8600M GS MAJOR Display Problems ["Display Driver has stopped and been restarted"]

[csharphurts]

OK, so I had the common problem it seems for the 8600M GS cards on my Vista Laptop: "Display Driver has stopped and been restarted" or something like that, dealing with nvdllkmn. Anyway, I was getting mad about having my screen freeze for a second and do that every once in awhile...So I started searching for driver updates...

Well, I couldn't find any (at that time) on the nVidia website. (Turns out I have to download it from the Laptop manufacturer). So I found this site and found a driver that was for my display driver...downloaded it, followed the instructions about the INF file, everything to a T.

I reboot, going FINE, then about 10 minutes later BAM! Pixelated screen with multi-colors and I couldn't see ANYTHING but that...So I rebooted and it just sat there with a black screen...nothing at all.

So I kept trying to reboot, and just black screen each time...then eventually it would go to "Shut down improperly, choose startup method" and so I could access Safe Mode(like right now) or start up normal...so I thought it's little episode was over, but BAM! When I went to normal mode it'd do it all over again.

I have been trying to figure out how to remove the driver I installed from this site...but it's not showing it in my Device Manager =\

The driver from this site really messed up my laptop, and I (being a fool) didn't think anything of it when I was downloading and installing.

Please, ANY help is very much appreciated. (Preferably without a wipe of my computer...)

Thank you

[Michael Marley]

In order to remove your display driver, you need to boot up in safe mode, then go to whatever the Add/Remove Programs screen is (sorry, not using Vista). There should be an option for "Nvidia Display Driver". Remove this. I recommend that after you complete this step, you also should download Driver Sweeper and run that, to eliminate any parts of the driver which may still be around after the uninstall.

Just out of curiosity, what driver were you using? I recommend trying 177.79, if you have not already.

[Guest Jack]

G'Day ,

I had all the problems listed in your post and from post in other forums and not sure why Dell hasn't offered this advice as a starting point.

I found that by entering bios setup (F2) scrolling down to "ONBOARD DEVICES" and then to ""SATA OPERATION" select "ATA" and after restarting all graphics card issues were resolved on my notebook which is the same model as yours.

I also recommend the latest DELL NVIDIA graphics card driver (JULY 12 2008) 175. 97 from the Dell Support Center

I hope this helps anyone that might be going through the same headaches and hassles that I went through.

Cheers

[Whitedragon551]

By using ATA operating over SATA you drastically hurt your computers performance. SATA has much faster data rate transfers.

[Michael Marley]

By using ATA operating over SATA you drastically hurt your computers performance. SATA has much faster data rate transfers.

This is not entirely correct. In fact, it will not hurt performance noticeably unless your hard drive supports sustained transfer rates greater than 150MB/s (very unlikely.) What it does do is enable a few extra performance enhancements like SATA Native Command Queuing, which provide minor speed improvements.

[Whitedragon551]

ATA is data transfer speeds of 133Mb/Second. By using ATA you invite signal timing problems, EMI problems, and data integrity issues.

SATA is up to 150Mb/Second. SATA is more efficient. Also NCQ doesnt have that big of an effect. Instead you can go into your HD properties and enable Write Caching on Disk and then Enable Advanced Performance. Its been proving that NCQ on ATA and Advanced Performance on SATA will get you the exact same results with the exception that SATA is more reliable and faster.

[Michael Marley]

What this is about is ATA compatibility mode. It still runs over the SATA interface, so it gets the 150mbp/s transfer rate and doesn't have any crosstalk or EMI problems. It essentially makes the SATA controller appear as a faster-than-normal ATA controller. If SATA AHCI mode is enabled, then the interface transfer speed can go up to 300mbp/s, if the drive supports it.

[Whitedragon551]

The ATA mode limits data transfer speeds to 133MB/Second or lower. Its the same thing with RAM. If I put DDR2 1066 in a motherboard that only supports up to DDR2 1000 the RAM will be underclocked to be compatible with the motherboard. Which means it will have crosstalk, EMI problems, and is less reliable.

[Michael Marley]

Only if you use a PATA drive with the 80-pin ribbon cable. The ATA emulation mode of SATA controllers still uses the same cabling. :)

[Whitedragon551]

The cables have nothing to do with it. Just because I can wire a car audio subwoofer to run off an AC adapter in my house doesnt mean its going to be as loud and efficient as if I had it powered by a car audio amp and tuned to the same specs the sub requires. Its the mode that has everything to do with it.

[Michael Marley]

The wire has the shielding in it that prevents the EMI/RFI and crosstalk from occuring. It does not have to do with the signals themselves. The signals are exactly the same on the cable, independent of what mode the controller is in.

[Whitedragon551]

If the EMI is strong enough it doesnt matter if the wire has shielding it can still get through. Apparently Vet members here have a problem when a newbie to the forum knows what they are talking about. Ive been doing this stuff since I was about 6 years old. My dad owns a computer repair shop. Im currently in college about to get a Masters degree for this. Trust me I know what Im talking about.

