Definite solution to the nvlddmkm video crash on the P-7805u!

Hello everyone
This thread is for all the users who have had problems with the nvlddmkm driver crashing. I have read countless threads about this error, and no one seems to have found a fix for this before, other than turning off Powermizer. This guide is specifically targeted at P-7805u users but you might be able to get the same results if you follow the same pattern that I did to fix your own GPU bios.

Just like many other 9800m gts users, I have been having these random screen flickers/ random video driver crashes come up from time to time ever since I bought this laptop. This would happen mostly when browsing the internet and especially when watching Flash videos on Youtube or other similar sites.

I believe I have found a definite solution, as I have tested it out for the last two weeks before posting, and I have not had a single nvlddmkm crash since I applied this fix. It all began when I noticed thanks to TechPowerUP's GPU-Z, that whenever Powermizer switched my GPU clocks into throttle mode, I would start getting the flickering and it would only go away when it switched back to 2d or 3d clocks.

So I went ahead and modified a Bios ROM file that I had already backed up and changed the throttle clocks to be exactly like the 2d clocks. Then I changed the 3d clocks and lowered them slightly. Undervolted 3d extra mode to .97V. Saved the Bios, Flashed the GPU and haven't had a single video driver crash since. I even experience much cooler temps now while browsing and playing older games like WC3 TFT. Lower temps on your GPU will help increase your unit's lifetime.

Attached to this post is a screen of my GPU and CPU temps while playing WC3 and browsing Firefox while on battery. Notice how the GPU clocks stay low to save the most energy possible, while the CPU is still running max speed while undervolted.

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So to do what I did you will need to know how to flash a GPU bios. Here is a link to a simple guide on how to do so:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=246530

Follow his procedure up to the point he writes "Now you are ready to Flash". Now unzip the files in my Andros GPU BIOS flashing KIT.zip.

Place the four files inside of the folder into the USB device.

Once they are on there reboot your computer and repeatedly press the F10 key to enter the Boot Page.

Once there select the USB device you want to boot off (make sure to select the USB stick if you have other devices attached to your system).

You will then enter a DOS mode page where you will type in "nvflash -4 -5 -6 andros.rom" exactly.

Then press "y" twice to begin Flashing your GPU bios. After 30 seconds or so, it should be done, and you will get a message saying that the procedure has been completed successfully.

Now press the power button to shut down and reboot the computer. That's it you're done! High five

Your GPU will run at the new clocks and voltages and you should not get the nvlddmkm random error again.

I have included a BACKUP.rom that is the backup of the original Bios just in case something doesn't work for you. Just follow the same procedure detailed above and enter BACKUP.rom instead of andros.rom to restore the original stock GPU bios. As a warning to you, if you want to try to use Nibitor to change the clocks yourself, do not change the Device ID, as it will brick your Laptop.

Hope this helps a lot of people, as I have not found any other guide to solving the nvlddmkm that actually worked

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

 

i <3 you if this works for me. I have had about enough of the static like artifacts. I have also had enough of flash crashing while watching vids which im sure has something to do with the GPU. Sigh...damn it i have to buy a flashdrive.

ive actually came close several times punching through my screen. would be nice never to be tempted again.

 

Been there
Get a flash drive asap

 

haha will do!

 

I have a 7805 and have had screen tears and driver crashes while playing video games, but not while browsing the web or watching Youtube videos. My clocks are extremely high: 720/950/1800, but all I use my computer for is to watch HD Youtube vids.

Cooler is always better though, and the majority of the time both of my fans are going. The gpu is 47C idle and the cpu is 28C.

 

I used to think I got that driver issue due to overheating, but it always occurs to me when I play on that rainy ship map in cod4, even when my temepratures are low.
I hope this will work for nvidia's 8 series aswell, i'll try this trick later, but for now, +1 rep for you.

 

I was just about to do a RMA... and your solution worked perfectly! Thank you!!!

 

I am using gpu-z like andros but it doesn't display a reading for gpu load.

