M11x - Issues with gaming lockups and crashes - Discussion thread

BF2 lag??

does anyone know why I would have masive lag spikes in BF2? FPS stays above 60, ping is around 30, then spikes to 300+

I am using wireless N, but this never happens on my other laptop

m11x R1 OC mode
REGEDIT network throttle mod done
all settings in med, including sound
latets dell drivers

I haven't had time to test with a wired connection, or offline mode, but I will try when I get home...

 

Wow I really think people have completely started missing the point of this topic. This was a topic regarding crashes and lockups requiring a hard reset to make the computer usable again.

We've had posts of simply low FPS and now internet connection problems too. Gah.

 

I think you got it all wrong, I was sent here by a member to post about my fps issues.

 

you are 100% correct.

i started a thread back in oct/nov on hard locks, and so did others, it all got rolled up into THIS thread. not sure why moderator is sending for FPS issues, this is really just for HARD LOCK UPS, that require a power off to restart.

 

Yes, I think unrelated posts need to be removed from this thread. This thread should only be for issues regarding freezing (with the aforementioned symptoms - I'm not gonna go over them for the millionth time) and those freezes alone. This thread isn't for making your Battlefield 2 run better, or anything else.

Everyone I've talked to that's been using eVGA has had no issues. It is a 100% fix at this point, until someone can prove otherwise. Dell is in denial about the issue, so they're not going to save the day on this way. In fact, I fully expect the M11xR3 to need some kind of eVGA modification to get it to work correctly. Nvidia is also equally in denial, they've claimed that it's the game's fault, hardware's fault, etc... and finally said "we can't reproduce this problem" so F-you.

Whatever, I'm done looking to Nvidia or Dell for answers. We've got the solution right in front of us, and it's this eVGA fix.

 

when a game does lock up is that because of the core clock or the memory clock?

 

That's exactly my thinking too.

I phone Dell after work and will ask refund when they'll understand that there's nothing else to do.

EDIT : I just saw a thread in a french forum that explains this is the motherboard package which causes the problem.

He had a replacement by Dell and after that, it works correctly on all games.

I'll ask this to Dell support.

 

@romalian

Please keep us updated if this changes anything for you, we've had people here with (more than one) motherboard change without any effect.

 

Hello Strider and hello all,

I phoned Alienware to explain the problem. They immediatly understood what it was and directly purposed me a rendez-vous to change the motherboard.

This morning, the Dell's technician has just changed my m11xR2' motherboard.

After that, we made some tests in the games where it was freezing and now, the problem has disapeared ^^

No other freeze in Dark Age of Camelot, same thing in World of Warcraft.

The problem is well known by Alienware and Dell and the only fix possible is to change the motherboard by a new one.

 

does anyone get the "You are not currently using a display attached to an Nvidia GPU" error?

 

WOW HANG ON THERE!

First off in some previous posts, some people's motherboards have gotten changed 2 or 3 times and to no avail, there was still freezing, just give it time. You might think you have found the solution, but you haven't since other people have tried replacing their motherboard and it still freezes up.
Also give it time since it might have fixed it for a small amount of time.
When i switched driver versions it helped for about two hours and i posted something like "OMG FIX FOR FREEZING PROBLEM~!!!!"
and then two hours later it pooped on me

 

I too have been having this issue where I need to hard reset my computer at Stock GPU settings. If i underclock the shader to 980mhz it "fixes" it but I do not think that is acceptable. So far I have contacted AW and they first told me to uninstall drivers and install from their site. Then I was to run various stress tests on the GPU and CPU (none of which panned out). I am supposedly to be receiving a call an hour ago (-.-) with the same rep in which hopefully I will receive a MoBo replacement. 4 hours of calling better pay off!


-DeeVu

Edit: They just called in a vain attempt to keep from sending me a MoBo. They said it could be a problem with my harddrive (lol) and they ran an HDtune benchmark to no avail My momentus XT wins. Time to await the replacement.

 

Good luck!
Post updates after the call!

 

Hey there!

Well Bob pretty much summed it up already. Also, for whatever reason, Dell prefers me filing a case to exchanging the motherboard. Since the Unigine Heaven Benchmark is not freezing (so far, you can never say for sure...) they deny support for the issue.

You'll be sure your system is okay after a weeks. I wish you luck.

