NMI: Parity Check/ Memory Parity Error -- System crash

Glad for you. Just curious how many days has it been since you updated the driver? I do hope your laptop will continue to be problem free with the new drivers. But I've had problem free periods after driver update only for the BSODs to come back all of a sudden.

 

I updated the driver yesterday morning so its only been a bit over a day. The only time I was getting NMI's was when my wireless antenna was on AND my laptop was about to sleep but I will see what time brings.

 

I have unfortunately been getting this error for the past week and a half or so It's the exact same error as everyone else is getting. I get it while the computer is idle and while gaming. I have noticed that while gaming, I get a lot of screen tear for instance in WoW and some other games, that did not start happening until the NMI error. I called Dell about it and the first step I was told to take was to backup my data, and use my system repair disk, unfortunately I had my call dropped because I was using my mobile phone. My question is this: What do you guys think I should do first in trying to remedy this issue? I have read most of this thread, but am still not sure what to do, as the problem seems to have multiple "solutions". It is becoming very annoying having this happen about 3 or 4 times every other day.

 

I actually have that same exact computer and had the same exact problem lol it would say that on a blue screen and have small colored dots on the screen as well. i think it was a issue of overheating but dell replaced my memory motherboard and video card and everything is now working great. if you are using it for gaming id highly suggest getting a laptop cooler and keeping it on a hard surface. I just purchased the Zalman ZM-NC1000 from www.zipzoomfly.com
for 50 dollars free shipping if you want it has push button on/off an extra usb port and fan control speed we will see how well this does.

 

Im trying to figure out how to monitor my GPU temperature on my E1705 i have the Nvidia Geforce GO 7900 GS and if possible how to overclock it.

 

Well the BSOD happened with the stock Wireless card and the Atheros card was used as an attempt to get rid of the error. Also the laptop was shipped to them with the stock card. I informed them that I kept the card for the purposes of the warranty to further troubleshoot the issue. It has always happened with the Dell card even before I got the Atheros card. Also there is no dump created due to my BSOD. It never gets a chance to create it so I can't stack trace it to find out. Also I havn't swapped crap since I got the new mainboard. So the system is running stock with virtually no changes since I got it back and I still got the NMI error. I had started happening 1 month after I got the laptop way before I ever swapped the wireless card.

Also I should mention that power management or not the system was very active and there should of been no such management happening. Beyond that I already said that I would be on them pretty good if anything came back no longer working that was working when I sent it in. I think the power adapter plug counts in my book. My sig is going to be updated to reflect the fact that it is indeed running the stock Dell Draft-N Broadcom card right now.

 

How about ATI users??? Seems like there's only a minor number of users of E1705 ATI X1400. I'd say that even with 3 computers i got from dell ,every parts are original, the system still crash.
Again, this is the most strangest issue I've ever deal with.

 

I have seen reports that even ATI video cards have had this issue along with other laptop manufacturers. If I remember correctly the only common piece was Dual Core processors...

 

I've got an ati 1400. This particular BSOD problem is not specific to the video card manufacturer.

 

It seems these errors show up with no rhyme or reason. They appear in a multitude of configurations. I am going to reinstall windows from the ground up just to be sure it isn't a software issue. My image restore (it was how i reinstalled windows before) was created after I had removed MD 2 by hand so it may be slightly corrupted causing these NMI errors. I will install clean this time to see if it clears up.

 

Agree'd

I have a Core Solo, DDR2 533, and a 7900GS. I started noticing a issue with really bad performance in games, and sometimes id get this horrible screen error. Almost like a bad refresh rate. So, i reformatted the whole system and installed a game. Still had bad performance, Ive haven't even owned this laptop for a year and already having some bad issues. Yesterday i download rivatuner to mess with some OpenGL settings and i decided to try "Unreal Tournament 2004" again to see if the probelm was there. Started playing..85 Frames per second locked. Which is normal, i was only getting 20 when the pc was acting wierd. Today i get home from a friends house after the system idling and i see the blue screen of death. "Hardware Malfunction Memory Parity". I think its the ram, windows is telling me that its running at 787mhz when the ram is only DDR2 533. Then CPU-Z is telling me 262mhz..Iam confused and upset. Buying a Dell was the biggest mistake ive made.

