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FIX: nvlddmkm.sys has stopped responding and has recovered [VISTA ERROR]

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Huge breakthrough!

Ok, I have been through 7+ reinstalls with infinite hotfixes, updates and driver combinations; I have done the driverclean, install/delete/install/replace, bootleg drivers; I have tried no dreamscene/UAC/side bar; single GPU/1 stick of ram - and combinations of all of the above but still the evil BSOD nvlddmkm haunts me...until tonight.

Company of Heroes is my test. Every 3rd or 4th run of the performance test gives me the nvlddmkm. Just to note I get failures from my powersaver settings but I only have the monitor shutting off after 20 min, all else is power on. Another strange thing is I fried a Razor Copperhead during this process and still have issues with the RMAd one having the setting change at will. I had a good system with 169.09 for a short while but then I loaded Nero trial and that ended that. Event viewer tells me crap - I get this DistributedCom error I can't seem to shake and the Nero install gave me a registry leak but that was 5 installs ago.

So, today I did a driverclean and I tried 169.09 drivers and they failed. Resorted to trying bootleg 169.17 freakforce drivers and they failed (all installed using JenBell's method). I un-installed all of nVidia's recommended hotfixes, still failed, then I brainstormed... I started to wander off path and considered other causes. I started by looking at my GPU temps while running the CoH test. They jumped into the low 70's, not alarming. I had read about people switching to 8800 GTSs with no problem and other lower cards. I also remember reading that it could be due to timing issues and a handshake between the ram and the GPU. Then it struck me to consider slowing my card down. My 8800's are default core clocked at 630mhz. I didn't buy them because of the OC so I thought I might try dropping them down to the 600 or the 575 I have seen other cards at. The nVidia control panel only allows me to change one GPU so I had to install rivatuner. I installed it and dropped by 8800 gtxs to 575mhz and ran some tests.

It has only been a few hours but the CoH performance test has run 12 times in a row without error! That is unheard of for me! My fps went from 50-53 to 49-52...no big change. I will continue to test and report if there is a failure. This is a huge breakthrough for me but my experience tells me that this will not be the last time I see nvlddmkm...*******.

P.S. JenBell, great thread and pdf. Might I suggest a different wallpaper...the one in your pdf is rather distracting =)
 
Hiyah Dell...

While its great to hear u got it sorted out, I still feel we should be able to run the hardware at the speeds advertised...anything higher than this is always a bonus. I never under-clocked my eVGA Pre-OCed 8800ultra and probably never will. I can totally understand u doing it though.

People have previously posted that underclocking their dimm sticks had the same effect. I was doing this as well but never felt happy about it.

On a side note...I am training my new prodigy on the whole NVL thing...met him through friends and he is pretty good at most thing...had to show him the NVL fix like 4 times before he got it though...git.
So if anyone lives around the London area...PM me and I'll send him around to sort it all out for...totally free...he need's the training plus his people skill's...well I dont think they ever existed..oh and its all done for free. Only downer about the whole thing...he's is like pet...he is literally clueless until u put a PC/MAC infront of him and tell him what to do, I even have to remind him to eat...but he is like sooooo likable:-|
 
Now lets see... I have tried the whole JenBell method. Worked ok when I rebooted the system, but after running for some time guess what the ******* starts doing the whole NVL bs again. So I got so ticked off last week I went and bought a new card. Well I was all happy to see it was running well, and I was happy. But no now this morning it started the same bs again. NVL this NVL that. Now seriously if nVidia, MS and whoever else needs to get their heads together and find a solution for this. I can't sit there and shut down for an hour and let my system cool off, turn back on, wait a day and a half to two days for this to happen again. Granted it doesn't hurt to shut down for a little while here and there, but come on... This is getting to the point where I don't even want to buy nVidia anymore, and I'm an nVidia fan all the way.

But enough of that.... Does anybody have any suggestions as to what I should do with my issue here.

Oh I went from a 7600GT to 8600GT (XFX XXX edition)
 
Is your GPU over clocked?
Is it running cool enough?

If the clocks are too high, or if it has to throttel down to quickly form high temps, that can cause the same error.
 
I performed the fix, and I stopped getting the error. At least at stable clocks on my card.

I know that if I raise the clocks to high, along with possible artifacts, I may also get the above error as the card locks up.

45c is perfectly fine for a GPu, and on the low end I might add.

I would check to see that you aren't shorting anythign out on the card or motherboard.
 
Yeah that was one of the first things I checked. It just gets to me that no matter what I do I have this issue. But I have the 780i upgrade on the way so who knows maybe that will fix the problem.
 
