M11x graphics drivers (General Discussion)

I'm not sure it's just a lack of tech cred. When I went from the stock dell 188.whatever drivers to the 197.16 lksing78 drivers, I got a blue screen upon installing. This is after doing what appeared to be a clean control panel uninstall and reboot. The 2nd pass of the drivers seemed to go fine and all the drivers seemed to install.

When I decided to go back to the Dell stock drivers to see if certain problems might be caused by the hybrid drivers, I uninstalled , rebooted, ran the Dell installer and got another blue screen. This time when I did a second pass, it still didn't work.

Running driver sweeper in safe mode fixed the issue. I decided to play with fire and replicate the issue. It seems that some of the drivers never get completely removed from the repository. Removing the relevant infs with pnputil -d or doing a driver sweeper clean allowed me to install with minimal drama either the dell or lksing78 driver.

After going through various iterations, I decided to reinstall my system from scratch and start with the Lksing78 drivers, they installed fine on the first pass. I uninstalled, rebooted, and went back to the dell drivers without issue. When the Dell beta came out, I simply ran setup and let it install over the old drivers. I went the clueless user route and decided since Dell didn't say uninstall, I wasn't going to. All went well.

One day for some reason, I noticed that I had some very strange color issues with only the integrated graphics. I decided to reinstall the drivers.

I uninstalled, rebooted. I ran driver sweeper in analyse and noticed that some Nvidia stuff was still there, there were Nvidia infs in c:\windows\inf AND 'Nvidia drivers' was still present in programs and features. I stayed in non-tech mode and decided to install anyway. This is what tech support would have an end user do-simply uninstall, reboot, reinstall.

Reinstalling, it gets to a point where in a good install it would start initializing the graphics cards and blanking the screen. It doesn't, just blue screens and reboots

I go to safe mode, uninstall Nvidia drivers from programs and features and reboot to safe mode. It's still there, infs are still present in c:\window\inf.

I do driver sweeper, wipe it all out (the options it presents seem perfectly reasonable and well tailored to just Nvidia components). I reboot into normal mode and install drivers successfully with one pass.

After all this, I think there's something wrong with the Nvidia uninstall process that leave enough remnants of the drivers to cause problems on reinstall. To me the failure is strange because it blue screens even installing the exact same version. I could understand if the remnants were from a different then the one I'm attempting to install.

Going forward, I will do the normal uninstall followed by a boot into safe mode for analyze and, if necessary, clean.

 

Have just installed the dell beta driver. While not feel any real world changes in gaming, I do find out some differences.
1: switching back to intel does not shut down fully the GT335, an sleep is necessary.
2: now is able to overclock the GPU directly under Nvidia Controle panel
3: while connecting with an external 4:3 monitor, the LCD display shrink to 4:3 aspect and not able to configue to 16:9 while previously it keeps the native aspect.

 

Hi everyone,
so I tried lksing78's method, for one with stock drivers and as well as with beta drivers as "platform" for the new 197.16 drivers but with either one it would still show the old driver version under Properties in the Device Manager (either 188.xx or 197.12).

Can anyone help?

 

That version number comes from the .inf (covered in this thread somewhere else). The correct version will show up in Nvidia's control panel. If I understand right, changing the version number in the .inf file will make the install fail or cause driver signing issues.

 

From right where you were, click Driver Details. Check out some of the files, nvBridge.kmd should be the only 188.55 file (8.16.11.8855). If any have 8.17.11.9716 for the file version it means everything is fine and they merged.

 

I installed the Dell Invida drivers while in the 335 graphic mode and rebooted and everything seems to work fine no problems switching and I now have the Icon in the bottom tray to click on. no uninstalling, or driver cleaning, just install over the old drivers and reboot while in the invida mode.

 

think is more preferable to post it here:

Guys, few weeks ago I saw discussion that after switching to intel, nvidia still goes on and eating battery, as a proof, some dude used power meter to check how much watt is going away. And as solution he proposed to go into standby mode, this from his words, will turn off nvidia completely.

I’ve got an update on this. And it’s really simple:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5020311/zdMb-gF8.png

And I checked this using BatteryCare application. After is switch from intel to nvidia, I’ve got power consumption “-20W” and I also see nvidia in gpu-z and device manager. After some time power consumption goes down to “-13” and nvidia is gone from both of this utilities.

