kingbigbird

I'm not completely sure that "Driver Support" is the correct forum to post my problem in, since the problem might be with the video card itself, or perhaps something else entirely. But I made the decision to post it here due to the error message I recieved.

Sorry if you think this is rude, but the following is a copy-paste from another forum I posted the problem on:

Built my computer almost 2 months ago. After 1 month, started having problems.

Suddenly crashed one morning. A "stop error", displayed a blue error screen (not BSoD) for a fraction of a second, then restarted completely. I thought it was a 1-time thing, so I continued as normal. It happened again about 20 minutes later. After the second time, I could not get the comp restarted completely again. It would begin to start up, then display the error (never long enough to read it) and restart again. The farthest I got was to my desktop for about 5 seconds. After about 5 times, it went to the Windows login screen, then did nothing. It displayed the Windows logo, but the user profile didn't show up.

I tried reformatting, but when I had my Windows disk in, and I had booted from it, it crashed again as it was loading the files in preparation for installation, so obviously it was not something a format would fix. However, I decided to try something else just to see what effects it would have. I used dban on it, and over the course of 2 days I zeroed the drive. It didn't crash during that. After that finished, the computer worked normally for almost a whole day, before crashing again. Earlier this week, due to a suggestion by a relative who is much more computer-savvy than I, I took out one of my memory sticks in case that was the issue. I let the comp run overnight without it. The next morning, the computer had crashed at some point throughout the night, but for once, for whatever reason, the blue error message stayed on the screen. It said

"Video driver failed to initialize."

If my understanding of that is correct, the problem is either with the drivers I'm using for my video card, or the video card itself is defective. Is that a correct interpretation of that error? As of this moment, I can use this computer several hours per day, with it functioning relatively normally, but I never know when it is going to crash.

I downloaded some older drivers for my card earlier today, and it has crashed since then, so I'm guessing it's a problem with the video card itself. But I really don't know, and I don't want to spend $200 on another video card when it might end up not fixing the problem. So, does anyone have any ideas?

Other notes:
-I know it isn't a temperature problem. I have some temperature probes and the temp. display hardly ever goes above 35, even when I'm playing games. Also, almost every time it's crashed was when I was just on the Internet or something. It's only crashed once while I was playing a game.
-When it crashes, it seems to do so in "waves." For example, it hasn't crashed all day, yet a few minutes before I started typing this message, it crashed 3 times in a row.
-Even though it left the blue error message up once, every time after that, it once again only displays it for a split-second. I have no idea if removing the memory stick had anything to do with that, it may just be a coincidence.
-I have opened my case up to make sure wires were tidy and not touching my video card or motherboard, if that matters.

I know this post is really long, but that's the nature of my problem. A thousand thanks to anyone who takes on the task of reading it.

kingbigbird

Can't find out how to edit my post because I'm an idiot. Forgot to mention: my card is a GeForce 8800 GT.

Edit: okay, apparently the edit button won't show up on my first post, lol.

BCCOMP

Hi,
Can you give us the specs of your unit. Power supply, Ram, Motherboard?
Thanks,
Bill

kingbigbird

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0 GHz
Motherboard: GIGABYTE P35C-DS3R
RAM: 1 GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 1066 (x2) (actually right now I only have one in, since as I mentioned before, I took one out to see if it was causing the problem, and I haven't put it back yet)
Using onboard audio
Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB
PSU: OCZ OCZ700GXSSLI 700W
Video card was mentioned above: GeForce 8800 GT

Thanks.

BCCOMP

Hi,
I beginning to think Video Card, but first lets check out some other things.
Can you get the info on the error completely?
Does the error occur if you go into Safe Mode. Safe mode will not load the Video driver, just XP generic driver.
Have you tried another Video Card?
What is the version of the driver you installed?
Did you delete the other video drivers off the system before installing the new drivers?
Have you checked the video card to see if it is seated properly?
I would also recommend running Memtest86 on the Memory (1 Stick at a time) to see if they are good)
Sorry, I can not pinpoint this failure quickly as ther can be several issues that may cause this. Memeory, PSU, Drivers can all cause this issue.
Bill

kingbigbird

Thanks for the response.

As for getting complete info on the error, I don't know if I can. The blue error screen disappears too quickly to read anything at all. When Windows loads again, it lets you view the details at the "Do you want to submit this error? (or whatever)" dialogue, but I'm not sure if it has the same details as the blue error screen. The next time it crashes I'll post what it says.

