Nvidia Driver Problem

cdrsubron7 · 03-13-08, 09:00 AM

I just rercently upgraded my computer with a new processor, motherboard and 4 gigs of memory and switched to Vista Ultimate 64-bit OS. Since reinstalling SHIV followed by the U-Boat addon I've been getting these display driver problems, sometimes BSOD or just the driver has failed and just recovered. The culprit seems to be a file called nulddmkm.sys. The new parts I added were a eVGA 780i motherboard, an Intel e8400 Duo 2 Core Processor and 4 gigs of Patriot Viper PC2-6400 memory. I just wondering if anybody else has run into this problem and what you did to fix the problem. I've tried quite a few diferent set of display drivers including the new Omega drivers for a 64-bit system and have had no changes. The problem occurs when a ship appears or I hit a ship with a torpedo. As soon as the graphics get intensive I get this nulddmkm.sys error. Comments or suggestions on what to do would be most welcome as I'm getting very fustrated with this problem. As it stands right now, SHIV is unplayable with this error problem happening every time I try playing.

Deimos01 · 03-13-08, 04:47 PM

Ahh, you have just got bitten by the dreaded nvlddmkm error otherwise known as a TDR. I as well as many other ppl have been experiencing this nightmare. The short and sweet is a TDR can be caused by many different issues. However, the same symptom appears. The screen freezes and goes black, comes back on with the display driver stopped responding message. This problem can be because of bad drivers, dodgy hardware, vista/nvidia conflicts, heat... etc. I have been beating my head against a wall for 4 months now with this on a brand new Dell XPS 720.

The bad news is, there is no magic bullet to fix this problem. You need to figure what is causing the problem which usually involves a whole lot of trial and error since no solutions works for everyone. In my case, after trying many other fixes with no luck I finally did a clean instal of vista. I got the error after the first boot. The MS hotfixes that are supposed to fix this have not worked for me but have for others. If you go to the Nvidia driver page there is a link to get said hotfixes. Maybe they will work for you.

At this point Im at a loss as to what to do next other than demand Dell send me a computer that works. This problem, for me is not confined to SH4. It happens randomly in any setting and even when my comp is sitting idle.

I have tried the MS hotfixes, multiple drivers, tweeks, twitches and even a voodoo ritual to no avail finally ending with the vista re-install. Its not heat either as my cards run at 55c idle and this problem happens at idle too.
This thing is like a vampire in a bad B movie. It just keeps comming back.

Oh, try googling nvlddmkm. There are many topics out there on it. Maybe one might solve your issue. Good luck and Cheers!

Midnight Hunter · 03-13-08, 04:57 PM

You said the magic words.... any time you order a machine from Dell the FIRST thing to do is flash the bios, as dell parts sit and sit waiting to be used in a build and the bios can be 1 or more versions behind. I recently had a similar issue with Vista and after a quick bios flash all my issues went away.

I would recommend to you as well cdrsubron7, try a bios flash first and foremost, I have found 90% of my errors with Vista (I am in IT and see a TON of them) are cured with bios flashes and driver updates. Since you have apparently done all the driver updates, try the bios flash.

Hope this works for you...

cdrsubron7 · 03-13-08, 10:43 PM

One of the first things I did with this motherboard was flash the Bios. Still didn't help any. I've got a few ideas left to try, but I'm beginning to think I made a big mistake in my motherboard selections.

Deimos01 · 03-14-08, 08:14 AM

Aye, I flashed the bios right after the first time I updated my video drivers. Didnt help.

I think I may be narrowing this down for me though. I pulled the SLI bridge and one of my cards. No errors after nearly an hour of gametime.

Pulled that card and installed the other. Again, no errors so far. I have so far run each card individually in each PCIe slot with no errors.

The only thing I noticed with both cards is that while being dc'd and the lights in the sub go out and come back on the images are all messed up. You ever seen those comics where everything is drawn in just black and white with no grey shading, knda like the Sin City comics? Thats what it looks like, except I still have color. I reproduced this on each card.

So, at this point Im still not sure but feel Im getting closer to a solution. Maybe its the SLI bridge itself.