So my conclusion, there is no problem with shutting down discrete graphics.


Beat me if i'm wrong

 

can somebody tell me how to install the beta driver correctly???

do i need to use cll cleaner or something else or can i just update normally?

 

This is very debatable in the computer community. I personally have never had a problem just installing over the old drivers. (Update Normally)

 

I agree. You can also deleted old one before installing new one. Don't think its necessary to use some "cleaning" utilities.

 

I generally just install over old drivers, but with how confusing the M11x drivers are I tend to uninstall them first. Only bother with driver cleaners if you notice problems (which are rare).

 

Hi,

did anyone try installing CUDA toolkit on m11x? I am hesitating to purchase an m11x because i would like to programming cuda on it too not just gaming and hd video. (in this size this gpu is uniqe (quadro and nvs cards are far worse under 15 inch notebooks))

thanks

 

The HDMI output just works with nvidia ??? cause i cant get to work with intel ... nvidia works fine

 

The HDMI output just works with nvidia ??? cause i cant get to work with intel ... nvidia works fine

Yes

 

thanx buddy

 

So no one commented on this?
Seems to fix the problem.

EDIT: Now that I try it, I don't have that same option. There is no GPU settings for me.

 

I originally got excited when I read this when it was posted, but I also do not have that option in my power settings, so not sure what's up, but was no use on mine.

 

Well, think it was on old driver. But it doesn't matter, i still got nvidia turned off after some time, so despite absence of this option there is still timer. Maybe 15min.

 

Tested this on battery today...

setup:

• beta driver
• latest BIOS
• discrete GPU-Option isn't available in power management settings.
• it's available in AW Command Center... but empty

About 15 minutes after switching to integrated graphics the battery drain stops and the nvidia card is gone from device manager and gpu-z doesn't list it anymore. But the fan seems to be stuck while my cpu is quite cool (29°C).

The funny thing is, when switching back to discrete graphics... the fan stops immediately. I think they forgot to reset the register where the gpu temperature is stored...

 

Ah, interesting, thanks for the test! Puts my mind at ease a bit.

 

I tried lksing78's technique on the new 257.21 drivers and got an error during installation. Presumably this is because the INF has no built-in support for either Hybrid or Optimus graphics. Anyone know what changes need to be made in order for it to work on m11x r1?

 

New official drivers relased by dell on 6/29/10 up and running fine.

 

this forum has information scattered all over the place, where is the physx fix?

 

I'm not sure what fix your talking about.

Also, can a moderator please change this thread so it's called M11xR1 graphics drivers. I made this before the R2 was released.

 

see no problem on physx which needs to be fixed...

 

The PhysX version 9.10.0224 that fixes issues with Optimus on the R2 you can find here.

 

M11x R1 owners - Have you compared dox's old driver 195.xx to the newer 197.72 or 258.96? Does the dox driver perform better in games? If not is dox thinking of releasing a newer set of drivers. I am not worried about driver switching... Best Wishes, STevenX

 

I saw improvement in the FFXIV benchmark (30-40 more points on average under default clocks) under the 258.96 beta, everything else I've tested appears the same.

I've been running them with lksing's method of combining with the Dell switchable update.

 

When comparing benchmark apps to actual games or game benchmarks... Whiich one is best? Example, you installed a new driver, measured in 3dmark vantage and say you got a 400 point increase. Then you tried a few games and likewise got 2 or 3 more fps in game? I believe that 3dmark vantage directly relates to directx10 performance. Reversely you installed a driver, got a decrease in 3dmark vantage and also noticed a decrease in games. Of course I understand that each game is different and relies on hardware differently. I am just debating on which app or bench to use as my control set for future benchmarking... Something that provides good, accurate results. Best Wishes, StevenX

 

258.96 user here
and love it so far..can get average 26-30 fps on Sniper Ghost Warrior
on medium setting...and 6497 on benchie 06..cpu oc only...

 

So I modded up the 197.72 INF with proper 258.96 entries as an example. In the zip a comparison HTML is included that shows some of the changes that were made. I have included a few entries that explain what each section is and removed some that are not required. I have done this in hopes of educating on what a properly updated INF for the R1 looks like. Everything after the ; is either marked disabled or is a comment.

