Gateway P-6860FX video drivers crashing

Please help, at my wits end.

My 6860FX is stock, other than hard drive upgrades. Running Vista x64. I've been fragging hard-core on it since the laptop came released - BF2, CoD4, BF2142, UT3, BFBC2, etc.

In the past month, the video card drivers have started crashing. At first I thought it was heat related, but the crashes never came during the middle of a game. It always seems to happen during a map-load. Sometimes during the 2nd map-load, sometimes the 6th map-load, & anywhere in between.

I tried updating all drivers, with the same result. I then tried going back to just about every version of video card driver over the past year or so. I ended up reformatting & installing everything from scratch, including the latest drivers. Still getting the same results.

Basically, what I'll see between game maps (these days it's mostly BFBC2 & BF play4free beta), the screen will go black, then white. It'll drop out to desktop, or I'll C-A-D out to desktop, where I'll find a little yellow triangle in my taskbar that states my video card drivers have crashed. The crash will then continue (over & over) every minute or so, until the BOS.

The laptop doesn't seem to be getting real warm, the fan isn't even kicking into high gear. I'll reboot & jump back in. And it's the same thing, I may make it to a 2nd game, upto a 5th or 6th game & it'll happen again.

Any Ideas???

 

this is on battery or A/C? Of course be sure to lcean out the air ents etc but run HWmonitor and check the GPU temps.

 

This is on AC.
Yes, opened up the case & blew out entire case, when I was thinking it was heat related. But it became obvious that it wasn't heat related, as it's ALWAYS during the exact same operation (map load), on multiple games.

 

So you do not overclock the video either?

 

Nope, honestly have not had the need... For 3 years, this gaming laptop has exceeded my expectations. It's played everything & every game that I've thrown at it.

 

It could be a lot of things, but I'd start with the RAM. Try removing one stick and see the results... then try swapping with the other stick and see what happens.

You also said that this happens on map loading and such... try a different hard drive as well. Also (might sound crazy), but try to enable/disable wifi as well. I'm not sure how you connect to the net, but try with/without wifi, then with/without a cable, then with/without any network running.

The main goal is to unplug everything possibe that still allows you to run the computer. If the problem is still happening then the problem is still "in" the computer. If you can then swap out any of those items with another (ie, RAM, HDD) that can help point the problem to other places. Don't forget to try other slots as well (in general if you have two slots of RAM and two sticks... you should run 4 tests... each stick in each slot solo)

Also, try to underclock some stuff in the BIOS and see if that helps.

The fact that you've tried so many software fixes points me towards a hardware failure. Not certain... but it's starting to look that way.


Also, here's my post with the links to "most" of the latest hardware drivers for Vista/Win7 x64. I just updated that a few days ago... Just in case your idea of "latest drivers" is what Gateway provides.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gat...0fx-win7-x64-drivers-hardware-ids-needed.html

 

Could be as little as a cmos battery.

 

My current installed Video Drivers are Verde Driver v266.58 (the latest WHQL). Has anyone tried the the beta Verde Driver v270.51 or Verde Driver v267.24 ???

I just noticed there's some problem with the HD Audio drivers (in the hardware manager). Maybe a good place to start. Although, like I said I had scrubbed the drive & did clean install of everything. Is there a better place for drivers, than the Gateway page??? I get my video straight from nVidia, all else from Gateway.

 

I normally play via WiFi, tomorrow I'll try a few of the suggestions, like wired, & the memory... Tonight, I'm gonna try my hand at finding better audio drivers.

 

Again... here's a link to the latest drivers I've been able to find:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gat...0fx-win7-x64-drivers-hardware-ids-needed.html

There are two possible drivers... First from Gateway v5939... these are for another laptop, but works fine on the 6860FX as they use the same hardware. This will install the control panel software as well.

The other option is v6324, these are modded driver files that you can use. The biggest downside is that these will NOT install any extra control panel options or software... you only get the drivers and then must use the Windows audio controls to change any settings:
http://files.laptopvideo2go.com/michael/idtdriver/st-idt-6324.0.exe

You can use the v5939 installer files and then simply copy/replace with the modded files to make an installer.

If you want I can provide a download with this already done.

The very latest known audio drivers are v6325, but those have not been modded yet so v6324 is your best bet if you want the latest version.

I've used both the 5939 and 6324 drivers on my own 6860FX without any problems.

 

Well, today I tried hardwired net - same result.
Tried pulling memory cards, & tried each card separately - slower gaming, but still still crashed.

I uninstalled the problem driver, turned out to be the modem (somehow related to HD audio), replaced with latest per your list of drivers. Also tried the HD audio drivers with the installer & control panel. Still getting the same crash.

 

I watched it more carefully....

In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the level ends & the next map loads. It's when the loading icon would normally turn into the "Join" button. Instead the screen turns black, then white. I can still hear all the ambiance sounds of the game & have a responsive mouse cursor. Just no video.

In Battlefield Play4free beta, playing in a window. The driver crashed while playing, recovered to play a few seconds more, then crash again... It happened a few times until it took me to BSoD.

 

Does this happen to all your games like this and is this repeatable for each game?

If I'm following you correctly... you played the game in a Window and found that the game/window crashed while the desktop and Windows survived?... then only after several crash/recovery cycles then you get the BSOD?

If that's the case then perhaps it's more of a game issue? I know you've been playing for a while, but has there been any recent updates to the games that could be causing this? Is there a way you can load up an older version of the game and see if it happens?

I'd be very curious to see if this happens in Win7.