So to recap, either card in either slot alone... no errors. Both cards installed with SLI disabled.... errors. Both cards with SLI enabled... errors.

Let me ask this. What is a good way to stress a card so I can really test this?

Midnight Hunter · 03-14-08, 09:51 AM

Here is a link to a rather intense testing software (this is the 2006 version which is free)

http://www.download.com/3DMark06-Bas...html?tag=lst-2

3DMARK is an indepth tester that will push your card to the limits (and depending on your card, maybe over the limits) and give you a breakdown of what your card can and can't do.

If you would like to do a scan of your whole system they have a scanner for that as well (this version is a little older (2004) but it is free and a good tool.

http://www.download.com/PCMark04/300...html?tag=lst-1

Hope these tools can help you enough to pinpoint the issue your having

Deimos01 · 03-14-08, 11:26 AM

Thanks Midnight, Ill give that a shot.

Cdrsubron7,
Here is a link for those MS hotfixes I mentioned.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/windows..._hotfixes.html

If you havent tried these yet they may solve you issue as they have worked for some folks getting the nvlddmkm error. Along with these, the first and easiest options are to flash the bios as Midnight said, update to latest drivers. Also, have you overclocked you cards or where they factory OC'd? If so you may want to dial them back as this has also been noted as a cause.
Other possible fixes:
Turn off User Account Control for Vista
Turn off Windows Aero
Turn of Dreamscape if you are using it
Check and make sure your power supply is up to the task. Most are suggesting at least a 750w.
Monitor you temps. This problem can also be related to heat. Rivatuner makes a nice program for that if you dont have one and also allows you to set you fan speed and OC your cards.
If none of this works then its time to start testing you hardware including your memory as I have heard that in addition to a bad video card this problem can also be the result of dodgy memory.
Worse comes to worse you may want to revert back to XP. Apparently, Vista is very fussy about things not being just right where XP was a bit more forgiving. I would wait till Vista SP1 comes out before doing that however since it is supposed to fix many issues.
Thats about all I can think of to try and its basically a rundown of everything I have done so far. Hopefully you will have better results than me.

Keep us posted on how its going. Id be interested if you come across a solution that works for you. I will do the same if I get my problem fixed.

kylesplanet · 03-14-08, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdrsubron7

One of the first things I did with this motherboard was flash the Bios. Still didn't help any. I've got a few ideas left to try, but I'm beginning to think I made a big mistake in my motherboard selections.

Well if it makes you feel better, I have the 680SLI Nforce in an Alienware and I have been really happy with it, it has performed very well although I had to flash the bios as soon as I fired it up as mentioned above.

I hope you get it worked out and wish I could help but it is probably something other than your mobo because there have been a few with this problem with different brands of mobo's.

Good luck bro!

cdrsubron7 · 03-14-08, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deimos01

Thanks Midnight, Ill give that a shot.

Cdrsubron7,
Here is a link for those MS hotfixes I mentioned.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/windows..._hotfixes.html

If you havent tried these yet they may solve you issue as they have worked for some folks getting the nvlddmkm error. Along with these, the first and easiest options are to flash the bios as Midnight said, update to latest drivers. Also, have you overclocked you cards or where they factory OC'd? If so you may want to dial them back as this has also been noted as a cause.
Other possible fixes:
Turn off User Account Control for Vista
Turn off Windows Aero
Turn of Dreamscape if you are using it
Check and make sure your power supply is up to the task. Most are suggesting at least a 750w.
Monitor you temps. This problem can also be related to heat. Rivatuner makes a nice program for that if you dont have one and also allows you to set you fan speed and OC your cards.
If none of this works then its time to start testing you hardware including your memory as I have heard that in addition to a bad video card this problem can also be the result of dodgy memory.
Worse comes to worse you may want to revert back to XP. Apparently, Vista is very fussy about things not being just right where XP was a bit more forgiving. I would wait till Vista SP1 comes out before doing that however since it is supposed to fix many issues.
Thats about all I can think of to try and its basically a rundown of everything I have done so far. Hopefully you will have better results than me.

Keep us posted on how its going. Id be interested if you come across a solution that works for you. I will do the same if I get my problem fixed.

