Stable nVidia 8400M GS Drivers

Hey there technical people. Something has suddenly changed in the SL server and my graphics driver keeps crashing. I've tried lots of different versions.

Some drivers work for a good while then the screen goes black. Some create stripey lines and then a BSOD (memory parity error) and then don't fully recover when the system reboots. SL logs in fine and runs from between 1min and 30mins before the crash happens, so I can't pinpoint what the cause is.

I think something has changed on the SL side in the latest 1.21 server rollout, because I've not changed anything at my end (apart from trying lots of driver versions).

I'm running Windows XP SP3 on a Dell XPS M1330 laptop. Strangely, the nVidia card in my desktop works like a charm. It's just this mobile version that is going mad.

If anyone knows of a stable version of the drivers for the 8400M GS please let me know. Doesn't matter how old, I just need a stable system when I'm demo'ing SL at work.

By the way, it affects both the standard client and the RC8 version.

From what you've described, I'd suspect your laptop memory itself. Either the main memory or that in the graphics card.

You might want to download Memtest and run it for a few hours to see what it says....

It appears to be an overheating issue. It only happens with SL, so I guess that's the most GPU intensive thing I ever run.

From another thread I found that the GPU blanks the screen when it gets too hot; and the stripey lines are an indication of memory corruption due to heat.

I feel that Dell have sold me a "superior 3D games machine" that is not fit for purpose, and would advise people to avoid the XPS laptop line if they intend to use SL in any serious or intensive capacity.

I'm not sure if laptop coolers really do what they say. Surely having a big fan under the laptop will blow the hot air back into the machine!