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

I've gotten this error a few times lately, too.

I got it once during the first week I had my laptop (August 2006), and have had it happen about 3 times so far this week.

I'm thinking it's related to heat or the wireless card, because I never got it when I had a direct wired connection in college, and I didn't get it recently until I stopped running the fans on high-settings all the time.

I would open up the laptop and clean it, although I can't find any documentation about the insides of a Dell Inspiron E1705, and cleaning the insides, in particular, which I'd feel much more comfortable having, as I've never worked on the inside of a laptop before.

 

I just had the same error/crash with a dell optiplex desktop with a wireless connection .... at the time I just installed and was downloading a file using Download Accelerator Plus (which modifies packets for faster downloads). I am pretty sure it is not the RAM that caused the crash nor my hard drives. I have a strong feeling that it is the wireless connection also. I noticed that someone else said they were watching You Tube stuff ... by chance were they or anyone else using a download excelerator with a wireless card? Any thoughts on this?

I will have to update this post after it happens again (hopefully it won't).

 

What wireless cards do you guys have? Intel PROset/Wireless 3945ABG?

 

I got this error twice after owning the computer for approximately one year. It started happening after I let it stay in my backpack turned on for 2 hours and got really hot all around (once immediately after rebooting and being hot, and once on an unusually hot day). So, that's twice in a 2 month period...

edit// also got the PC in the early of September.

 

I have Intel Proset/wireless, x1400, inspiron 6400



I updated the bios, and the intel pro set driver and since I only got one blue screen in about 3 or 4 months.


Try to update everything you can from the Dell site except for the wireless adapter. Get it from the Intel website. It is currently working well for me.

 

Actually, I've had this happen to me when using that exact same app! What I did to fix it was I disabled the Intel Wireless Monitor to let windows manage it, and then I also removed the Intel software from the startup list in MSCONFIG. This seems to have fixed it for me. I still get the one when I boot up right after the XP screen occasionally though.

 

update where? I'm not finding anything on dell.com

 

logume, thanks for the info. I just disabled the Intel software and switched over to having windows manage my wireless.

Dunno what the point is of the intel software, anyway

 

got the laptop over the summer of 2006 as well
also on ur heat theory....i do remember sumthin...

i was gaming but it takes maybe a few minutes before i get the parity error....its almost as if the laptop is heating up till the breaking point as the game progresses...its always like 4-5 minutes too everytime....

 

Okay, I thought I fixed the memory parity error issue, but I guess I didn't. I just got another one, and felt the underside of my laptop. It was extremely hot around the middle, which is where the RAM, CPU, and GPU are, I believe.

 

aaand I just got it again.

Let's see how I do if I force my fans to run on high-settings all the time. I was doing that until a few weeks ago, and hadn't experienced any parity errors.

if the errors go away while my fans are kept on high perpetually, it might be confirmation that it's a heat related issue, or, at least, that heat aggravates the problem.

Looking around, I came across this website: http://onthebrightside.net/NMI_error/index.html

It sounds like this issue can be fixed in most cases by disabling the PCI Bus Mastering Option, the PCI Serial Generation Option, and/or the PCI Parity options in your BIOS.

 

My BIOS was the A02 version, and my wireless adapter's drivers were for the A02 bios.

I updated them both to A08.


I'm going to can the whole "leave fans on all the time" thing for now, and see if updating the bios and wireless drivers did anything.

 

In the xps M1710 The cpu is in the left side (Not so hot) The video card is in the midle (Wery hot area) and the Memory is by the Video card side by side almost and that area is also Wery HOT.
So all in all, what i can think of is that the error is only comming from Heat and games who takes up alot of computer power.

I get some new Memory from dell on wendstady and hope it can fix the problem if not, i call them agin and get them to change the video card, but i dont belive its the video cards fault it have wery good fps in games like world of warcraft, the reason i dont think its the video card is i know GForce card can get realy hot with no problems at all.

A think we can try to do is to take off the hut where the memory is so the heat dont stays there i think i try that when i get home.

