Asus G51VX-RX05 and running Grand Theft Auto IV

I have just purchased the Asus G51VX-RX05.
I have downloaded all the updates required by Asus, Windows, and the drivers Asus requires for the Nvidia 260M graphics card.
I installed GTAIV and downloaded the latest patch.
I have turned the Turbo mode on in the Go4power Hybrid screen.
I run my CPU at 2.3Ghz because I have overclocked it just a tweak and I run at very normal temperatures.

But without fail, my game will freeze and force me to manually reboot, or it will go black and give me a small window in which to tab out of the game before it freezes and forces me to reboot.

The error I am getting is this.

That image is not from my computer, but that is the same exact error I get when I know its about to freeze.

I thought that maybe my graphics card was bottlenecking at the processor so I overclocked it, didn't work.

So I toggled my graphics card from quality to performance, but the game still freezes.

I put all the graphics settings on low and everything in between trying every possible solution to correct this, and still it freezes.

Does anyone have similar problems?

Does anyone regularly play this game on this particular notebook without issue?

What can I do to correct this?

 

Are you overclocking your GPU? If so, you have overclocked it too much.

Download HWMonitor and give me your temps after a run through with 3DMark06.

Have you gotten new drivers?

 

I haven't overclocked my GPU at all, just followed your guide for overclocking the CPU, so I get the extra .3Ghz.

I don't have 3dmark 06, is there a trial version?

I downloaded the new drivers that Asus has for the 260M series graphics cards, but still get the freezing issue. Nvidia forums are complaining about an issue with the new drivers for this particular series graphics card, there is some problem with their uninstaller where it thinks that you're not running the correct version of windows vista (whether it be 64 bit or 32 bit version).

Edit:
Do you have any trouble with GTA IV on your machine?

 

What Win Vista Service Pack you have installed? I had lots of this kinda of crash before going for the WinVista SP2...

 

I have been having this problem since thursday when I bought this laptop, I currently have SP2 vista 64bit

 

ok, i just ran 3dmark06.
On the first test, it crashed and gave me the same error message GTAIV gives, then I did it a second time and got through the first little video and on the firefly forest video, it froze like GTAIV does?
I'm thinking my machine is defective.

 

Oks...

I applied those (link below) hotfixes prior to updating my Windows Vista to SP2... actually, the Windows Vista SP2 only showed up at windows Update when I installed those hotfixes:

http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=953186&kbln=en-us#step1

Just make sure you select the x64 version =P

 

have you tried the nvidia drivers: http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_notebook_winvista64_186.03_whql.html
uninstall your current drivers first.

 

Try a little experiment: Downclock, if that does not happen then it's due to the overclock. And I'm guessing it'll likely be that.

 

oh yeah, it can be the graphic drivers too...

I can say for sure that the DOX 185.85 drivers are very stable for this notebook.. you can use the awesome guide from FORGE to update your drivers:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5111415&postcount=13

 

I downclocked and I still get the same error and/or freezing problem, my screen will do one of two things

1. turn black and remain black, but still allow me to tab out to desktop and terminate the program (this is the only time I see the error message "display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered") regardless of what it says, GTAIV itself is not recovered.

2.Game freezes and image remains on screen and the last thing to play through the speakers is on an endless loop that is aproximately .5 seconds in length. So I manually reboot.

Regardless of my graphics settings, I still get this problem.

So my question to you guys is this, do any of you have GTAIV and those of you that do, are you experiencing this issue or have you in the past?
What did you do to fix it?

 

time for a new video driver

 

Can someone link me to a direct download of the video driver I need for the Nvidia geforce 260m series?

I have wiped my drivers and reinstalled the recommended new ones and this problem still persists.

 

take it back to best buy. get a replacement.

 

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_notebook_winvista64_186.03_whql.html

The newest nvidia driver for 64bit vista for the 200m series..

 

im running dox 185.85 and my gpu is overclocked past my signature clocks and cpu is at 3.4 and gta runs pretty fine. i get the occasional gta 4 crash but nothin unusual.

 

Interesting how they only put a 2ghz core 2 duo in your G51!? Seems a bit of a mis-match with such a powerful GPU

 

I thought that everything might be bottlenecking at the processor, but I get this error quite often "display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered" even after having tried multiple different versions of the latest drivers for the specific video card.

 

It helps keep the cost down, since a 2.0 C2D is plenty enough for most games.

 

I've considered it b/c I sometimes get this weird green pixel in various places on the screen and then it just disapears when something moves over it.


Also, I installed the dox 185.85 or whatever it is and the only thing that has changed my GTA IV experience is that I now get different resolution options whereas before I only had like 4, now i think i have 6, but I still get both types of crashes.

