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go7900gs problem

post #1 of 21
6/19/07 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
Hello,


I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on my problem:

I bought a 1705 last August. Among the bells and whistles that I bought were 2GB RAM and a go7900gs vid card. Oh, I'm running it on XP, too.

So by October, the system was crashing particularly during graphic applications (read: games), and, after some suspicious memory checks, I had Dell replace the RAM. Problem generally solved -- the memory was checking fine now, and the crashes became less frequent.

But by April, the graphic crashing resumed. I reseated the RAM and it checks out ok. I've tried the most current Dell, Nvidia, and Xtreme-G video drivers. Xtreme-G gets the best result, but even then it crashes only less frequently.

At this point, I've had Dell replace the video card (and for some reason they insisted on replacing the LCD as well. The replacements were refurbished, and I'm particularly unhappy with the hazy replacement LCD. Dell has an order in to send me a new LCD, but they are not offering me a good solution for the video card.

My guess is that Nvidia has not kept the driver current enough, but how do I resolve that with Dell? Is there a comparable video card that will work with fewer hastles?

UPDATE: Dell has said they will swap out my go7900gs with a 256MD ATI card. Is there a comparable 256MB ATI card, or would I be accepting inferior hardware?

Thanks in advance...
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post #2 of 21
6/19/07 at 1:38pm
You may be a victim of the cheap-o 2-prong AC adapter. There are threads stickied above that relate others' identical experiences. Their problems were corrected by replacing their 90W adapter with a 130W from an XPS/M90.
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post #3 of 21
6/19/07 at 2:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rube View Post
You may be a victim of the cheap-o 2-prong AC adapter. There are threads stickied above that relate others' identical experiences. Their problems were corrected by replacing their 90W adapter with a 130W from an XPS/M90.
It's definitely a 90W adapter that I'm using -- the one that came from Dell with the laptop. I get no warning messages about it, though -- just graphic application and system crashes. Could those be symptoms of an underpowered adapter? Also, I've been using this adapter for almost a year now. Could using it for so long have any life-shortening affects on my laptop?
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post #4 of 21
6/19/07 at 2:30pm
The 130W is the one that would reduce the life of your system via heat and power although I wouldn't call it a significant decrease in life expectancy...Anyway, I didn't think you needed the 130W brick to just run the GS on stock settings but I guess you can try. Oh and also, no the ati card is not comparable at all.
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post #5 of 21
6/19/07 at 2:31pm
if it isn't that make sure you stay on dells case for this. I had a mystery issue with my 9300 for almost a year before they finally gave in and replaced the whole system with the 1705 in my sig.

need to check my adapter when I get home..
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post #6 of 21
6/19/07 at 2:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by zzpulp View Post
The 130W is the one that would reduce the life of your system via heat and power although I wouldn't call it a significant decrease in life expectancy...Anyway, I didn't think you needed the 130W brick to just run the GS on stock settings but I guess you can try. Oh and also, no the ati card is not comparable at all.
I figured as much about the ATI card. The Dell rep is trying to sell me on it by insisting that it doesn't draw off of system memory. Meanwhile, even Dell's own spec's for the card say otherwise. I won't press the issue of a higher wattage adapter, then. Thank you.
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post #7 of 21
6/19/07 at 2:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dman22 View Post
if it isn't that make sure you stay on dells case for this. I had a mystery issue with my 9300 for almost a year before they finally gave in and replaced the whole system with the 1705 in my sig. need to check my adapter when I get home..
I will. Nothing better to do at the moment~ Were there any magic words that got them to replace the system, or was it just a matter of attrition?
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post #8 of 21
6/19/07 at 3:08pm
Do you get any sort of error messages when it happens? Does the system just stop and reboot automatically? BSOD? Just hang?

Have you considered a software conflict may be causing this? Tried a full reformat? Does it happen in certain games more often than others? If you run a graphics test software like ATiTool, or benchmarking software like 3dMark do the crashes happen?

Do you have any temperature monitoring software? Are the temperatures spiking just before crash? Are the temps generally high?

Since this is the second card and you're getting the same result I'm just trying to get any other-than-hardware explanations out of the way.

P.S. DO NOT let them give you an ATI card. It is a significant down-grade from your current GPU. They're probably trying to pawn it off on you because apparently their stock is running low on the 7900 GS.
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post #9 of 21
6/19/07 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dougadamsfan View Post
Do you get any sort of error messages when it happens? Does the system just stop and reboot automatically? BSOD? Just hang? Have you considered a software conflict may be causing this? Tried a full reformat? Does it happen in certain games more often than others? If you run a graphics test software like ATiTool, or benchmarking software like 3dMark do the crashes happen? Do you have any temperature monitoring software? Are the temperatures spiking just before crash? Are the temps generally high? Since this is the second card and you're getting the same result I'm just trying to get any other-than-hardware explanations out of the way. P.S. DO NOT let them give you an ATI card. It is a significant down-grade from your current GPU. They're probably trying to pawn it off on you because apparently their stock is running low on the 7900 GS.
One of two things happens -- either a hanging, basic BSOD without memory details, or the application (like World of Warcraft) just crashes to dekstop. After a BSOD, I have to power-down the laptop and then restart it. I thought about a software conflict -- I thought it might be related to BitTorrent, Trillian, or Firefox and alt-tabbing. But I can't reproduce anything consistently. It definitely happens when I'm running games. I haven't had the crash happen otherwise. As far as temperature goes, I don't have any software to monitor the temperature, but I'd be glad to try out a recommendation. I don't have 3DMark, but I'm downloading it now to see if I can reproduce the crash.
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post #10 of 21
6/19/07 at 4:19pm
For temps try i8kfangui. It also has a fan controller in it but you can continue to use the default fan controls if you want.