 

I'll do a re-post of what seemingly helped me:
"Anywho, I thought I'd just let you all know that after I opened up my laptop and cleaned out the fans thoroughly it seems to be working fine. And believe me, the fans were absolutely stuffed with fluff. I haven't driven the poor machine very hard yet, but it seems much more stable (as I've done the things I usually do when getting the BSOD) so far anyway.

If you haven't done it, clean out the fans of your laptop! In any case, this should be done at regular intervals anyway, but if you're having this BSOD and haven't physically cleaned your computer, give it a try and post your results "

I might add that instead of having my laptop on my lap (like I did before) it now runs sitting on the table, in hopes of it getting more air and less fluff in the fans. So I would check out your fans and clean them out if necessary.

For the record, my CPU temp was around 72-75C before I opened my computer and vacuumed it, now it's a steady 63C, even when gaming and Photoshopping.

Honestly, I have no idea why reducing the heat seems to work (have a mate with the same problem, and cleaning helped him too) as it shouldn't really be linked to any memory at all, but for some reason, it does. Well, at least 2/2

 

Hi guys,

Haven't been on here for a while. Unfortunatly, i've come back to this wonderful website on a more disappointing note, I am adding myself to this list of users who have recieved the "BSOD". I've been recieving this error for a couple of weeks now. I finally decided to call Dell Tech last night. We're currently going through the troubleshooting process. So far I have...

1. Reformatted (Nothing wrong)
2. Mem Test (Nothing wrong)
3. Motherboard Test (Nothing wrong)

Now I think they will send me some replacement parts. Hopefully that will work. If not then I will be asking for a replacement. Anyway, just thought i'd finally add myself to this list.

 

I get new Memory today, so lets see if that can fix it for some time.

 

heres the link to the nvidia 7900 video driver

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=117293

i have no clue why the orginal poster labeled the drivers as "original" drivers as i couldn't find a official update on the dell website. but it does however fixed the problem for me so i can't be complaining if it doesn't work you can always revert back to the official dell drivers....

heres the direct links to the driver download: (they're on page 2 of the thread, the 2nd one is hosted by shinji257)

http://rapidshare.com/files/29353471/9422.exe.html
http://www.elite-systems.org/nvidia/9422.exe

 

Let me know how that works out for you. Good luck!

 

How did you install the driver? Did you click "setup.exe" inside of the extracted folder? Let me know, i'm not quite sure if I installed it correctly. I have GeForce 7900 GS btw.

 

Just installed the memory only the new one i got and loaded world of warcraft, not more than 15 min of gaming, bang same error agin :O)
Called dell told them what and why, and now i get some one over to replace the videocard, dells supervisor thinks its a bad videocard now that the new memory do the same thing and after we have replaced the motherboard 2 times. Last thing is the Cpu, and its hard to belive if its the cpu i dont think so.

I told the dell tech, that my right side to the midle is hot on the keyboard under it its real hot, but the fans is runing with 3300+ rpm, and he told me that it will for sure change when i get a new video card. ( The right side is also hot when i do nothing ) My Gpu is 75.C hot 125F i think it is so that is not bad, so as i say the only thing to blame now is the 512 Memory on the videocard.

 

Did the dell test my self today, the reson fir it was i got the NMI: Parity Check/ Memory Parity Error -- System crash alot today like 10 times never ever happend before.
And when i did the test on the video card i get all Errors from the Memory other things like hardware etc did pass, funny the other times i did the test it pass but behaps it was just a matter of time befor it we 100% bad but anyway i get a new videocard friday

 

yea i think running the setup.exe will do it.

 

I see, damn I guess the memory I just got in the mail won't work. I think it is a heat issue as well. I tested something out last night -- I turned off my coolpad and my fan that is blowing air toward my laptop, no more than 15 minutes after I did that BAM I got the error (while playing WoW). When I turned all of those things back on as well as opened my window to allow a cool breeze to come through my room, no error for hours. I seriously think this is a heat issue.

 

Let me know how the new video card works out for you.