My first post..sorry if its hard to follow. Not very happy atm.

 

Sry guys i was away i called dell they sent me replacement ram and it never worked. Now they want me to ship back the system. I have tried turnin off wireless card.Reinstalling xp mce. installing different drives from nvidia dell n laptpvideo2go and it doesnt work.

 

I've sent a message to unresolved issues department but no response. I sent it about 2PM (GMT-4) yesterday and it says on the website 24 hour response time.

 

I sent a couple of letters there before. It'll take more time than you expected, like 2 days. I used that unresolved issue 2 times already. All they can do is asking all the diagnosis question and blah blah... then say " sorry ... i'll exchange you another system" . However, I like to do the exchange computer here, it's FAST!!! You don't have to wait on the phone to get to a supervisor rep and talk with them.

Dell wants (some ) of you to send the system for repair probaby I guess because of many returns and exchange for this BSOD already. I myself got 2 new computers exchanged from them in not even 1 month.

 

Well if they can do an exchange then that will work out ok. I need new screws on the memory cover anyways. The one got stripped out pretty good somehow.'

Oh and if they want the diagnostic for the power adapter then I can give it to them. This is an authentic issue as even their bios and diagnostics doesn't acknowledge it properly. It knows it's there but doesn't know what it is. That is of course unless I press down real quick before it brightens the screen. I have the AC mode set to a higher screen brightness than the battery mode.

 

Sorry for my bad typing im from another contry


I have a dell XPS M1710 with a 7900 GTX 512 mb video card and 2,0 Core 2 duo procesor.
I get the same NMI: Parity Check/ Memory Parity Error -- System crash from time to time, some time after a day some times 1 week, its realy random.

1. did a scan disk to see if it was the hard drive 0 Errors

2. Did a mem test for 7 houers with memory test 0 Errors so its is not the memory blocks at the error says.

I did a clean video drive and installed Nvidias official drivers, and now this is the fun part.
I play ALOT of world of warcraft and i had the Dell drivers befor this, and had a fps on like 30-40 and yesterday i installed the offical nvidia drivers and my fps is now 40-60 and Averege 55+ fps over a few houers of game play.

to ppl wo wnat to go abit deeper try look at this page.

http://www.onthebrightside.net/NMI_error/index.html

 

is this error inevitable? will we all get this sooner or later? how the hell are you guys getting any work (or gaming) done when your notebook craps out at random like this?

am i the only one to NOT have seen this? going on two months ...

 

I sometimes crashes on "unimportant time" ... not when I'm typing my paper or paying credit card online.

 

The Windows XP image I am using on my 9400 came from my I9300 after doing a Sysprep, Imaging it over then allowing windows to redetect all hardware. I didn't notice the NMI until I switched over to an Atheros card and at that point I started getting it whenever my laptop would try to sleep if the Atheros antenna was on. When I updated it to the IBM 112d drivers the NMI seems to have gone away completely (its only been 5 days).

 

Well I noted a new driver is available for my Dell Draft-N card so I will update to that and I am going to install the new A07 bios they have and see if it disappears. If it still doesn't disappear then I will likely be doing a XP and Linux dual boot next. I've always wanted to do that and now is my chance. I will get an external drive put together with the money I am getting from fatwallet.com since I used their link to purchase my laptop (they rebated back about $60 to me). This should buy me a 80 or 100GB external drive.

 

Just an update here. A couple of days ago I sent an email to dell regarding the AC adapter issue and they agreed to replace that part specifically (they said it could either be the adapter or motherboard). Today I received a phone call from Dell about the escalation to unresolved issues department. They agreed to replace my laptop. Since this is going to be a whole new setup I have asked them to install XP on it rather than Vista due to some applications not running properly on Vista yet. He said he would try but can't make any guarantees. It is understandable since that model no longer ships with XP on it but it is being expedited (spelling?). Therefore I should have it within a week.

