System Crashing. Possibly due to graphics card?

Hey everyone,

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to have a look at my problem, it's greatly appreciated!

Over the last week or so, my computer has been crashing unexpectedly. Upon rebooting i'm asked if to run Startup Repair - it never finds any problems though. Startup repair also gives me an option to restore my system to an earlier date using system restore, but i've tried that too, and my system is still crashing. Finally when it starts back up and I get to my desktop, a Microsoft Windows error message pops up saying "Windows has recovered from an unexpected shutdown". The problem details are as follows:


Problem Signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:

BCCode: 1000008e
BCP1: C0000005
BCP2: 8EF97053
BCP3: 8E912264
BCP4: 00000000
OS Version: 6_0_6001
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1

Files that help describe the problem:

C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini052009-01.dmp
C:\Users\Valued Customer\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-114754-0.sysdata.xml
C:\Users\Valued Customer\AppData\Local\Temp\WERCB59.tmp.version.txt


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And for a couple of months before these system crashes began, I was experiencing the occasional screen crash too. My laptop screen would all of a sudden black out, then come back after about 5 seconds. The system stayed as it was though, (didn't reboot, it was just the display dropping out) and when the display came back I would get the error message pop up as shown here:


Display driver stopped responding and has recovered
Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered.

Since the system crashes have started, that small error message hasn't been shown. So i'm thinking that this may be the result of that small error being unattended to for so long?

It'd be great if this was fixed simply by updating my graphics card driver or something, but obviously I leave the diagnosing to you guys!


Here's some details on my graphics card:


HP Pavillion dv9000 Laptop

Name: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS

Chip Type: GeForce 8600M GS

DAC Type: Integrated RAMDAC

Approx. Total Memory: 1777mb

Current Display Mode: 1440 x 900 (32bit) (60hz)

Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor

Drivers:

Main Driver: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll

Version: 7.15.0011.7713 (english)

Date: 12/4/2008 3:42:00am

WHQL Logo'd: n/a

DDI Version: 10


Thanks very much for your time guys

Regards,

Xhai.

 

try uninstalling your graphics drivers:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Driver-Sweeper-beta-2.0.0-download-2186.html
restart, then run again, restart.
then finally install new ones.

you might want to grab the drivers from hp's support site before you remove the old ones..

 

These may be two separate problems, or two symptoms of the same problem, and not necessarily graphics. Sudden crashes and freezes can be caused by many things. I would also look at your temperatures and make sure they are not too high and causing both system and graphics stability issues. If high heat is left unchecked, permanent damage may occur, if it has not already occurred. Because heat can cause permanent damage, I feel it is a priority, especially since notebooks by their very nature (and design ) are difficult to clean and lousy at extracting heat. The best most users can do is make sure all vents, cavities, and openings are clear of dust. I recommend using a Notebook Cooling Pad w/ext. power supply or blast a desk fan across it. If the system is clean of heat-trapping dust and your CPU, GPU, and system temperatures are fine, then a failing power supply could affect both system and graphics stability. Sadly, with notebooks, that could mean the charging/regulator circuits in the notebook.

Note that I recommend cooling pads that come with their own external power supplies. The pads that get power from notebook USB ports are certainly more convenient, but they demand more heat generating power from the device they are trying to cool - seems counterproductive to me.

 

Alright guys,

Thanks a lot for the replies.

Firstly, I have managed to find a new, updated driver for my graphics card from the Nvidia website:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_notebook_winvista_185.85_whql.html

I haven't installed it yet, as I thought i would tell you my current system temperatures as recommended by Digerati. I figured I'd tell you the temps, and if they're abnormally high it may not be the graphics driver after all (although I now know my current one is definitely outdated).

My laptop has been running for about 45 minutes:

CPU: 59 °C (138 °F)

WDC WD1600BEVS-60RST0: 50 °C (122 °F)

WDC WD1600BEVS-60RST0: 32 °C (90 °F)

The crashes haven't only been occurring after the laptop has been running for a long period of time, sometimes it's when the system has just been turned on.

I'm hoping it's just the graphics card driver!

Thanks for the help guys

Xhai.

 

try hwmonitor, and it will give you gpu temps as well. Leave it running and play a game for a while to see how high the temps will get.
http://majorgeeks.com/HWMonitor_d5842.html

 

That does not rule out heat, but does make it less likely to be heat related.

HWMonitor is good for checking voltages too.

 

I just played FarCry for half an hour and manage to screen grab at the hottest point. As soon as I stopped playing the game the temp dropped very quickly. Here's the pic of HWMonitor:

http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hwmonitor.jpg

Cheers.

 

Sorry,

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1024/hwmonitor2.jpg

 

106 is extremely high for the gpu. since this is a laptop, i'm not too sure what your course of action can be, aside from opening up the laptop, and cleaning the dust from the fans and vents. or you can try using a cooling pad as suggested above.

have a look here, has some good tips...I would stay away from anything related to overclocking tho.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=263039

 

I think 80s and 90s are a bit high for the CPU too. What CPU is it?