 

So, after the monday call I got an approved MoBo replacement So, today they came (2 days!) and replaced it in-home! I have been running smoothly (except for some unstable OC) and have a brand new GPU that can not only work at factory settings but even past 550/1320/890

well done dell! Made me work for my new MoBo but its worth it! Love being able to play all games at Ultra High Settings.
-Deevu

 

OK, my M11xR2 i5 4gb ram also ramdomly lockups, but not when gaming. Since I've brought (3 weeks ago) It lookups 4 times in total, all of the times when I browse Internet by FireFox (beta and v4).

I did not OC at all, all the drivers are from Dell (except the touchpad driver)
Is this a hardware problem or just software/bios/driver ???

 

hmm browsing the internet shouldn't cause nvidia lockups?
try right clicking the browser and choosing to use intel graphics might be set on nvidia

 

First off I want to say thank you for this thread. I have owned my M11xR2 since December and have the same issues...that is games that freeze with the inability to use control-alt-delete, etc.....

I spent three testing periods with Alienware's Costa Rican techs and after a barrage of tests they are sending a a ne MOBO and HD. It was this forum that I referred to regularly on the ongoing issue.

I will see what happens and keep everyone posted. I will then add the specs once it gets replaced.

Again thanks and talk with you soon

JG

 

i had crysis 2 crash the system where it was unresponsive and the audio began stuttering but kept going as if it was slowed down and I could not c-a-d out.

 

Hi. I have a M11x R2 and im experiencing some random freezes. The game randomly freezes for up to 2 secs and the audio too then it comes back and this happens very often. It happens even when im watching a movie on the laptop or browsing the internet and as i said earlier its very random.
At the moment im using the kopicha 266.99 modded drivers which was mentioned earlier in the thread and it doesnt seem to have helped. Thanks in advance if anyone knows why this happens and how to fix it.

 

Ok so I have a new Mobo and a new HD. I am re-installing everything and am still on BIOS AO1. From all the experience on this post, what is the recommended Bios to run on the M11xR2 given all the technical issues we are having.

Once I am loaded up I will try out some games and report back.

Thanks!!

 

Is it confirmed that a mobo replacement resolves the crashing issue?

 

1. 267.76

2. Bioshock 2

3. Game fails to launch. A Yes/No message window appears saying that my graphics card is not compatible and that it's strongly recommended not to run the game with this card. Error: Info=64 0x8086 0x46 0x1A78. If press Yes, Windows says the game stopped working.

4. Game doesn't even launch, so I don't know what the settings are.

5. No overclock. Core i7 U640 @1.2GHz, nVidia GeForce GT335M, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD, Win 7 HP

6. Yes, whitelisted both BioshockLauncher.exe and Bioshock2.exe

7. 11.6" own display only.

 

it does that with older drivers too!

ggrrr....

 

Ok joining here I am having trouble with my games.. they are all crashing. I am overclocked too 500 and was higher but no good the the computer is this a mobo or driver.. issue? computer does not lock up just the game crashes..

 

it might just be your GPU overclock. if it's stable at stock then it was your overclock.

 

Up to freezing round 3... this time it started after I let my wife install an external webcam and skype. This freezing only occurs in game (FFXI) looking at a Maw or a spell effect, but it's annoying as hell. I think this time I'll need the underclock...

We need some summaries of potential fixes on the front page.

 

so, the freezing and launch fails REALLY resolves changing the mobo? if yes, i will need to wait at least one month for a new one I think. (this is the time I waited to receive the note in my country :S)

 

M11x r1, 4gb ram, OCed CPU, non-OCed GPU,

San Andreas refuses to cooperate. I use an external drive that works fine, and San Andreas will ONLY run on the integrated graphics. This sucks because framerate is balls.

I even downloaded a torrent (legal because I own it) and use a no-CD crack, and still, when i try to open it while using the 335m, it will go into windows xp compatibility mode, then just switch back and not start the game.

any ideas?

 

M11x R2 I7 version w/4gigs.

1. Driver you are having issues with

270-275.33


2. Title you are having issues with

L4d2 mostly, but can happen on TMNT as well. (So not engine dependent)

3. Describe the issue in detail - try to be as specific as possible (when does it lockup, certain scenes, certain behaviors, etc.).


Will lock up randomly with repeating sound loop. Can task manager out of it. However, the game process itself will not stop. Even with steam on/off. Steam itself wont quit because it claims game in use, so have to shut its process down. Not even from the command line with a force will work on the game exe though! If I restart system. Windows will not shutdown all the way so I have to hard reset. If I attempt to restart steam and the game, the system locks.



4. Include in-game graphic settings you are using for the problem title (please be specific, line by line please)
I have tried them all, no difference from what I have seen.


