My discoveries on Vaio Z’s Hybrid Graphics

Nautis, you`re the best!

I´m waiting for your release and have to say thank you very much!

 

Well I don't want you guys to feel like I am abandoning you or anything. After only about half the Hybrid Graphics users could use Dox 185.85 I figure I need to redeem myself a bit. Since that was entirely my screw up.

I just tried 186.03 & 186.08 and .08 seems to work better.

Still a no go for PM. It wont work. Not sure why. I have a couple other people testing and will release them soon if all goes well.

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EDIT: I am now awaiting feedback from a few people on testing.

 

Nautis, i got good news for ya...!
The beta driver works well in Windows Vista Business 32bit!
The hardware switch works and so the brightness settings (Fn key). No issues at Device Manager either.

i will post more details like screenshot if you want later, i got to rush to the office now , kinda late already. thanks for giving me to be tester XD
gotta rush now.

 

Well thats great news. I will wait for at least one other Vista confirmation before releasing these. There may be additional changes in the Final product (I will let you know.)

Glad to hear all is working well.

 

Good news. You can release the driver. No issues at all. It works perfectly and installs easier than Dox's driver. Brightness settings works and so does the hotswitch.

 

Powermizer work in this release?

 

Well I will post the test drivers here for now:

*OPEN TEST* - Hybrid Graphics drivers for Windows 7 & Windows Vista - *OPEN TEST*
64-Bit | Nvidia Version: 186.08 | Intel Version: 1775 | Packaged By: Nautis (Featuring "Dox Optimised" settings)
32-Bit | Nvidia Version: 186.08 | Intel Version: 1775 | Packaged By: Nautis (Featuring "Dox Optimised" settings)

EDIT: Update 3. Adjusted settings to install more correctly on Vista.

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For additional testing, like for heat issues.
Non-Optimised 186.08 64-Bit INF (Update 3)
Non-Optimised 186.08 32-Bit INF (Update 3)

64-Bit | Nvidia Version: 186.03 | Intel Version: 1775 | Packaged By: Nautis (Featuring "Dox Optimised" settings)
32-Bit | Nvidia Version: 186.03 | Intel Version: 1775 | Packaged By: Nautis (Featuring "Dox Optimised" settings)

186.03 is the latest Mobile set released by Nvidia. Being a mobile set it may run cooler than 186.08 which is based on a desktop set.

Dox was kind enough to give me permission to use some of the "Optimisations" that he is famous for. I have not included all of his optimisations in these releases however, and they do not include his wonderful installer. Most everything is left in like my old releases.

I am posting these here primarily for open testing purposes. Changes may be made before I post and release these elsewhere. Please post any findings good or bad or any quirks you run into. The 64bit drivers will most likely need to be signed before they will work.

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Installing
First make sure you are switched to SPEED mode. Then go into add/remove programs and uninstall the "Nvidia Drivers" which should remove both hybrid graphics drivers (nvidia & intel.) Now go into device manager and make sure both video devices are removed. Reboot and install the new drivers.

Driver Signing & Test Mode
1.)Download Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider
2.)Disable UAC (Can usually be done by typing MSCONFIG in run and going to the Tools tab.)
3.)Run deso13b.exe and choose "enable test mode"
4.)Reboot. (You should see Test Mode at the bottom right corner after reboot.)
5.)Run deso13b.exe again and choose "Sign a System File"
6.)In the box type "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys" and click ok
7.)Click "Sign a System File" again and this time put "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\igdkmd64.sys"
8.)Reboot and all should work.

 

I ran into some problems. Games do not seem to work on the driver. I tried, Biohazard 4, DMC4 and Wolverine. All do not work on this driver.

 

Hi, i expected the nvlddmkm.sys driver stopped on my Z71JB japanese model with P9600 and vista64 sp2. Is someone with the same issue.
Since it seems to be related to nvidia driver i only have this issue on battery and stamina mode.
is a hardware related?

 

Hi Nautis,
Firstly I would like to thank you for all of the hard work you have put into getting these drivers running for us.

Pleased to say that on Windows 7 driver switching now works 100%. This is the first time I've ever seen my Vaio Z21 run off the non standard hybrid drivers!