Let us know what happens with 3DMark. My basic thinking here is using other GPU intensive applications to give a better idea as to software conflict or hardware problem.

Does it happen in 3D games other than WoW? And when the app just shuts down it never opens the WoW error reporter? Every time I've ever crashed out (less than a handful of times but it happens) it has opened up for me. If you don't play any other games right now, you can try downloading some demos. The more programs you can replicate the failure in, the more it suggests either a driver corruption (I know you tried several so likely not the case) or a hardware failure. Oh yeah do you have any driver cleaner programs to clean out the old registry entries and whatnot? DCpro used to be great but I remember hearing that they discontinued the free version. I don't know if there is a newer freeware driver cleaner out there.

As much as it is a pain in the ass, they (Dell) are probably going to ask you to reformat/reinstall.
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post #11 of 21
6/19/07 at 4:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dougadamsfan View Post
For temps try i8kfangui. It also has a fan controller in it but you can continue to use the default fan controls if you want. Let us know what happens with 3DMark. My basic thinking here is using other GPU intensive applications to give a better idea as to software conflict or hardware problem. Does it happen in 3D games other than WoW? And when the app just shuts down it never opens the WoW error reporter? Every time I've ever crashed out (less than a handful of times but it happens) it has opened up for me. If you don't play any other games right now, you can try downloading some demos. The more programs you can replicate the failure in, the more it suggests either a driver corruption (I know you tried several so likely not the case) or a hardware failure. Oh yeah do you have any driver cleaner programs to clean out the old registry entries and whatnot? DCpro used to be great but I remember hearing that they discontinued the free version. I don't know if there is a newer freeware driver cleaner out there. As much as it is a pain in the ass, they (Dell) are probably going to ask you to reformat/reinstall.
I've had the problem in several games, all with a 3-D component -- like FarCry and WH40K Dawn of War. Yep, between driver installs I've used Driver Clearner Pro and CCleaner. I'm tempted to do the hard drive reformat -- I used to do that with quirks on all the desktops I used to make . . . but darnit that's a pain in the butt.
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post #12 of 21
6/19/07 at 5:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cold4321 View Post
but darnit that's a pain in the butt.
I know
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post #13 of 21
6/19/07 at 5:10pm
I recently had a very similar issue with my 1705 when I got it. It was overheating like crazy and then crashing fully, not just a BSOD, but actually just cutting out fully with the power still being on. You definitely need to watch the temperatures as you are playing games. There is a definite chance it could be that. As stated i8kfangui is a great well designed program for monitoring temps and controlling fans. Also the 1705 bios fan control is horrible from what I read, so having i8kfangui is great anyways.
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post #14 of 21
6/20/07 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dougadamsfan View Post
For temps try i8kfangui. It also has a fan controller in it but you can continue to use the default fan controls if you want. Let us know what happens with 3DMark. My basic thinking here is using other GPU intensive applications to give a better idea as to software conflict or hardware problem.
So far, temps appear normal, even with games running. I am still trying to get a good download of 3dMark...
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post #15 of 21
6/20/07 at 11:41am
GS cost more than ATI POS and there are many reasons why it costs more. I wouldn't take that replacement.
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post #16 of 21
6/20/07 at 12:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cold4321 View Post
So far, temps appear normal, even with games running. I am still trying to get a good download of 3dMark...
ran 3d mark 06, scored in the 3,000s, no crash . . .
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post #17 of 21
6/20/07 at 1:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cold4321 View Post
ran 3d mark 06, scored in the 3,000s, no crash . . .
Seems about right without an overclock IIRC. Try running it several times consecutively. Monitor your temps throughout. If it is an overheating problem it should show up after a few runs.
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post #18 of 21
6/21/07 at 5:28pm
Thread Starter 
.:UPDATE:.

The housecall technician arrived at my house today. He brought with him a replacement LCD and replacement GO7900GS. According to the Dell rep's email correspondences, both parts were supposed to be new. In fact, both were refurbished.

The replacement LCD had a scratch running across it lengthwise. The tech didn't even bother replacing it -- it's going right back to Dell.

The replacement video card showed white pixles on startup. The tech ended up putting the previous card back in. The replacement video card is also on its way back to Dell.

After a week of communication with Dell, two poorly conditioned, airmailed parts, and 2 hours of tech housecall labor, I am no better off. Oh, I am worse off because the tech said that the video card fan doesn't seem to be working, and he would recommend replacing the fan and the motherboard, too.

Back to emailing Dell's escalation rep. I'm telling him that I have patience for one more round of new replacements, and then he needs to come up with a new machine. There's no weight to my ultimatum, but this Dell service is crap (although the housecall technicians have been really good). I just want to go someplace local and get this fixed.
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post #19 of 21
6/29/07 at 12:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cold4321 View Post
ran 3d mark 06, scored in the 3,000s, no crash . . .
update: 3 video card and lcd switches and one month later, Dell is going to send a new system replacement...an XPS. It doesn't seem the go7900gs or the 7200rpm hard drive are available in the lesser models...
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post #20 of 21
7/5/07 at 5:03pm
Are you by any chance playing WOW.... if you are then there is a high chance that it will keep messing up your video memory.... for some reason the game has a major problem with the Nvidia and ATI video cards. It requires a patch and that patch tends to over clock the video memory and eventually it will **** it up....
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