5. Are you overclocking or using throttlestop and if so, what are your current OC settings

hell no

6. Confirm you did whitelist your game's .exe - see here: YouTube - ‪Nvidia Optimus Feature on the Alienware M11x- R2‬‏

Yes, no difference.

7. Is this behavior happening when outputting to an external display or on the 11x display? If external, is the 11x display disabled (meaning HDMI only - not dual view)?

I believe it happened before with 11 display, but I mostly use a 1660X1050 monitor.



I have seen other instances of this same issue with other people on here. Did I miss the solutiion? I'm wondering if its something possibly to do with the realtek drivers or a interplay of them and the nvidia. Since the sound loops while the graphics stay. I have used the latest realtek. 6.0.0.6263

 

1. Driver you are having issues with

Anything from the orignal AW driver that came pre-installed to the latest beta for nVidia.


2. Title you are having issues with

StarCraft II, CoD MW, BF 1942

3. Describe the issue in detail - try to be as specific as possible (when does it lockup, certain scenes, certain behaviors, etc.).


Will lock up randomly with repeating sound loop. Can task manager out of it. However, the game process itself will not stop. Some versions of the nVidia drivers will BSOD instead.



4. Include in-game graphic settings you are using for the problem title (please be specific, line by line please)
I have tried them all, no difference from what I have seen.


5. Are you overclocking or using throttlestop and if so, what are your current OC settings

No

6. Confirm you did whitelist your game's .exe - see here: YouTube - ‪Nvidia Optimus Feature on the Alienware M11x- R2‬‏

Yes, no difference.

7. Is this behavior happening when outputting to an external display or on the 11x display? If external, is the 11x display disabled (meaning HDMI only - not dual view)?
Tried all screen output options, no difference.

After being on the phone with AW support 6 times, doing reinstalls, useless tests and sending them minidump files from Win 7 BSODs, I finally exploded and set things straight and had them tacitly admit that there's a general issue with the GT335 chip. They dispatched a new mobo and technician.
I had the mobo replaced, interestingly enough I was downgraded from BIOS A04 to A03 on the new mobo. One of the AW techs also noticed that the A04 BIOS had been taken down from Dells/AWs website, and as of today when I look for a new BIOS I only get the A03.
I have been running without issues for more than a month now.
Unfortunately I wasn't home when the technician changed the mobo, because it would have been interesting to take some photos of the naked mobo and GT335 to see if there's a specific batch of mobos/GT335s that are bad or if it also has something to do with the BIOS.

Bottom line - get your mobos replaced if you're having freezing issues.

 

Is this the final verdict on this issue? Are you sure its not just the bios a03 versus the MB that made the difference? Can I downgrade my bios to check?

(If I'm going to have to try to request a new motherboard... Oh man. First I no longer have the dell diagnostics partition, second, I don't get bsod's).

EDIT: I changed to the A03 bios (though the modded voltage one). I have not encountered the issue... yet. So it may be as simple as that versus having to get a new motherboard.

 

I'm not sure, that's why I mentioned that I was downgraded from A04 to A03, and that A04 has apperently been removed from the official Dell support site (even surprising one of the tech support guys I spoke to).

All I know is that after getting a new mobo that came with A03 all my troubles have gone away.

 

Actually A04 is still on the site. Are you willing to test? Upgrade to a04 and see if it starts to happen, if so, go back. Hence confirmation or not.

Its been working with A03 (unmodded) until tonight when I got my first crash like I had before.

I just want to have as much information as possible if this is a hardware issue that cant be seen with normal dell diagnostics. So I can prove my point on the phone without headache.

 

Scratch that. I had a hardcrash when I forgot my cooler and now it seems to be happening again. I am doing the loop de loops with tech support. And gone back to a base system. All their gpu tests came to naught. So I'm testing the basic install to see if it still happens *which I think we all know it will, it just depends when*.

FWIW the motherboard was like V1 or 1E. From April of last year. With those whom have found a new motherboard helps, what revision is it? (You can barely see it next to the memory and/or at least the build date).
EDIT:

If we cant tell by motherboard revisions, maybe we can tell from the 335m revision.

So for those that have had this corrected with a new motherboard. Can you run this program?

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1978/TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.5.3.html

They have a free upload pic of results tool in it. Im particularly interested in what revision of the 335m it lists on your new boards.

 

Screen dump from GPU-Z


Something doesn't add up here...

 

If only it has 32 ROPs and 384 shaders...

 

Hmmm....

