SL unusable - graphics drivers

SL has been unusable for me for about a week now - both RC viewer and regular viewer. Basically, the SL program locks up every couple of seconds and eventually crashes.

Most recent crash a bit ago actually blacked out my screen and took my entire system down - I got the beloved blue screen of death with a message about a graphics driver stuck in a loop and the system had to shut down for its own protection.

After the reboot, I updated graphics card drivers to the latest greatest at the NVidia web site. Reboot again. Same problems, SL hangs and eventually crashes.

If all else fails, I'll be out buying a new card tomorrow, but would rather get another 6 months out of the existing card before I order a full new system in Nov.

GeForce 7600 GT
Driver version 169.21

XP svc pack 2
AMD Athlon 64
2 GB RAM


Any ideas?

Thanks!

**update** I've now tried the OnRez viewer and same thing. 3 viewers now with the exact same symptoms.

A full system lock up is never a good sign. Drivers are the first thing to check..........which you've done. Another few things to check would be how long ago dd you do a virus scan? Maleware scan? Did you install anything (even seemingly unrelated) just before the major crashes began? Since you are using Windows, have you tried a system restore point that is before your problems began? These are things you can do before starting spending money to fix your problem.

Though just one system lock up does not mean that anything catatrophic is about to take place, it does indicate something might be drastically wrong. A graphics card could certainly be the cause. But so could a memory chip, CPU, hard drive and even a power supply. It could be something so simple as just dust build up inside your case (cleaning that is relatively easy......I would do that before going out for a new hardware device like a video card).

At any rate.........once you've exhausted all the easy solutions it's time to think about a physical failure like a video card. But, it could be something else. A video card is a good starting point....but be prepared for that not being the problem.

Thanks Peggy. I was overdue for an in-depth scan, which turned up nothing. Also overdue for a case blow-out, which didn't help but at least forced me to clean under my desk

I haven't installed anything recently. I think the next step would be to completely uninstall the drivers and then reinstall. The blue screen message mentioned something about a driver stuck in an repeating loop. The only programs I had issues with are SL and Google Earth.

**further update** Uninstalling and reinstalling video card drivers had no improvement. I stayed in SL for about 5 minutes (locking up continuously) before the whole system went down again and went directly to reboot - no blue screen message this time...
The dump file is just gibberish.

There are a lot of posts here talking about graphics drivers. For some, the newest is not the best. In my case for example, 163.75 is stable on my 8600GT, while newer versions stutter and then crash. You might give 163.75 a try, just in case...

1.69 on my 8600GT................works great with Vista.

Right, Peggy. But that doesn't mean it works great for everyone. Systems are different. Configurations are different. If "one size fit everyone", we wouldn't need this Technical Issues forum very much, would we?

I never upgrade any driver unless there is a need to do so. Drivers are touchie things.........don't mess with them unless you really have a need to do so. Just because there is one out there with a more recent date does not mean it will do you any good at all.......depends on what you want it to do. If your present driver is doing everything you need or want it to do, then leave it the hell alone.

Continuing updates:

Malware/Spyware- clean
Disk check - clean
DirectX9 diagnostic - passed
Memory test - passed

I'm getting a little annoyed because it's freakin' 2008 - why oh why can a computer not tell you what is wrong with it?

Isblan, did you use Safe Mode? Uninstall the driver first, in Safe Mode. The install the driver. Might help.

Good luck.

Thanks Lee, I tried that this morning and no change. I also ran CPU test all night to test the motherboard.

I think I'm pretty much down to either the graphics card is failing or there is a bad dll somewhere. I can only stay functional in SL for about two minutes before it starts to lock up on me. After about 10 minutes in SL the whole system goes down.

So, I'm going to try a new card next, in hopes of avoiding an XP reinstall.

Isablan, I am having EXACTLY the same problems you described above. I doubt very much that we both have the exact same hardware and software problems, because I have done everything you did and I end up with the same result. Total shut down of system. Over and over. I'm at my wits end.

I have an escalated support ticket in, basic support had me totally remove all traces of SL from my computer then do a fresh install. Same issue continues. I've sent my logs off to LL. I don't exect to hear anything before tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find out.

Isablan,


i have had the same problems now for over 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!! i have done everything you did. and still the same things happen plus i can't use skype in sl either. so i'm baffled and at my wits end as well, i'm at the point to tell my partner that pays out 100 a month to pack everything up including our shop and look else where. i really don't want to cause we both have invested so much money in this game over the past 2 years. i'm so up set!!!

Thanks Isablan, I'll be looking for your message. I've not sent anything in to support, but prior to posting my frustration here, I removed all traces of Sl, etc. etc. because in the past doing so has fixed many problems. Not this time, unfortunately.

Did you try installing the 163.75 graphics driver? That worked for me....

Or the 1.69?

Your hardware, configuration, Windows setup, OS, and Second life just may not jive with the client.

I will tell you that the problem is not the fault of SL..........just not possible with as many people in the game who DO NOT have the problem. Yes, SL may be the catylist that makes the problem come to life, but it's something your computer systems that need adjusting.

Try different drivers for you cards. Yeah, most of the time the most recent is the best.....but due to so many variances possible with so many different computers that is not always the case.

Let us know the progress from LL.......I'm dying of curiousity.

Have you checked to see that all fans are spinning at proper looking speed?

I had crashes from a faulty power supply fan, spinning at varying speeds while in the process of dieing completely. The system would work ok while browsing but fail on SL. The error message was that it couldn't detect the graphics device.

So, it's been a week and still no response from support and no changes.

However, something odd happened. I was working in SculptyPaint a few minutes ago and it froze up just the way SL has been - then I got a single beep from the computer and it unfroze.

Does anyone have any idea what SculptyPaint and SL have in common that would cause the problem to reproduce in both places? I think this eliminates all possibility that it is SL, but what else could I be looking at? I thought I had cleared all hardware of failure....

The connection is that both programs are extremely CPU and GPU intensive. They both are working your computer very hard. As I and a couple others have been saying, those things are usually indications of some serious problems within your computer. What I'm seeing is a degradation of whatever it is that is causing the problem...........a complete failure is probably on the horizon, I'm afraid.

The "up side", if you can call it that, is that you'll know what the problem was. And I think you know the down side. I would do a backup of all the files I want to save and do that backup on a removable media of some kind (CD/DVD, external hard drive, flash drive, etc...........or even a second hard drive within the computer case itself....though media that can be completely disconnected from the computer is the safest).

If you want to start removing and replacing things to try to head off the failure, I'd start with a new graphics card. That's my suggestions.

Sorry to hear that the fears I've had are getting more likely.

Aaaaand a new graphics card solves the problem

Thanks, Peggy. I really needed an excuse to go buy an 8800GT

Hahahahaha............GREAT!!!

I been pulling for you

I"m editing to add a question........and important one. When you read the documentation for your new card you should have seen a warning to make sure your power supply can handle the card. That is important.

I'm good, I have a 485W power supply. I did hook in the supplemental power adapter.

Sounds like you are good to go.

You can even run two monitors at once now............wooo wooo!!!

Take care and enjoy your new experiences in SL..........bet it looks completely different now