Defiance Series: 17.3" Video TDR Failure nvlddmkm.sys

[Shine]

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
8GB HyperX IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
1st Hard Disk
500GB WD BLACK 2.5" WD5000LPLX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 1400MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 200W AC Adaptor
Battery
Defiance Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (60WH)
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + MIC/Headphone + SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-8265 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC) +BT 4.0
USB Options
3 x USB 3.1 Type A, 2 x USB 3.1 Type C AS STANDARD
Keyboard Language
DEFIANCE SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Surge Protection
MasterPlug SRG62 6 Socket 2m Surge Protector
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 3 WORKING DAY DISPATCH
Quantity
1

Price £1,480.00 including VAT and delivery



So I bought my laptop March 2017 and for about 18 months didn't have any problems. 4 weeks ago I started to have blue screen errors ( video TDR failure nvlddmkm.sys ) while playing PUBG and LOL. First it was once a day for a week or so, than more often, to the point that for last 7 days a cant play PUBG and LOL anymore as I have this error every time I'm starting these games. 5 days ago I bought new Assassin's Creed Odyssey and it worked for about 3 days and than yesterday I started to have same error but on orange screen. Today I can't play this game as well.

For a week or so I was able to go around this error. I unplugged power cable, play for about 40 min and then plug the power cable back and it worked fine. If I plugged it in after 20 min error would show up. Since yesterday it doesn't work anymore. I'm able to play when power cable is out but every time I plug it in.... video TDR failure.


2 weeks ago other things started at the same time as well.

- sometimes when I lunched games, they started with like 5 fps. I had to restart laptop and lunch them again

- on my Task Manager I notice that "system interrupts" are using 10%+ of CPU - I have a program "Driver Talent" (which I'm not using as you need to pay for it) but when I lunch this program "system interrupts" are back to normal 0.1%

- on my Task Manager I notice that some "Service Host" are using 12-20% of CPU - most of the time after the restart caused by video TDR failure. It will last about 10-15 min and then back to normal.


I did search online but nothing is working. All my drivers for Nvidia and Intel are up to date. Power option set for Max Performance. Only thing I didn't try is to reinstall windows but I'm afraid that it wont help.


Is there a way to fix it or is this the end of 1.5k laptop? Unfortunately don't have warranty anymore.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Even though you're not using it, the first thing is to reinstall windows and DO NOT install "Driver Talent" or anything like it. Driver downloaders are nothing but badly written programs that usually cause problems like this even when just installed.

A clean OS is the best place to start from, make sure all your drivers are properly configured and go from there.

 

[ubuysa]

I agree absolutely with the above. Your symptoms don't (yet) suggest a hardware failure, though it would be worth your checking your CPU/GPU temperatures, but you clearly have an unhappy system. Did you do an upgrade-in-place to the April 2018 version of Windows 10 (1803)? In other words, did you allow Windows to update itself to version 1803? This does quite often cause niggles and these can be amplified by later Windows updates, my bet would be that this is what you're seeing.

A clean install, from downloaded installation media and not a 'Windows Reset', is definitely the wisest next step. I would recommend that you allow Windows Update to install all the drivers, so keep running Windows Update (and rebooting if asked) until no more updates are found.

I also absolutely agree on not installing 'Driver Talent', whatever the heck that is. Third party driver management tools are completely unnecessary, in fact just about all third-party diagnostic, tune-up, and management tools are not worth your time. Some actually make things worse. Registry cleaners are also completely unnecessary and are known to cause problems.

 

[Shine]

OK thank you for advice. I did "reset" windows 10 but all the errors are still there... nothing changed. I want to do clean windows install, I have cd with Windows 10 from PcS ( I have external DVD drive ), I also created Windows10 installation media on USB flash drive from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10 …. but there is no option to boot my laptop from DVD or USB drive. I spent the last two hours trying to figure it out … but no success.

Need your help again...

 

[ubuysa]

With the USB drive containing the Windows install media plugged in, does it not show up in the Boot option in the BIOS?

 

[Shine]

It doesn't. Tried with USB drive and DVD drive on every USB slot. They are working fine when in Windows, but when going to BIOS … no new boot options.

 

[ubuysa]

It doesn't. Tried with USB drive and DVD drive on every USB slot. They are working fine when in Windows, but when going to BIOS … no new boot options.