Note: I have added a couple of custom settings to the INF. One enables the PhysX menu in the control panel and the other adds a "Override Blocking Program" link to the taskbar utility. This option is very important as it allows you to set programs that you normally need to shut down before the switch can happen (or add programs to block that cause programs when it switches).

Hopefully this mixed with the information here and here will help understand what is needed and why. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

If you are going to use the INF included in the zip I recommend using lksings method of extracting the 258.96 driver files to the 197.72 driver folder and then drop the NVCADM.INF and nvdisp_IH.nvu files in overwriting the old ones. The nvdisp_IH.nvu is a file used for uninstallation, you can open it up just like the INF and take a look at what it does.

Let me know if and how well this works if you get it working. It is untested so use at your own risk.

 

nice will try them later after i get back from my torture chamber

 

Has anyone noticed that with the new official m11x drivers, when you connect a TV via HDMI, the computer does not recognize the TV's sound (right clicking on the speaker icon and choosing 'Playback devices' does not show the TV's sound) until you reboot your computer with the TV connected?

This didn't happen before the update.

How do you get the old drivers back?? Can anyone tell me the name of them so I can find them online?

 

Any word on if Nautis's ing files are ok? I want to use lksing78's method for the hybrid driver but I wanted to make sure it was a good idea before I took the plunge.

 

Tested, works fine. Blocked app option and physx selection work fine.
Switching works correctly using fn + f6 and the taskbar applet (seems to switch faster, though this could be placebo effect)
nVidia disables after 15 min correctly when in Intel mode.
Games work great

 

If you don't mind, what did you do? Did you follow the instrucitons above, use lksing78's method, copy over Nautis's files? What Nvidia driver did you use?

 

Yeah, directions as above. Start with latest dells, extract 258.96 on top of it.
Extract Nautis inf over that. Test signed both kernel mode drivers. Done.

 

Sorry to bother again. Didn't see this step in the instructions.

 

Been a long while from looking at updates. Which is the most stable update? I have the original drivers that shipped with the M11X r1 when it launched.

I did not even know Dell updated the video drivers. So long of a wait, I gave up

I just want to do a straight install to update. Will the non-Dell drivers install directly, or do you need to perform any hacks?

Update: Already answered in the link for the non-Dell drivers. I guess I will use the newer Dell drivers linked on the first page, since they are a straight install, without extra steps to perhaps mess something up.

 

As of this time right now, for best stable results, as well as performance increases for both the R1 and R2, dell's website is up to date.

 

Click on my siggy

 

i also use the dell drivers cause i want this laptop to stay working for years.

 

I am about to update my graphics driver from Dell's site; however I have never updated any of my other drivers or applications for my R1. Are there any essential drivers or applications from Dell's site that I should download and update? My R1 has been good to me and I am worried that an updated driver or bios update may muck up my machine. Any recommendations on what I am safe to update?

 

I did, but didn't see anything about signing the drivers? Do I need to sign them. I guess if I get the message they are unsigned, I will have to go down that route.

 

Only MAJOR updates to date are video and Alienware control panel.

 

I was installing the latest nvidia driver for my R1 and decided to walk away for a bit while the blue bar was still showing during the install. When I came back. my screen was dark and only the cursor appeared. The keyboard lights were on, but the HD light showed little to no activity. I tried restarting by using cmd alt del, but nothing happened. I had to do a hard shutdown and everything seemed to reboot fine. My Nvidia control panel states I am at version 197.72. Should I continue as normal or should I try reinstalling the Nvidia driver again

 

Yeah sorry, had to post and run - been a busy weekend.
Grab dseo NGOHQ.com. Run it.
Enable test mode, restart.
If you get watermarks (test mode text on desktop), it worked.
Run dseo again. Remove watermarks.
Then use the "sign a system file".
Sign igdkmd64.sys and nvlddmkm.sys (this file is compressed, use the following at the command-line to decompress "expand nvlddmkm.sy_ nvlddmkm.sys"
Once both are signed, just run the regular installer.
I'd recommend putting the drivers close to root for ease of typing all this, somewhere like C:\hybrid.

@gman - if it works, don't worry about it. It probably installed fine.

 

Thanks! It seems to be working fine.

 

Didn't sign them but haven't had any issues.

 

I wasn't sure if it was necessary, thanks for the verification.