 

Have you tried installing the hotfixes i posted early? As i said, i had this problem before, crashing all the time, fixed only by installing those hotfixes =)

 

2GHz C2D and GTA IV shouldn't be in the same thread.

 

If a Core 2 duo running at 2Ghz can't play GTAIV, then the minimum requirements for the game should reflect such.


The hotfixes don't apply to my system, thats the message I get when trying to install the hotfixes.

 

i hope this isn't the driver update that gives the error saying that you are running the 32 bit vista uninstaller on a 64 bit system and visa versa.

...downloads driver setup...

That download said that the setup could not locate any drivers that supports my current hardware, so that didn't work.

I tried it again and it said that I I am running vista 32 bit unninstaller with vista 64 bit and then ErrorIE386 and then it says that complete opposite and exits, if you look on the Nvidia forums, many people have this same problem.

 

Here is my old test as a reference. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4709554&postcount=8

Jayronathon. I actually owe you an apology. Out of curiosity, I decided to fire up GTA IV after not playing it for a while. I disabled two of the cores on my QX9300 and locked the frequency to 1.6GHz.

I have to say, GTA IV played fairly smoothly after making the same run as in my old test. The settings I used are exactly the same as in my old test, with the exception of the detail distance being changed from 50 to 60. Also, I am using 186.03 WHQL and patch 1.0.0.4. Hardware wise, I am using a GTX 280M clocked at 620/1550/930 as opposed to my old 9800M GTX clocked at 600/1500/900 in my old test, and I am using a Seagate 7200.4 250GB as opposed to my old Seagate 7200.4 500GB back in April.

Fps stayed around the 20's, though frequently dipping into the higher 'teens. I made a few passes around Broker and Dukes before pulling out my M4 and blasting some cops. Then I made a few more laps around Broker and Dukes again with four stars and the game was still somewhat playable around 15-20fps.

I'd say after testing for myself, GTA IV is still playable on two cores clocked at 1.6GHz. And because you are using a 2GHz C2D, you would be getting ~20% better performance that I did.

 

Go here http://www.driverheaven.net/nvmodtool.php and download Mobility Modder. Then go to the Nvidia website and download the drivers for th 260m. Use Mobility Mod the drivers (something to do with the .inf file, not sure) to allow you to use them.

Maybe installing the official updated Nvidia drivers will solve the GTA problem, although it seems to be something more. I did have the same problem as you installing the Nvidia drivers but the above solved it.

 

Sounds like an overheating issue.....get HWMonitor and report temps with 3DMark06 or Furmark.

 

It has to be the drivers, b/c not only does GTAIV freeze the computer and/or give me BSOD errors and restarts, and/or "display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered", but I've had it happen during the energy screensaver for windows, and 3Dmark06 freezes up as well. So, its something to do with compatibility with the Nvidia drivers.

 

You're telling me to mod the drivers?? I don't know anything about modding, but I will look into this website.

 

All you do is replace the INF file with another one. The INF (information) file allows the Driver to be used by different graphics cards.

Here is a guide that will tell you all about it!

 

I have done the modded versions and they actually installed instead of me getting that error message about running a 32 bit uninstaller on a 64bit system, but i still can't even get a benchmark on 3dMark06.

I have decided that this laptop is broken and the video card is ed, well...its not broken or ed, but its not doing what it is supposed to do.

I can't get any support from Nvidia and I can;t get any support from Asus, therefore the laptop is going to be Best Buy's problem.

 

@Jayronathon

That is a generic error for the GPU failing in some way.

It is not solely indicative of driver failure. That happens if you attempt to overclock the GPU too much or your voltage is too low.

Just humor me. Running HWMonitor takes like a minute to do. What harm could come from just telling me your temps?

 

I found out that the video card was screwed up, so I took the laptop back and got a new one.

 

and, just to add to this... I bought mine from Best Buy on 8/22/09, and had the EXACT same errors, and determined mine also had a bad gpu, a swap later, NO errors.... So, my guess is that a few bad GPU's are floating around, as my new machine has not had an error yet, but with the previous machine, I'd get a couple a day atleast....

 

Did you get little green pixels that would show up randomly?

I would get crashes during screensavers, games, and green pixelation randomly.

You would think that Asus being such an up and coming company, that they would've weeded out the bad GPUs, considering thats where they got their start, creating hardware for computers and now creating the computers themselves.

 

TL;DR.

Did you overclock?

 

Asus is hardly an "up and coming" company. I was buying their mainboards back in the 90s. nVidia GPU's are notorious for failing easily. Just look at all the recalls/warranty extensions that happened recently and the large sum of cash they lost because of it.

 

Yes, but only my processor and not until after the problem was identified.