 

ofc i will. And im 99,9% suer it works out, for me it only happends when i play games, when the video card is using its memory, i can burn Cds browse with fire fox and download with no crash at all, but as soon as i load a game bang Error but i hope i get the new one today

 

Yeah same here, mine only happens when I play WoW.

 

Then my sugestion is go get a new videocard if you can :O) i get mine in 1 houer just go a call 10 min ago

 

Update, i got my new video carsd instaled and we did run a diag test and the memory on the new video card did a pass so it looks ok for now

 

Update
Update update :O)

Im a WERY WERY happy person. Today i got home i was not able to install the normal driver and i was like Ohh Noo it was for the 7900 GTX 512 ram. then i loaded the Bios and to my Suprise dell have send me a 7950 GTX 512 ram and damn im happy.
And loaded up world of warcraft and i have not got 1 single crash for 1 houer, so i gues i had a bad video card.

 

okay, I just got an error, again, for the first time since i installed the new bios.


I looked for an option to disable PCI parity in the bios, but there is none...

Does anyone know how to disable the parity altogether with the A08 bios? I don't think I'll be needing it.


Now, I wonder what'll happen if I try to keep my fans on perpetually....

 

Played all night, Still no Errors.
So i gues i found the hardware error.

 

W$ )*T(WASGEAY)*TG E$WTGAPT

I'm STILL getting this stupid ERROR.


WHY DOESN'T DELL HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ON THEIR WEBSITE?

 

Anyways, I'm pretty confident that the wireless card is the problem.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try surfing the web by directly plugging into the router.

At college, I never got a parity error, and I had a direct ethernet connection.

Not once did I get an error in the 9 months I was there.

I did get an error or two in the few weeks before leaving for college, and I've gotten several since I came home from college. Of course, I've been using wireless at home.

looking through this thread, around pages 17 or 18, it seems there were other people who were getting the errors from their wireless cards.

God, why can't Dell put SOMETHING on their website about this?

and hearing the horror stories of Dell's customer service makes me cringe.

Edit: Updated my 3945 drivers. We'll try this again. If there is a god, no more blue screen for me.

 

OK I've been having this problem on and off since I received the laptop last June. It used to be every two weeks, but now it's every day.

I've had the memory chips replaced once last November and that didn't help. Restored the system to its original configuration, and that didn't help either (in fact it now seems to crash more often).

Now Dell are going to pick up my computer and replace the memory AND motherboard. Is this likely to help? It's going to be a pain being without it for a week.

From what I understand, this seems to be a problem relating to the graphics card isn't it? I have the Inspiron 6400 with X1400 graphics and 1GB RAM. I haven't seen any people who have the Intel graphics complaining of this problem. So how can replacing the motherboard fix this?

Oh and I do use wireless internet all the time, so that could be a factor. Dell don't know, no-one seems to know!

 

I've got the Geforce Go 7900 GS on the Dell e1705 and I get this problem all the time when the dell graphics drivers are installed, sometimes just sitting at the desktop. I had my computer replaced once already too, and the new one still gets it. If I install the drivers from nvidia.com it fixes that problem, but then if i'm playing any extremely graphics intensive programs for too long I get a blue screen saying something about nv4.dll infinite graphics loop. I've also tried numerous drivers from tweaksrus, and laptopvideo2go, but it seems if I install anything other then the dell drivers, or the official nvidia ones, my computer gradually begins to go insanely slow, even when doing non graphical tasks (task manager dosn't even seem to show any abnormalities when this happens either). I have the latest BIOS too.

 

Well it's been 48 hours almost and no Blue Screen of Death so far!

... I just jinxed myself, probably

 

As you know i got a 7950 GTX 512 Instead of a 7900 GTX 512, can it be that some of the 7900 Video cards have bad Memory? We have to keep in mind that the Error we all gets is from a bad Memory or hardware it tells us.

Mine did also start from evry 2 month or so even more 3 month, and it simply got more bad over time, the extream heat last weekend made my memory in the video card colaps and i start to get the error 10 min after log in in wow.

