HELP! Nvidia drivers won't install

RaTaSuM

Junior Member
Oct 9, 2008
14
0
0
Hi guys,

I have a HUGE problem right now. My 8800GTX's drivers won't properly install.

Last night I installed the 178.13 drivers and everything was fine. I used my computer this morning and it was working great also. I come home later to find out that the nvlddmkm (sp?) was malfunctioning. I was getting the pop-up saying "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered." This occurred repeatedly, almost every couple of seconds until a BSOD came. This has happened occasionally before, so I restarted but found that it kept occurring. I then assumed it was the new drivers, so I uninstalled those, driver swept, and installed 177.92. Those worked for an hour until things REALLY got messed up. My computer BSOD'd again and when I rebooted, the BIOS was #$%^ed had all these lines going through it and the text was all gibberish. Something like "||||||^k|||]" all over the screen. Windows had many lines also. OK....I then uninstalled those and went way back to 169, good and stable drivers. Problem is, they can't install. Whenever I try installing, I boot back up to find that nothing has changed. I tried installing from Device Manager, but got the same result. I can see videos but I can't play any games.

SO...I'm wondering now, how do I get these SOBs to install?

SCREENSHOT: Text <--UPDATE (see below)

System Specs:
GIGABYTE P35-DS3R
INTEL Q6600
EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768mb
VISTA64

PS. I HOPE that it isn't a hardware issue...I'm thinking it MIGHT be because I left my computer on for an extended period of time in a relatively hot room. I leave my computer on almost all the time...maybe my video card finally crapped out?

UPDATE: OK, so that screen isn't really helpful. Apparently it's not taking the blue lines going across my screen. That is odd. Monitor/cable problem? Still doesn't explain why my video card isn't getting installed though...My XBOX360 is working fine on my monitor as well.

UPDATE 2: Some more info...Device Manager currently says Windows has stopped my video card because it detected problems (Code 43). How do I start it?

UPDATE 3: After each attempt to install the drivers, I get pop-ups on startup that say NvCpl.dll and NvMcTray.dll have failed. Also, the install file in the registry says failure on it.
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,218
53
91
If you have lines in the BIOS like you said, then your card is failing. RMA the card.
 

RaTaSuM

Junior Member
Oct 9, 2008
14
0
0
Thanks for the reply, I hope that's not the case though :(

Question, is it possible the PSU is causing this crap? I don't exactly have a quality power supply and this happened after an extended period of time in which my computer was on.
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,218
53
91
The GTX has built in circuits designed to protect against too high or too low voltages coming from the PCI-e slot and connectors.
I think your PSU could have contributed to a problem over time I suppose. But now you have lines in the BIOS. Never a good thing.
Most likely the vid card is toast. One sure way to find out is to put the card in another system that can handle it, and see if you have the same issue. If not, then maybe it's the PSU. But I doubt it.
 

RaTaSuM

Junior Member
Oct 9, 2008
14
0
0
One last question before I go through with the RMA.

I have new pics of what's happening. I'm having second thoughts about the problem being with the video card. As you can see in the BIOS Menu pics, there are no lines but the text is really messed up. Could this somehow be a motherboard problem? However, in all other pictures, there are some kind of artifacts.

BIOS Startup (notice "holes") --> Text
BIOS Menu (notice the weird text) --> Text
BIOS Menu 2 (close-up) --> Text
Desktop (notice lines) --> Text
Lines (close-up) --> Text
Lines 2 (notice how the lines' color changes w/ background) --> Text

Please look through these pics and give your final thoughts before I RMA this thing :) Thanks.
 

AnonymouseUser

Diamond Member
May 14, 2003
9,943
107
106
Originally posted by: RaTaSuM
Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
What PSU?

Text

Seems like a decent PSU, so we can rule that out (you'd be surprised how many problems are caused by inadequate PSUs).

Have you tried running a system restore yet?

EDIT >> You know, a system restore wouldn't fix those boot-up issues. WTH was I thinking?
 

SSChevy2001

Senior member
Jul 9, 2008
774
0
0
From the pictures it looks like faulty memory chips on the video card. You can try to underclock the memory in windows using rivatuner, but if it's covered under warranty then just RMA.
 

RaTaSuM

Junior Member
Oct 9, 2008
14
0
0
I would try underclocking, but the program won't even load because it thinks there's no video card installed (I only tried nhancer though).

Thanks for the help guys. I finally got a hold of a spare video card from a friend while I RMA this thing.
 

KODorion

Junior Member
Oct 15, 2008
3
0
0
Man am I glad I found this. I have the exact same problem after updating to 178.13 whql last week, same card - 8800gtx from ASUS. Tried everything, uninstalling, reinstalling - drivers and hardware, cleared the BIOS, swapped out memory. I have had the card a little over a year. Awesome card. PSU is an Antec True Power 750w and is still in top shape. All the exact symptoms pictured above. Getting in touch with ASUS tomorrow to start the RMA process. I don't know what else to do. Only after Googling the 178.13's did I realize this driver is not recommended.
 

AnonymouseUser

Diamond Member
May 14, 2003
9,943
107
106
I installed the 178.13 drivers last week (Vista 32, 8800GS) and everything is working fine here. Maybe it's only affecting the 8800GTXs and/or Vista 64?

KODorion, what OS are you using?
 

KODorion

Junior Member
Oct 15, 2008
3
0
0
Spec's

ASUS P5B
Memory - 4GB Super Talent 5-5-5-15
Intel E6600 2.4 Ghz w/Zalman cooling solution
PSU - Antec True Power 750W
ASUS EN8800GTX
OS - XP Pro 64
Overclocking - never

Driver 178.13 was defined and recommended by the NVidia driver download page search parameters.
Methodology - Safe mode driver uninstall, Driver Cleaner Pro for driver remnant removal. Installed new driver after normal boot. The safe mode method is one I have been using for years. Ran fine for 2 days then froze, screen went to artifacts, restarted, gibberish on the start up screen etc.. Checked the event viewer; both system and application events indicate NVidia (nv) failure.

I contacted ASUS this morning, and the guys there are top notch. RMA process is 3-5 days

Forgot to mention. Last troubleshooting session involved uninstalling the hardware in Device Manager in the hopes of the Hardware Wizard identifying the video card. No luck. System defaults to 8 MB standard VGA Adapter. Any suggestions?
 

KODorion

Junior Member
Oct 15, 2008
3
0
0
Looks like the memory is bad on my video card. This is what I have found...the first pic on this page is exactly what my screen looks like, even in post and bios. Hope this is useful.
Diagnose video card