As far as I know, the error doesn't occur in safe mode, but I've only been in safe mode for a few minutes at a time. I'll run it overnight tonight in safe mode and see what happens.

I don't have another video card to try.

The driver version I'm currently using is 169.02. Originally I was using the latest, 169.21, but changed hoping the drivers I was using was the cause, but the problem has persisted.

When I installed the older version, I went into Add/Remove programs, and deleted them the NVIDIA drivers, however just now I went to the directory to make sure, and the files for the new are still there, along with those of the older version I installed...

Yes, I made sure the card is seated properly.

Kind of annoyed that the files for my previous drivers weren't completely removed. I doubt that's the problem, but I'm going to manually remove them, install the old version again, and see what happens.

Thanks again.

BCCOMP

Yes delete all the old drivers. Windows has a way of picking what it wants and gets confused if other drivers are available.
The info on the BSOD will be helpful.
Have you sent the error report to see if you get a response?
Bill

kingbigbird

Yes, I've sent the error report a few times. The first time, and a few times later on, it said that the error report itself was corrupted, noting that "It is very rare for an error report to be corrupted," (paraphrased) and didn't offer any solutions.

The other times, it said that it's a device driver problem, and that there were no solutions available.

BCCOMP

Just wondering, have you tried this driver:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_175.16_whql.html

kingbigbird

I'll give it a try. Installing now, thanks.

BCCOMP

It may work seeing it is the newest release.
Let us know.
Thanks,
Bill

kingbigbird

Didn't work. Left my comp on overnight. Wasn't logged in when I woke up this morning, and apparently it crashed at some point, since I wasn't logged in and a "Windows has recovered from a serious error." dialogue appeared.

I'll use Memtest86 a little later today and report back.

BCCOMP

I would use this driver seeing it is the latest version.
Report back about the Memtest. Check each stick 1 at a time.
Did you see if the error occured in SAFE MODE?
Bill

kingbigbird

Sorry that it took me longer than expected to get back.
I ran memtest and both were fine. So RAM has been ruled out, as well as drivers since I've tried three different versions now. What do you think, doctor?

Also, I'll run it overnight in safe mode tonight.

BCCOMP

Without the error report, I can not fully diagnois the patient.
If you run it in safe mode with no errors, I would suspect the video card is the issue.
In safe mode, it will not load the video driver.
Before, I condem it though, I will seek a second opinon and see what my associates say.
Thanks,
Bill

Deleted090308

Hi,

Turn automatic restart off to make the error message stay on screen.
Control panel > System > Click the "Advanced" tab > click Startup and recovery - Settings > Untick "Automatically restart" > Click OK.

Also:
Attach a few mini dumps in zip format to your post.
The dump files are located in \Windows\Minidump.

If there are no minidumps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Startup and Recovery.
4. In the Write debugging information list, click Small memory dump (64k).

How to post an attachment.

kingbigbird

Sorry I haven't responded in 2 days, but I did as eneles says, and am now just waiting for it to crash again. But...it hasn't crashed again yet. When it does, I'll post what the error message says, and the mini dumps.

BCCOMP

Thanks for letting us know.
Post back if the issue arises again.
Bill

kingbigbird

Forgot to mention in my last post, I ran it overnight in Safe Mode the other night and nothing happened. However, I've now run it in "Normal Mode" for over 2 days without it crashing, so I still can't be sure...

But, it finally crashed again.
I know I probably didn't need to include the whole error message, but here it is, notable parts in red:

"A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to protect your computer.

IQRL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, as your hardware of software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as chaching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, then press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:
***STOP: 0x0000000A (0x13F4100, 0x00000002, 0x0000001, 0x804FEB8F)

Beginning dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance."



Right when I tried to restart my comp after seeing this message, it crashed again before loading Windows. The error message was different. The "important parts," anyway. Here is what it said:

PFN_LIST_CORRUPT

Technical information
STOP: 0x0000004E (0x00000007, 0x000037C0, 0x00000002, 0x00000000)


The fact that not only do neither of these error reports say what the first said ("video driver failed to initialize), but are different from each other, really confuses me. Any ideas?

Attached Files

minidump.zip (264.3 KB, 2 views)

BCCOMP

Hi kingbigbird,
I am thinking the memory on the video card is bad, but I am no expert on these errors.
How long did you run Memtest and did you check each stick individually and then combined?
Are they a match pair of memory?
I think Eneles is better at this type of problem so I will wait to see his response.
Bill