So thats one heck of a difference in shaders. Is the newer version of gpu-z glitched? Or. Did they use another core for the FF version of the 335m.

I would love to see benchmark results with the ff. I think I was ~8072 with the a02 and a i7 4gigs stock speed futuremark 06. Latest nvidia drivers/dx/sp1.

 

I just wanted to jump in on this thread because I'm having the same issue:

1. Driver you are having issues with

Currently using 267.76, but I've tried everything from the current drivers posted on Dell's website to the latest NVIDIA drivers. The only difference I see is that if I go to drivers later that 270, I get a BSOD with nvlddmkm.sys instead of a lock-up in game.

2. Title you are having issues with

Dead Space 2 is a big offender for me. Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines crashes often too. I haven't had issues with Starcraft 2 yet, or Civilization 5. That's pretty much all I've tested at this point.

3. Describe the issue in detail - try to be as specific as possible (when does it lockup, certain scenes, certain behaviors, etc.).

Pre-270 drivers cause a lock-up that seems to be random in occurrence within games. Graphics freeze and I am unable to do anything within the game. I can alt+tab out but cannot close the program, even through task manager.

Post-270 drivers just cause a BSOD citing nvlddmkm.sys. These occur at the same rate as the pre-270 lockups roughly.

4. Include in-game graphic settings you are using for the problem title (please be specific, line by line please)

I haven't messed with the Dead Space 2 settings much, but I play on high with vsync enabled. Vampire is an extremely old game so everything is on high. This is an older game though, so I'm not sure if it would be a stress issued for the card.

5. Are you overclocking or using throttlestop and if so, what are your current OC settings

I used to overclock, but I no longer do. The problem occurs at any overclock setting. I've also tried EVGA underclocking and I'm still experiencing the same issue.

6. Confirm you did whitelist your game's .exe - see here: Nvidia Optimus Feature on the Alienware M11x- R2 - YouTube

Yes, both programs are whitelisted.

7. Is this behavior happening when outputting to an external display or on the 11x display? If external, is the 11x display disabled (meaning HDMI only - not dual view)?

I'm not using any external display.




Things I have tried:

-Rolling back drivers to several versions with clean installs via safe mode, driver sweeper, etc.

-Using EVGA to underclock.

-Changing game settings.

-Playing in windowed mode.

-Using AlienRespawn to restore the laptop to factory settings.


Additionally, I have contacted Dell support regarding this issue. Their technician used AlienContact to mess with my system and couldn't find a cause. They ran 3DMark and GPU-Z on my system with no issues, overheating, or anything. The last thing they suggested to me was to reinstall the OS which they attempted to sell me an 80 dollar copy of the OS to do so with.

Now I'm trying to push them for a motherboard replacement... Here we go...

 

After a bit of back and forth Dell just agreed to replace my motherboard. I'll let you all know if the issue seems to be solved afterwards.

 

1. Driver you are having issues with

NVLDDMKM.SYS (don't know if this is a driver)

2. Title you are having issues with

Everquest 2

3. Describe the issue in detail - try to be as specific as possible (when does it lockup, certain scenes, certain behaviors, etc.).

Game locks up when in combat. If my character stands still, I experience no problems, he stood for 35 minutes in outdoor zone w/ no problems, and good FPS. Once I start combat, the Laptop issues a STOP error (BSOD), after 4 minutes in the case where I tracked time. Seems to be related to casting high particle density spells [like firestorm if you know EQ2 wizards ]. Once I cast that spell and/or another combination, the M11x locks up, TDR kicks in, and BSOD results. I disabled TDR once and had same type results. Error code 116.

4. Include in-game graphic settings you are using for the problem title (please be specific, line by line please)

I used EQ2 stock settings of 'Very High Performance'. The remaining option were for the most part disabled (no reflections/shadows/shaders/AA, etc.)

5. Are you overclocking or using throttlestop and if so, what are your current OC settings

No., no OC...

6. Confirm you did whitelist your game's .exe - see here: Nvidia Optimus Feature on the Alienware M11x- R2 - YouTube

No.

7. Is this behavior happening when outputting to an external display or on the 11x display? If external, is the 11x display disabled (meaning HDMI only - not dual view)?

Yes, a Samsung LCD at 1360x768 (which is off from rec'd card resolution of 1366x768)-11x display not disabled (not sure how to do this on game start up)


I have run benchmarks, stability tests, debugger, and tested M11x w/ Rage (which runs awesome, no problems). Dell Tech had me run Benchmark 'Origine Heaven' [name?]. The benchmark satisfied Dell that the issue was not the graphics card...Dell game arena was not available, so I turned to SOE Tech support. TSR Paul reviewed my dxdiag and MSinfo reports and finally asked me to DLD Directx 9 (2009) to see if there were any missing drivers/files. I did this and got no improvement ( still 116 Stop Error).