To the ones who gets it form the xp start screen try run a CPU test with, i think the name is cpu burn cant remember

 

Since I am using a Netgear Wireless Card ... in this desktop ... I don't think I am having an Intel wireless driver problem. This last time I was doing a big file transfer across my network it hung up with a NMI Partiy Error Blue Screen again. Before that it was while downloading a large file over the internet. I have a feeling that heat is probably the issue. It seems like my machine crashes whenever it is doing a bunch of work. Strange that it only does it every few days. The box seems to get hot and since this optiplex crams a bunch of equipment in such a little box (actually uses some laptop components in the box) it is just heating up. The case is getting hot. I have a feeling that the cooling system in this machine is inadequate. I used to have this problem on early pentium machines .... although the message was different. I really do think that this is a temperature related issue. The processor is probably way too hot with poor cooling.

I bet that some of the people that were told by Dell that their memory was bad had their memory replaced for no reason. Since bad memory is common ... they have been giving this out as a fix-all solution, especially since their first couple of tiers of technical support providers (outsourced to India ... I believe) have very limited troubleshooting skills.

I'm pretty sure my issue is not a memory problem.

I really think that this has to do with the computers processor - itself - overheating ... although you can get a NMI parity check error for many reasons.

The BIOS checks your memory at boot-up and when it fails the test .... it halts or you get a Parity Check error or repeated beeps. I think the Dell technicians were replacing the memory just because they associated this Parity error with a BIOS Memory Parity Check error. The issue I am having is not a RAM issue.

Another real problem I am having with the NMI - Parity Check on this Dell machine is the actual message I receive itself. An NMI - Parity check is such a general message on a machine and the BIOS should return more specific information. In reality an NMI parity error could be caused by almost anything. Anytime the machine runs into a compatability issue with a piece of hardware or software it should trigger an NMI parity error. However, many of these NMI errors are masked by the system and since the message is general ... it will probably need to be debugged by an engineer.

Check out the wikipedia definition of Non-Maskable Interrupt

It is really broad.

Perhaps a BIOS update will mask the error ... but the real problem hasn't been solved on my machine.

Final note: I am going to add an extra fan to my case to try to keep my processor cool. I got a hunch that this will solve my NMI Parity Check error.

 

I agree with you. Let us know how it goes! Good luck!

 

I'm going through tech support period over this right now. My system crashed within 5 minutes of playing call of duty 2. Thats with native 1920x1200 res aa off. I called and was able to get them to do a gpu replacement after getting an error in the video memory of their diagnostic tool. The repair man came today with the part and now it crashes in 60 seconds and I get dots on the windows loading screen! Hooray for dell!

 

Update:

I called tech support last night, it was pretty funny. After getting the story straight to the foreign tech and proving that I could replicate the problem even faster now, after he asked me for the blue screen message. Funny thing is, I now did not get a blue screen, but instead a strange pattern of scrambled colors that I can't explain in words. He then asked me if I had reinstalled the drivers since the hardware changed. I told him no, as it didn't make sense since the only difference between the hardware was that 1 was actually supposed to work.

We then had what I call a friendly argument where I told him I would do it just for him to be happy and then he tells me if I don't want to do it I don't have to.

When the repairman was at my house, he called a support line and the agent he spoke to had told him that it was a software issue because it only happens during games! I found that so hard to beleive that dell would sell a card that is spec'd to run games and then turn around and say "your stressing the system too hard running games on your system" when someone has defective peices in the system. Well the agent I spoke to then went that route, and I then argued some more that I don't want help with supporting a game, I want the system to work up to spec, which doesn't include blue and green dots all over the windows xp and Dell loading screen with crashes in every 3d game. He then says, "so what do you want us to do to resolve problem, because I cannot support game. You want to have the whole computer replaced?" I kind of thought this was a joke, but then I went along with it and told him yes, if it will keep me from having to call tech support for parts for the next 2 months. He put me on this huge hold, breaking it about every 4 or 5 minutes or so.

