M17x performance issues - help needed

Hey Fellas,

A couple of days ago i decided to play a bit of COD4 - so, started it up, but quickly noticed that i didn't have it in "Boost" mode, eg. SLI wasn't enabled and i was running on the 9400M..so, excited the game and turned it on.

entered the game again and i couldn't get past one of the starting screens as it was lagging like crazy...finally the game froze and i had to shut it down.

i then noticed that almost anything i did sent the cpu roaring to 100% straight away - that meant, moving a screen a little bit, entering a bit of text, opening a program...basically everything i did would crank up the cpu to 100%.

whilst i do appreciate being able to utilise all of the awesome cpu power i found it out was exclusive to anything else - so other programs would stop responding...

I tried to figure out what the problem was - and in the end decided that i'd just blow away my OS and start again as i'd obviously done something irrepairable.

last night, i got Windows 7 installed again - found all drivers etc etc and lo and behold - it's still behaving really oddly.

it seems to be consistent with having SLI enable...

have just downloaded the latest beta driver from NVidia for Windows 7 and are installing it - but i'm getting worried here..

in SLI mode, if i move a window it leaves a huge trail of "ghosts" behind, that eventually gets cleared up....if i wiggle my mouse across the screen the cpu soars to 100% as well.

so, getting very worried here - this is a brand new M17x and i can't seem to figure out what the hell is going on.

 

Do you have 1 or 2 discrete GPU's?

 

on my phone here .... try a different driver and check your temps and your cpu speed using cpu z

 

some other news...

just tried hooking my 2nd monitor up and it stated i had to switch into "boost" mode, did so, and i just got a blank screen..both on the laptop and the 2nd monitor.

something's definitely wrong..

@Airplane, this is a dual 260 setup..

@Moo, thanks, i'll get that...cpu z you say...

and i'll try other drivers too...so far i've tried the 186.03, the 186.12 and the 15.37 NForce for win7 64-bit and the latest win 7 beta driver..all from NVidia (except i believe one of them was from Dell..can't recall now).

 

I thought so. I read on here a while ago about SLI stuttering but I think it was fixed by changing the drivers.

 

Here's some snippets from cpu-z on the CPU and Graphics:

CPU:


Graphics:


now, which proggie is best to reading the temps?

 

which driver should i use then?

 

That depends, what are you using now? If you don't have the 186.24, update them.

I just remembered what actually fixed it, go into the BIOS and disable the integrated GPU. That should fix the GPU problem, not sure about your CPU issue though.

 

not on the 186.24 i think...a lower one..will try to locate those and install.

This is how my cpu works at the moment, on a fresh Win 7 isntall with very minimal apps running:

 

Wow..what process is taking up all the usage? Go to the processes tab and find that out. I might have a fix if it is an svchost.exe or something like that.

 

the common ones are:

DVM
svchost
VmiPrvSE

I located a set of 186.24 drivers and are downloading them now...lets see if that fixes it.

 

Try HWMonitor... I find it to be the most reliable.

 

I honestly think (and hope) this is a driver issue.

it ran absolutely perfect earlier and i haven't really done much to it - did install an early nforce version to get an "unknown device" and "coprocessor" installed which i couldn't find a driver for.

basically, after that, played a bit (not much) and suddenly it started with this behavior...

if all else fails i'll just go back to Vista and wait for a more stable Win 7 driver

 

Thanks - downloading now...

 

ok-here's the system temps as reported by HWMonitor (thanks BatBoy).

i disabled one of the 260's btw and are not running in sli right now:



They're looking ok to me - nothing is spiking out of the ordinary and the fans on the system isn't working in overtime either afaik.

 

Temps look fine...

Not sure if you have it already, but I use GPUz to monitor current clocks for the GPUs... You can check it out HERE.

One thing you can try is to revert back to the default driver... 186.12 should be fine. The 186.24 I posted uses the same INF structure as the 186.12 released by Dell/AW.

then again, this could just be a Win7 issue...

 

@BatBoy,

Downloaded cpu-z earlier at Moo's suggestion and posted a couple of screenies/snippets earlier in this thread..

cpu:


graphics:


just found your AW blog (nice content btw) and downloaded your modded 186.24 INF file...as soon as this slowarse download mirror finishes the download for the 186.24 driver i'll be going through and setting this up.

as for how i normally install display drivers - uninstall, reboot, re-install..i've had MASSIVE problems with CCLearner and the like before so honestly don't trust them further than i can throw them..

should say, this is a completely freshly installed OS - less than 12hrs old...first thing i did when everything started to fail and i couldn't locate the issue was to blow away my OS (it's no biggie, 25min install and i'm back to normal again)...will however try to clean as much of the current driver (186.12) before installing the 186.24s.

thanks for your help - will let you know how things go...otherwise last solution would be to install Vista again from the respawn CD thingie..