[PrivRyan]

I'm starting to think the 8600M GS is a faulty card. >.>

What's weirder is that I have the same problems as you. T_T

Exact same problems. Exact same card.

Umm that BIOs thing. What if it doesn't show that part about Onboard devives. >.<

Edited August 11, 2008 by PrivRyan

[Michael Marley]

If the EMI is strong enough, yes. All I am saying is that the signaling on the SATA interface is the same no matter what mode the controller is in. Therefore, there is no difference in interference depending on the mode. I have painstakingly read the sections relating to this signaling in the Intel manual, and it is exactly the same in ATA and AHCI modes.

Apparently Vet members here have a problem when a newbie to the forum knows what they are talking about.

Me, possibly, yes. I do tend to be stubborn and hard-headed sometimes. However, don't stereotype all of us. We all have a great amount of knowledge about computers. I was just trying to tell the OP that he most likely would not notice a speed difference between the two interfaces.

[Darmdorf]

csharphurts: Welcome to the forum. Sorry you haven't been able to solve your problem. I hope you did an exhaustive search through the forum for similar problems before starting off on your own. You forgot to mention exactly the newer driver you installed that seemed to be causing you so much grief. That kind of thing can be a result of an improper installation. We have a pinned thread describing proper driver removal procedures in this thread: Uninstalling? :) If you follow it you should be spared from the disappointing experience you had.

jack: Thanks for your post. That tip might indeed help some users to avoid the problems you mentioned. How about registering with the forum and giving us more of your insights. Good work....

Michael Marley & Whitedragon551: With regard to Jacks post (#3) about changing a bios setting for "Sata Operation" to "ATA": I'm afraid I have to go with Michael Marley's statements in the following post, as they are quite simply 100% correct.

What this is about is ATA compatibility mode. It still runs over the SATA interface, so it gets the 150mbp/s transfer rate and doesn't have any crosstalk or EMI problems. It essentially makes the SATA controller appear as a faster-than-normal ATA controller. If SATA AHCI mode is enabled, then the interface transfer speed can go up to 300mbp/s, if the drive supports it.

Whitedragon, I'm afraid you're mixing up a "mode" of SATA operation named "ATA" with the old (P)ATA drive connection over 80-pin flat cable. A SATA internal drive can't be somehow changed to a (P)ATA physical connection through a bios selection. Its rather easy to be mislead, think about it!

The ATA compatibility mode would simply seem to be less prone to cause interrupt hogging by the hard drive, which could lead to the graphic freezing csharphurts was experiencing. Its selection will NOT reduce the operative speed in opposition to AHCI mode, it merely doesn't support some SATA specific bells & whistles.

As far as EMI goes, (P)ATA with 40-pin cabling was borderline. It featured simple signaling of slow parallel data with common grounds which were VERY susceptible to interference. 80-pin cabling was somewhat better because each signal line had its own ground/shield. SATA is serial data form of ATA with a very high bit rate, where data flows across a signal pair for each direction with differential signaling, making it almost immune to any EMI influence.

... Apparently Vet members here have a problem when a newbie to the forum knows what they are talking about. Ive been doing this stuff since I was about 6 years old. My dad owns a computer repair shop. Im currently in college about to get a Masters degree for this. Trust me I know what Im talking about.

Whitedragon: Michael Marley is a respected member of our moderating team and moderates his own forum. No one in our team "has a problem" with newbies, and I think your comments were definitely below the belt -- regardless of the 'injustice' you perhaps perceived. I know it may seem that someone may be trying to cross swords with you when you think you're absolutely right, but you quite simply got your wires crossed, a simple mistake. I'm sure Michael would appreciate a simple apology.

We pride ourselves on providing a forum where each and every guest or member can express their thoughts, provided they stay within the boundaries of common courtesy, good taste, and online 'Netiquette'. [see Internet Basics 101 - Netiquette]. Whitedragon please take note of points 3 & 8!

If anyone has more questions, feel free to ask.

[PrivRyan]

Okay I think I found a fix. I think. Okay... what you wanna do is clear out the dust out of your fan and other crap. What I did was blow into my computer's fan lol constantly like giving a sick child medicine. Once every often though while you have your video card disabled. Then when you think it's good just reactiveate your video card and see if it works good and you can see your desktop okay and it doesn't pixelate. The problem I believe is overheating due to dust clogging and crap. So just keep blowing and praying that it'll work. :) It might take a while though cuz I still havent stopped the crashing at long periods of play... Whatever you do though, don't factory restore your computer. I did and I feel retarded. Luckily I had another drive to keep all my files in.

I've had the same problems as you and I hope you fix yours. :) This is more of a temporary fix... atleast it works though. :/ I've been hooked on CSS for the past few hours. lol

Cheers

Edited August 14, 2008 by PrivRyan

[Darmdorf]

Ok PrivRyan. Welcome to the forum. You may be right, but please be careful with that advice! Please take heed of the things said in this thread: [HOW TO] Use Compressed Air to keep the Laptop cool. Be VERY careful with any form of airflow you subject the internal cooling fans to, you may inadvertently destroy them!