Only one problem though is with OpenGL, it seems as though for some reason it isn't being detected. I use a props character animator called Daz3d a lot (bit like Poser) which utilises OpenGL but it's saying that my graphics card doesn't meet OpenGL 1.3 requirements, so ends up rendering in software.

I ran GPU caps and this is also saying I don't have OpenGL 2.0 and so doensn't run the tests available.

I wonder if this could well be related to the problems Nero is having above with certain games?

OpenGL works fine on the Intel side of things though, however.

 

i can run without no problem when using the battery, stamina mode. btw im using Windows Vista Business 32bit. i even did try on speed mode. no problem occured. im typing this reply using battery, speed and stamina mode, both tested with no iissue occured

about games, seem fine so far, i dont play alot of game, only nfs prostreet, l4d and cs:s.

Nautis: is the driver come with PhysX or i have to get it separately? thanks alot for all effort fill.

 

Thanks a lot for your reply Miyabi san, but you use the modified drivers?
The driver nvlddmkm.sys stopped only rarely, sometime 1 or 2 a week but i am surprised that this issue occur on stamina mode (intel graphic i thought) and the nvidia driver stopped.

I read a lot of nvlddmkm.sys issue and seems to be hardware and software issue, but since i didn t use the nvidia card...
Is is safe to update with the dox driver , i ve have the 174.49 stock driver ans vista64 sp2.

 

yes, im using latest driver by Nautis. im was using Dox, but the new one is better, since it doesnt have issue on hardware switch and so the software switch.
refer to my attaxchment.

 

And have you all uninstalled the driver before installation of new one?

 

yes, i did uninstalled the existing driver before installing new one.
note: i usually get black screen with hdd light blinking as in doing installation. once the light gone, hit enter and it will restart.

 

Can you give information about the correct process?

Uninstall in speed mode / stamina mode?
Uninstall intel or nvidia first?

 

here what i did:
1. switch to stamina mode.
2. uninstall the driver. (go to control panel, find nvidia driver, uninstall it)
3. restart
~ still in stamina mode
4. install new driver
5. reboot
done!

 

Testing this driver on Z21 Windows 7 x64 and can say: 1. I can use it only through F8 and "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement" menu - inconveniently.
2. The brightness changing works well on Stamina mode, but not on Speed.
3. HW switch from stamina to speed works well, but if i trying to change brightness in speed, and switching back to stamina, brightness changing not work in stamina as well after that.

 

sounds like 64bit driver need some tweak and also for the signature stuff, so with the 32bit (though its doeasnt have issue with signature).

 

I really wish I had a hyrbid laptop to play with,
only so I could help nautis with this part of the drivers.

GL with it nautis I'll keep checking back in this thread.

 

No Physx is not included. You can get the latest version here.

So we have two Vista users with issues on games and one with OpenGL issues on Windows7.

Pavel_PV, are you saying test mode and driver signing did not work for you?

Dox, thanks. It is a good thing I released these for open testing I guess. I will get this stuff sorted out.

 

I will test the driver later this day; allready downloaded. Thank you for the step by step guide to install. I´m everytime thinking i have to deinstall nvidia AND Intel parts...

 

I recommend doing a full install before installing any new drivers. For Hybrid Graphics the Intel and Nvidia drivers are pretty much linked. This means uninstalling one "should" uninstall both, but I still recommend making sure both are uninstalled before installing new drivers.

I will try to reiterate install/uninstall instructions & 64bit test mode/driver signing as soon as I can. If you go back a bit in this thread there should be instructions for both.

I may still put together some Vista specific drivers to see if that fixes some of the issues. Hopefully some of you people will work with me to smooth out some of these problems as I can't handle all of the variables on my own. I thank you for all of the help and support given to me in the past, and hope you will stick by so we can figure this stuff out for our selves and others.

 

1. I play with this drivers in Test Mode
2. I don't signed the drivers by myself until now , but i can try to do it as described in this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4871774&postcount=277

 

Nautis:

I tried it on win 7 64, below is the process and problems

Process:
1. Sign nvidia & intel with the driver signing process explained in this thread (Note: I couldn't place the machine in test mode, error - unable to open C:\boot\bcd file)
2. Install using setup.exe (not device manager)
3. Click OK on "Driver not singed" ( I don't know why it keeps complaining even though I signed them)
4. I can see 186.08 is installed (device manager says driver not signed)

Problems
1. Hardware switch works, but brightness switch won't work for nVidia
2. Brightness will stop working after switching to nVidia and coming back to Intel

 

I suggest downloading the tool here and using it to set test mode.