Thanks for the suggestions, Diemos. I appreciate your suggestions.

As mentioned before the one of the first things I did with the 780i was was flash the Bios (P03). When adding a new motherboard to my computer the I always add the latest drivers, same goes for the video card which is stock by the way as i never have learned to overclock.

The UAC is off

Don't use Dreamscape.

I am however using Vista Aero. Never had problems before with 32-bit Vista, but thats a different ballgame.

My PSU is a Enermax "Liberty" 620w. You think it is too small for what I have now?

I have just recently run 3dmark06 on my computer and got a score of 11649.

Thanks again for the suggestions, I've been thinking about a new PSU, maybe its time to get one.

maerean_m · 03-15-08, 12:48 AM

I know you won't be able to access the whole 4Gb RAM, but you should try Vista 32bit.

snakeyez · 03-15-08, 01:02 AM

You aren't alone here.

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...5/m/7691074936

I don't believe it's your system, it's just something new that v1.5 introduced for certain NVIDIA cards IMHO.

I found SP1 for Vista and it seems to have helped with this specific issue. I haven't played enough yet to be certain though. Before you do any further messing with your rig, wait until SP1 is officially released through Windows Update and give it a try.

Last I heard, SP1 for Vista is supposed to show on Windows Update on March 18th.

cdrsubron7 · 03-15-08, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maerean_m

I know you won't be able to access the whole 4Gb RAM, but you should try Vista 32bit.

I was using vista Ultimate 32-bit before I upgraded to Vista Ultimate 64-bit and SHIV ran perfectly. i guess I'm just going through some growing pains.

FIREWALL · 03-15-08, 06:54 PM

I can take the laughter. :rotfl:

What doe's " Flash the Bios " mean and how do you do it ?

Is this something a guy who is computer dangerous to himself and others, but has adventure in his soul can do?

wteapot · 03-15-08, 08:34 PM

I have run into this issue.

Using patch 1.4 = rock solid

Install U-Boat missions add-on
Blue screen, as soon as torpedo strikes target
The sound goes into a loop, i'll get a black screen, with the game screen popping back up a couple of times (that would be the graphics driver attempting to reset)
and then blue screen

Gone back to 1.4, and it's rock solid stable again

All my other games that seriously stress the graphics card are stable (eg - Crysis)

I'm using
Vista Home Premium
Motherboard: Asus P5N32-E (using latest BIOS)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra (driver 169.25)
RAM: 2046Mb

snakeyez · 03-15-08, 10:22 PM

Yessir, it's the same with all of us.

Vista+NVIDIA 8XXX series video card+SH4 v1.5 Add-On = trouble

I'm confident that either Vista SP1 or else an eventual v1.6 patch from Ubi will fix this.

03-13-08, 09:00 AM	#1
cdrsubron7 Sink'em All Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 2,150 Downloads: 305 Uploads: 1	Nvidia Driver Problem I just rercently upgraded my computer with a new processor, motherboard and 4 gigs of memory and switched to Vista Ultimate 64-bit OS. Since reinstalling SHIV followed by the U-Boat addon I've been getting these display driver problems, sometimes BSOD or just the driver has failed and just recovered. The culprit seems to be a file called nulddmkm.sys. The new parts I added were a eVGA 780i motherboard, an Intel e8400 Duo 2 Core Processor and 4 gigs of Patriot Viper PC2-6400 memory. I just wondering if anybody else has run into this problem and what you did to fix the problem. I've tried quite a few diferent set of display drivers including the new Omega drivers for a 64-bit system and have had no changes. The problem occurs when a ship appears or I hit a ship with a torpedo. As soon as the graphics get intensive I get this nulddmkm.sys error. Comments or suggestions on what to do would be most welcome as I'm getting very fustrated with this problem. As it stands right now, SHIV is unplayable with this error problem happening every time I try playing. __________________ Head Deep and Keep'em Astern" - LtCDR Samuel D Dealy SHIV Guide \| Imperial Japanese Navy \| US Submarines