HI.
I join the NVL party :mad:

I had try a lot of drivers, I even change my motherboard p5b deluxe to asus maximus, I water cool my 8800 ultra and the problem still persist...
I lower the ram to 667 and the problem persist in crysis, stalker and other hardcore games... but games like fifa08, cod4 and others had no problem...

windows updates and nov dx9/10 doesnt help, I dont know what to do... I wait crysis for so long, I spend a lot of money on it and I getting this f... error when I load a map... my error is the screen stop.. sound continue.. and the start to blink the image and the sound cant stop the game with ctrl-atl-del, and then dsod or crash to desktop with the NVL error.... sometimes I get artifacts in games but is not heat problem since my idle temp is 45c and my load temp is 53c and the car heatsink doesnt feel so hot.... I dont think is a problem of the car because pro street, cod4, fifa, and other games never had an issue...

last day I enter crysis and the menu was all weird, the name of the things were in variables, like a corrupt game, and I reinstalled like 3 times... also did windows reinstall like 3 times... and both windows or crysis are legit non cracked or anything....

somebody with my same problem? maybe is a software thing (creative drivers or something... or other software or windows update that is on conflict with something...)

Spec in the signature....

sorry my sucky english but I had to let it out :cry: Im so upset with this....
 
As far as drivers go I've used just about every driver version I can get my hands on. Tried a couple different 3rd party sets as well. It seems like the only ones it like was the default drivers Windows installs. But they just work a little better. So I get 3 days out of them before the problem starts.
 
Lil' help here.

Tried following the instructions. Looked like it was gonna work. But Vista still won't let me delete the extra nvlddmkm.sys files.

Ideas? I know I did the command promt stuff correct.

I've tried it in safe mode as well.
 
Last edited:
I fixed this problem on my PC simply.
I reseated the card and poof the error went away completely
 
Lil' help here.

Tried following the instructions. Looked like it was gonna work. But Vista still won't let me delete the extra nvlddmkm.sys files.

Ideas? I know I did the command promt stuff correct.

I've tried it in safe mode as well.

have you changed the ownership of the nvlddmkm folders to your login or administrator account? then applied all permissions?
right click folder.
security tab.
advanced.
ownership.
edit, change to your account.
apply.
ok.
edit permission tick all the boxes under administrator.
ok.
delete folder.

hope this helps.
:)
 
k.. so I'm a fool and did not reassign the folders in question. (26 instances!) But now all the nvlddmkm.sys files are removed cept for 2 from the new driver. I presume thats normal as I am running 2 cards.

Either way it seems to be working.

Thanks for the help!

YAY! :D :D
 
k.. so I'm a fool and did not reassign the folders in question. (26 instances!) But now all the nvlddmkm.sys files are removed cept for 2 from the new driver. I presume thats normal as I am running 2 cards.

Either way it seems to be working.

Thanks for the help!

YAY! :D :D



you may have to copy the nvlddmkm.sys into
nv_aw
nv_dm
nv_lh

otherwise your gonna run into probs...i did.
 
very nice guide, fixed my problem 3 times.

BUT, i had to re-install Vista 4 times because i can't use any new USB device, due to "Access Denied" message.
Untitled.jpg


i've posted on Microsoft forums, but they couldn't figure out why.

so i don't advice anyone to use this fix unless they are sure they won't install any new USB device or hardware.

although, can i ask what if you change the "takeown" and "cacls" commend's wildcat to
C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv.*
 
very nice guide, fixed my problem 3 times.

BUT, i had to re-install Vista 4 times because i can't use any new USB device, due to "Access Denied" message.
Untitled.jpg


i've posted on Microsoft forums, but they couldn't figure out why.

so i don't advice anyone to use this fix unless they are sure they won't install any new USB device or hardware.

although, can i ask what if you change the "takeown" and "cacls" commend's wildcat to
C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv.*

think you have to give rights back to the system, in the cads type system in place of your user name.
i also had a similar prob when i took ownership of the whole sys32 folder, just put ownership back to system again.
 
OK people...it simple...the cmd method gives exclusive rights to ur user account. The gui method maintains the system permissions and gives u the rights u need, my advice is to stop using the cmd method unless u really really need to...even then make sure its only for the nvlddmkm.sys file and nothing else...and an end this message is if enough it was...wii lass departs...[overdosed on iphone jailbreak drama 1.1.3]
 
No joy.... prob came back. :( have sytem restored to old drivers for now. Not playing any games. Hoping SP1 with fresh install and primary install of 169.32 driver will clear it up.
 
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