Can anyone help a non-tech savy sager customer?

I bought a P170EM last summer with a 7970m GPU and can honestly say I regret the decision to buy this laptop and more specifically this GPU... As someone who doesn't have the technical know how to really understand what the issue is or how to fix it, this computer has caused me nothing but headaches. I've been experiencing relatively frequent blue screening basically since day one. I've gone through all kinds of drivers and 90% of the time I seem to run into installation issues. On Sagers site the listed driver for the GPU is the same as the one the damn laptop came with and im 99% sure that isn't the best driver for it given the numerous issues with this card and the various releases on AMDs end of new drivers for it since then. I've tried 5 or 6 different drivers that have been posted here and on AMDs site over the last year and nothing has yielded good results. I still get blue screens 2 or 3 times a week depending on what games I play. Playing company of heroes 2 lately I'm blue screening about once or twice a day, could be a software issue with the game, dunno...

Anyway I recently installed the AMD Catalyst 13.x (13.150.0.0 May 23) driver which I believe is beta. I initially ran into issues installing it. I stupidly tried to install it without uninstalling my old driver first and ended up blue screening. I then uninstalled the original driver after rebooting and installed the new one successfully (i believe) but I think something has gone wrong because I'm getting the blue screens mentioned above with company of heroes 2 so frequently. My performance seems lackluster for this PC as it has been since I got it on day one. This laptop has been a massive nightmare for me, I'm sure for those who have a better understanding of PCs have fixed whatever issues these laptops had initially but I have not. I am never going to buy a PC with an AMD GPU again. With my nvidia GPUs installing new drivers was extremely easy. I don't understand why AMD seems to have so many issues.

Anyway getting to the point. With the 13.150 driver I am no longer being prompted to select a GPU to use with new applications when I close them. Previously whenever I closed a game or application I would be asked if I wanted it to use my 7970 or intel chip, that no longer happens and I seem to be running into performance issues with new games that Im guessing could be due to it not using the 7970 but I'm not sure.

Any help would be appreciated. I've been through so much with this laptop I'm about ready to just throw down a grand and a half for a new computer and put this disaster behind me.

 

Run a driver sweeper program and uninstall all amd drivers. Then install the original drivers. then install the latest (no-beta) driver. Nvidia latest driver also gave problems, especially with Win. 7.

 

You can try that or Revo Uninstaller, but Driver Sweeper has something of a bad rep.

There's also the manual way of a thorough uninstall, but it takes a lot of poking around. If you go this route, be sure to create a system restore point, or at least back up your registry.

 

sorry to hear youve had lots of problems but i cant help with the ati as never used them before.

firstly havnt you rma'd it back to your supplier for a full health check as you shouldnt be having hardly any of these problems.
looking at your previous posts i see youve also had issues with high temps. what software do you use to monitor them and have you cleaned the vents and fans out lately with compressed air. this is the biggest culprit for heat.

for the bsod download who crashed from my signature below and copy paste the results on here. also lots of other useful software there.

just in case you havnt seen it heres the nbr link for updated drivers http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/699962-updated-clevo-driver-thread.html

 

Thanks for the response. I haven't sent it back to sager. I probably should but I don't have another PC and I don't feel like living without one for a few weeks while it ships. I haven't cleaned it out with compressed air recently and I haven't been tracking my temps lately. I overlocked my GPU a tiny bit when I was playing guild wars 2 last summer and was using Nvidia afterburner which was how I was getting the tempts. I haven't OCed it since then and I don't think thats been an issue for me lately. I haven't noticed my performance declining over time, its just seems lackluster in general, and I haven't noticed excessive heat from the PC lately. That said I haven't been playing anything as demanding as guild wars 2.

I just ran who crashed, here are the results:

On Thu 6/27/2013 9:15:13 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\062713-46269-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x75C00)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x40, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF8000308A0D8)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Thu 6/27/2013 9:15:13 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: dxgmms1.sys (dxgmms1!VidMmInterface+0x24208)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x40, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF8000308A0D8)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\dxgmms1.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: DirectX Graphics MMS
Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.