 

Heh I've experimented with OC clocks while gaming and 950 will cause video tear-up for me as well. Try 900 or 915 at the most (what I am using right now).

Oh, and you're welcome ryar

 

Um. Well I've had my GPU undervolted to 0.96V for a while now and I do admit undervolting seemed to help. I still have one major issue with this laptop though, when running on battery. Flashing your 0.97V vBios with the different clocks seemed to help it not have the static artifacts/driver crashes on battery, but even with powermizer off my GPU clocks are locked at the 3D profile and will not go to 3D extra, even under a heavy load. Has anyone had this issue or know what could be causing it? I'm 100% sure powermizer is off in the registry and the in nVidia CP I have power management set to "prefer maximum performance" or whatever. I also have had my Power management in Windows at high performance since I purchased this laptop. It's not a huge deal I guess but I don't like knowing my gaming is bound on the laptop by the AC adapter. lol

 

The only solution for you would be to modify the GPU bios with Nibitor and change the 3d mode clocks to the same values as the 3d extra clocks. Then you would have the same clocks as when you are plugged in with the AC. I never tried running on battery at high clocks, as it may make the system unstable and crash, but you can try. Let me know if it works out for you.

 

No, I tried that before with stock 3D extra clocks and my screen went crazy with artifacts, I also tried changing the 3d mode clocks to stock 3d extra in rivatuner and ran 3dmark which immediately crashed the system. I think that maybe we can't use the 3d extra clocks on battery, the battery only supplies about 12~12.5V according the HW monitor, while the AC supplies 19V, that's probably why it won't go into 3D Extra on battery. Good to know it's not just me though and that there's a good reason. So no, I guess it's not possible because of this.

 

Yea, that's what I guessed would happen. Makes sense.

 

I just flashed it, going to test it out for a while and ill get back to you if its a success Thanks in advance lol.

 

I came back to the forums looking for a solution to an overheating GPU. Undervolting definitely helped cool it down by 10C under stress. Damn thing still overheats and shuts down if it reaches about 80C.
But now, I can atleast enjoy a few hours of L4D2 on medium settings without crashing.

 

Weird that it shuts down at 80C, I mean 80C is the hottest I ever like my GPU to really reach personally but it shouldn't shut down, it's only supposed to downclock itself if it reaches 105C.

 

I applied a thicker layer of ICD on the GPU. Brought the load temperatures down to 65C. Seems to be stable atm. The GPU is dying for sure. Just want to squeeze out the most out of it.

 

Well as far as i can tell so far its working great. Things that would normally instantly crash me are running like a champ. I was even able to go into HON on practice mode and spawn about 500+ creeps and the only time i even remotely got a screen flicker was when i tripple casted my ultimate which was to be expected.

 

Looking good here as well. I flashed the GPU with no issues. I will post back if there are any issues but as far as I can tell everything is fine. I am hoping that this change reduces my temps a little bit.

I wish we could fix the fan pulsating. I just had my fan fixed through my SquareTrade warranty but they put "WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED OR BROKEN" stickers on every panel on the bottom. I had to break one of them to put my harddrive in so I suppose my warranty is screwed. Very lame - I know.

 

So I had my first experience with artifacts since i flashed... I was playing heroes of newerth and i had so many artifacts it made it impossible to play, it even blue screened once. I have a 1920x1200 screen, and im using the new the newest dox's forceware drivers. Is there anything I should be doing differently? I also run on high performance.

 

Here is what I have so far:
1. Laptop propped up on a very thick hard bound notebook so that all vents are unobstructed and elevated off the table.
2. A thick goop of ICD7 on CPU, northbridge and GPU.
3. Andros' Undervolted BIOS.
4. All vents and fans squeaky clean.
This is of course assuming you have overheating problems as I did.
Another thing you could try is to underclock the gpu using rivatuner. Set it to use the 3d performance mode regardless of load. Sure, you lose performance, but the GPU is much much more stable.
Also, I'm no expert but you might want to shut the game down as soon as you begin to see artifacts. And by artifacts, I mean genuine hardware screw-ups and not driver rendering issues.

