[*Resolved] "Prototype Test-NVIDIA Confidential" Error Message [See posts #283, 319]

Update - As soon as we updated to the 295.73 driver, we also got the overlay message. We have re-escalated this to Nvidia. Looks like this will take more time. You know how it is. Lubu's fix is interesting and the L3 team is looking at it but, Dell cannot endorse a modification of the retail driver.

 

Did you get the overlay with the paid 3DTV Play activator?

Can you try not to escalate it to the point of them disabling 3DTV play from the get go, from our/their future Verde drivers?

 

I just hope that Nvidia will not reinforces the overlay with something more difficult to hack in the coming driver releases.

 

There are some issues with some legacy models using antiquated hybrid graphics systems. This is completely false, at least with the M17x R2, R3 and M18x. I have never had any issues using reference drivers except for bugs with certain versions of AMD drivers (and those were few and far between).

Dell/Alienware "recommended" driver updates are stock AMD/NVIDIA drivers that they have tested, qualified and endorsed as working properly with their systems.

NVIDIA 295.73 and the 296.10 Verde driver released yesterday have worked flawlessly on my M18x. So, dive in and update Brother Seels.

 

I wonder if there is anything done with the latest driver for this particular issue? - doubtful but I know one of you 3d guys will check it out....

 

Hi guys,

All you said concerning the red alert message confirms what I have experimented. And now I know why my Pro partition doesn't have the issue (it is still in driver version 285.62, which seem to be the last without this problem). I have also latest A05 Bios installed so this is not an issue. I will test latest driver 296.10 on my Perso partition tonight. Anyway, Lubu thanks for your hack, I will test it as well tonight if latest driver still have the problem.

MSEELS: I too have an Asus VG278H monitor and the same concern as yours for display port. Concerning the adapters to DVI Dual-Link, it seems they are not all equal; some are not compatible with the built-in IR receptor. Which one exactly did you buy? Please, read below what I wrote before:

I will really like to find the one which could give us the full HD 120Hz in 2D and full HD 60Hz in 3D.
It could be a good idea to create a new thread in the forum so other people could easily find the solution once we find it and/or you can PM me so we can discuss this specific matter in detail.

I have tried drivers 296.10, the message appears instantly :-(

 

lubu's template hack still works on 269.10

 

Did you get the overlay with the paid 3DTV Play activator?
* Yes.

Can you try not to escalate it to the point of them disabling 3DTV play from the get go, from our/their future Verde drivers?
* I am sure Louis is speaking to this and many other issues with Nvidia.

 

Interesting.

Can you please ask Louis to neglect to mention the template hack or the fact that 3DTV play comes fully unlocked?

Thank you in advance.

 

Thanks so much for clarifying this Fox, will do. It's a HUGE relief to know I can download drivers from Nvidia - part of what makes them such a great company (current issues aside) is how often they update their drivers.

Bear, here is a link to the Startech adapter I purchased. I think it might be the same as the first one you listed. As I discussed previously, I bought it off the glowing review of an m18x user, but upon closer examination of his review, discovered that he was indeed using a 3d adapter directly attached to his laptop, and not a built-in 3d unit like the Asus.

I'll make a new thread - I've been hesitant to do so, as it seemed it might further complicate things with all the existing 3d problems being discussed in this thread, but it will be good to open it up to wider feedback.

 

Im not a pessimist but I dont think this would be resolved anytime soon, who knows maybe they will make the template more difficult to hack.

But I hope Im wrong.

 

Me too............

 

Also, in relation to this problem, I wonder if Mr. Fox has heard any news from his request for an ammended vBios with the higher clocks for P-states P8/P12.....

 

I had the opportunity to speak with Louis, Bill and Chris today on a conference call for M17x R3 owners. Louis spoke at the end of the conference call about the prototype overlay problem that M18x owners are experiencing, and below are the highlights of that conversation.

• The M17x R3 does not have this issue because it has a special license from NVIDIA that coincides with the native 120Hz display panel intended for 3D.
• The M17x R3 is identified by NVIDIA as a 3D laptop, whereas the M18x is not because the M18x only "supports" 3D though the use of a peripheral display. (The M18x is not treated any different by NVIDIA than any other computer with a GTX 580M video card and no built-in 120Hz display.)
  
• NVIDIA drivers include 3DTV Play software by default, but the software requires activation. The M17x R3 is equipped with an NVIDIA IR unit, and its system BIOS and vBIOS have components that (when combined) activates the 3DTV Play software automatically. This occurs on the M17x R3 without user intervention.
  
• The M18x is not available with an integrated 120Hz 3D display panel like the R3, and therefore the M18x is not eligible for 3DTV Play licensing to be included by NVIDIA at no extra charge. NVIDIA will not do that on laptops (or desktops) without a built-in 120Hz 3D display panel.
  
• The M18x is "3D-capable" with the proper external display, but NVIDIA will charge for licensing and activation to use 3DTV Play if a native 120Hz laptop display panel is not detected by the NVIDIA drivers. (This is not limited to M18x owners. It applies to any computer owner that wants 3D output using a display that is not native to the laptop.)
  
