Vortex III BSOD

A

aleric

Member
I've been having infrequent BSOD since around January or so, around that time I updated the drivers for my graphics card but the bsod were rare enough (once a month or so) for me to ignore it. About a month or so ago the motherboard failed and so I sent it back to pcspecialist and they replaced the motherboard and graphics card and just recently the bsod have been increasing until now its about once every few days.

I've researched the error and I've tried some of the fixes posted: replacing the nvlddmkm.sys file, updating drivers, using the original drivers from pcspecialist, and finally today I did a completely clean install of all the Nvidia software and drivers.

Does anyone have any idea what else I can try because I'm close to giving up?



Crash dump:


Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.3.9600.17336 AMD64
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP]
Kernel Summary Dump File: Only kernel address space is available


************* Symbol Path validation summary **************
Response Time (ms) Location
Deferred SRV*C:\Windows\symbol_cache*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Symbol search path is: SRV*C:\Windows\symbol_cache*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Executable search path is:
Windows 7 Kernel Version 7601 (Service Pack 1) MP (8 procs) Free x64
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS Personal
Built by: 7601.18869.amd64fre.win7sp1_gdr.150525-0603
Machine Name:
Kernel base = 0xfffff800`03014000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0xfffff800`0325b730
Debug session time: Wed Jul 29 20:59:57.266 2015 (UTC + 1:00)
System Uptime: 0 days 4:37:13.125
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................
................................................................
.................................
Loading User Symbols

Loading unloaded module list
......
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 116, {fffffa800e7f84e0, fffff8800ff87630, ffffffffc000009a, 4}

*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+adc630 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

7: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa800e7f84e0, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff8800ff87630, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: ffffffffc000009a, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: 0000000000000004, Optional internal context dependent data.

Debugging Details:
------------------


FAULTING_IP:
nvlddmkm+adc630
fffff880`0ff87630 4055 push rbp

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: GRAPHICS_DRIVER_TDR_FAULT

BUGCHECK_STR: 0x116

PROCESS_NAME: System

CURRENT_IRQL: 0

ANALYSIS_VERSION: 6.3.9600.17336 (debuggers(dbg).150226-1500) amd64fre

STACK_TEXT:
fffff880`04aafa48 fffff880`04941134 : 00000000`00000116 fffffa80`0e7f84e0 fffff880`0ff87630 ffffffff`c000009a : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`04aafa50 fffff880`04914867 : fffff880`0ff87630 fffffa80`0c3cd000 00000000`00000000 ffffffff`c000009a : dxgkrnl!TdrBugcheckOnTimeout+0xec
fffff880`04aafa90 fffff880`04940f43 : fffffa80`ffffd846 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0e7f84e0 00000000`00000000 : dxgkrnl!DXGADAPTER::Reset+0x2a3
fffff880`04aafb40 fffff880`0483803d : fffffa80`075818e0 00000000`00000080 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`0c3c4010 : dxgkrnl!TdrResetFromTimeout+0x23
fffff880`04aafbc0 fffff800`03322456 : 00000000`0f1186ef fffffa80`0c3e7b50 fffffa80`069e9720 fffffa80`0c3e7b50 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWorkerThread+0x101
fffff880`04aafc00 fffff800`0307a2c6 : fffff800`03207e80 fffffa80`0c3e7b50 fffff800`03215cc0 00000000`00000000 : nt!PspSystemThreadStartup+0x5a
fffff880`04aafc40 00000000`00000000 : fffff880`04ab0000 fffff880`04aaa000 fffff880`04aaf4d0 00000000`00000000 : nt!KxStartSystemThread+0x16


STACK_COMMAND: .bugcheck ; kb

FOLLOWUP_IP:
nvlddmkm+adc630
fffff880`0ff87630 4055 push rbp

SYMBOL_NAME: nvlddmkm+adc630

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: nvlddmkm

IMAGE_NAME: nvlddmkm.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 503c78c6

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: X64_0x116_IMAGE_nvlddmkm.sys

BUCKET_ID: X64_0x116_IMAGE_nvlddmkm.sys

ANALYSIS_SOURCE: KM

FAILURE_ID_HASH_STRING: km:x64_0x116_image_nvlddmkm.sys

FAILURE_ID_HASH: {1f9e0448-3238-5868-3678-c8e526bb1edc}

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

Chassis & Display Vortex Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670M - 1.5GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk 1TB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)

Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
 
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
Hey

The BSoD basically means the display driver failed to reset and recover. Usually this can be resolved by completely wiping all drivers from the system and reinstalling the display driver, however, seeing as you already had both motherboard + GFX replaced and reinstalled windows, I would believe you have that covered for now. The error "VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)" was very known a few years ago. Usually it can mean one of the following:
->Bad/Corrupted drivers
->Hardware error: Bad PCI Slot, Bad Graphics card, Bad memory

I would like a HwInfo output from your system, if you would be willing to provide that. You can find it here: http://www.guru3d.com/files-get/hwinfo64-download,2.html - Download and install the program, open it. Press the "Save report" in the top left corner. Choose the default, HTML. Upload the file to a free filehosting server like dropbox, filedropper etc.
 
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
Computer Brand Name: CLEVO P15xEMx

[Operating System]
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) Build 7601
Service Pack: Service Pack 1

[BIOS]
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends
BIOS Date: 01/24/2013
BIOS Version: 4.6.5

BIOS:1.02.17TPCS


[General Information]
Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M [Clevo]
Original Device Name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M (GF114M)
[Driver Information]
Driver Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Driver Description: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M
Driver Provider: NVIDIA
Driver Version: 9.18.13.614
Driver Date: 28-Aug-2012
DeviceInstanceId PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1213&SUBSYS_51051558&REV_A1\4&60CA299&0&0008
[Video Card]
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M [Clevo]
Video Bus: PCIe v1.1 x16 (2.5 Gb/s) @ x16 (2.5 Gb/s)
Video BIOS Version: 70.24.44.00.07
Video Chipset Revision: A1



[General Information]
Device Name: Intel Ivy Bridge-MB GT2 - Integrated Graphics Controller [E1/L1/N0/P0]
Driver Description: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
Driver Provider: Intel Corporation
Driver Version: 10.18.10.3958
Driver Date: 30-Sep-2014

[General Information]
Device Name: Intel Panther Point PCH - PCI Express Port 1
Driver Description: Intel(R) 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 1E10
Driver Provider: Intel
Driver Version: 9.3.0.1020
Driver Date: 11-Jan-2012

[General Information]
Device Name: RealTek Semiconductor RTS5289 PCI-E Card Reader
Driver Date: 09-May-2012

[General Information]
Device Name: RealTek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Driver Version: 7.61.612.2012
Driver Date: 12-Jun-2012

[General Information]
Device Name: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 135 BGN 1x1 HMC WiFi/Bluetooth Adapter
Driver Date: 20-Feb-2012

[Driver Information]
Driver Manufacturer: Realtek
Driver Description: Realtek High Definition Audio
Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Driver Version: 6.0.1.6526
Driver Date: 13-Dec-2011


TL;DR: Update all your drivers. They seem to be from 2011/2012, except for your intel GPU driver, that seems to be from 2014.

Action forward:
Uninstalling GPU drivers:
a) Uninstall both your Intel GPU driver + NVIDIA driver. Use add/remove programs to uninstall
b) reboot PC
c) Download Display driver uninstaller: http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html -> Clean the PC using both the Intel profile and the NVIDIA profile
d) reboot PC

driver installation:
a) Install latest intel chipset drivers: http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/intel-chipset-software-installation-10-1-1-8-whql-download.html
b) reboot PC
c) install latest intel GPU driver: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24973/Intel-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-64-bit
d) reboot PC
e) Install latest NVIDIA driver: http://www.nvidia.co.uk/download/driverResults.aspx/87867/en-uk
f) Install latest wireless driver: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/do...Bluetooth-technology-for-Windows-7-64-bit-WP-
g) install latest audio driver: http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/realtek-hd-audio-2-79-driver-download.html
h) install latest card reader drivers: http://www.realtek.com.tw/Downloads...=25&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false
i) reboot PC

When that is done, download driver genius and scan your PC for any other updates: http://www.driver-soft.com/ - You cannot download the driver updates without paying for the software, but you can still see if something is outdated. You can then google each package driver genius has found for you, to find an update. Otherwise, I'm quite sure this will solve your issue, as your drivers is very outdated :)

EDIT: You might also want to consider upgrading windows 10. That would probably also solve your issue as Windows 10 automatically gives you the newest drivers for most of those components.
 