 

These games you are crashing in are they stand alone games or are you playing on line?

 

This happens in both online & offline games.

It's happened in all games that I've tried playing.

The windowed game I played was a browser-based version of Battlefield 2. In the middle of gaming, the screen blanked for a second, then recovered. I was able to keep playing, until it crashed again, & again. After it recovered, I noticed the task bar notice that the video driver crashed.

 

Strange.... Have you tried reducing texture res or playing in the lowest possible settings?

It still "feels" like a hardware issue to me, but I'm not sure how far you want to go.

If it was my laptop I would remove anything removeable (HDD, RAM, Wifi card, CD-Rom, etc, etc). I would then toss in a stick of RAM and HDD from another laptop or purchase a new HDD/stick just for testing (then return it if it didn't help). In the BIOS I'd then reduce all the settings and disable just about everything I could.

Basically make the machine as slow and as limited as possible BUT still be able to play the game. If it doesn't crash, great... then I'd start to enable one thing at a time until a crash.

If the problem still happens with everything turned off (even on a fresh install), then I'd assume it's either hardware or driver. If possible I'd not only try other versions of drivers, but I'd also try another version of Windows (If on Vista then XP or Win7... or both).

If it still happens then I'd be still leaning towards hardware, but would also try other versions of the game... latest vs earliest.

If it still happens, then I'd consider getting my hardware fixed/replaced.



With all that said... as an FYI. I started using Vista on release day and built a new computer to run it. About 6 months out I started to get video crashes similar to what your having. I'm sorry I can't remember what the cause was, but I do remember the video card/drivers were fine... but an unrelated system driver was causing a crash.

If I recall it had something to do with Vista waiting for the video drivers to respond in "x" amount of time and as soon as that time expired, Vista would reset the drivers and report a crash. Unfortunately the amount of time Vista was waiting wasn't long enough and if it would have waited just a few seconds more the game and drivers would continue on as normal. I think it took a Windows update as well as a new set of drivers to correct that issue, so I would assume that issue would be fixed for you too... but just a thought.

Also, I recently fixed a computer that would refuse to load Windows or even start an fresh install via boot disk. Sometimes you could get Windows running just fine, but mostly not... turned out the problem was a faulty modem. By physically removing the card, the computer was perfect. Just another thought.

 

Thank You!!! A lot of great insight... sounds like it'll be a busy weekend, working on this.

The modem drivers have been a problem on more than one occation. I can handle ripping that out, as I've never used it...

 

Greetings everyone...

Well, a couple weeks ago, I sat down to try more suggestions on this Video Card problem... It booted up, then a few minutes later, the screen went black. All lights still going, just no video.

I found a local repair shop that did a free diagnostic & he confirmed that it was the GPU. Said he can replace the motherboard for an estimated $150 plus cost of a new motherboard (estimated $500). I just can't justify spending a load of money on a 3-year old gaming rig. Who knows if it'd even play the next generation of games coming down the line.

I've found a number of places that offer a GPU 'reflow' service anywhere from $115 - $200. So I thought I'd take this to the experts... Does this sound like the route I should be going? What's the likelyhood that this will fix the problem? Thoughts/Suggestions?

I wish I had the funds to just go purchase a new Gaming Rig, but at this point, I consider myself lucky to be working. And pulling together the $150 is still around 2 months worth of saving for me.

 

If it is a reflow issue do not do it. The reflows are good usually for 30-60 days then it will need another reflow. If history prevails you will find it needs reflow more often each time till you get to the point reflow will not work.

Wish I had better news/advice for you...........

 

Thanks for the heads up TANWare, I was afraid of something like that.

Guess I'll have to watch ebay for a bit & keep saving. Just out of curiousity, does anyone know if the motherboard from one of the newer P-XXX FX laptops would work in the P-6860 FX??? Like the P-171 FX line. They appear to be the same specs with a few upgrades, in the same case.

Was thinking, with them being newer, might be easier to come by...

Thank you all for your help.

 

I am not familiar with the P68xx enough. I know the 78xx to a 79xx works fine. There are some differences in your media bar etc so I can't say everything is 100% compatible. Rather than spen $500 on you current system a used P78xx or P79xx may be a better option.

If you can find a good used P79xx that is the better option. nkow my modded P7805 to a P79xx is rock solid and much faster than what I need right now....................

 

Does anyone know the difference in the Gateway motherboards:

4006243R - 55.4V601.021 (Gateway P-170L P-171X P-172X)
4006258R - 55.4V601.031 (Gateway P-6860 FX)
4006243R - 55.4V601.051 (Gateway P-170 P-171)

I'm wondering if these slight differences in the model numbers are merely a BIOS version or something similar???

 

Scratch that... I noticed those other boards have different GPU's, ewwwww...

 

WOOT!!! Scored a used Gateway P-6860 FX on ebay for $269 (free shipping, after a $30 off ebay coupon), with a 30-day full warranty.

 

Congrats! It's amazing that such a great (albeit old) notebook can be found for so cheap.

As for your older system and its "issues," I had similar issues starting back in January (also was in Vista64). I went through the same checks (Memory & Drivers) and I eventually was able to fix it by installing a fresh Windows 7OS (Do NOT waste your time with the OS upgrade option...it doesn't help this problem). Once I got all the newest drivers installed, no more crashes

Not sure if that will help ya out at all but I thought I'd share my similar experience.

Now my new problem is that I was set on replacing my system with a nice brand new one, but have been hanging on the last few months because it's still working