Too bad I forgot to ask if they could get me the glossy screen on this unit. Oh well. I've grown attached to the matte screen on my existing laptop.

 

I have ATI 1400 (T7200 2.00GHz, 2GB 667MHz) and have the same problem. I don't believe it has to do with particular graphic card.

The error occurs only when I use my laptop sitting on the couch. It means:
1. It is running on batteries hence using different power schema
2. It is using wireless
3. It is sitting on my laps

Derived from 1 & 3 it is getting heated more. Indeed, I monitored temperatures for a couple of days. Both CPU and GPU get about 10-15 degrees (Celsius) warmer when all 3 conditions above are met.

I am trying to use I8kfanGUI (fan speed control utility) and collect more statistics.

 

Brand new out of the box Inspiron E1405;Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB), and 5 minutes after boot, I recieved the "call your hardware vendor for support" and NMI: Parity Check/Memory Parity Error... I do not have a graphics card installed (not an option) so for others out there, might not be the graphics card. Dell has me running the full system test (well over 2 hours at this point) and then to call them back... they claim they are unaware of this problem... sounds like they should have a good idea by now! I think I am going to ask for a refund and try something else.

funny, I was sitting on the couch using the wireless, however it was on AC power.

 

I have a little table by my bed ONLY for my XPS m1210, I never put any liquid on this table ^_^

 

Hi, I am having exactly the same problem with my Acer notebook. I only bought it last October and since then its been back to Acer twice, the first time they installed a new hard drive, I didn't have any problems for 6 weeks. Then it suddenly crashed again, I sent it back the second time and they replaced the 'faulty' memory. I turned it on, worked for 4 hours then crashed again. I then phoned up, Tesco will not give me a refund, acer wont give me a replacement and acer offered to install a new hard drive again which is absurd as I have just had one. I am not getting anywhere. Acer did say thou that if you had microsoft office 2003, there was a fault with that which was often the cause of such crashes. I have office 2000 though. Does anyone have any ideas what is wrong?

 

They got a last chance with a total replacement of the laptop. As was expected from other messages here, it didnt help a bit. I got the same BSOD on the replacement today. Tomorrow the Escalation Department will call me, cause I insisted on a refund.

My brother has the same laptop as me, but without the ATI X1400. He never has had the BSOD (and is making fun of me). So in my opinion that's where the solution has to be found.

But not for me anymore, I'm done with Dell. This whole issue have caused me to call them over 20 times wasting over 40 hours in total (on the phone, reinstalling xp, having technicians in my house).

 

About the NMI blue screen: DELL said that anything that has memory can cause this kind of error, so this includes lots of device--not only RAM and GPU, even the optical drive has memory in it. So it is really difficult to say what has gone wrong when you get such blue screens.

 

Percybut, that's the problem of this non-specific error message. Read the whole thread and you'll see how we narrowed it down to the bios, videocard, wifi or a conflict of drivers.

 

This thread is getting longer and longer... soon to be a sticky. I always wonder how many people out there are having this problem? and how many are not?

If the 9300 use the Pentium M , and it does not crash.. probably the conflict in Dual Core processors? I'm tired of guessing the cause for this problem. Let's wait til Centrino Pro if they have anything new.

 

I was perfectly fine until yesterday I got one, and i just had one 2 min ago. This is really frustrating. I'm going to run a memtest and see what's going on

 

I have the same problem. It may be due to a bad video card or bad video card software. I have come up with this conclusion after running several tests
and my video card failing them. The other day I got the same error when I ran PC DOCTOR on my video card from within Windows xp and I was able to reproduce the error. My hardware is IBM /Lenovo Thinkpad t60p with Ati Fire GL v5200.

 

I'd like to thank the informative posts in this thread.