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A

aleric

Member
I've tried many different nvidia drivers including the latest ones and the latest ones were even worse!

However I haven't tried updating everything else so I'll give that a try. Will report back later!

Also I would update to Windows 10 but I'd prefer to wait a few weeks while they iron out any launch issues.
 
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
aleric said:
I've tried many different nvidia drivers including the latest ones and the latest ones were even worse!

However I haven't tried updating everything else so I'll give that a try. Will report back later!

Also I would update to Windows 10 but I'd prefer to wait a few weeks while they iron out any launch issues.
Click to expand...

I have the Clevo P170em / Vortex-3 Laptop, almost identical to yours. It's running quite well, and the only issues I've experienced so far is minor GUI issues and issues with Microsoft EDGE. Else gaming/performance is topnotch :)
 
A

aleric

Member
Ok I've done all of that, whether it worked or not I may not know for a while (I can't seem to find a pattern for the bsod) but hopefully it did.

Thank you so much for your help.

p.s. Going back to 800x600 before I could reinstall the intel graphics drivers was awful!
 
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
aleric said:
Ok I've done all of that, whether it worked or not I may not know for a while (I can't seem to find a pattern for the bsod) but hopefully it did.

Thank you so much for your help.

p.s. Going back to 800x600 before I could reinstall the intel graphics drivers was awful!
Click to expand...

Hehe yeah, each time I use the DDU utility, and it goes back to 800x600, it always reminds me of when I was a kid and I had my 3dfx voodoo3 card :D best graphics card, hehe.

Anyways, I would recommend that you configure your system to generate a kernel memory dump, instead of a small memory dump. This will enable us to see more of why the PC is crashing. KernelMemoryDump.png
 
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
aleric said:
It's already set to that, weird.

Should the automatically restart be ticked or not?
Click to expand...

Just leave that on, that should be fine. Otherwise if your system crashes again, it should generate a memory.dmp file at C:\Windows\Memory.dmp. I would like that file to debug the error, should it occur again.
 
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
Right, It definitely looks like a very basic driver issue. Haven't had the chance to go in depth in the dump yet, but don't think I would need to spend too much time on it. Upgrade the drivers I've mentioned, and if it crashes again, upload the new memory dump :)

When you've updated the drivers, could you provide a new HwInfo output? Just to confirm everything's been updated.

Sidenote: 5400RPM drives is a major major bottleneck in all laptops. If you ever want to make your laptop faster, that's where you would wanna invest in an SSD :) you can get a 120/250GB SSD for a good price these days. Your laptop can hold 2 hard-drives, so you can both have your 1tb and 1SSD. You probably also don't use your optical drive much, so you can even add a 3rd hard-drive by buying a hdd optical drive caddy: http://hddcaddy.com/en/btoclevo-hdd-caddy/867-clevo-bto-15cl47-p150em-hdd-caddy.html
 
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T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
aleric said:
Just got another bsod :(. I'm uploading the dump right now.
Click to expand...

Ok. I would like a new Hwinfo output as well as an export of your system events (Go to your event viewer -> Windows logs -> System and in the right hand side press "save all events as")

What were you doing at the time of the BSoD?
 
A

aleric

Member
I was playing WoW on windowed mode, spamming thrash in a heroic dungeon. I was also watching netflix on the same screen.

Event view: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sa4mxgm2jhpoqcw/eventview.evtx?dl=0
hwinfo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wbxfhpf4z23m1zf/ALEX-PC.HTM?dl=0

My laptop also suddenly died earlier and wouldn't turn on for a minute or so. That's happened before but very very rarely. Like twice in the last 3 years so it could just be a coincidence.

I'm slightly suspected it's because it overheated so I've been monitoring the gpu temperature a bit and it was up around 95C when I was just idling WoW.

EDIT: Couldn't find the screwdriver to really check if there was a lot of dust build up but I used a can of compressed air and was able to dislodge some dust. Idle WoW temp dropped to 87C.
 
Last edited:
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
aleric said:
I was playing WoW on windowed mode, spamming thrash in a heroic dungeon. I was also watching netflix on the same screen.

