L502X Freezing Problem!! Plz HELP!

Hi guys!, I recently bought a L502X
(2630QM-GT540M-OCZ AGILITY 3 120 GB-4GB DDR3)

I have GT540m Drivers uptaded (175.33)

I usually play Modern Warfare 2 or similar...but after 5-10 minutes (not hot enough) the game freeze and it sound like a buzz sound and after that you must restart the computer...I tried to change balanced power options and set processor power management to 99% (minimum and maximum) but just increase the "freezing time" 5 or 10 min.(DISABLE TURBO BOOST)
I have a nice cooler (Zalman 3000) I´ve verified temperatures with an average of 78-80 Cº

I think that the problem could be related to the CPU usage....but I don´t know exactly..

Maybe 4GB of RAM isn´t enough? Could be better change to 8GB?

Anybody who has a L502X knows or suffer these types of issues??

I would appreciate any help!
Thanks!!

 

Try updating nVidia driver to the newest one:

NVIDIA DRIVERS 280.26 WHQL

 

still doesn´t work.
any other idea ???

THNX!

 

Your temps are fine if they are peaking around 80C.

Could be the SSD for the freezing, but idk about the buzzing, sounds more like a typical NVidia driver lockup to me.

4GB of RAM won't make your system crash, you would get warnings if you were low on RAM. COuldn't hurt to try I suppose though.

 

Did you check the windows event viewer? Go through critical events (if any) and tell us what you have there.

 

I´ve bought a new 8GB RAM(I´m waiting for it)...but Im not sure if its works..
I´ll keep updated.

I don´t think the problem could be the SSD...

I´m going to check again and review the event viewer. I´ll paste it.

 

I´ve checked the event viewer:

When the game freeze... These is what windows save:
"Nvlddmkm Display driver stopped responding and recovered successfully
Source:Display
Event Id:4101
Level:Warning


XML CODE DETAIL:

Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
System>
Provider Name="Display" />
EventID Qualifiers="0">4101</EventID>
Level>3</Level>
Task>0</Task>
Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
TimeCreated SystemTime="2011-08-15T18:22:22.000000000Z" />
EventRecordID>13938</EventRecordID>
Channel>System</Channel>
Computer>Daniel-PC</Computer>
Security />
/System>
- EventData>
Data>nvlddmkm</Data>
Data />
/EventData>
/Event>


Any idea??

 

Check your GPU fan and see if it clogged with dust.

To me it looks like a problem caused by heat or watts.

 

Interesting, OP, you did not indicate what GPU temps have been. That definitely could be the trouble. CPU temps around 80C are fine, but do you know what the GPU temps have been like? If they are in a similar range, then that's NOT the issue.

 

I´ve logged and the GPU temperature range is around 80-83(max)....

Let´s try to search this issue: Nvlddmkm Display driver stopped responding and recovered successfully.

Does anybody knows?

 

Well I used to get that all the time on my desktop...it was fail drivers compatibility in ONE game (TF2)...

 

Your video driver is crashing. Are you running the 540M overclocked? If so, back down on the clocks a bit. If not, do a full reinstall of the video driver.

1. Uninstall from Control Panel
2. Run Driver Sweeper (check the NVIDIA box)
3. Reboot to Safe Mode
4. Run Driver Sweeper again
5. Reboot to Windows
6. Run CCleaner if you want to, just delete driver related issues or keep a registry back up
7. Reboot again
8. Install NVIDIA driver

Should be good by then.

 

It is not overclocked. I´ll do a full reinstall, following your steps.
I will keep you updated.

 

I´ve tried to test a full reinstall. But it doesn´t work. After 15-20 min gaming...freeze again..

I must research about Nvlddmkm
Any idea???

 

That's a standard video driver failure message. Not particularly helpful, as most of MS's errors tend to be.

 

I´ve tried to change one RAM stick (2 GB) and play again. The result?
Few minutes (3) until freezing.

Trying default 4GB. 30min...1 hour..depends on the map.

 

could be faulty memory on the nvidia card itself

 

disabling intel turbo boost didnt work?

 

I´ve set power management to 99% (minimum and maximum) to disable turbo boost and it was a little bit better but not enough. freezing after 30-60 min. Sometimes 15.

This morning,without one mem stick,fast freezing (3min). Changing again with 2 sticks..no freezing for a long time


I have ordered G.Skill DDR3 1333 PC3-10666 8GB 2x4GB

 

Here's a long shot - did you by any chance disable pagefile.sys / virtual memory or reduce its size when optimising your SSD install? Causes freezes/fails/dumps when physical memory runs out.

I tried with 6GB and soon ran into probs so restored it.

 

I just install the SSD. I didn´t change anything after it. What Should I do to configure it correctly?

Could be related to the freezing problem?

 

I saw this the other day when researching SSD ( this issue is one of the reasons why I do not think the tech is mature enough yet )

Please post back if it helps, as others can benefit if it turns out to solve the issue.

Solution: C300 Disk Freeze-ups in Windows 7 solved... - Crucial Community

 

SOLVED!!!

I´ve installed 8GB 1333 of RAM and now it seems to be OK!!
Thanks to all!

