[semmel]

Hi.
I've had trouble with my nVidia driver for a while.
I'm running Windows XP SP2 on a 3 year old computer with an nVidia 8600 GTS card.
For the last few months, I've had all kinds of crashes and freezes during games - sometimes none for weeks, sometimes multiple times a day.
So I went to the nVidia site for the newest drivers and installed them, and my games have worked well since then.
... until I watched a few videos today, and I got a BSOD about watchdog.sys.
After reading the forum here, I looked at WhoCrashed, and turns it that was my nVidia driver, too...

Here are the last two entries from WhoCrashed:

On Fri 8/19/2011 2:01:17 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini081811-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nv4_disp.dll (nv4_disp+0x1DAB3D)
Bugcheck code: 0x1000008E (0xFFFFFFFFE0000001, 0xFFFFFFFFB8470925, 0xFFFFFFFFB307D8B0, 0x0)
Error: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\nv4_disp.dll
product: NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26
Bug check description: This indicates that a kernel-mode program generated an exception which the error handler did not catch.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: nv4_disp.dll (NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26 , NVIDIA Corporation).
Google query: nv4_disp.dll NVIDIA Corporation KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M




On Mon 8/15/2011 1:10:57 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini081411-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: nv4_disp.dll (nv4_disp+0xD0D80)
Bugcheck code: 0xEA (0xFFFFFFFF89674818, 0xFFFFFFFF89655BE8, 0xFFFFFFFF8956A0C8, 0x1)
Error: THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\nv4_disp.dll
product: NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26
company: NVIDIA Corporation
description: NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26
Bug check description: This indicates that a thread in a device driver is endlessly spinning.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: nv4_disp.dll (NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26 , NVIDIA Corporation).
Google query: nv4_disp.dll NVIDIA Corporation THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER

I noticed that the driver "update" I installed is actually not a newer driver version - I guess my card is too old.

I am running AVG Antivirus (paid version). I don't have a firewall, but I have done quite a bit of professional virus removal, and I don't see any other signs of a potential infection.

I also had my power supply die on me recently, so maybe the video card was damaged - is that possible or a likely cause for this?

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Edited by semmel, 18 August 2011 - 08:39 PM.

[Advertisements]

If I was you I would disable the hardware accelarator in flash player

http://www.alaskavrt...m/flash-bug.php

I had the same problem (BSOD) with my 8800gt when watching video on the internet and that is what solved the problem.


Hope it helps.

[Alzeimer]

If I was you I would disable the hardware accelarator in flash player

http://www.alaskavrt...m/flash-bug.php

I had the same problem (BSOD) with my 8800gt when watching video on the internet and that is what solved the problem.


Hope it helps.

[semmel]

Hi.
Thanks, that's an interesting suggestion I hadn't thought of...
I'll do that, too, to avoid issues, but the videos I was watching were stored on another computer in my network - no Flash involved.
I use Media Player Classic Cinema, by the way, and it has never blue screened on me before.

[Macboatmaster]

I have two thoughts on the matter.

I am running AVG Antivirus (paid version). I don't have a firewall, but I have done quite a bit of professional virus removal, and I don't see any other signs of a potential infection.

I also had my power supply die on me recently, so maybe the video card was damaged - is that possible or a likely cause for this?

Firstly, dealing with the first quote of your post, in bold, we at GeekstoGo have available to you some of the most, highly qualified experts in Malware detection and removal.
You must decide if you wish to take advantage of this and visit our Malware forum. I would suggest that the lack of a Firewall running is possibly ample cause for concern.
The Firewall is of course your first line of protection. If you do decide to take advantage of having one of our experts decide your system is clean then please post and we can progress that. Your professional Virus removal experience makes this of course an issue for you to decide.

Secondly the answer is YES. If the failure of the PSU resulted in a current surge. It depends on how the PSU failed and to some extent the quality of the PSU in the first place.
In otherwords the quality of the surge protection on the output of the PSU

Edited by Macboatmaster, 19 August 2011 - 12:46 PM.

[semmel]

I appreciate the offer - if I get more frequent crashes or other issues and I can't find an infection, I'll definitely take you up on that.

So my next line of thought is:
If the video card is potentially damaged but still works perfectly fine most of the time and only occasionally crashes, what is the most likely damaged part of it? Memory?
Is there a program that can scan video memory for faults, like MemTest for main RAM?

And the other question is:
How likely is it for the video card to be damaged given that the computer runs 24/7 and only has issues usually once per week to once per 3 months? I'd imagine that a hardware defect would cause more troubles than this, but then I don't have a lot of in depth experience with hardware (other than replacing them)...