Event view: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sa4mxgm2jhpoqcw/eventview.evtx?dl=0
hwinfo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wbxfhpf4z23m1zf/ALEX-PC.HTM?dl=0

My laptop also suddenly died earlier and wouldn't turn on for a minute or so. That's happened before but very very rarely. Like twice in the last 3 years so it could just be a coincidence.

I'm slightly suspected it's because it overheated so I've been monitoring the gpu temperature a bit and it was up around 95C when I was just idling WoW.

EDIT: Couldn't find the screwdriver to really check if there was a lot of dust build up but I used a can of compressed air and was able to dislodge some dust. Idle WoW temp dropped to 87C.
Click to expand...

I see the drivers has been updated, so that all looks good. Memory dump looks exactly the same as before. Basically the driver stopped responding, because the GPU stopped responding. This could actually be because of the heat issue, even though normally your laptop should shutdown when it becomes too hot.

Also, in your event viewer I see a lot of the following:
31/07/2015 23:25:31
"The speed of processor 7 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 12 seconds since the last report."

Don't get me wrong, these can be quite normal, especially the 0-5 second ones.

26/07/2015 21:52:22
"The speed of processor 7 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 33353 seconds since the last report."

It basically means your CPU is being throttled, probably because of heat. If PCs already replaced the motherboard, they should probably have re-applied new thermalpaste + cleaned the fans for dust, but we are going to check that now. It's extremely easy on this model, which is also why I like Clevo laptops. So what you are going to need is the following:
1xScrewdriver-set. There's 5 types of screws we need to remove. Normally you can get it done with a good phillips screwdriver.
1xThermalpaste - Now there's the really cheap generic noname stuff and then there's the expensive stuff. The expensive stuff is what you want. This will buy you a couple of months, before you have to repeat this process. There's a good list here of the current top-brands: http://www.play3r.net/reviews/cooling/thermal-paste-comparison-2015-best-thermal-paste/
1xIsopropyl Rubbing Alcohol / or some specific solution to remove thermal-paste. I bought this stuff in maplin some time ago, and it works great: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/akasa-ak-455-thermal-compound-and-heatsink-cleaner-kit-n58gu
1xMicrofibre cloth

EDIT: Before you start tearing your laptop apart, make sure you have removed both your AC Adapter + Battery

Take a good look at this disassembly video for your model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSyH-gfSsxI - If you don't have another PC than your laptop, you can load it on your phone just for reference. Be very aware of this spot, on your GPU heatsink as it's very easy for dust to cuddle up and get all comfy (regardless of how much compressed air you use from the outside):GPU.png

So when you have removed the heatsink for the GPU+CPU, remove the current thermalpaste from both the heatsink and the GPU and CPU unit with the alcohol solution and the microfibre cloth. Re-apply the new thermalpaste by applying a small mount of thermal paste in the middle of the both the GPU and CPU chip. There's a lot of different opinions about how to apply thermalpaste and how much is needed, and I've found this is the best solution for mobile laptops. There's also someone that's shown it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hNgFNH7zhQ
 
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Stephen M

Stephen M

Author Level
Thanks for the info and videos, I think this sort of stuff is useful to many of us. A thought, is it worth having a forum sub-section with just deals with useful tips for fixing, upgrading etc. I realise all this stuff can be found elsewhere but if we had somewhere to put good stuff as we found it it would be useful.
 
A

aleric

Member
Sorry for the late update. We couldn't get any good paste on the weekend but I found this: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/14381239666

So I downloaded msi afterburner and forced it to clock lower and so far I haven't got any bsod. Funnily enough I realised that all these problems started when I updated my gpu back in January or so. However at the same time I cleaned out the fans which turns out was throttling the gpu. So my current theory is that for some reason WoW can't handle the high clocking and forcing it to be throttled makes it work.

If I get another bsod I will try repasting it but I would rather not do something I have no experience with until I have to.

Thanks for the help though.
 
T

thisisevilevil

Enthusiast
If the issue is caused by heat, clocking the GPU lower would cause less heat to be emitted from the GPU, that would solve the issue temporarily.

A good way to benchmark your GPU would be using furmark. You can get it here: http://www.techspot.com/downloads/5462-furmark.html - Try monitoring your GPU temps while running the GPU burner, and see how it goes :) Don't do this too often though, as this can damage your GPU.
 
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