 

Hey I have the same problem with my l502x. I have 6GB of ram, did your freezing problem never appear after installing 8GB of ram ?

 

I had the exact same problems with my L502X and temps were never an issue nor did any memory checks come back with error. I was able to use all kinds of different tweaks to get my games to run longer I was up to nearly 90 mins of play time before a crash with my last setting but still it would lock up and the only report was that video driver failure.

I tried beta drivers, I tried clean install of windows7+stock dell drivers, I tried everything software related to the video card, tried turbo boost throttling and adjusting power settings these all helped stem how long the crashes took but nothing fixed it.

I had to call dell tech support over 5 times and some reps even told me no your card is working fine its a known error that some games wont work with Optimus nvidia so just turn off your video card for these games... I was quite upset with that and talked to a manager to request a new videocard/motherboard so they got a 3rd party tech to replace that.

Sadly that did not work the repair guy or mother board must have been bad as after he was done installing the "new" (most likely refurbished) part my video card could not even be read by the system so it was as if I had NO video card...

At this point I am 3 days in with no laptop as I agreed to let thier Dell Depot repair shop try to fix my laptop. Mailed it off last friday /pray they can fix it I would hate to have to return it other than this horrible crash/video card performance issue I love my system.

 

Bad Ram then.

 

If I change my ram to 8GB, will the freezing stop? I have L502X i7 2630QM Nvidia 540m 2GB, 6GB RAM , but I have 4 GB of samsung and 2GB of kingston.

 

And did you guys read this? DELL L502X Crashing during gameplay Im really confused and don't know what to do.

 

I have never read that but thats exactly what I am going through right now. So far I have to wait to see if they will get it fixed after mailing it to them for repairs.

The motherboard they sent me with the repair technitian was defective also as the video card did not even turn on. I was not aware of a work around to play unplugged or that others confirmed when new/refurbished but working motherboards are used it fixes the problem.

But be warned when you call they will try to tell you all kinds of things to try to keep you from getting a replacement motherboard but if nothing else works its the only way to get your system running.

 

i did not call Dell yet. The reason is that previously, that guy fixed his computer by installing 8GB of RAM, maybe this is the solution. By the way, I did not really understood what you've said. So you called Dell and they sent you a technician to replace your motherboard with a defective one? Is your freezing problem fixed yet?

PS: how much of RAM you have?
Thanks for replying

 

I have always had 8 gigs of ram so the ram was not the problem. I even switched out the ram from my older 1645 SXPS that had 1333 mhz 8gig ram to be sure.

Full scale memory tests take some time to do a full check (I had mine run over night over 12 hrs) and they still came back with no errors. So if you have a defective mother board all the physical scans and memory checks will prob come back with no errors.

Dell did send in a rep to reinstall a new motherboard but the "new" part apparently was deffective also or installed incorrectly. After the technician left and I tried to use my laptop it was not working in a different. The system would not recognize the video card at all even went to find new hardware tools and reinstalled windows 7 to verify no errors in operating system would not find the video card.

From that above article it seems the original problem is related to the motherboard and being plugged in causing some error/crash that does not happen when on battery power.

I was not aware of trying to play my system while on battery versus plugged in I had not tried that trick. When everything else driver/software update related does not work you may be in the same boat as me but only more testing can be sure.

In my case I just opted to send my laptop in to dell for thier repair depot to try to fix it. It seems others are having better luck just replacing the motherboard but from my experience you will have to be firm and not take no for an answer when dealing with dell tech support as they will try to tell you all kinds of excuses and "work arounds" that involve disabling your video card.

 

The problem is, I have 6GB of RAM so I m hesitating on testing the 8GB 1333 of RAM. The other thing is that my laptop only freezes when playing World of Warcraft but and once in League of Legends. Other hardcore games like crysis 2 or assassin's creed 3 works fine, a friend told me that it maybe a game-compatibility problem, that some games (old one) aren't compatible with Win7 64 bits ...

Can you tell what exactly happens when your laptop freezes and in which games?

Thanks

 

For me it was mainly World of warcraft, starcraft 2, and Rift that would lock up 100% of the time. The games them selves however are playable with these systems hundreds of other people have had success with these same games and our same computer.

So your experience is very similar to mine I think I ran different type of real time strategy games and first person shooters they had no problems at medium settings. Still its up to you if its acceptable to not play those other games for me it was not. I invested a good amount of my cash on this laptop and its a great one.

I just think it should be able to work for all the uses I have intended for it not only those that dont conflict with the deffects that we are running into.

 

Are you playing Wow on official server?Also I will apreciate if you keeps noticing me of your laptop problems, if it's solved, tell me how, thanks

 

Yes I play on a US official server.

I took great pains to work with wow tech support also showing them wow logs and the DXdiag information from my system so that they could analyze from thier side as well to ensure that my system should be compatible with wow.

They stated its an uknown video card failure that keeps happening but could not pin point it to a WOW issues persay.

Not everyone has the same issue but your symptoms seem very close to mine. The other guy seemed to fix it with new ram so may be worth it if its in your budget to try that first.