When he finally comes back, he tells me he is going to send out a new system that is going to have even better parts than the one I have, but it will take 10 days to get to me and that if I call back to tech support it will cancel and have to start all over again! LOL, this was pretty strange and it got stranger as he continued to emphasize over and over that I can't call for 10 days. Although strange, I am patient and my warranty still has more than a year left on it. So I went along, as I am slowly building up a case to take to whatever corporate assistance I can manage to get, in the event that I can't get a decent working system or a refund. He gave me a case number on it and then ended the call. So I'll be back in 10 days to say what happens in this bizzare case.

 

Hopefully you get a system that will work! A Dell Technician is coming over in about an hour or two to replace my motherboard and memory modules. This will be the second time my memory modules will be replaced. If this does not resolve the issue I will be pressing for a new system or a refund. Wish me luck!

 

The Dell Tech guy just finished replacing my motherboard, memory, and updated my bios. Hopefully this will fix things, if not I will be pressing for a new laptop or refund.

 

Nice post. To summarise, it could be anything, but you think it could be an inadequately cooled CPU.

I'd note that everyone who has posted in this thread, as far as I can see, has a dedicated NVIDIA or ATI graphics card. Does that suggest it's graphics card related, or is it just the case that hardly anyone goes with the Intel integrated graphics?

I've played a fair amount of Civ 4, and the funny thing is it's never crashed when I'm playing that, and the CPU and GPU are obviously heavily loaded. I also use IK8FanGUI on the Games setting, which means the chips get hotter than normal before the fans kick in, so I don't think it's heat related.

I play quite a lot of online poker, and it's been crashing for me in the middle of games (losing me money ), or other times when I'm just when browsing the internet on Firefox. The CPU is under some load (~20%) but the graphics card isn't doing much.

Anyway, my update is that my machine went back to Dell for a new motherboard and memory boards. The motherboard and ONE of the memory boards has been replaced. And guess what, it's crashed twice in the last 36 hours. Once it just froze up, Windows still displayed but nothing including the mouse or keyboard working (anyone else getting this?), and once the blue screen.

Not sure whether to ask for a whole new laptop or a refund, or if it's worth asking for a new graphics card. Sounds like some people have had a whole new machine and still have the problem.

 

I had the same - keep us posted on whether it helps - it didn't for me.

 

dudes: sorry to hear you're still having issues with this unresolved issue. guess i'm one of the lucky ones.

got my notebook in December 2006; had the latest drivers at that point -- still using the same; have BT + A/G wireless networking; ran cable networking for a while; 7900, 2GB memory, A06 Bios -- still running perfectly, not one system error yet!

wish there was a definitive answer out there ...

 

Good news! I haven't gotten a single parity error in the last two weeks since I updated by wireless card's drivers.

 

I have an m1710 with a 7900 gs, ive had this prob almost since the begining when i first got my laptop. It first happened after upgrading the ram, done mem test everything was fine. It used to happen about once a fortnight, if i can remember doing random stuff. I believe it then only happened when playing battlefield, but not very often. So i chose to put up with it. A few months ago i upgraded to vista, and it hasnt happened once, not even whilst playing bf. But i decided id like to use xp for plying games, so i now dual boot. After first loading xp again and playing bf everything was fine for a couple of weeks, or maybe even longer, but now i get it after ive been playing bf for an hour every night. Someone must have a solution. help. funny how it didnt happen in vista

 

I have an Inspiron 9400/E1705 with a Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GS, running Windows MCE. I really like this site, I use it a lot, but I decided to register today just so I could post in this thread what I ended up doing about this annoying and frustrating error.

I started getting the BSOD with NMI: Parity Check/Memory Parity Error last week. Now I'm pretty used to computers, and windows. I did technical support for 2 years in college. I was pretty darn sure I had not changed anything important in the day or 2 before the error happened. Just to be sure, I did a system restore back 2 weeks. BSOD continued to happen. Uninstalled the most recent new drivers I had installed. Again, no change. So I went online.

This is a very vague error with no error code, or any numbers, or any indication what might be the problem except "hardware." Which makes it difficult to diagnose. In my particular case, the BSOD would only occur after using the computer for several minutes, usually (but not always) during gaming, and never during startup or overnight. The frequency was about once per day, but it was increasing.