I have an Inspiron E1705 with an Nvidia 7900GS video card that started this BSOD thing about 3+ weeks ago. I'd get an error every 1 or 2 days of leaving it on, sometimes faster than others when I started playing more games recently on it.

I'd also notice that my music, when playing it in WinAMP, would start to have millisecond audio breakups randomly just before it'd BSOD..

However, after reading the tip and installing the updated video card drivers, I'd like to report that everything is going great with my laptop now.

Thank you guys so much.

 

I am too recieving this issue, Just recently i put vista on my computer, ever since i have had problems. I have a dell insprio e1705 with nvidia geforce 7900 go mobile. Actualy speaking with a rep right now, hes having me reseat my ram, any ideas?

 

I get a full refund of Dell. Previous posts here: Jan 30 and Feb 28

To summarize what this has costed Dell: 2 brand new Inspirons E1505/6400, 1 extra motherboard, videocard, lcd-screen, processor, 2 RAMs, 2 technician appointments, 8 UPC deliveries, 20 phonecalls of about an hour.
It costed me about 40 hours of time reinstalling Windows, calling techs, not including the time I had to stay at home for the techs and UPC-deliveries.

For all people out there with the same problem, make it clear you only give them 3 opportunities to fix the problem and that you've read about it on the internet. They clearly don't know the cause of the problem, otherwise they wouldn't spend so much money at random.
I don't know the law in every country , but for Europe you can get a full refund for this when it appairs within two years after buying. Not depending on the sort of warranty you bought from Dell. For a refund you need Customer Care, not Tech Support. So let's all get a refund and teach Dell they have to develop good products.

 

It isn't just Dell laptops with this problem. A few posts up was someone with an IBM laptop having this problem and there have been other manufacturer's with the same issue...So don't just castigate Dell.

 

Well I am getting a replacement right now so this is their second chance from me. I won't count the motherboard replacement. If I still get it then they have one more chance and then it is the doghouse for them.

 

Well, I've been lurking on this thread for a while after coming upon it through a Google search. I bought my Dell Inspiron E1705 back in the late summer of 2006, and within 2 weeks of ownership the BSOD starting rearing its ugly head. At first I didn't pay too much attention to it, partly because I wasn't using the computer much at the time (mainly using the desktop), and partly because I thought they were isolated incidents due to some software malfunction. However, in late 2006 I began using the Inspiron more heavily. This is when it became obvious to me I had a problem. Here are my specs:
-Dell Inspiron E1705/9400 Intel Core Duo
-2 GB RAM (DDR2/533 Mhz-- I believe it's Hynix)
-256 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400
-100 GB 5400 RPM HD
-Intel Pro Wireless 3945 802.11 a/g
The rig is running Windows XP MCE 2005 (fully updated)

It is bluescreening with the "NMI/Memory Parity..." error with great frequency. I've noticed certain trends:
-It happens with most frequency during general websurfing with Firefox
(and so in the beginning I spent a ridiculous amount of time troubleshooting Firefox--de-installing and installing the program, plug-ins, etc, to no avail)
-It also happens a lot while using Adobe Photoshop Elements, various Nero Ultra tools, and even once or twice using Microsoft Word. I once lost about 3 hours worth of unsaved work in Photoshop, and came very close to throwing the computer against the wall.
Anyway, I felt those programs had little in common other than aggressive memory usage, so I was still confounded. I started to investigate various hardware components:
-I did the usual Dell Diagnostics multiple times--everything passes 100%
-I ran more extensive memory tests like MemTest 86 and WinMem, even doing multiple runs of over 14 hours--nothing, not a single error
-I took out the 2 1 gig Ram modules and swapped them--still BSODs
-I ran the box on 1 module--BSODs
-then the other--BSODs
-then the opposite slot--BSODs
-I though hey, maybe it's the video drivers, and being that Dell hasn't updated their proprietary ATI drivers since June 2006, I wiped out the Dell drivers, downloaded the most recent Catalyst package from ATI's site, and installed that. After running the computer straight for 2 days without a BSOD I thought I may have found the cure, but NO! I finally crashed and burned during a Firefox session, in the usual fashion.
-Finally, I put in a call to Dell's Cust. Service. The woman who's helping me is nice enough, and seemingly intelligent, but the paces she ran me through were things I had already done. She directed me to a recent BIOS update which I somehow missed, but that did nothing to correct the problem. I also asked her if Dell has seen a preponderance of notebook customers suffering this problem and she claimed "not at all..."
My status with Dell is to continue to "observe" my computer, which I told them I'd do briefly before starting to rip out parts or send the whole thing back. However, there is nothing to observe, and I continued my research quest on the Internet, finally finding this thread.