Curious. I think you'd best give PCS a call (phone them don't email). I'd be interested to know what they say...

 

[Shine]

Had to disable secure boot first, save and restart BIOS. I did install windows from USB … but it doesn't look like clean install. All my settings and background photo are still there, and I have folder "Windows Old" on my system disc. All issues - video TDR failure and "system interrupts" high CPU % are still there. When I was installing Windows I could choose on which disk I want to install Windows and option to format them. Do I need to do it for clean install?

 

[Oussebon]

You need to delete the partitions on the drive that you are doing a clean install on - which you can do during the install process. So that you end up with your drive that will host Windows being only "unallocated space"

Needless to say, you will lose the data that is on those partitions so make sure you backed up anything you need to keep first.

There's a full guide here: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-clean-install-windows-10-a.html which explains how you have to select a custom install, and delete any old partitions.

I'm sure I've been caught by the secure boot thing, I really need to remember that...

 

[ubuysa]

Had to disable secure boot first, save and restart BIOS. I did install windows from USB … but it doesn't look like clean install. All my settings and background photo are still there, and I have folder "Windows Old" on my system disc. All issues - video TDR failure and "system interrupts" high CPU % are still there. When I was installing Windows I could choose on which disk I want to install Windows and option to format them. Do I need to do it for clean install?

You ran the USB stick from Windows and upgraded, that's all.

To do a clean install you need to boot the USB stick, choose Install, delete all existing partitions on the system drive, create one partition the size of the drive (since you use UEFI all the additional partitions will automatically be created), format the largest partition (it's selected by default) and then click Next to install Windows into that partition.

 

[Shine]

So I manage to do clean W10 install 2 days ago. ( I think ) All the settings where reset except colors and background photo. All the CPU high % issues where gone. Video TDR failure unfortunately still occurs when plugged in, but worked fine when plugged out. ( tasted on PUBG ). Didn't do any updates at all. Today I updated W10, install clean Intel and Nvidia drivers and nothing changed. Also after I installed Nvidia drivers … "system interrupts" again using 10+ % of CPU all the time.

Don't understand why games start ok when laptop is unplugged but the moment I will plug in power cable or start with power cable in I get a blue screen. Anyway I did run chkdsk, memtest for disk/memory issues - all good, system file checker .. for don't remember what but no issues as well. I have no idea what else I can do....

 

[ubuysa]

So I manage to do clean W10 install 2 days ago. ( I think ) All the settings where reset except colors and background photo. All the CPU high % issues where gone. Video TDR failure unfortunately still occurs when plugged in, but worked fine when plugged out. ( tasted on PUBG ). Didn't do any updates at all. Today I updated W10, install clean Intel and Nvidia drivers and nothing changed. Also after I installed Nvidia drivers … "system interrupts" again using 10+ % of CPU all the time.

Don't understand why games start ok when laptop is unplugged but the moment I will plug in power cable or start with power cable in I get a blue screen. Anyway I did run chkdsk, memtest for disk/memory issues - all good, system file checker .. for don't remember what but no issues as well. I have no idea what else I can do....

If your personalised background photo was preserved then you didn't do a clean install.

To do a clean install you need to do the following....

1. Insert Windows installation media (DVD/USB stick) and boot that media (ie. NOT your normal Windows system). You might need to enter the BIOS setup to tell the BIOS to boot your installation media and not the regular Windows boot media.

2. When the installation system has started click the Install button.

3. Choose a Custom Install.

4. Delete all the partitions on your system drive (the one where your Windows system lives). If you use UEFI there will be several partitions, delete them all.

5. Create a new partition the size of the whole drive. If you use UEFI then additional (and necessary) partitions will automatically be created.

6. Ensure the largest of the new partitions is selected (it is by default) and format that partition.

7. Click Next to allow Windows to be installed into that largest partition.

 

[Shine]

I did clean install many times for a last week, I think I tried every solution to this issues available online, but nothing helps. I get Video TDR failure every time I'm starting games or when running UserBenchmark, no matter what drivers I have. Like before only after updating Nvidia drivers "system interrupts" are using 10+% and also Windows won't boot properly when turning laptop on. After PCS logo there is just black screen. Lights and fan is working but that's it. I have to reboot it 3 times till diagnostics startup shows, and then it will start just fine.