• The most current NVIDIA drivers are "broken" and will not work correctly, even with 3DTV Play properly activated. The overlay message will still appear. Dell has tested and confirmed this issue. NVIDIA has acknowledged the problem exists and they are working on fixing what they accidentally broke in one of their next driver releases. Until NVIDIA fixes the problem, users that purchased licensing and activation for 3DTV Play for their 3D-capable systems (those using an external display) will need to fall back to NVIDIA 285.62 drivers for 3D output to work properly.

​

I know this is not necessarily what M18x owners wanted to hear, but it is very good to have some answers and a clear understanding of the issue. Those that want 3D viewing using an external display will need to purchase the 3DTV Play activation from NVIDIA and use the older driver until a fix is released by NVIDIA.

 

No word on that, but I don't think they will modify the P-states from spec. I did not ask in the call because I was trying to stay on topic and let Dell address the R3 owner concerns with throttling. (We only got to touch on the 3D overlay issue at the tail end of the call because there was a few extra minutes and Dell offered to address it so I could provide an update in this thread for M18x owners.)

The conference call for R3 owners was very enlightening. Based on what I heard in that call, it's unrealistic to expect "mods" like this from Dell because of various government compliance standards as well as strict specs that Dell adheres to for all laptops in production.

I suspect the "R3 Team Green" point people will expand on what I am mentioning in their thread.

 

Thanks Fox for rounding up the highlights. It's nice to get a glimpse on where they stand with this.

It's still ridiculous that the drivers produce that overlay. Thanks to lubu, we have a solid solution. Hopefully Nvidia will leave well enough alone.

 

You're welcome, 'gunner.

You guys might want to check out the chatter from the call in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...80m-78c-throttling-see-post-191-later-20.html as it is pretty interesting even though most of it applies to the R3 only. (We're blessed to own the M18x. There are legitimate reasons we no longer have a 580M throttling issue and R3 owners still do.)

Dell also shed some light on SATA-III speed issues, which I mentioned here.

 

Thank you Lubu for your work around to fix Nvidia/Dells major screw ups. You helped us out and saved Dell hundreds of thousands of dollars in replacement parts/computers.

 

Glad I could help.

----

Here's the batch file I created so you dont need to repeat those cucumbersome steps to remove the warning msg.

1.First create a folder directory, mine is C:\remove3dmsg
2.Now copy the nvstres.dll that you've already modified to this directory.
3.Download and unzip the remove3dmsg.bat below and throw it in there.
4.Run the batch file when you need to but remember to right click and select "Run as Administrator" because modifying anything in Program Files needs Admin's Privileges.

**This batch file assumes that the nvstres.dll is the same for all current drivers.**

Now if your folder directory has a different name than mine you'll need to edit the batch file with notepad. Its really simple, the first cmd line is to delete the old dll file, the second line is to copy the the modified one to the 3D Vision folder. What you'll need to modify here is the directory highlighted in red.

del "C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvstres.dll"
copy /-y "C:\remove3dmsg\nvstres.dll" "C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\3D Vision\nvstres.dll"
pause

Enjoy.

 

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! +rep!!!

 

Added to Index... thanks for your work, lubu. +1 Rep

Hack/work around on page 29 (post #283).

Batch file on Page 32 (post #319).

Sorry, I meant to do this before... got busy and forgot.

 

Hi Mr.Fox,

There is another issue with "mini-displayport to dvi-d" used on build-in emitter 3D monitor... seems that the adapter JUST let the monitor reach 120HZ but cant initialize the emitter of the monitor such as Asus VG278H.

 

Are you referring to this? http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...s-vg278-through-dp-converter-cant-see-3d.html

If so, that is a separate issue from the 3DPlay TV software displaying the on-screen error message.

 

Yep~ Mr.Fox, i've the same probleum as "The Good Bear" who use the adapter as a convertor. I think thats the regular issue on the monitor which has build-in emitter no matter what kind of brand, such as Asus & Acer.

 

I think you are correct on that.

 

Seems this is popping up again - this time with a 17x r3 with 680m....

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=8696302&postcount=44

 

just a small clarification to stevie...

this is happening on a brand new alienware M17x R4 (not R3) with nvidias 680M.

i read a bit through this thread and the way i understand it, its some sort of a license-problem?!

i thought the m17x series are official 3D-notebooks?!

 

My mistake. I read the above "R3" portion of your post above......

It's actually worse to think that Nvidia/Dell have not rectified this problem on the M17x R4, especially as you point out, its supposedly "officially supported"........not very awe inspiring to see this one crop up again....

 

It was a 3D licensing issue when it was doing that on the M18x R1 as well.

 

Maybe this is why Alienware pulled the 680M from the website configurator?

 

Not likely. The parts are not available. There is nothing to indicate they were "pulled" because of a problem... just none on hand to provide.

It's probably merely something with the M17x R4 driver with the license for 3D missing. The license is only valid for systems that ship with an integrated 3D laptop display panel. The M18x never had the option of a built-in 3D display panel, so it was not provided free of charge. That's understandable, since Alienware never sold it as a "3D laptop" per se, although it is 100% 3D capable with the correct external display attached.