Firstly, I'd like to thank the various posters. Many have some good ideas. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like anyone knows for sure what the hell is causing this. But, without getting too excited--because I don't know if this will help everybody--I think I may have found the culprit on my machine. In fact it was some posts here, where some people said they suspected their wireless card. Since the day I got the machine, all my internet connectivity was done wirelessly. But these strange memory errors never made me think it had anything to do with my wireless card (the Intel 3945). But 1 week ago I did an experiment. I shut off the wireless radio, and hooked the notebook up directly to my router using ethernet cable. I have now gone 1 whole week of intensive Firefox surfing (I currently have approx. 50 tabs open), Photoshopping, and DVD editing-- simultaneously. I have not rebooted the computer once. I am not popping open champagne just yet, but prior to hooking up the box to a hard network line, I couldn't get through a single DAY without multiple BSOD's, let alone an entire week. This is a milestone. So, IMHO I think I found the problem. The wireless adapter. Either it's defective, or it doesn't want to play nice with some other, undetermined component. Anyway, I'm not out of the woods yet. I have to relay this information to Dell, and then what? Can the wireless adapter be swapped? I got the latest firmware. Maybe it's a design problem, or incompatible hardware. (I know many other posters have the BSOD problem with a different wireless card--so what does it mean?)

So I'll inform Dell and play it by ear. When I get a resolution I'll post updates here, since this is where I've gotten the most information. I'm also going to direct my Dell case manager to this thread, to refute their nonsensical claim that my problem is "isolated" and that they see no trend. Sure, none that they'll admit to.
In the meantime, if anyone wants to post their opinions or advice I'd be most obliged. Thanks again, and everyone good luck with their respective mysteries.

 

Hey guys, i just want to offer my two cents here too. Before christmas I was also getting the BSOD on my machine, see specs below. I first suspected that it may have been a CAD package that had programs running in the background at all times. But now im not so sure.
Anyway, i reinstalled XP just after christmas, however, i did not exactly use the drivers as Dell intended. I installed most of them using the .exe, or setup, that was included. With the exception of my X1400 and Intel wireless 3945. For my X1400 i installed the latest omegadrivers, and all is good. For my wireless, i just turned it on using the radio, Fn + F2. The drivers were already ripped to an external hard drive so when asked, i simply let windows search in the specific directory. Now, the reason i did this had nothing to do with BSOD as i didn't know anything about it then. I simply didn't want to use the Intel program as it had a few background processes associated with it, and i wanted my machine clean as!
So, to cut to the chase, i haven't had any problems since, touch wood. For the past couple of weeks i've been swapping between 10/100 and wireless, in my room and on college campus. Was on wireless for about 5 hours and no problem.
So, is it the X1400 drivers?? Or the Intel drivers?? Or both not liking each other??
Ill let bigger brains than mine figure that one out. Hope that helps!!!

 

This thread appears to be the most specific on the net as concerning this issue, so here is my experience: I own a Dell Inspiron 9400 (T7200, 2GB 667, 7900gs, Draft N, Bluetooth).
BSODs occured both with A06 and A07 bios, with Dell's and generic Nvidia drivers.

The error seems to be particularly frequent when I leave my laptop on for more than a day continuously. The errors, as vastly reported, occur on unimportant events, such as while in Firefox.

