[thingie2]

Have you tried running some temperature monitors and keeping any eye on them to see what the temp are when the system comes up with an error?

[polakstanek]

I'm not sure how to do that actually, but I don't know if theres a correlation there because the graphics card would even fail at desktop sometimes when no major program would be running, so basically it's at random, or almost definate failure when running a game or a video

[Carbon]

At this point even if you had it narrowed down you'd likely have to send the whole thing off, Dell's not going to ask you to repair it yourself.

I'd just do that and let them sort it out.

[polakstanek]

Turns out my warranty ended a few days before all these problems started happening

During the game i took a performance test and my fps has dropped dramatically, being only between 8-12 when it used to be 40 or over I believe

And I did take a temperature reading, left the temperature program (nvidia monitor) and the temperature went above 60 degrees celsius, Id say to about high 60's, maybe even in the 70's and a friend told me that it really shouldnt go above 55-60 degrees celsius

So Im guessing because of the warranty, I need to get my self a new card, and also is there a point restarting the computer from scratch? will that fix anything or most likely not, and I shuoldnt go through with it..?

Let me know as soon as possible.

[thingie2]

Well those temperatures for a graphics card are fine, some graphics cards can reach 80+ quite easily, and still be fine, you only rearly need to worry about those sort of temperatures if thats your CPU temp.

[Carbon]

Your best option at this point, then, is to pick up a cheap PSU like the Corsair 450. I don't guarantee that will be it, but that's what the restarts etc seem to point to, and it's a lot cheaper than buying a new card.

Worst case scenario after that is it's not that, in which case you could return the PSU or hang onto it and get a 9600GT or 8800GT - better framerates in games, not too expensive, and you'd definitely fix your problem.

One thing I don't think I've said before: have you tried booting with one stick of RAM in? Might check all three sticks individually, and see if the problem is resolved. It's really not likely to be that (or you'd probably get BSODs), but it's worth a shot.

No real reason to restart the computer from scratch, you have a pretty good base unit.

[polakstanek]

I'll try out that method, with taking out memory sticks and testing if all ar ok, but I was also wondering, what caused my fps to drop to such a low number now? is that the PSU? graphics car itself? Because like i said before i knew it was much much higher before when my computer was all fine

thanks for all help again so far Carbon/thingie2

[rok707]

the nvlddmkm message is apparently a really common issue with GeForce graphics cards' compatibility with Vista. I've recently installed a GeForce 9800GT (512mb) on my Dell Inspiron 530 (Intel Quad core, 2.4GHz, 8MB cache, 3GB RAM). this set up came with the dreaded Vista, so i'm stuck with it unless i fork out loads of cash to change it all to XP. I have the problem also and have spent the last week trawling internet forums for various possible solutions, none of which have yet worked.

my issue manifests itself as a sudden pause in activity, 3 seconds of black screen, then back to working order with an error message in the bottom corner saying 'nvl... has recovered'. occasionally the problem gets really bad causing the screen to have a fit, flickering various coloured blocks where windows should be, nothing responds (except ctrl alt del to take you to the screen that doesn't require the graphics!). this can sometimes last 5 minutes and then 'recover' in the normal way, or occasionally end fatally (bsod)!

as best as i understand the issue, it's to do with the nvlddmkm.sys driver file being out of date (?) and i can't seem to find an updated driver anywhere online.

any help with this issue would be much appreciated! thanks.

[polakstanek]

This is probably not a solution to the problem all that much
But basically, I had the nvlddmkm problem PLUS something else that dell nor nvidia could figure out ( I sent a system info file .nfo to nvidia and they didn't know what was wrong).

So I made an upgrade from my 8600gt to a 9800gt and ive been fine ever since, and if not better because the graphics card is much better

Honestly, I spent alot of my time looking into the nvlddmkm problem and really, its nothing specific, everyone has a different kind of problem, some more common than others, and I think mine to the point of extremity, where there was problems in my bios because of the card (artifacts) and would not let me load to desktop.

Sorry for this whole explanation, but in my opinion, wait until a solution pops up (which people have been waiting for months now) maybe a new driver will fix it (as nvidia most likely knows about it), or what I did, which was bought a new card which probably wasn't even necessary, but i was impatient and not getting to desktop, so I took drastic measures

Hope I helped clear anything up, as for the solution? I honestly don't think there is a legitimate one out there, unless u have a common problem like everyone else, there should be some way to fix it as some people have.

Good luck rok707

[rok707]

thanks for the advice, but i already spent £100 on this GeForce 9800GT so there's no chance i'm upgrading it. Think I'll just start harassing Nvidea every day until they offer me a solution or replacement.

I can't imagine how people have been living with this since it was first talked about on forums in January 07!