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    m15x nvidia BSOD

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by dovy, Aug 27, 2012.

  1. dovy

    dovy Notebook Consultant

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    hey all,

    i seem to be getting BSOD from nvlddmkm.sys every couple of days. it always happens during resource heavy gaming. i have gtx 260m inside atm, and i understand its quite unreliable. is there any fix for these bsods, even temporarily?

    what i have tried so far is driver update/downgrade. right now im running old 257.38 from dell drivers. have also tried 296.10, latest beta and non beta drivers. if you need extra info like dump log, pls ask.

    thanks


    specs: I7 Q820, 8GB RAM, nvidia gtx 260m
     
    dovy, Aug 27, 2012
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  2. CluckyTaco

    CluckyTaco Notebook Geek

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    Might be a temp issue, my old card used to get BSOD's while heavy gaming so I repasted. It helped. Try monitoring the temps.
     
    CluckyTaco, Aug 27, 2012
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  3. dovy

    dovy Notebook Consultant

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    looks like ill have to gut and paste the machine after all. it gets to 89c after 30 mins of gaming, cant be good
     
    dovy, Aug 28, 2012
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  4. dovy

    dovy Notebook Consultant

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    ok now gpu gets to around 80c on load. will see if i still crash after some time has passed
     
    dovy, Aug 28, 2012
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  5. dovy

    dovy Notebook Consultant

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    nope didnt work. the temps are 10c cooler, but still crashed. not BSOD this time though. the game froze and sound sort of froze on 1 frame, repeating, so had to hard restart. any other ideas? what are the most reliable drivers out there? is it possible that some drivers dont support stealth mode?

    thanks
     
    dovy, Aug 28, 2012
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  6. CluckyTaco

    CluckyTaco Notebook Geek

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    CluckyTaco, Aug 28, 2012
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  7. txsizzler

    txsizzler Notebook Geek

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    More than likely it's a driver issue. Have you used a driver cleaner to completely rid the old drivers before reloading them? This is important to do, as "traces" of the old drivers can cause conflicts.

    Also, are you sure your vents/fans are completely cleaned? This can cause heat spikes/problems as well. The GTX 260m, like it's earlier siblings, are very hot running cards. They need all the cooling they can get!
     
    txsizzler, Aug 28, 2012
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  8. dovy

    dovy Notebook Consultant

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    when i repasted cpu and gpu, i cleaned the fans/heatsinks as well. this did get the temp down a bit but still crashes.

    and yea i tried both driver sweeper and regedit ways of cleaning after uninstall.

    will try using 295.773 today, see how long before it crashes :)
     
    dovy, Aug 29, 2012
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  9. onego

    onego Notebook Consultant

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    I used to have BSODs as well with the GTX260M before I changed it to the GTX460M.
     
    onego, Aug 29, 2012
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  10. dovy

    dovy Notebook Consultant

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    295.73 seems to be holding so far. will mby try a heavier game than now, see if that crashes



    edit: seems the above driver is the stablest one yet. did 3d mark benches, and no crashes there
     
    dovy, Aug 30, 2012
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