03-13-08, 04:47 PM	#2
Deimos01 Frogman Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St louis Posts: 304 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Ahh, you have just got bitten by the dreaded nvlddmkm error otherwise known as a TDR. I as well as many other ppl have been experiencing this nightmare. The short and sweet is a TDR can be caused by many different issues. However, the same symptom appears. The screen freezes and goes black, comes back on with the display driver stopped responding message. This problem can be because of bad drivers, dodgy hardware, vista/nvidia conflicts, heat... etc. I have been beating my head against a wall for 4 months now with this on a brand new Dell XPS 720. The bad news is, there is no magic bullet to fix this problem. You need to figure what is causing the problem which usually involves a whole lot of trial and error since no solutions works for everyone. In my case, after trying many other fixes with no luck I finally did a clean instal of vista. I got the error after the first boot. The MS hotfixes that are supposed to fix this have not worked for me but have for others. If you go to the Nvidia driver page there is a link to get said hotfixes. Maybe they will work for you. At this point Im at a loss as to what to do next other than demand Dell send me a computer that works. This problem, for me is not confined to SH4. It happens randomly in any setting and even when my comp is sitting idle. I have tried the MS hotfixes, multiple drivers, tweeks, twitches and even a voodoo ritual to no avail finally ending with the vista re-install. Its not heat either as my cards run at 55c idle and this problem happens at idle too. This thing is like a vampire in a bad B movie. It just keeps comming back. Oh, try googling nvlddmkm. There are many topics out there on it. Maybe one might solve your issue. Good luck and Cheers! __________________ "No matter where you go... there you are" - Buckaroo Banzai

03-13-08, 10:43 PM	#4
cdrsubron7 Sink'em All Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Naperville, IL Posts: 2,150 Downloads: 305 Uploads: 1	One of the first things I did with this motherboard was flash the Bios. Still didn't help any. I've got a few ideas left to try, but I'm beginning to think I made a big mistake in my motherboard selections. __________________ Head Deep and Keep'em Astern" - LtCDR Samuel D Dealy SHIV Guide \| Imperial Japanese Navy \| US Submarines

03-14-08, 08:14 AM	#5
Deimos01 Frogman Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St louis Posts: 304 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Aye, I flashed the bios right after the first time I updated my video drivers. Didnt help. I think I may be narrowing this down for me though. I pulled the SLI bridge and one of my cards. No errors after nearly an hour of gametime. Pulled that card and installed the other. Again, no errors so far. I have so far run each card individually in each PCIe slot with no errors. The only thing I noticed with both cards is that while being dc'd and the lights in the sub go out and come back on the images are all messed up. You ever seen those comics where everything is drawn in just black and white with no grey shading, knda like the Sin City comics? Thats what it looks like, except I still have color. I reproduced this on each card. So, at this point Im still not sure but feel Im getting closer to a solution. Maybe its the SLI bridge itself. So to recap, either card in either slot alone... no errors. Both cards installed with SLI disabled.... errors. Both cards with SLI enabled... errors. Let me ask this. What is a good way to stress a card so I can really test this? __________________ "No matter where you go... there you are" - Buckaroo Banzai

03-14-08, 11:26 AM	#7
Deimos01 Frogman Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St louis Posts: 304 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Thanks Midnight, Ill give that a shot. Cdrsubron7, Here is a link for those MS hotfixes I mentioned. http://www.nvidia.com/object/windows..._hotfixes.html If you havent tried these yet they may solve you issue as they have worked for some folks getting the nvlddmkm error. Along with these, the first and easiest options are to flash the bios as Midnight said, update to latest drivers. Also, have you overclocked you cards or where they factory OC'd? If so you may want to dial them back as this has also been noted as a cause. Other possible fixes: Turn off User Account Control for Vista Turn off Windows Aero Turn of Dreamscape if you are using it Check and make sure your power supply is up to the task. Most are suggesting at least a 750w. Monitor you temps. This problem can also be related to heat. Rivatuner makes a nice program for that if you dont have one and also allows you to set you fan speed and OC your cards. If none of this works then its time to start testing you hardware including your memory as I have heard that in addition to a bad video card this problem can also be the result of dodgy memory. Worse comes to worse you may want to revert back to XP. Apparently, Vista is very fussy about things not being just right where XP was a bit more forgiving. I would wait till Vista SP1 comes out before doing that however since it is supposed to fix many issues. Thats about all I can think of to try and its basically a rundown of everything I have done so far. Hopefully you will have better results than me. Keep us posted on how its going. Id be interested if you come across a solution that works for you. I will do the same if I get my problem fixed. __________________ "No matter where you go... there you are" - Buckaroo Banzai