I read that the 2-pronged dell power adapter could sometimes cause errors like this, so I grounded it with a 3rd party surge protector. Still no change. Then I came here and read about how drivers fixed it for some people, and it was the wireless card for others, and how heat was possibly related. I rarely used wireless but I disabled the internal wireless card, switched my drivers back to the ones from Nvidia (as opposed to Dell's version), and put some external fans on. Voila, no more BSOD (or at least the frequency has been drastically reduced, even through heavy CPU/GPU loads).

So here's what I think. I think that for most people, this has to do with overheating. All the solutions that have worked have been to replace drivers, which can control how devices operate, and consequently how hot they get. Certain drivers may end up running devices cooler than others, and this holds for wireless cards, graphics cards, or anything. Secondly, many people have tried ordering replacement parts, reinstalling the OS, etc. to no avail. Because the operating conditions are unchanged and the problem is rooted deeper than the device level (probably the BIOS).

Ok, I'm sorry for rambling. Here's an easier to read summary from this thread and my experience.

1. The error tends to happen during computer activity after a while, not in response to a user action. This implies a heating problem. Why did the error just start for me last week? Maybe because the weather has warmed up to the 90s for the first time this year here in Chicago.

2. Replacement parts - including memory - will probably not help. Nowhere did I read that replacing the memory fixed the problem. This is just a red herring from the BSOD message. Unfortunately this is what Dell tech support will focus on. You can run the full memory diagnostics by pressing F12 when you see the dell logo on startup or downloading a 3rd party program, but in most cases you will pass with flying colors.

3. Solutions that have worked
a. grounding the power adapter. It has been admitted by dell that stray current can occur with the 2-pronged plug, although they don't seem to think it's a problem. This current however, can contribute to heat.

b. replacing drivers. As I mentioned before, some drivers can cause devices to run more efficiently and therefore effectively cool them off. Likewise some drivers are bad and make the device hotter than necessary.

4. Recommendations
a. Get I8kfanGUI. It's a program that lets you measure the temperature of your CPU, GPU, memory, and chipset, and you can control the computer fans with it. Go see if your components are running hot, especially when the error happens. Try putting the laptop on top of an AC unit and see if you still get the BSOD. For an idle computer, CPU temps should be <40 C, GPU <50 C. If you're gaming or using the CPU a lot, the temperature should rise maybe 10-15 degrees C but not too much more than that. GPU temps over 70 are hot in my books. To increase cooling you can
1) make the onboard fans run faster. Unfortunately this is somewhat noisy.
2) use a desk fan and blow air around your computer, especially the back, where the vents are.
3) lower the room temperature. Unfortunately this is somewhat cold.
4) Use compressed air and clean the vents on your case! Someone else already mentioned this as one of the quickest and best things you can do to keep your computer cool.

b. you can try to use better drivers. Update to the newest. Many GeForce Go 7900 GS users have reported that the error disappears with the drivers on the NVIDIA site, whereas it *does* occur with the Dell drivers. However, depending on when the graphics cards were made, it might be different for some people. Try different things.

c. ground the adapter somehow. no harm in that, and it might help.

I don't know enough about hardware to say what the root of this problem is, but if all else fails I would try flashing the BIOS. Intel has reported a lot of serious problems with the Core 2s, who knows if that is the source. Anyway, thanks for this informative thread, sorry again for the length of this post, and best of luck. I will try and let Dell tech support know that this is a widespread problem and what I think the solution is.

EDIT: to snowjoke: I could be wrong, but this is the only reason that makes sense to me. I would guess that the problem is more prevalent with dedicated graphics cards because they use up more power and they run hotter than onboard graphics. In I8FanGUI try turning the fans on at lower temperatures. Or like I said, turn the AC up and sit the computer on top of that. If that doesn't help, I'm at a loss.

 

I don't think it's always a heating problem.... I got the error even when I forced my fans to run on high settings, when the temperatures were <=30 degrees Celsius.