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Author Topic: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer [nvlddmkm problem!]  (Read 16945 times)

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LeonStrider

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    So I went to the Computer Viruses And Spyware section, hoping to fix this problem.  It still hasn't been fixed, so I hope someone here can help me.  Here is the updated copy & pasted summary of my problems from the Viruses And Spyware forum

    Almost a week ago I was playing a full-screen online game (MapleStory to be exact;
    http://mapleglobal.com)  and suddenly the game, along with the computer, just completely froze. 

    I couln't alt-tab out of the game, ctrl-alt-delete did not work either, so I had to reset my computer.  I tried getting in-game again, and about 10-20 seconds after getting in-game, it freezes again. 

    Almost immediately after the problem began with the game, my PC began to become unstable.  While I'm browsing the internet or even through my folders, one of the fans in my laptop would start to hum, and about 5 seconds later the computer would freeze, 3-5 seconds later the monitor would black out and 1 second after that, the screen would return to normal and everything would be unfrozen.  The humming noise that comes before is the tell-tale sign that this will happen.  Also it is not a fan I usually hear running; it sounds "smooth" when it runs, and I only hear that fan run when I'm playing full-screen games or games that take up alot of memory, like TankBall (which I will cover later), or even just programs in general that take up alot of memory.

    Also, sometimes the monitor will keep blacking out at random times WITHOUT freezing, usually just once or twice in a row, but sometimes it would keep blacking out every 2 seconds.  The thing is, unlike the problem stated about the monitor blacking out in your official Windows XP faq, and I quote: "The screen blacks out every few seconds, though the Windows seems to be operating underneath", in my case you cannot see Windows operating underneath.  The way my monitor blacks out is like how the screen blacks out when you change the resolution of your monitor.  Also, after the 5th-6th consecutive blackout, for the 1 second I can see my screen, all the windows that are opened look messed up, as if I changed the resolution to a much smaller one.

    Also, the total freezing of my system is not isolated to just that one full-screen online game:  I tried playing a flash game called TankBall 2 (http://maidmarian.com/tank.htm)  and I put it in "full-screen" (That is, I opened up the game in IE6 and pressed F11 to put the browser in full-screen; the game takes up the entire screen) then about 10 seconds later after getting in-game, the computer freezes the same way it froze in MapleStory.  I also tried not making IE6 full-screen while playing the game, and yet it still freezes.  Sometimes the computer just freezes on its own, regardless of what I'm doing.

    I tried watching a video using RealPlayer, and I couldn't watch it; the picture was all blurry.  I'm not sure if this is related to the problem, because I haven't used RealPlayer or any other video player on my PC for a few weeks.

    I have done the following in order from 1st to last:

    1.  Scanned for viruses/spyware using ZoneAlarm Security Suite
    2.  Ran Norton Systemworks Premier's One Button Checkup
    3.  Used Registry Mechanic 7 to diagnose and repair any registry files
    4.  After all of these attempts to fix the problem failed,  I used Norton Ghost to restore my system to its state back in November 2006.  Alot of my installed programs changed from Nov 2006 to Apr 2008 (And I mean alot),  and I was hoping that this would be the fix, but alas, it wasn't.  The problem persisted even in this reverted state.
    5.  At this point, I went to the Computer Viruses And Spyware section of ComputerHope and we tried to fix the problem.  It didn't work.  Details of this can be found here:  http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,55545.0.html

    Here are my PC's specs:

    « Last Edit: November 21, 2008, 10:41:24 AM by LeonStrider »

    LeonStrider

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      Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
      « Reply #1 on: April 23, 2008, 09:34:43 AM »
      Someone help please...  I need this laptop fixed asap before I start online schooling.

      Broni


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      Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
      « Reply #2 on: April 23, 2008, 09:45:10 AM »
      How does your computer behave in Safe Mode?

      LeonStrider

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        Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
        « Reply #3 on: April 23, 2008, 10:39:32 AM »
        In Safe Mode, my computer works just fine.  In fact, I'm typing this right now in Safe Mode, and I have no problems.  I tried watching a video using RealPlayer in Safe Mode, and there's no problems (besides having no sound).  Also,  I tried playing that Shockwave browser game TankBall and even though I couldn't connect to the game server, all my laptop fans were running, the laptop got hotter, and yet it didn't freeze. 

        There IS one problem however.  When I try to move a window, it lags really, really bad.  And it's the same when I try to scroll up/down.  But, this has been going on for as long as I can remember, so I don't think it's related to the problems I'm having right now.

        Broni


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        Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
        « Reply #4 on: April 23, 2008, 10:41:56 AM »
        What video card do you have? Did you try to get the newest drivers?

        LeonStrider

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          Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
          « Reply #5 on: April 23, 2008, 11:43:29 AM »
          I got the following information from the "Display" tab of the DirectX Diagnostic Tool:




          No, I have not updated any of my drivers.  The thing is, I don't know how.  Could you show me please?

          Broni


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          Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
          « Reply #6 on: April 23, 2008, 11:48:24 AM »
          Your driver is here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_169.21_whql.html
          It comes as exe file, so it should be self-installing file. Uninstall old driver through Device manager, first.

          LeonStrider

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            Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
            « Reply #7 on: April 23, 2008, 12:56:05 PM »
            Ok, I'm having a problem installing the new driver.

            I uninstalled the old driver through the Device Manager and restarted my PC.  Now, when I try to install the new driver I downloaded from the link you gave me, it won't let me do it.  It give me an error message that says "The NVIDIA setup program could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your current hardware.  Setup will now exit."  I closed ZoneAlarm and disabled ThreatFire before running this by the way.

            Broni


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            Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
            « Reply #8 on: April 23, 2008, 01:05:50 PM »
            Was the exe file, you downloaded self-installing file, or self-extracting file?
            You just double clicked on that file?

            LeonStrider

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              Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
              « Reply #9 on: April 23, 2008, 01:13:53 PM »
              There was only one download on the page you gave me.  I'm guessing it's the self-extracting file because when I double-clicked it, it said:




              Broni


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              Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
              « Reply #10 on: April 23, 2008, 01:15:24 PM »
              ...and what happened when extracting was over?

              LeonStrider

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                Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
                « Reply #11 on: April 23, 2008, 01:21:10 PM »
                It was able to extract, then it continues normally until I get to the setup screen.  The first thing I get after getting into the setup screen is this:


                Broni


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                Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
                « Reply #12 on: April 23, 2008, 01:26:52 PM »
                What is the brand, and model of your computer?

                LeonStrider

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                  Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
                  « Reply #13 on: April 23, 2008, 01:32:12 PM »
                  It's an ASUSTeK.  System model is M7V.

                  Broni


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                  Re: Computer instablility; blinking monitor, freezing computer
                  « Reply #14 on: April 23, 2008, 01:34:58 PM »
                  Oh, a laptop, that why that download gave you a problem.
                  Go here: http://laptopvideo2go.com/drivers