I have the same issues with brightness on Win7, I was hoping that would be the only issue I had to work on.

 

Hi Nautis,
I've managed to fix the problem and I'm sure it's something minor in the .inf file which prevents nvogl32.dll copying across.

Basically nvogl32.dll is not being copied to SysWOW64, so any 32 bit apps can't recognise an opengl driver present. 64 bit apps are fine as the driver setup seems to copy the 64 bit ICD across fine.

Copying nvogl32.dll to c:\windows\SySWOW64 fixes the problem.

EDIT: OK it seems as though there's a slight error in the .inf file. For anyone who wishes to use 32 bit OpenGL and/or CUDA then there's a typo which prevents the files from being copied across to the relevent place.

In nv_hybg7.inf, search for nv_syswow64_copyfiles until you get to the string stating [nv_syswow64_copyfiles__01], change this to [nv_syswow64_copyfiles], for some reason there's a __01 on the end so windows can't find the files and ends up not installing them. Hope this helps anybody suffering the same problems as myself.

I think you may need to re-sign the drivers after making this modification, as when I first modified them they wouldn't reinstall (I thought i'd broke the .inf file) however re-signing them fixed this.

Once again thanks for these wonderful drivers Nautis, with this fix the drivers work 100% for me.

 

Fantastic Markeh, thank you for the fix and pointing out the overlook. There are probably more like it in there as I built these INFs pretty quickly. That is also why I was considering these test drivers until I can get them polished up. I will fix the issue and repackage the drivers. Chances are the fix you pointed out may fix some of the issues the others were having too. I will see if there are any more issues like that one and post up some replacement INFs.

EDIT: Fixed INF, to replace the one in the 186.08 64bit test drivers.

 

Nautis, thank you very much for making hardware switch working. This is the first time I've seen the switch working with a non-OEM driver. As you are looking for making this perfect driver, I have listed here my observations and some of these are minor

1. Brightnes key in SPEED mode (occassionally in STAMINA mode)
2. DXDIAG reports all accelerations are disabled (only in SPEED mode)
3. Hybrid sleep not working (Laptop continously stays in sleep state, it doesn't goto hibernation automatically after a certain period of time)
4. No Brightness section in windows mobility center (in SPEED mode)
5. (Graphics) System tray menu should popup on click (it is getting hidden under win 7 extended system tray list)

 

Good stuff.

The brightness issues I am trying to fix *fingers crossed*.

The DXDIAG and Hybrid sleep issues I didn't know about and will see if there is anything that can be done.

The system tray issue I am not sure if anything can be done on the driver end. On Windows 7 you can click the arrow on the taskbar -> click "customize" -> scroll down and find the hybrid power icon -> and choose "show icons and notifications". Or if you would rather have it the old way check the "Always show all icons and notifications..."

Thanks for the issues report though. I am indeed trying to get these as perfected as possible. Have you tried the fix posted above yet?

 

I tried *.inf fix now and it is much better. Everything works except below

1. Brightness function in SPEED mode (In STAMINA after switching back from SPEED)
2. Brighness section in Windows mobility center is missing (only in SPEED mode)
3. Wake up from Hybrid sleep (Hibernation) caused an abrupt restart

 

Great to hear. I just tested Hybrid Sleep on my Win7 64bit (Build 7201) and it worked fine. Still working on the brightness issue.

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I have updated the links I posted earlier with the fix found by Markeh and a couple of other small non-critical things.

See post here for downloads.

Installing
First make sure you are switched to SPEED mode. Then go into add/remove programs and uninstall the "Nvidia Drivers" which should remove both hybrid graphics drivers (nvidia & intel.) Now go into device manager and make sure both video devices are removed. Reboot and install the new drivers.

Driver Signing & Test Mode
1.)Download Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider
2.)Disable UAC (Can usually be done by typing MSCONFIG in run and going to the Tools tab.)
3.)Run deso13b.exe and choose "enable test mode"
4.)Reboot. (You should see Test Mode at the bottom right corner after reboot.)
5.)Run deso13b.exe again and choose "Sign a System File"
6.)In the box type "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys" and click ok
7.)Click "Sign a System File" again and this time put "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\igdkmd64.sys"
8.)Reboot and all should work.