Otherwise you may be stuck making multiple phone calls and hours with the support people to convince them to replace your motherboard. So far I have to wait for the repair depot to do thier work but I will report back when its done and delivered to see if they could fix it. I would hate to have to return this laptop it has really everything I could want for the budget I have but we will just have to wait and see.

 

In Wow, are you freezing after 10-15 min of playing or 1 hour? And are you freezing at some special locations on the Wow map? For me, I only freeze In front of Stormwind and in the ally base in warsong grunch, I m playing on private server 3.3.5

 

It can be pretty random most often its in places that have alot of NPC's or player characters moving around castin spells with graphic effects, so mostly in Raid instances or in PVP does it happen quickly in 5-15 mins.

In open world areas or places that do not have alot of characters running around I can usually play for 30-45 mins and even once for 90 mins just doing solo content. But its not a matter of will it crash or not its just a matter of when.

 

I see, but I dont't have the same problem I only freeze at some specific places, I say that because I ve experience it. I can play for a day without crashing if Im not in front of stromwind, maybe it's not a pc but a game problem

 

It could be your private server is leaking some data somewhere. That would be odd behavior indeed especially if it was very exact locations you may be able to target it via wow graphics settings.

That would be great for you if you have one of the systems that works fine other than those specific program bugs. That also brings merit to my argument with dell that my system should work also! I have never had an all day session some times I go as long as 4+ hours when raiding but with this laptop 5 mins to 90 mins it will lock up at some point.

Try getting with the host and verifying no one else is having the problem either or checking your video settings with wow tech support on the forums. If that is all your problem is you will be saved alot of hours talking to dell tech support and waiting for repairs.

 

Thank you for your reply, hoping that Dell will fix your issue. Please tell me if your pc gets any better after changing something, I would be more than interessted. Also I've played 3 hours of 3d games till now, I had no freezing problem. I will try Wow tomorrow

 

had this problem ask dell to switch out ur motherboard. its the graphics card. i guess its like the rrod for the nvidia graphics card. i had this for months and finally got it resolved after many heatsink/fan cpu intalls and all fingers pointed to the graphics card. The games ran fine on low graphics but once i cranked it to all high it froze. Def the graphics card.

Here is a thread on the dell forums.
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3519/p/19374663/19936117.aspx#19936117

 

Awsome information if anyone else has this problem going directly to a dell community forum would probably help you save some time arguing with them.

I had to waste time reinstalling windows 7 clean and all the drivers, and hours of tech support people who either knew what the problem was but tried to get me to ignore it/not use my card as a work around or were incompetent.

Still waiting for my laptop to get mailed back after dell repair depot is done "fixing it".

 

Well as an update... I am not sure if I have the engergy to keep complaining to dell but I really should.

My laptop came back from the dell repair depot with everything installed correctly this time. My first complaint is my computer was in perfect condition when I mailed it now my beautiful 1080p screen has a 1.5 inch scratch on the left side of the monitor that was not there before.

My speakers seem to be working really low or possibly the subwoofer is not connected operating but the volume out put is super low...

As for the gaming problems I have been having I logged on and tested it with medium settings at 1080p windowed mode and locked up my PC in 15 mins. I did some of the old tricks and was able to play for 1hr plus if i turned down the wow settings to full screen mode 1200 x 800 resolution and lowered many things down to minimum. Did not have enough play time yesterday to test longer than that.

One interesting thing to note was previously my FPS would cap at low settings at around 60-70fps before they took it in. Now my games at lower settings are playing at 100+ FPS but it still had that lock up at higher settings.

I need to test it more but I am certainly going to call them about the scratch on my screen to say the least. I need to see if i can actually play for more than 90 mins and that my system is stable no longer having that voltage glitch reported by others when using the Nvidia card.

 

Well so far things are not good I did as the above poster stated if you ramp down the grapics to very very low settings it does not trigger the event but at that point I could probably play the darn games on the intergrated graphics!

I need to call dell back and spell out the forum posts on thier own community site with the experience and use the tips they advised about explaining it works on battery but not on plugged in status.

I am confused that the motherboard swap did not fix anything. Unless they swapped my defaulty motherboard with another faulty one they had sitting there from someone else who had my problem which is possible.

At this point they already replaced my motherboard once and had techs at thier dell repair depot look at my laptop (and leave a big scratch on my screen) so I dont know what I will ask for now.

Its 6 months into my 12 month basic warranty so if my machine is a total lemon and they keep wasting money with replacement parts does anyone have any advice into how to strong arm them into a replacement device? I would love the same device actually but one that works if not any other advice of solutions I should be asking for?

 

I did a bit of research on the dell website and found there is a clause even on the basic warranty I have that says Dell techs have the right to decide after diagnosis/repairs fail that my system is not repairable/deffective and offer a replacement system. So basicly I have to convice one of them to agree with me that more repairs will not fix the issue.

Is it hard to get this done should I just let them waste my time with more repairs/possible bad parts or push harder for a system replacement? The warranty contract doesnt say but I am assuming for a 6 month old system like mine it will probably be a refurbished system anyone have any experience with negotiating with dell on this type of situation?