 

Good to hear mate, and yes it should reduce your GPU temps while doing non-GPU intensive tasks. About the fan I was hoping the new .20 bios would be the one, but I guess we have to wait.

That's very odd, is this happening only when playing Heroes of Newerth or is it happening in other games as well? If it's only happening in that game, it might be because powermizer is switching to either 3d, throttle or 2d mode while in-game, which might be causing the clocks to be too low for the game to run. If that's the case I would recommend downloading Nhancer, a great program to manage profiles for different games and other executables. Once you install it you can set the HON profile to run at max performance while leaving the adaptive mode for everything else. Let me know if you need more help with this.

 

Well when i installed the new dox driver it gave me the option to disable powermizer so i did. And umm i have to install another game to test that theory.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but where is this dox driver everyone keeps talking about?

 

Dox's latest driver can be found here.
http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/26029-dox-19562-v11/
All other versions can be found here.
http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/1-news/

 

Tehkun, is your vsync on? I tried running the game (HoN) with Vsync off and temps shot up to 95 degrees, calculating all the excess fps above my monitor's refresh rate. With vsync on the game runs at 75 degrees. Going to have to catch you online sometime.

 

Lol umm i honestly dont know what the setting were, I just ran it whatever stock is. Its not temp thats my problem, my laptop always runs cool. Ill get back to you when I run alot more tests, gonna try a few different games. Aside from games though, everything else runs fine. No more studdering when i go to play flash or netflix. Maybe I just need to tweak the settings, or maybe sell it and buy that new NV-7901 or w.e it is. Ati ftw.

 

Hello, this is my first post.

I bought this laptop in the states almost 1 year ago through best buy. I have had the nvlddmkm problem since the begining, but didn't take any acction since I was busy moving to london (where I currently am).

I was hopefull that the problem would be solve updating the nvidia drivers or something similar, but nothing has worked. I upgraded the bios through the drivers provided in this post and the problem seems worse.

I was hoping for some advice. My warranty expires on the 25th of March (9 days from now), and they say they would accept the laptop only from a US address. The problem is that I would have to take rapid actions to ship the laptop back including backup everything, formatting and factory reset it. I also have loads of coursework for this and next week so I am in need of my laptop.

Do you think it would be worth it sending it over for repairs? I myself think this should be my very last option, so I was hoping if anyone with the same problem can guide me and tell me if it can be fixed without replacing the video card or something.

thank you very much.

 

Did you buy it using credit card ? If so then its possible you could get another 1 year of warranty covered by them.

Edit : Check if same holds for UK. But the real problem is that Manufacturer warranty is only covered locally, not international.

 

oh fate I paid by cash!!!! if only I would have known!

it seems you have same laptop. Do you have the same problem, did you use the warranty??

Thank you very much again

 

Hi there, I see you have come to the right place. You and I and many others have had this problem with p7805u and if I were you, I would try the solution in the OP before sending it in for repairs (that probably won't resolve the problem, as it usually isn't hardware related, but just bad clock settings). Make sure you read carefully and understand the procedure fully before undertaking it. It's easy once you get it, and there is a good chance this will solve the problem. Let me know if you need help understanding something.

 

Thank you my friend. With OP you mean the solution in this post? I will run all tests tonight.

I called Gateway UK and they said they can't do anything. If I can't do a thing tonight I may consider sending it over to USA somehow because at least even if it doesn't work they will extend the warranty for the video card and I can keep pestering them until they fix it for real.

Thanks again and I will let you know how it goes.

Regards.

 

No problems here. Good Luck.

 

hello!!!

I have done as the post said and have run a few tests and everything seems working wonders!!!!

I switched back the aeros (which would kill the laptop in minutes) and I haven't had any troubles. This papervision3d demo would make the screen flicker almost instantly: Pong. I played a bit of BF2 with settings maxed out and no problems reported. Tomorrow I will try civ4 and other games I have along with the 3dmarks test and report anything I find.