What do you guys think?

Oh, and a friend of mine suggested Node32 (I think) as a free antivirus and firewall program - is it worth considering?
Also, and this may go beyond my original thread: Given that I have a router, is it actually possible for a hacker or a threat to make it through to my computer unless I initiated it from my end (e.g. from the browser)?

Thanks!

Edited by semmel, 19 August 2011 - 04:59 PM.

[Macboatmaster]

I did not intend to suggest that it was likely - simply that it was certainly possible. I realize now that I did not differentiate between possible or likely cause - and I apologise.

I would recommend two matters to you for your attention.

1.

I'm running Windows XP SP2

I would give very serious consideration, presuming it is 32 bit windows to SP3.
Support for XP without SP3 has fiinished and critical security updates etc are not offered. Even if you visit Windows updates and manually download they are written for SP3, NOT for SP2. All manner of problems may ensue, after installing updates for XP (SP3) to an SP2 installation

• Support for Windows XP SP2 ended on July 13, 2010. To continue support, make sure you've installed Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3).

Note
There's no SP3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. If you're running the 64-bit version of Windows XP with SP2, you have the latest service pack and will continue to be eligible for support and receive updates until April 8, 2014.

2. I would run a system file check on Start, run and type sfc /scannow. It may well ask for the XP CD If so and you have it, insert when requested.
If you do not have the CD, we may be able to get round that problem.

Addressing the Who Crashed display driver report. NVIDIA Windows XP Display driver, Version 280.26 , NVIDIA Corporation
for the nVidia 8600 GTS card, is this a branded computer and if so what is the make and model please. Also please go to Device Manager and ascertain if there are any warnings against any entries.

Edited by Macboatmaster, 19 August 2011 - 06:24 PM.

[Macboatmaster]

Further to the issue, as I am signing off. It is 0137hrs UK time and will not be back online for 24hrs or so., please see this.
http://uk.download.n...lease-Notes.pdf

They are the release notes for that driver from Nvidia and contain the full installation instructions and the known issues with various Games etc.
I hope you do not mind me saying, that a lot of people do not bother to read the Release notes, spend hours thinking it is the driver and then find that they either failed to follow the installation instructions OR the issue on a certain Game was already covered by the notes.

Please do not interpret this as meaning that I am satisfied this is the problem, but you may wish to ensure that you have the issues covered before we proceed.

[semmel]

Thanks so much for your great insight.
I had no idea how many known issues a driver that appears to be the "final release" still has...
So I read through all the release notes, and I have not experienced any of the issues that were mentioned in them (I don't use SLI or specific screen resolutions and I don't know more than 2 or 3 games on the list). So we can rule out the known issues of the nVidia driver.

SP3: I remember when SP3 came out and managed to destroy Windows installations left and right, so I decided to stay clear of it. If you suggest that SP3 is moderately safe to install, I will certainly try that.

While I'm at it: I have no idea if this is true or not, but someone I know personally has experienced multiple not connected Windows XP computers to simply die just about 2 months ago, all within a few weeks. He is fairly knowledgeable with computers and has hinted that he suspects Microsoft to have released a "Windows kill switch" with Windows Updates that will randomly destroy computers to the point that a new one with Windows 7 needs to be bought... Has anyone else ever heard of this?

I can also try SFC - if I can find my Windows CD somewhere...
Something I never really found out about SFC: Will it replace the system files to the state of the CD or to the proper state created by Windows Updates?

My computer is self-built and 3 years old. I have never experienced a lot of issues with it, just over the last maybe 6 months or so. Device Manager looks happy as far as I can tell.

Oh, and then there's the game Crysis 2 (obviously one that I knew would tax my hardware to its limits) - when I run it, it says that it is not recommended with my 6800 GTS, but it mostly worked, anyway. Sometimes after 1-3 hours of playing, it would slow down to being unplayable, and the rest of my computer would come to a crawl until I reboot - not sure if the nVidia driver crashed or if the card overheated - the card has no fan, just a huge heat sink. The computer is dust-free and relatively well ventilated.
Around the same time, another game (Lord of the Rings Online) occasionally started displaying random textures in the middle of the screen and stop working on a rare basis. I'm talking maybe one incident over 1-3 weeks of intense gaming over the weekend, so nothing easily pinpointed.

I'm hoping to still nurse this old puppy along for maybe another 6 months until I can afford to build a new one :-)

No rush - I hope you have a good weekend, and I'll still be around when you're back.

Thanks so much for all your time and useful information!