mx15 automatic reboots, driver issue?

Hello all,

I've been beating my head against the wall trying to figure out why my Alienware mx15 has started randomly rebooting. There is no BSOD, warning etc. Just shutdown and restart back to windows. Here is the background:

1. I have a 6970 card (upgraded myself, thanks to the forum here) installed and in use for about 2 years now
2. I recently did a repaste of the GPU and processor
3. I recently upgraded to the AMD 13.1 drivers
4. I bought the 240w power supply unit and have been using that (still have a 150w psu)

To troubleshoot, I have trying cleaning out all drivers, registry entries, etc with the standard tools (i.e. CC Cleaner) - no success.

I've tried removing things like Adobe Flash, Java, reinstall C++, .Net etc - no success

I've tried reinstalling windows 7 fresh, all updates made, started with the Dell based drivers, then upgrade to the 13.1 - no success.

I've tried using just the standard VGA graphics adapter (driver) and was successful without no issues/no reboots

I've unplug the power supply, and the system is stable. no reboots.

All Temps are good. Hovering around 48-50C idle

So this leads me to think that it's a driver related issue. Now the CRAZY part about all of this and my testing is it seems the reboots occur when I am NOT gaming. So for example, if I am browsing the web, open up a site like youtube for video streaming, it seems like it then auto-reboots. Also, at times when the computer is just idle it will cause a re-boot.

Finally, when I game, THERE ARE NO AUTO-REBOOTS. Temps get up to about 70c and are stable and I have gamed for over 3+ hours without a reboot.

Can someone provide advice/assistance to this strange issue? Thanks in advance.

 

Well if your reboots are software and windows related, there'll be logs unless you changed settings/defaults or its hardware related. I'm on W8 so forgive me if these instructions are a little off.

Check your settings on r-click 'My Computer' and properties. Select the Advanced Tab->Startup and Recovery Settings->dump file, should be listed like %systemroot%\memory.dmp if your system had a serious error and created a log. At this time please look under 'System Failure' and uncheck 'Automatically restart', if you get a bluescreen error and it restarts so fast you don't see it, you'll get a restart.

I had more but delete it. Please ensure you aren't getting a automatic reboot by windows for a bluescreen by disabling Automatic restart since you say your temps are good.

 

Also ccleaner doesn't remove drivers.

Uninstall your currently installed AMD drivers. Then run Driver Sweeper. It will wipe all and any remaining AMD files. After a reboot you can go ahead and install new drivers again.

 

Forgive the obvious but have you tried using the original psu?
It sounds like at full clocks everything is fine but it could be 2d clocks that are causing problems.

I use drive sweeper then CCleaner to clean out registry.

Try the 13.2 beta 7 catalyst drivers also. I had more success with those than any previous driver version (on 6990m).

 

I've seen similar problems fixed by installing catalyst 12.8-12.10

You want to do a clean install so you need to uninstall from the device manager (check the box to delete device driver software) and restart until the only thing you see under display adapters is Standard VGA adapter.

Then use driver fusion or driver sweeper to clean up your registry and install another catalyst.

 

Thanks for the replies. I tried each recommendation and I am still getting shutdowns. I know it's a AMD driver issue as I used Driver Sweeper to clean out registry and started fresh again with new catalyst drivers (12.8, then 13.2 betas) and I am getting shutdowns. For now, it seems like the shutdowns occur when I try to load/run a game. Right after game launch and during loading screens it will shutoff.

My question now is what drivers are you using that are stable? I've tried 12.8, 13.1 mobility drivers. Next I tried 13.2 Beta 7 drivers. None of them are keeping my computer from auto-rebooting, unless I unplug the power cord.

Thanks again.

 

Have you tried getting back to the DELL drivers.

 

Great suggestion, but unfortunately yes...I went out to Dell site and installed the driver there which is version 8.0 or something. I just retried by doing a clean uninstall (using the AMD Uninstall Utility) and reinstalled with the Dell 6990 Driver (version 8.85) . I went to run Max Payne 3 and Shutdown.

Why does it not shut down when I don't have it plugged in (running off battery) is what I don't understand.

Also, is there a certain process I should follow when installing the drivers? Maybe do custom, only select drivers and not CCC? I am fishing for any solution to resolve this issue.

 

I also wanted to include that in the event viewer I have this message (could not capture it from minidump file as when I uncheck automatic reboot it doesn't create a crash file) so I tried looking into each of the solutions but could not find a valid answer so wanted to also post here...

Critical
Kernal Power Event Id: 41
Task Category: 63

The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed or lost power unexpectedly.


And one more note of reference...when I just use the Standard VGA Adapter it works fine and is stable...no shutdowns at all.

 

What BIOS version is your 6990m using? It might be an idea to try using a DELL BIOS for 6990m. VGA Bios Collection: Dell HD 6990M 2048 MB | techPowerUp
Follow the guide here [GUIDE] AMD VBIOS flashing

 

Hi. I checked VBIOS version and it's :


Chip Type: AMD Radeon Graphics Processor (0x6720)
DAC type: Internal DAC (4000 Mhz)
Adapter String AMD Radeon HD 6900M series
Bios Information: 113-C29604-101

I assume this is out of date? Thanks for the links.

 

The BIOS version is found in gpuz. That will give you a longer number like this one:
013.012.000.012.040739

Gpuz will also tell you what clocks your card is running at. If it has an overclocked BIOS that would explain your issues.

 

Thanks for the reply. My BIOS is at stock. I have not performed any kind of overclocking and I followed the forums here to upgrade to the Dell 6970 AMD card. Until recently, when I tried to installed the 13.1 drivers to play tomb raider I started getting these random reboots.

Now, from reinstalling Windows 7, new drivers, trying a new PSU, reinstalling video drivers, repasting, checking internal connections, install new RAM ( total 8 GB) I just don't know what do try anymore. The most frustrating thing about this issue is it's random. I can't pin it down to a single event that causes it to auto-shutdown then reboot.

 

Can you monitor temperatures of GPU using gpuz log to file function. When you get a restart go to the log file and check temps before shutdown

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