of your hardware. I did not know about the current TDR errors as I have not played GW2 for the last 6 weeks. I would say that if the Alien Autopsy diagnostic tool gives you a pass on all aspects of its diagnostic tests and similar diagnostic tests have the same results, then I would test other 3D games and/or 3D stress test to uncover any hidden hardware defects. By hidden I mean a fault that may not show itself all the time but only when certain conditions are reached such as:

certain amount of power/wattage usage
certain temperature range
certain components become active in different power states

If none of these tests cause the same problem that you experience with Guild Wars and do not show any other symptoms then I would assume the problem was oriented around Guild Wars.

In either case it may be worth having DELL inspecting the laptop due to it being 2/3rd’s of the way through its warranty, the last thing you want is an expensive laptop with hardware problems and being outside of the warranty period. It would also be a wise to back up all important data to a externally hard drive or pen drive whilst your computer is still running and before you hand it over to DELL (very important!).

If you require the same laptop for work or education then its also important to know the turn-around time for an inspection/repair from your manufacturer (in the UK its typically 2-4 weeks that may be different for Egypt).

good luck

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LA did something to my hardware.

in Account & Technical Support

Posted by: RapidSausage.4620

RapidSausage.4620

Thank you for the reply nitro, very well structured and to the point.

If it’s alright to ask for a bit more insight from you, i ran AlienAutopsy tests, the one attached is the gaming test, it tests HDD, CPU, GPU, and RAM.

I skipped the tests that use full screen 3d graphics, since i only seem to crash when running fullscreen 3d applications, and sometimes videos.

I have run individual tests on the CPU, RAM, Monitor, and other hardware to rule out any hardware other than the GPU.

If you can take a look at the results and give me your opinion i would be grateful.

Regadless of what the problem might be, i have already contacted Dell “representatives” here in Egypt, and i’ll be taking my laptop to be repaired on monday, how long it will take i have no idea, but i do know where laptops that require repairs go (i know where the plant is).

p.s: wouldn’t hurt for others to take a look and give opinions as well
p.s2: Prior to the problem became at such severity, i had tested the temperatures for my GPU and CPU, both of which peaked at about 72 degrees Celsius (heavy gaming), and i don’t know if this is normal for laptops

If you are going to run diagnostic tests it makes sense to fully test all aspects of your hardware. I did not know about the current TDR errors as I have not played GW2 for the last 6 weeks. I would say that if the Alien Autopsy diagnostic tool gives you a pass on all aspects of its diagnostic tests and similar diagnostic tests have the same results, then I would test other 3D games and/or 3D stress test to uncover any hidden hardware defects. By hidden I mean a fault that may not show itself all the time but only when certain conditions are reached such as:

certain amount of power/wattage usage
certain temperature range
certain components become active in different power states

If none of these tests cause the same problem that you experience with Guild Wars and do not show any other symptoms then I would assume the problem was oriented around Guild Wars.

In either case it may be worth having DELL inspecting the laptop due to it being 2/3rd’s of the way through its warranty, the last thing you want is an expensive laptop with hardware problems and being outside of the warranty period. It would also be a wise to back up all important data to a externally hard drive or pen drive whilst your computer is still running and before you hand it over to DELL (very important!).

If you require the same laptop for work or education then its also important to know the turn-around time for an inspection/repair from your manufacturer (in the UK its typically 2-4 weeks that may be different for Egypt).

good luck

i’m pretty much done with tests at the moment, i’ll be handing the laptop to Dell on monday.

i have backed up my important stuff already, since i had to reset my laptop to factory defaults anyway in an attempt to fix the problem earlier.

and WOW, 2-4 weeks, that’s….that’s a lot of time, it’s gonna be a challenging time for me to do my college work.