Could it be something related to the massive Wireless (eMule) activity? I do not actually connect through cable. Bluetooth is always off.

P.S. It could be quite important to notice that I overclocked my Geforce to 460/600 by flashing its bios. Since I did this quite soon, I don't know if BSOD existed before flashing.

Excuse my poor english
I hope this could help!

 

mccarver,pjkane,RDionysus,erikzz

I've carefully read all your posts and your experience that you shared are the same with everyone else here.
Thanks for sharing your experiences
None of us or Even Dell knows how to fix this issue COMPLETELY, but some other owners of E1705 have not experience this issue yet.. We just suspect things that might cause the problem.

And an update of mine: After using my Dell for 8months + total of 3 replacements = a refund. And very surprisingly, after 1 month, Dell send me back my laptop with my refund already in the credit card. The laptop will arrive next Monday. What kind of strategy is this? I already started a thread about Dell send a laptop for no charge which makes me both happy and worry. Is this laptop for free or not?

I'll keep you guys update. If Dell won't charge me any money for the system, I'd gladly help you guys do all the tesing about the cause of the errors.


@ shinji257 : When you changed the Driver of Nvida to original one, the BSOD is still there.?

 

Hey guys. I've been following this thread for a while after experiencing this problem for the first time a couple of weeks back on my E1705 with NVidia GeForce Go 7900, 2 gigs of RAM. I reformated my computer (for other reasons too, but hoping it'd get rid of this problem as well) and I went a week without a BSOD, then I got it again.

I'm just posting to say that I don't think the wireless has anything to do with the error, at least not on my system. The reason being that all the times I've gotten the BSOD was when I was connected via ethernet cord, and when I was using a seperate wireless adapter. My wifi is off pretty much all the time, and was never one when I got one of the BSOD.

I read in a few other threads that people think the powersource could be the problem. If so, is there anyway to check it?

 

Yea. They still occured. I got them to replace the laptop for me however. I also just reinstalled Windows and coincidentally I have yet to actually get the error. Pretty much anything that was wrong went away with the new install. Including but not limited to...

The video going off then back on during the logon phase.
The icons moving when the screen comes back on after opening the lid
The screen not coming back on occasionally.

Actually the last 2 need a reg fix. It is on the forum software and involves changing the reg key LidBehavior to the value 10 (hex).

I still would like the replacement though to fix the ac adapter issue. They would have to replace the motherboard to fix it and I'd rather just use the new one.

 

I am still going on well for 2 months now with nV 92.77 drivers (look back for the links i posted) on for my 7900GS! Though i cant close the lid for the LCD to go off

Just wish i read this thread before i bought a Dell!

 

Thank you for pointing out this idea again.. I've just installed forceware 92.77 with modified inf from laptopvideo2go. Now I wait..

However I don't think Dell should be (entirely) blamed on this issue. It seems they've spent a lot of time/money in order to 'repair'.. furthermore this thread concerns some Lenovo laptops too!

 

It's kinda weird that the lid has some problem as Shinji described. Sometimes I ended up turn off my computer and turn on again. Or another way to turn the screen back on after let it idle is open and close the lid many times.

 

I found that pressing Fn+F8 would work every time for correcting it. After doing the registry change I no longer had to do it. The name of the key is LidBehavior and has a default setting of 11 (hex). Changing it to 10 (hex) fixes it but may have other effects.

Here is the message that has where to find it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=1818936&postcount=4

Read it very carefully. It only applies to nVidia video cards and only if the driver supports the setting. If the setting isn't present then the driver doesn't support it.

 

I just got my replacement laptop today and started checking out the hardware that was sent with it. I am more impressed with this one than the last one.

I got a Hitachi/LG DL dvd burner with this one vs having a Sony and 2 Samsung drives with the last one.

I got a Samsung (SEC) LCD screen on this one vs having an LG on it. I know some think the Samsung sucks but I like it better than the LG.

