Is my nvidia 8400M GS dying? (nvlddmkm.sys problem)

Hello, I am using the HP Pavillion dv9000 laptop and lately my display driver has been crashing constantly.

A few days ago I was streaming from pokerstars.tv (reputable site with poker streaming content made by Pokerstars). I decided to turn the stream to fullscreen and the second I clicked that button I get a BSOD saying nvlddmkm.sys has stopped working.

It refused to reboot in normal mode(kept showing the same BSOD either before login or after), so I booted it in safe mode upon which it was able to start and reported it succesfully fixed from a crash.

So I reboot and happily see everything is working again and didn't have a single problem that day so I shut it down at night. Next day I turn it on and I can't get past the log in screen again, same driver keeps crashing. Reboot in safe mode again which fixes the problem, though now it crashes after a few hours of using the computer.

So I start googling around trying to search for fixes since obv windows only temp fixes it. I tried a lot of crap which didn't work, started by tweeking some settings from Power Supply etc, this made my system more stable until it started pixelating while watching a movie, I had to shut it down because it got worse and worse after which I had to again boot in safe mode to fix the driver.

I then sweeped the drivers and did a fresh instal from the latest drivers available from nvidia's website. Switched the Nvidia display driver Service in Services from Automatic to Manual, and switched windows theme to Classic. Atm my system is running stable but I fear it's gonna just repeat again since it already kinda crashed, I got multiple alerts(every 2 or 3 minutes) saying "nvlddmkm has stopped working and has succesfully recovered", eventually slowing down my pc so much it couldn't do anything anymore and had to turn it off. It restarted normally afterwards though and has since been stable.

Anything I should try? I haven't tried the expanding the nvlddmkm.sys file since I haven't found clear instructions and am kinda afraid to do some permanent damage by trying it, aside from that I did pretty much everything software/driver related I can find using google...


Since it's an old laptop (4 years) could it be that there is just too much dirt and dust inside that is creating some sort of connection problem? Is it hard to clean a laptop myself? i've cleaned a PS2 before but I figure a laptop is significantly harder. I have all the necessary tools like can of compressed air etc.

Fwiw my graphics card hasn't had much work lately. I used to play Starcraft 2 on it but it took too much of my system(overheated tweice, but both are +4 months ago) so I stopped playing it. All I basicly do on this computer is basicly surf, watch movies/series and play some poker (clients that require basicly nothing from my computer).

PS: I noticed while making this topic that while Nvidia display driver service is set to manual, it has started now while I don't recall activating it. Can just setting it to disabled help this problem or not?

 

First, I would go to www.nvidia.com and download/install the latest driver(s) for your card. This will often solve freezing or BSOD issues.

Is the cooling fan on the notebook working properly? Hold it up to your ear or look thru the slats to be sure it's spinning. If the fan isn't working, your video (and possibly CPU) are overheating. If this is the case, stop using the PC immediately until the fan is fixed. Lack of cooling can easily fry the motherboard.

Hope this helps.

 

I already have those installed (and reinstalled multiple times, always doing a clean instal). Doesn't help .

I'm pretty sure I can hear it spinning, I've never been able to feel it though, there is no place where I can feel "wind" coming out or anything or where I can see the blades.
My cores temperature are varying around 55 degrees fwiw.
I am downloading nvidia ntune to see if I can check my gpu temperature and will report back.

Also, since my computer has overheating protection wouldn't it just shut itsself down instead of a driver crashing due to overheating?

Is just shooting some compressed air in all the holes of my pc a good idea ?


EDIT: Is there any possibility where I could use a different driver than nvlddmkm? Probably a stupid question but I just want to see wether a different driver crashes too.

 

Ok using NVIDIA Monitor View I get the following information, I have no idea what it means and isn't really helpful to a noob like me, but maybe to you it is.

Performance:
CPU: 20-30%
Memory: 60-70%
Disc: 15-100%, varies all over the place

GPU1 is reporting a constant temperature of 0 degrees. I just figure this means I can't monitor the temperature on my GPU?

Bus Speeds and Voltages also are not reporting any information

Fan speeds reports the following:

CPU: 253RPM
nForce: 196RPM
Aux2: 30364RPM

Anything useful in there?

 

Based on the above, it appears the fans are working properly.

Shooting compressed air in the slots around the fan won't hurt - just do it after the PC has been off for a while and is cool. Also, consider buying a decent USB powered cooling stand.

If I had to guess at this point, my suspicion is that something buried in the tons of crapware HP adds to its OEM Windows may be causing the crash. I've seen two cases in the past year where an HP (not Windows) automatic update caused a BSOD.

Download a copy of Advanced System Care Free here.

1. Run the "deep care" option.
2. Go into the "toolbox" and find the startup manager. Disable all the HP software unless ASC states it is necessary.
3. Restart the PC - if this solves the problem, I'd use the advanced uninstaller in the ASC toolbox to permanently remove all the crapware.

If all else fails (and you don't mind spending about $100), I'd wipe the hard drive clean and install a crapware-free Microsoft OEM Windows 7 copy. Your HP OEM Windows license will likely not work for re-activation; hence the $100 for a new license.