 

Get CCleaner and run it, might not help your current CPU issue, but it will clear out a lot of useless files left over by install processes and other junk. Just helps speed up your computer overall.

I have a question, if you delete the svchost.exe that is eating up a lot of your processes, does your audio still work? There is an automatic update thing on one of the svchosts that controls the audio as well as auto-updates and it's the update feature that really takes up the processor cycles. I've only had that issue on XP though, so I'm not sure if it still applies here.

 

Yeah my bad on missing your earlier screenshots... I only noticed your weird behavior and then jumped forward to the last post.

I played with Win7 on the XPS M1730 for a bit when Micro$oft re-released it for download (can't remember the version#). I had major issues with the dual array mic so I dumped it and went back to vista. I doubt I will install it on the M17x until after the actual release in October.

As for CCleaner, I have found it to be the best solution for registry cleaning under Vista - have no clue about Win7.

DriverSweeper is good with cleaning left over NVIDIA driver files, but since I have not been able to actually use it yet with the M17x I can't speak to its functionality. I imagine you need to be cautious with it and not clean the NVIDIA chipset obviously. For just the NVIDIA Display Driver I would think it would be fine to use...

A thought on the high svchost instance... are you running Norton Internet Security or Norton AV (prior to version 2009)? If so, this could be a factor. Just a thought.

Hope it works out.

 

@airplaneman,

as i said, i don't trust the CCleaner software at all and will probably never install it.

sound seems to be running fine even if i kill one of the svchost that's running amock - however, it starts up again after a moment or two.

@BatBoy,

i'm not running any AV at all - i've not attracted a virii in the last 6-8 years and doubt very much i'll be getting one in the near future (famous last words, i know).

AV apps are more intrusive to my use of the PC than anything else and until they can make them less intrusive i'll be leaving them well and truly alone.

ok, 186.24 is almost done downloading...lets see if that fixes anything

 

Hey CS... Are you sure you typed that process correctly?

Is it in fact "vmiprvse.exe" if so, you may want to install an AV scanner... From what I can find, "vmiprvse.exe" could be a trojan.

Also, I am unable to locate any info specifically for "DVM.exe".

May want to try out Kaspersky's Free Online Scanner - http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

 

your in stealth mode !

 

@BatBoy,

WmiPrvSe.exe is a windows management instrumentation (eg. i beleive it's one of the services behind processes in Task Manager).

DVM.exe is the Desktop Window Manager..

both are perfectly legal services and processes running.

as i said, i don't have a virus/trojan etc trust me, i don't - i haven't caught one of those in nearly 8 years (again, i know, famous last words) - besides, this is a completely newly/freshly installed OS..before i event went online with it i had this behavior..

I installed 186.24 with your modded INF file and it seems to have stabilised itself quite a bit - no more "ghosts" all across the screen when i move a window, yet the cpu does still seem to run rather high. after having been through a ton of crap, trying to ascertain what's causing the cpu spikes i did come across an update to the Adobe Flash player in IE, which did seem to run unusually busy...so, killed Adobe Flash Player plugin and i'm now averaging cpu usage % in the high 40s..



as you can "almost" see on the cpu work it's more aligned with what i do, rather than just top lining at 100% constantly.

does look like 186.24 fixed my problem...enable sli again and temps are in the 40s so i'm happy again.

 

i didn't think you could run with SLI enabled in stealth mode? doesn't that switch the 260s off and turn on the 9400?

not sure - hopefully this wasn't the cause for my behavior..could explain it prior to me rebuilding/formatting etc the laptop and putting a new OS on it, but that shouldn't be the case when i'd just installed everything..

or am i wrong here? LOL - lot of damn work if that was the case

i've afaik never used stealth mode (which is the lil' button on the far right?)

 

@CS:

You typed VmiPrvSE dude... Why I tossed that out re: Virus.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5208284&postcount=11

Glad its running better!

 

@BatBoy,

ah, soz - my bad...brain's been going on about other stuff than spelling

rep+1 for the help mate and kudos on your AW blog..btw, is it worthwhile installing the PhysX driver release you mentioned on your blog?

 

Well, without having my system (argh! not until monday) I can't say with 100% that it wont glitch but I can't think of any reason why it would. No harm in installing it - especially if you are running any games that take advantage of PhysX and you have PhysX enabled.

