Display Driver Error

[Uziel]

Alright... I suppose this one has to do with my video cards.

This is my overall rig:

Mother board: Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Processor: Core i7 920 at 2.67 GHz
Memory: Corsair Dominator 6GB (3x2GB) 1600MHz
Video Card: EVGA NVidia GeForce GTX 285 1GB Superclocked Edition, that's 2 cards in SLi.
Power Supply Unit: Antec 1000w True Power Quattro
Case: Antec 1200 ATX Full Tower
Operative System: Windows Vista Enterprice, Service Pack 2, 64bit.
Monitor: ASUS VW266H 25.5-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor, working on 1920 x 1200

Now, everytime I start my computer, and then I start the first game of that sesion this error comes up:

Then, I usually can keep on playing.
Sometimes, the games keep crashing on start up, or they display a dirty image.

As to cooling my computer (this should be somehow relevant) here's what I've got:

My cpu heatsink/fan is the one that came with the chip. That fan's speed usually sits around 1300 rpm while iddle, and i think around 2200 under load.

As to the case, the six fans it has are the ones build into it. The 3 on the front are blowing air into the case, I have these set to max (sorry i don't have a rpm, but i don't know where to look for it for these fans). The two rear fans and the one on the top are extracting air, these are set to medium (they just have 3 sets: low, mid, high)


Also, my 2 graphic cards have the fans set to 75%. The default set is 40%. I heard 60% was enough, but I wanted to give it an extra something.

My Precision Tool is set up like this:

So! Any ideas to solve my problems?

Thank you very much!

 

[KidHorn]

If this only happens when you startup games, you probably have an issue with DX9 or DX10 and your video driver. I recommend getting the latest version of both DX and the latest version of the video drivers for your OS and reinstalling them.

 

[ridic23]

There is no single solution to this problem....its sometimes simple to solve this like turning off aero or re-installing the driver.....If u can then use XP to play and see if the rig runs correctly just to rule out the prospect of hardware failure....I had my 295 replaced because of this error and it also crashed in XP......try downgrading the driver to a previous stable version.....for installing the drivers use drivers sweeper to completely remove any remnants of previous versions and then install....Hope this helps....

 

[Uziel]

Thanks for the recomendations.
I'll get driver sweeper right away.
And, as to the drivers, I know that the lastest driver for the video cards is the 191.07... right?
And for the DX10 driver, how do I make sure I have the last one? I have always just installed it from windows update.

By the way, is the sweeper i want Guru3D Driver Sweeper? That's the first one that came up in google, but I do see other sweepers.

 

[ridic23]

Yes thats the driver sweeper....yes the latest driver is 191.07....for the latest version of DX 10 search microsoft's dowload center.....HAve u monitored the card temperature???....If not download GPU-z and check for sudden spikes in temp....they may also lead to this error....If u r still having trouble after installing the latest driver use old ones....If u want more solution there is a site dedicated 2 this nvlddmkm.com...they have other solutions.....if none helps then better get in touch with the customer service.....

 

[Uziel]

Alright!
On an update, today I got my Windows 7.
All drivers and software are up and running.
After testing the first game, the same error happened, but the message was slightly different. I wasn't fast enough to catch the screen shot of it, but I will get it tomorrow.
What I did notice tonight on the Precision tool, was that when I launch a game, the first video card goes up on the clocks as high as the set up lets them, but the second card is barely going up.
Is that supposed to happen on a SLi configuration, or is my second card screwed?

 

[Uziel]

So, Windows 7.

First game I tried was the one I had nearest me.

Demigod.

Here is how the video cards behaved:

EVGA Precision Values

Iddle:

GPU1 Temp: 44c-45c
GPU2 Temp: 41c-42c

GPU1 Fan Speed: 75% - 2635 rpm
GPU2 Fan Speed: 75% - 2600 rpm
These are manually set to stay like that.

GPU1 Core Clock: 301 MHz
GPU2 Core Clock: 301 MHz

GPU1 Shader Clock: 602 MHz
GPU2 Shader Clock: 602 MHz

GPU1 Memory Clock: 100 MHz
GPU2 Memory Clock: 100 MHz

When a game launches, values change to:

GPU1 Temp: 46c-48c
Gpu2 Temp: 43c-44c

GPU1 Fan Speed: 75% - 2635 rpm
GPU2 Fan Speed: 75% - 2600 rpm
These are manually set to stay like that.

GPU1 Core Clock: 675 MHz
GPU2 Core Clock: 675 MHz

GPU1 Shader Clock: 1548 MHz
GPU2 Shader Clock: 1548 MHz

GPU1 Memory Clock: 1269 MHz
GPU2 Memory Clock: 1269 MHz

After a game launches, and you keep on playing, it settles on:

GPU1 Temp: 50c-59c
Gpu2 Temp: 50c-56c
Keeps going back and forth between these values.

GPU1 Fan Speed: 75% - 2635 rpm
GPU2 Fan Speed: 75% - 2600 rpm
These are manually set to stay like that.

GPU1 Core Clock: 400 MHz
GPU2 Core Clock: 400 MHz

GPU1 Shader Clock: 799 MHz
GPU2 Shader Clock: 799 MHz

GPU1 Memory Clock: 300 MHz
GPU2 Memory Clock: 300 MHz

Now, that error seems to keep happening. I checked the website (nvlddmkm.com) and they list 12 possible solutions, but in the end, it can be anything.
One that called my attention was this one:

Solution 11: Disable Powermizer

Thanks to skym0903 for this tip. Disabling nVidia’s Powermizer feature may help move this error. He says that whenever he gets this error, he notices that the core clock changes. The reason for this is that the Powermizer feature downclocks your video card so it would save energy. Perhaps changing clocks in the middle of the game might be causing the nvlddmkm error so disabling the Powermizer feature will remove the problem.

How accurate is this?

 

[ridic23]

From the extensive details u have given....I can say ur hardware is alright....temps are good...The second card is only used when necessary....if the 1st card is capable of handling the game then the 2nd card stays quiet....Can u play the game continuously or is it happening frequently?????.....Windows 7 follows the same system structure as vista so the error tends to repeat itself even in the new OS and I think it will show "nvidia kernal mode driver stopped"....anyways all the same .....Try out the powermizer solution....i actually dont know about it....searched my system and cant find it....If u can play games without a hitch in win XP then u can stop worrying about faulty hardware....In my opinion i dont think its the hardware.....

 

[Uziel]

Yes, Windows 7 displays the error as Kernel something or the other.
And, in my case, this error only pops up once. And that is after windows starts and the first game is launched.
After that hiccup, I can keep on playing. No issues at all.
I can launch different games after that first hiccup, but it doesn't happen again.
I have even ran 2 games at the same time, and everything works 100% OK.
It's just that initial bumb that I am kinda concerned about.

 

[Mousemonkey]

You could always give 195.39 beta's a go.

 

[ridic23]

Then no need 2 worry.....Its a minor software issue i suppose....As mentioned use the newer driver version 195.38b.....u only need 2 worry when the error bcomes unbearably frequent as in my case.....happens every min or so.....SLI configs report more of this error than single cards....most of em r due 2 bad drivers....ATI also has this error albeit with a different name.....Good Luck...cheers...