So, today I found the Beta driver site for this card (GT 335M). The driver said it was to improve Battlefield 3, but I installed anyway

Graphics Driver - Verde 285.38 Driver - GeForce

Beta driver 'Verde 285.38'

Lo and behold, I ran EQ2 for 45 minutes w/ fairly continuous combat/casting and NO BSOD! I have 2 monitors running, the Samsung (HDMI) and the 12.4" generic display of the laptop. I used very high performance setting and was getting approx. 45 FPS in outdoor setting. I could not be happier right now!

 

my m11x r2 crash in game Lord of the rings:war in the north...and in l4d 1 = bug on lights...and..in l4d 2 bug on flames...a black border...someone help me?and sorry for my bad english..driver version of gt335m 285.62

 

upgrade your driver to 260.99 that driver is known to work well with l4d series, as for LOTR try resetting settings turning AA to x2 some games crash due to x4 AA

 

Thnks...but the driver 260.99 don't work BF3...punkbuster kick me...what driver do you use?what is more stable?thnks again

 

As title says, anyone getting BSOD 116 error and nvlddmkm.sys while playing Skyrim?

Tried a clean installation on all my nvidia drivers, tried 285.62, 285.79 and 290.36 but it's useless.

I've played NFS Hot Pursuit for hours and there isn't any crash or BSODs before.

No overclockings at all. GPU Temperatures max at 69 degrees Celsius. I've a laptop cooler too, I really doubt it is the temperatures considering I play Skyrim at medium/low.

I usually get the BSOD if I press "tab" and afk from the keyboard for about 10-15 minutes. At the same time, it also BSOD while I'm just walking around in the game. Seems to be random.

Any advice? Problems with nvidia drivers with the game?

 

i dont think temperature is your problem i run in 85c and doesn't bsod. how long have you had it?

 

Got it at March 2011, about 8 months now, I've only started to game at the 5th month though. Lol. Do you play Skyrim too?

 

Hey guys, I finally finally found a fix for mine. I had to make an account and share this info hopefully it will help some of you out.

I have the M11xR2, the matte black one (R2). My problem was that when I played games it would completely freeze up and go nuts, I may have happened once while not gaming once, but as far as I know it was only when gaming, the pixels would look distorted (black and green all over) and the sound would be all messed up (like a loud screeching) and I'd have to reboot.

If you have this problem this was my fix and conclusion...

The correct drivers you should be using as far as I know is 296.10. The newest one, 301.42 won't install on my R2 tried everything - people say nvidia will fix this soon, but that's okay the 296.10 driver has worked great so far. I play Skyrim pretty full blast, dota 2, Guildwars 2 at high settings and feels fast. for a little laptop it's pretty nice.

The M11xR2 has two GPU's inside of them, the Intel one and the 335M Nvidia...If you WANT the capability of switching between these two, you have to use the old-old graphic drivers from the dell website- only ones that will work. The only reason you would use the Intel GPU instead of the 335M and be able to switch them, is if you wanted to use it for normal stuff (web, doc,) on the go to save battery life.

Mine is stationary, gamer... monitor hook-up etc. so I don't need the Intel one and I MUST have the new drivers for games, as a matter of fact the computer has been running like straight butter since I turned that it off, temp has been low to.

Go into computer BIOS and leave Overclocking [enabled] but.... [disable] the option where it says Dual GPU, or use Dual graphics right below it or above it forget. Check your device manager and if it worked you won't see the Intel one installed on your system only the 335M.

Not one freeze it's been a whole week hardcore gaming. I thought my GPU was dying seriously and all this time it was because I was running two at same time and the two were conflicting somehow.

I even downloaded the EVGA precision to underclock, turned that off for week as well no crashes.

I would also like to add, if you are stationary like me make sure lid on laptop is open but off and give it some lift for good circulation.

 

I think the root of most freezes is overheating with overclock option on. I never have had any issues with freezing unless OC is on. I still have very few issues even when overclock on and I have had my m11x for almost a year and a half now.

 

The freeze with the R2 is a known issue with the 335m's shader clocks being too high. You need to get MSI Afterburner and downclock your shader clocks by about 50 mhz. This should clear up any freezing issues.