I would keep it up to date.

 

I seem to recall that PhysX was going to move from being a physical card to being software supported in the NVidia chipset, is that true?

 

I believe you saw the posts where people were inquiring as to the possibility of enabling PhysX to run on the 9400M G so it could be moved off of the discrete GPU.

I haven't heard or read anything from NVIDIA - it would be interesting to see the difference (if any) if they did accommodate this.

 

I am hoping Nvidia will incorporate some of the hardware in their nextgen cards. With graphics as good as they are now, incorporating more special effects based on real (or perhaps not-so-real) world physics is going to be the next stage in gaming....

 

hell yeah!!

seriously, graphics cards are becoming so damn powerful that it wouldn't surprise me if the PhysX chipset got incorporated into the GPU card itself in the near future...

btw, where are you all buying the QX9300? heard some got it from HP? but for some stupid reason they're not selling it over here in OZ!!

 

you can have stealth mode wit you GPU's on ..... look @ the GPU z clocks thats why they are so low

 

Hi CSharpZealot,
It's possible to accidently activate stealth mode and have it affect everything greatly. This only occurs when you boot your computer on the battery and activate stealth mode. If you try to enable your 260 and restart the machine, it will switch video cards but leave stealth mode on. A quick way to check is to open command center and look at the fusion settings. It will display "stealth mode" on the left if it's activated.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

@Moo & @GabeZ,

Thanks guys - suspect it sounds like the rebuild was a "waste" of time

Should have gone in here first and hunted you two down - however, loading the forums here would make IE stop responding (along with nearly any other program).

Anyways, system is brilliant again - panic subsided, blood pressure down to normal, stress levels down to a humane level....

was getting worried for a second that my 260s were dying on me or something.

Now, how can i completely and utterly disable the ability for the laptop to go into stealth mode? don't want this to happen again

 

Now, how can i completely and utterly disable the ability for the laptop to go into stealth mode? don't want this to happen again
__________________

You don't ever want to run your mobile computer on battery power?

 

Hi
I don't know of any way to disable stealth all together. Just be careful to not let the laptop sleep. Also, if you plan on using it with the battery, don't press the stealth key to switch back to your 260/s. Instead, press FN+F7.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

Nopes - can't say i ever plan to..

 

Thanks for the tip Gabe..appreciated!

 

i imagine the touch key is in registry so you could disable it but ... i think the stealth mode is down into the BIOS .... . You may wanna shoot Zfactor a PM to see if he can disable it but you would be risking your computer to test it because BIOS testing is a hit or miss

 

I think i'll just leave it as is - i can live with it being there

 

ha, after waiting weeks for a replacement power adapter for my m17x, I never want to run a microsecond on battery again!!

 

I'm having a similar problem but can't figure it out. I booted my computer this morning and I had a message about the computer going into stealth mode and the power adapter not being compatible with my M17x (but it worked fine all night last night and is still charging the battery).

So I got into Windows and I can't see the 260s anywhere! Just the on board GPU. What should I do? I've tried FN+F7 and the computer doesn't seem to even try to switch GFX.

This is bizzare because I remember turning off the on board GFX in the bios to install Dox drivers, and now it's the other way around, I can't see my 260s.

 

I think you AC adapter just took a crap.

Ususally if it's not being recognized than there is a problem with the brick. So, call Dell and they will overnight you one.

 

Nah, I've booted up multiple times and had no error with the adapter. It's running at High Performance. I went into the Bios to turn Integrated graphics and Hybrid graphics back on, rebooted and still can't see my 260s. Sooo confused.

 

I was having similar issues until a few mins ago i reflashed back to A00 bios. My computer would start and say it was on battery and switch to integrated graphics while plugged in, but never actually did. BIOS showed that it was plugged in. Even with the Battery removed it would say this which is real odd. I was also getting this Horrible buzzing noise which is now gone since i went back to A00.

 

The power adapter has a handshake with the system to identify itself.

If that is broken (which I think it is w/ your brick) than it will still charge the system but it will prevent it from running the cards.

 

Yeah I resolved the issue. My power cord was only slightly plugged in.

 

what is a handshake.....i dont understand..

 

I'm assuming that it is a serial code exchanged between the BIOS and the power adapter to verify you're using an authentic charger.

 

The power adapter can send other signals other than just power.

Most manufacturers don't want you using just any brick - they want you to spend a ton of cash to buy theres.

So, go look at your adapter. See that pin in the middle? That will tell the system that you are indeed using the oem power supply.