 

some type of video files(m2ts, prob not only..) stops working with this driver in WMP, no video in skype. Just try to revert back to original - no such a problem. Anyway - it's a huge step ahead - first time drivers installs correctly w/o black screen at the end of the process on my vaio (include original drivers) and i have score 5.6!!! in 3d graphics and 4.7 in graphics in Windows performance rating (not sure that the performance increased proportionally, but looks good) ))). Thanks, Nautis!

 

So, driver installed a few minutes ago; no problems so far. Vista index changed from 4,4 to 4,3. Changing brightness in speed and stamina mode functions correctly. Will now test during the day with business programs and world of warcraft later this evening ;-)

 

I found a cause of my F8 issue: I performed points 5),6),7) and all works now fine! Strange that there are no physicaly nvlddmkm.sys and igdkmd64.sys in C:\Windows\System32\drivers directory.
Z21 1600x900 Win7 x64 Build 7100 RC

 

try using ready driver plus?

does the F8 disable driver signiture enforement for you automatically.
Use at own risk though.

http://www.citadelindustries.net/readydriverplus/index.php

 

my screen just went insane just now when i want to login. sorta like lines of faulty colors.. gonna do fresh install of the driver again, i was using v1 anyway. gonna do for v2 now

 

Ok for your information; the gpu settings in energy options are not translated, also the color settings in the nvidia system panel. Not serious bugs, but i think i should mentioned it

PowerMixer works very good, my temperatur went down for 47 degrees in idle windows, but grows up over 100 degrees while playing world of warcraft!

 

version 2 - all video works good, no problem except nvidia brightness.., thanks, Nautis once more time!

 

just installed new driver, having problem...when restart, the display setting set back to lowest reso, 800x600.

nevertheless, like sirrobin said, the new driver has better powermizer than the default one. somehow even using the new driver, my z temperature stay the same like using stock driver, which at 96c peak. im using back the factory driver since it make no differ to me :/

anyway, thanks for the effort, Nautilus and Dox

 

I reinstalled the driver on Win7 x64 (7201) with *.inf fix (v2), everything works except
1. Brightness in SPEED mode (STAMINA mode after switching back)
2. Brightness section missing under Windows Mobility Center



Abrupt shutdown/restart while wake up from hybrid sleep may be a one-off incident

 

I will look into the translation issues (I am not sure if I used international drivers.) Hot hot hot.. That is why everyone needs to be carefull using unofficial drivers. Balancing heat and performance is always the big issue on notebooks.

I figured you would like the Win7 WDDM 1.1 drivers finally.

Seems like the drivers were not signed properly, or there was a problem installing them. Usually the lower resolution signifies that windows fell back to standard vga mode because of some error.

 

I think it will run a little bit cooler when phyxs is disabled?

Is there a maximum temperature for the 9300m gs which is critical?

 

Update: I think deactivation the physx in the options will run the gpu 5 degrees cooler

 

I have also noticed this, plus disabling it also eliminates terrible aero display lag that I seemed to be suffering from!

 

Hi nautis,

I was wondering if vista users are able to use the drivers you modded?
Cuz the intel drivers in the package are beta win7 ones?

 

Games work well on V2. I see no flaws as of now.

Edit: The temperature is way higher than Dox's 185.85 driver.

 

Good stuff guys. It would make sense that PhysX would be taxing the GPU quite a bit more.

Surprisingly it seems to work fine for most of the Vista users here. So I guess the Intel Win7 drivers work similar to the Nvidia drivers.

I will look into the heat issues everyone is reporting and see if there is anything that can be done.

Thank you guys for all of your continued help in ironing out the issues with these. There is only so much I can test by myself with these drivers so you guys are a tremendous help.

 

If it is any help to you, Dox's drivers run up to more than 10 C cooler than test driver. That is at full load.

 

10 degrees are a lot! Wow...

After weekend playing world of warcraft i can say the driver running good. Temperature is between 97 - 99 degrees.

I hope Nautis can fix the little errors reported, i´ve to say thank you again for that great work!