Enigma IV: 1 day old and getting graphics problems

[MazEi]

I just received my Enigma IV and the next day as I'm using it, I get nVidia driver crashes. I was about to update it to 310.xx driver but before I got to it, the whole computer crashed. When it restarted it, the GPU(GT 650M) stopped working. Checking it under the device manager tells me it still exists but "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)". I searched about the issue elsewhere and tried to fix it, I've uninstalled and reinstalled the driver and tried deleting some windows update that supposedly helped some guy regain his GPU, but alas, none of it was fruitful.

Now I'm wondering if the GPU itself just died somehow, and should I send it in for RMA.

 

[tom_gr7]

i'd give PCS HQ a bell tomoz mate, see what they suggest.

It may be worth doing a fresh OS install too, instructions are in the welcome booklet if you are unsure.

 

[MazEi]

I sent Tech Support a mail, but I'll try out a fresh install. Thanks for the suggestion.

BTW, on a side note, is it possible to enter the bios? I can't seem to access it, could only get to some sort of boot loader from which I could change some boot settings, but can't get to anything resembling a bios to my knowledge.

 

[vanthus]

The key to press to access bios can vary,especially on a laptop,the "delete" key is pretty common though.When the the system is booting look out for the key to press to access settings.

 

[MazEi]

Okay somehow launching the computer in Low-Res mode got the GPU working. I set it back to 1920x1080 and its going alright for now. I do hope that's the end of that, so that I can get to using this thing without anymore worries.

EDIT
Hahahaha, right as I posted that, it crashed and now back to square one. I'll try low-res again to see if its just an issue with running it at 1920x1080

EDIT2
Well it seems it crashes regardless. I'm gonna try updating to 310.xx for now and see what happens, can't do a fresh install of windows since I'm away from home currently.

 

[MazEi]

An update, I replicated the crash and took a look at the .dmp file with WhoCrash and this is what it says

windows version: Windows 7 Service Pack 1, 6.1, build: 7601
windows dir: C:\Windows
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M CPU @ 2.50GHz Intel586, level: 6
4 logical processors, active mask: 15
RAM: 8558854144 total
VM: 2147352576, free: 1974001664




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Crash Dump Analysis
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Crash dump directory: C:\Windows\Minidump

Crash dumps are enabled on your computer.

On Sat 05/01/2013 7:54:58 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\010513-20826-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (nvlddmkm+0x993B10) 
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA800C7244E0, 0xFFFFF880063D1B10, 0xFFFFFFFFC000009A, 0x4)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys
product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
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: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 , NVIDIA Corporation). 
Google query: NVIDIA Corporation VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Sat 05/01/2013 7:54:58 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (0xFFFFF880063D1B10) 
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA800C7244E0, 0xFFFFF880063D1B10, 0xFFFFFFFFC000009A, 0x4)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys
product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
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: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 , NVIDIA Corporation). 
Google query: NVIDIA Corporation VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Sat 05/01/2013 5:31:15 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\010513-23306-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (nvlddmkm+0x131394) 
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA800D0624E0, 0xFFFFF88005BF3394, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys
product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
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: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 , NVIDIA Corporation). 
Google query: NVIDIA Corporation VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Sat 05/01/2013 3:51:44 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\010513-52572-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (nvlddmkm+0x993B10) 
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA800D9A3010, 0xFFFFF880063E5B10, 0xFFFFFFFFC000009A, 0x4)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys
product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
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: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 , NVIDIA Corporation). 
Google query: NVIDIA Corporation VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Sat 05/01/2013 3:19:43 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\010513-30435-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (nvlddmkm+0x131394) 
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA800CD194E0, 0xFFFFF88005A03394, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys
product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
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: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 , NVIDIA Corporation). 
Google query: NVIDIA Corporation VIDEO_TDR_ERROR



On Sat 05/01/2013 3:15:58 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\010513-34351-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (nvlddmkm+0x993B10) 
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFA8007DA9010, 0xFFFFF880061B5B10, 0xFFFFFFFFC000009A, 0x4)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys
product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 
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: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 , NVIDIA Corporation). 
Google query: NVIDIA Corporation VIDEO_TDR_ERROR




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion
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6 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. A third party driver has been identified to be causing system crashes on your computer. It is strongly suggested that you check for updates for these drivers on their company websites. Click on the links below to search with Google for updates for these drivers: 

nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 310.70 , NVIDIA Corporation)

If no updates for these drivers are available, try searching with Google on the names of these drivers in combination the errors that have been reported for these drivers and include the brand and model name of your computer as well in the query. This often yields interesting results from discussions from users who have been experiencing similar problems.


Read the topic general suggestions for troubleshooting system crashes for more information. 

Note that it's not always possible to state with certainty whether a reported driver is actually responsible for crashing your system or that the root cause is in another module. Nonetheless it's suggested you look for updates for the products that these drivers belong to and regularly visit Windows update or enable automatic updates for Windows. In case a piece of malfunctioning hardware is causing trouble, a search with Google on the bug check errors together with the model name and brand of your computer may help you investigate this further.

Some say this is usually a sign that the hardware is faulty, though I would like to leave that as a last guess. At the moment its somewhat getting better, the last crash was when I was trying to play StepMania(relatively low requirement game), but sometimes it does crash seemingly at random times. I'll try keep the laptop running without starting up anything to see if it'll crash on its own like yesterday.

EDIT
Well it ran okay when I left it running just like that, then I turned on Osu! and stayed in the menu screen(low req game again), about 10 seconds in, artifacts start to show and the screen freezes, and then crash, black screen for a while then restart, as always.

 

[MazEi]

Did a fresh install of windows 7, installed the 310.70 driver, and tried testing with furmark. Not even 30 seconds in, driver crashed. Safe to say hardware problem?

 

[vanthus]

Did a fresh install of windows 7, installed the 310.70 driver, and tried testing with furmark. Not even 30 seconds in, driver crashed. Safe to say hardware problem?

Best call tech support tomorrow.

 

[MazEi]

Sigh, guess not much of a choice...and 310.90, not 310.70, mistake =p

 

[MazEi]

Uhm, I just tried reverting back to whatever driver provided in the disc, 296.01, and even though it doesn't say it supports the GT 650M on the nVidia site, somehow my laptop got stable. Though my problems did start even when I was on 296.01 when it came to me, it did run for one night before it started giving it problems, so I'm wondering if it might have been something I'd done.

I just had the laptop running FurMark for a minute and a half, which is a huge improvement over before dying before 15 seconds the second time trying it at the lowest 16:9 resolution. Will update on what happens. If possible I don't want to have to send it in for RMA due to the hassle, but if it comes to it being stable on 296.01, then I guess I'll let it be.

EDIT
Ran FurMark for 6 minutes on 640x360(smallest 16:9 resolution) the laptop is still running. During the test it peaked out at 73 Celsius, averaging 72 when it was maxing out. So for now it seems quite stable, and whatever heatsink they put in there is impressing me =O

EDIT2
Nope, no luck, crashing started again, though this time I don't lose it completely. It crashes and recovers, and I at least have somewhat of a chance to turn off the program and then it'll be all fine after that. Though, now I'm left with a laptop that can't actually do anything. Guess I'm calling them tomorrow.