I got a Seagate Hard drive vs having a Toshiba drive in the old one. I will keep everything and while I was originally planning on swapping the hard drives it doesn't look like that will happen. I guess I will just backup what I need off of the old hard drive and start reinstalling it on the new one. I will also just likely start uninstalling what I don't need rather than reinstalling the whole OS this time.

Experiment... I just got a new Intel Wireless 3945 adapter. I will try and install it and see if the adapter gets picked up on during the first run... I checked it in the old laptop and the bios recognized it as an Intel Wireless adapter rather than Unknown like it did with the Gigabyte one.

EDIT: Oh and it came with MD3 pre-installed on it. Guess I will use linux to mount and add taskman.exe so I can install additional codecs to it. It also has the old "Designed for Windows XP" sticker rather than the one that says it is Vista Capable. Guess mine isn't anymore? LOL

EDIT: Well that didn't work quite as well as expected. Guess the image is system specific. I will just have to install the drivers manually. I got the adapter through a 3rd party but I will install the Dell specific drivers.

 

Ok. Just a comment here. After installing the Intel adapter (and you can check that this is one that can come with the laptop typically) I found it had much better range than the old adapter. I actually picked up on a 2Wire router from I don't know where. I just know that I sell them at Embarq and you cannot get them off the shelf. It is a DSL gateway so that means someone within 300 feet has DSL service. Just don't know who. It showed 2 out of 5 bars which I thought was really good. Time to give Embarq another call to see about eligibility.

 

I'm sad to say that im a also "NMI Error Club" member. My system specs:

Dell Inspiron 9400
2Gb RAM
100Gb HD 7.200RPM
Nvidia 7900GS
Intel Mobile Chipset
Sigmatel Audio
Broadcom 440x 10/100
Wifi, bluetooth, etc

Bought the laptop in July-06 and since November it ran flawless. Suddenly started the BSOD's, first only a few of them a month till today when I get them several times a day.

I can only get the NMI BSOD when running games under Windows XP. The games I've tested are Guildwars, Eveonline & Ghost Recon2. Now I only need to play a few seconds to get the crash, so it's easily reproducible. Some time ago I was getting rendering errors (like noise, lines, etc) I could remove by switching from full screen to window mode.

For the rest of my laptop use it runs fine. I use it for my work 8-10 hours a day under Linux mostly with a developer framework and moderate to heavy database and http transactions. To use an internet browser, play music, video, email, etc under Windows causes no hang either.

BSOD's continues even in that cases:

- Upgrade bios, graphic, sound, eth and chipset drivers from the Dell support site and the Nvidia site.
- Disable at the bios the eth card, wifi, bluetooth, cpu multicore, media card slot, 1394 port
- Disable the sound card at the Windows device manager
- Disable all kind of graphics and audio accelerations

Could NOT hang the system with:

- Dell diagnostics partition tests
- Directx tests
- Passmark’s BurnInTest (under Linux)
- Other uses under Windows or Linux as previously said

The BSOD (camera photo)



Btw I'm experiencing strange screen pixelation, here are some screenshots:

Notepad under Windows XP (captured with PrntScr)


Gnome Terminal under Linux (camera photo)



Laptop BIOS (camera photo)



Dell boot screen (camera photo)



Finally a non related issue, but dissgusting, the heavy paint degradation of the laptop chasis (6 months of use):




I'll keep you updated with Dell's answer to all this. Thanks for this thread at least im not alone in the dark

**************************************************************
EDIT:

I'm happy to say that my problem seems solved now. A Dell technician came to my house and replaced both the motherboard and the graphic card and now the system runs flawless (more than a week of intense gamming without BSODs).

The guy told me that my problem was probably the graphic card: either its internal memory or its internal clock.
**************************************************************

 

I think those Gigabyte card is a scam, it doesnt' have any better range than Intel one. unluckily, i bought 2 of those cards. Cost me 120$ , such a waste.

Your system wear out is pretty bad... Mine only turns pink on the left palm rest.. urs is like the nastiest one i've ever seen... (sorry)