I ran the windows experience index with strange results: my previous graphics score was 5.9 and my graphics score 5.8, now they both increased to 6.7?

another thing. Even when my video card had the flickering problem, the temperture would run between 50 and 70, now it runs between 70 and 80. I don't know if it's the result of flashing the GPU or upgrading the bios of the computer to the 9C.2000 version. What do you think? should I downgrade?

Dude, if this totally work, I'll drop 20 quicks into your paypal account!!! you have saved me from a great hassel!!

in the mean time. Thank you very much for your help.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you mate, and about the temps it's definitely the .20 Bios upgrade that does this. I have a post about this Bios and everyone who installed them experienced temperatures in the 70 degrees and up. Install the .17 Bios and your temperatures will drop dramatically, I currently Idle at 43 degrees while browsing with Firefox.

 

Thanks for your help. I havent done any tests yet, but I already see a vast improvement in speed and fluency in all the multimedia I run.

 

Glad to see it worked for you too.

 

wow, andros_forever, you are my savior!

I've been looking for this all the time, it really helped me out of trouble.
I also do a little modification to your rom. I've changed the 3D profile into 375/760/280 MHz (clock/shader/memory) in order to achieve a better 3D performance when I'm on battery.

Beside, I also reduced the voltage to 0.96/0.88V to save more battery.

And last thing , I set the extra profile as 680/1750/880, since I can't overclock my card using software (dunno why, but may be I am too stupid to follow instruction correctly )


The result is, with driver 197.16 from nvidia (I couldn't used any driver newer than 182.46 without powermizer problem before this mod) and A/C plugged in, the VGA card IDLE as 46*C, with the temp of my room now is 29*C

Thank you very much for this solution ^^


PS: Sorry for my bad English, since this is not my native language

Edit: I also post my bios, just for fun, any damage for your beloved lappy is not my fault.

 

It brings me great satisfaction to see that your problems are solved as well. This knowledge will help troubleshoot similar problems in the future
Great to see your experience is more fluid and less GPU intensive as well (lower temps), it should lengthen your machine's lifespan.

 

Hello,
I just picked up a p-7805u second hand. It will not play any games, will not play video, and the Aero interface causes it to go blank, and give the Driver has recovered error. I have tried the video BIOS provided by Andros, I have tried Riva Tuner to down clock the video card, Gateway's video drivers, DOX's video drivers and the latest from nVidia. I have also tried a clean install of both Windows 7 64 Ultimate and XP Pro SP3, with no luck. I disassembled the laptop today and cleaned everything, and applied new Thermal Paste (Arctic Silver) to the CPU, Northbridge, GPU and the memory for the GPU. I am at my wits end, and would love some input and suggestions. This looks to be a phenomenal laptop, if I can just get it to play nice with the 3D.
Thanks,
Shop1ift

 

It sounds like you have done everything you could to fix it yourself. It appears that the actual GPU is faulty on your laptop, if I were you I would contact whoever you bought your laptop from and request a refund. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the response. I was afraid that was the case. I'll see what I can do.

 

Hey andro, im still having the same issues as before, but now its limited to games and infrequently video. I can play some games in window mode and have limited interuption but when i play a game like HON in FS i cant get into a game before it crashes. Any more ideas?

 

Hello Andros,

Was hoping you could tell me what im doing wrong... When i try to flash i get this warning.

WARNING: Firmware image PCI subsystem ID (1631.0188) does not match adaptor PCI subsystem ID (107B.0696)

Did I not do the right thing? I typed

nvflash -4-5-6 andros.rom

Clay

 

That's a completely normal message that happens every time you flash your Bios. Nothing to worry about, press "y" twice and it will move on with the flashing

 

Hey andros,

I just registered to say thank you! I'm able to view youtube again without my laptop crashing. You've made my day!

 

Your welcome ^^

 

Happy to find this thread as I'm having all the typical symptoms associated with this problem.
Unfortunately I'm getting that the Andros GPU BIOS .zip file is 'invalid' - has it been removed, or is it available anywhere else?

 

^^ Use 7zip. Winrar doesn't work for whatever reason.

 

Seems to have worked like a charm - thanks, after 18 months I now have a working machine