On Thu 6/27/2013 5:53:36 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\062713-62119-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x75C00)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x40, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF800030E00D8)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Wed 6/26/2013 5:01:32 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\062613-42135-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x75C00)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x40, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF8000308A0D8)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sat 6/22/2013 4:17:23 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\062213-41153-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x75C00)
Bugcheck code: 0xA (0x40, 0x2, 0x1, 0xFFFFF800030E40D8)
Error: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that Microsoft Windows or a kernel-mode driver accessed paged memory at DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Tue 6/18/2013 1:27:21 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\061813-73648-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: atikmpag.sys (atikmpag+0xB124)
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA800FFF94E0, 0xFFFFF8800AB2E124, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\atikmpag.sys
product: AMD driver
company: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
description: AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: atikmpag.sys (AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.).
Google query: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Tue 6/18/2013 1:03:24 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\061813-42104-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: atikmpag.sys (atikmpag+0x7AE4)
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA800DD9E4E0, 0xFFFFF88004EE8AE4, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\atikmpag.sys
product: AMD driver
company: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
description: AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: atikmpag.sys (AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.).
Google query: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Tue 6/18/2013 12:50:24 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\061813-39795-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: atikmpag.sys (atikmpag+0x7AE4)
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA801146C010, 0xFFFFF88004F85AE4, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\atikmpag.sys
product: AMD driver
company: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
description: AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: atikmpag.sys (AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.).
Google query: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Wed 6/12/2013 12:07:23 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\061213-51792-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: wdf01000.sys (Wdf01000+0x8552)
Bugcheck code: 0x1E (0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\wdf01000.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime
Bug check description: This indicates that a kernel-mode program generated an exception which the error handler did not catch.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sun 6/9/2013 1:04:59 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\060913-52307-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: atikmpag.sys (atikmpag+0x7AE4)
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA801271C010, 0xFFFFF88004E8FAE4, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\atikmpag.sys
product: AMD driver
company: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
description: AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: atikmpag.sys (AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.).
Google query: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Sat 6/1/2013 9:47:19 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\060113-41995-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntfs.sys (Ntfs+0x4688)
Bugcheck code: 0x24 (0x1904FB, 0xFFFFF8800D9C6BD8, 0xFFFFF8800D9C6430, 0xFFFFF880016A8A8B)
Error: NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\ntfs.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT File System Driver
Bug check description: This indicates a problem occurred in the NTFS file system.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sat 6/1/2013 7:36:04 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\060113-414947-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntfs.sys (Ntfs+0x4688)
Bugcheck code: 0x24 (0x1904FB, 0xFFFFF88004498798, 0xFFFFF88004497FF0, 0xFFFFF880016A8E27)
Error: NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\ntfs.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT File System Driver
Bug check description: This indicates a problem occurred in the NTFS file system.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.



On Fri 5/17/2013 3:15:12 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\051713-61230-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: ntoskrnl.exe (nt+0x75BD0)
Bugcheck code: 0x1E (0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
Error: KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
file path: C:\Windows\system32\ntoskrnl.exe
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: NT Kernel & System
Bug check description: This indicates that a kernel-mode program generated an exception which the error handler did not catch.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in the Windows kernel. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sun 3/10/2013 6:12:13 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\031013-34913-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: atikmpag.sys (atikmpag+0x7AE4)
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA8011643010, 0xFFFFF88004CE6AE4, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\atikmpag.sys
product: AMD driver
company: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
description: AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: atikmpag.sys (AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.).
Google query: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Thu 3/7/2013 6:35:18 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\030713-39234-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: atikmpag.sys (atikmpag+0x7AE4)
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA801281F010, 0xFFFFF88004C96AE4, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\atikmpag.sys
product: AMD driver
company: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
description: AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: atikmpag.sys (AMD multi-vendor Miniport Driver, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.).
Google query: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. VIDEO_TDR_ERROR

 

That's a big pile of errors there, some concern me like the NTFS file system error, that could relate to a system memory or HDD error which could cause everything else.

The ATI/AMD ones come from the card crashing and seem more like a hardware error than software.

 

The NTOSKRNL error is common and leaves a lot to the imagination. With how inconsistent the errors are, you may want to test your memory if you haven't already; sometimes faulty memory yields random BSOD.

 

After trying everyone else's suggestions, I would recommend doing a clean re-install of Windows before you decide to throw in the towel and get another computer. If software issues are causing your problems, this should rule them out.

 

last time i had an nfts error my hard drive was on its last legs. While living with a computer for a few weeks is tough, it isn't nearly as bad as your computer breaking out of warranty. You said you purchased last summer, so assuming you have at least a 1 year warranty, you should hopefully still be covered. RMA ASAP would be my suggestion.

 

How do i test my memory?

 

I'm not sure sager bios built in men test. Or u u can down and mem86 test

 

As walechan mentioned you want Memtest86. You do have to burn it as an .iso file to a disc. Put it in your drive, reboot and the computer should boot to it then you run the test.

 

Memtest86 is the one that I know of. I don't know if there is a better program. I will also recommend doing a clean reinstall. It's not the best way since you are not troubleshooting, but it does fix most of the problems out there. If clean reinstall still gives you problem, you pretty much have a dud component somewhere in your computer and that will be a straight RMA request.