03-13-08, 04:57 PM	#3
Midnight Hunter Mate Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 56 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	You said the magic words.... any time you order a machine from Dell the FIRST thing to do is flash the bios, as dell parts sit and sit waiting to be used in a build and the bios can be 1 or more versions behind. I recently had a similar issue with Vista and after a quick bios flash all my issues went away. I would recommend to you as well cdrsubron7, try a bios flash first and foremost, I have found 90% of my errors with Vista (I am in IT and see a TON of them) are cured with bios flashes and driver updates. Since you have apparently done all the driver updates, try the bios flash. Hope this works for you...

03-14-08, 09:51 AM	#6
Midnight Hunter Mate Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 56 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Here is a link to a rather intense testing software (this is the 2006 version which is free) http://www.download.com/3DMark06-Bas...html?tag=lst-2 3DMARK is an indepth tester that will push your card to the limits (and depending on your card, maybe over the limits) and give you a breakdown of what your card can and can't do. If you would like to do a scan of your whole system they have a scanner for that as well (this version is a little older (2004) but it is free and a good tool. http://www.download.com/PCMark04/300...html?tag=lst-1 Hope these tools can help you enough to pinpoint the issue your having

03-15-08, 12:48 AM	#10
maerean_m Captain Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bucharest, Romania Posts: 529 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I know you won't be able to access the whole 4Gb RAM, but you should try Vista 32bit. __________________ Kilroy was here

03-15-08, 01:02 AM	#11
snakeyez Last Man Down Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mississippi, USA Posts: 242 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	You aren't alone here. http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/t...5/m/7691074936 I don't believe it's your system, it's just something new that v1.5 introduced for certain NVIDIA cards IMHO. I found SP1 for Vista and it seems to have helped with this specific issue. I haven't played enough yet to be certain though. Before you do any further messing with your rig, wait until SP1 is officially released through Windows Update and give it a try. Last I heard, SP1 for Vista is supposed to show on Windows Update on March 18th. __________________ SUBMARINEMUSEUMS.ORG - These are the submarines in your neighborhood! Get involved, they need you. Doyle Blalock - the life of my WWII submarine veteran grandfather. Drum228.org - devoted to the Gato-class museum sub USS Drum (SS-228) complete with war patrol reports, historical info, and restoration progress.

03-15-08, 06:54 PM	#13
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	I can take the laughter. :rotfl: What doe's " Flash the Bios " mean and how do you do it ? Is this something a guy who is computer dangerous to himself and others, but has adventure in his soul can do? __________________ RIP FIREWALL I Play GWX. Silent Hunter Who ???

03-15-08, 08:34 PM	#14
wteapot Swabbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	I have run into this issue. Using patch 1.4 = rock solid Install U-Boat missions add-on Blue screen, as soon as torpedo strikes target The sound goes into a loop, i'll get a black screen, with the game screen popping back up a couple of times (that would be the graphics driver attempting to reset) and then blue screen Gone back to 1.4, and it's rock solid stable again All my other games that seriously stress the graphics card are stable (eg - Crysis) I'm using Vista Home Premium Motherboard: Asus P5N32-E (using latest BIOS) NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra (driver 169.25) RAM: 2046Mb

03-15-08, 10:22 PM	#15
snakeyez Last Man Down Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mississippi, USA Posts: 242 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	Yessir, it's the same with all of us. Vista+NVIDIA 8XXX series video card+SH4 v1.5 Add-On = trouble I'm confident that either Vista SP1 or else an eventual v1.6 patch from Ubi will fix this. __________________ SUBMARINEMUSEUMS.ORG - These are the submarines in your neighborhood! Get involved, they need you. Doyle Blalock - the life of my WWII submarine veteran grandfather. Drum228.org - devoted to the Gato-class museum sub USS Drum (SS-228) complete with war patrol reports, historical info, and restoration progress.