I'm giving up on this laptop. Time to buy something new. Lesson learned ---> Buy the longest warranty available


Thx for help guys.

 

[Oussebon]

Before giving up I suggest you call PCS to troubleshoot. Even if the warranty is expired, they may be able to give you further troubleshooting advice, or if it's a hardware issue offer to repair it for cheaper than a new system.

 

[ubuysa]

I did clean install many times for a last week, I think I tried every solution to this issues available online, but nothing helps. I get Video TDR failure every time I'm starting games or when running UserBenchmark, no matter what drivers I have. Like before only after updating Nvidia drivers "system interrupts" are using 10+% and also Windows won't boot properly when turning laptop on. After PCS logo there is just black screen. Lights and fan is working but that's it. I have to reboot it 3 times till diagnostics startup shows, and then it will start just fine.


I'm giving up on this laptop. Time to buy something new. Lesson learned ---> Buy the longest warranty available


Thx for help guys.

Did you let Windows Update install the drivers or did you install them yourself?

It#s possible this is a hardware failure but a driver error is the typical cause of this BSOD.

 

[Shine]

I'm updating Windows from : settings -> update & security -> check for updates. Intel drivers from Intel website and Nvidia from Nvidia website ->
GeForce Experience etc. All up to date. Don't know if it's relevant but when checking for driver details in Device Manager it says unknown.


I've read on GeForce forum about guy having same problem with same model and similar spec from PCS. Lucky for him, his was still on warranty.If i remember correctly in the end PCS replaced GPU and CPU in his laptop. I will call PCS at some point but I'm not willing to spend hundreds of pounds to fix it. I'm thinking about desktop pc for some time now, so I rather invest there...

 

[ubuysa]

What I meant earlier was that when you did a reinstall of Windows did you allow Windows Update to find all the drivers immediately after installation? That is the recommended way to install drivers on Windows 10 laptops. If you installed your own drivers manually there is always a possibility of installing a duff driver.

If, after a clean reinstall of Windows (ie. by booting installation media and not by doing a Windows Reset) allowing Windows Update to find and install all drivers, you still get these problems then I would advise a call to PCS. They will expect you to have already tried a clean install with Windows Update installing drivers before calling them.....

BTW. I'd wouldn't be too concerned by those unknowns in the driver file details, I have that too.

 

[Shine]

My final update on this issue:

Before contacting PCS I did run some checks using programs which can be found here : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?60979-Useful-Programs

All were fine except GPU. When using FurMark program to stress test GTX 1060 I got BSOD within 2-3s after lunch.

After reviewing BSOD crash in BlueScreenView program, 3 files were highlighted red :

1. dxgkrnl.sys , file description - DirectX Graphics Kernel
2. ntoskrnl.exe , file description - NT Kernel & System
3. nvlddmkm.sys , file description - empty

On the top part there was info that crash caused by dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel


After contacting PCS and explaining everything I've been told that ""it sounds like a hardware issue with the graphics card itself"" and I've been advised to sent laptop to them, so they can try to fix it or replace GPU. GPU replacement could cost around £350


As I'm about to buy new pc I'm not gonna do it … maybe next year.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[ubuysa]

My final update on this issue:

Before contacting PCS I did run some checks using programs which can be found here : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?60979-Useful-Programs

All were fine except GPU. When using FurMark program to stress test GTX 1060 I got BSOD within 2-3s after lunch.

After reviewing BSOD crash in BlueScreenView program, 3 files were highlighted red :

1. dxgkrnl.sys , file description - DirectX Graphics Kernel
2. ntoskrnl.exe , file description - NT Kernel & System
3. nvlddmkm.sys , file description - empty

On the top part there was info that crash caused by dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel


After contacting PCS and explaining everything I've been told that ""it sounds like a hardware issue with the graphics card itself"" and I've been advised to sent laptop to them, so they can try to fix it or replace GPU. GPU replacement could cost around £350


As I'm about to buy new pc I'm not gonna do it … maybe next year.

Thank you all for your help.

Nice troubleshooting.

I'm happy you have a cause for your problem at least. If you're going to replace the PC soon it makes no sense to change the graphics card now, unless of course you could use the new card in your next PC....