Windows 7: Multiple copies of Video drivers-what to do?

I have win 7 home prem 64 bit on a Samsung Gamer Series notebook. No problems for months. Didn't even need to restart ever except after updates. About 1-2 months ago, installed Nvidia Experience, but haven't loaded any games yet. Installed Steam 7-3, but haven't installed any Steam games either.

The most recent change was letting Nvidia Experience install driver updates, but no Betas. 2-3 driver updates in last 1-2 months. Just had latest update from GeForce 320.18 drivers to GeForce to 320.49 a couple days ago. That update also updates / Installs PhysX System Software 9.13.0604. And
Installs HD Audio v1.3.24.2

Seems like troubles started then, but I've also had about 16 Wordpad documents and 25 Firefox sessions open at a time while doing some financial research papers. Don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but when running WMP, seems like switching from Dual View to just the notebook display used to make everything wonky for 5 seconds, but then it would be ok. Now, I get a loud rattle and then no sound until I close and re-open WMP.

Firefox has also crashed w error 41 several times in last few days.

Mouse starts to intermittently stutter, then stops regularly for 5-10 seconds, then freezes. and CTRL Alt DLT doesn't do anything. Have to hard boot.

System Specs below & SF attached.

Any ideas or anything obvious in the report?

Thanks!

EddieTripod
------------------------------
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Samsung "Series 7 Gamer" Model: NP700G7C-S01US 17.3" Notebook OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit SP1 CPU
Intel Core i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30GHz Max 3.3Ghz Motherboard
SAMSUNG_NP1234567890 SEC_SW_REVISION_1234567890ABCD Memory
16MB PC3-12800(1600MHz) DDR3 SODIMM 4 Modules of 4MB Each Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M 2048 MB GDDR5 Ram Sound Card
NVIDIA Hi Def Audio(4x), Realtek Hi Def, DolbyVrs7.2.7000.7 Monitor(s) Displays
17.3" LED full HD(1920 x 1080), HDMI to Philips47"TV Full HD Screen Resolution
N/A Hard Drives
Samsung 830 SSD 256GB MZ-7PC256N/AM - (drive 0) O.S. Drive:C

SanDisk iSSD P4 8GB (drive 1)- supposed to be for ExpresseCache, but EC is turned off, as I have an SSD, which is faster. I'll use the 8GB For Storage.

E: Drive is Hitachi Travelstar HDD 750GB 7K
PSU
NOTEBOOK Case
NOTEBOOK Cooling
NOTEBOOK Cooling Plus Cooling Stand W/2 Self Powered Fans Keyboard
Logitech G-15 Mouse
Standard Internet Speed 30mb Cable Wireless
Antivirus MSE
Browser Firefox Mostly

Hi,
Your logs are pointing towards your Nvidia drivers, which is when you thought the issues began:

STOP 0x0000007E: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
Usual causes: Insufficient disk space, Device driver, Video card, BIOS, Breakpoint with no debugger attached, Hardware incompatibility, Faulty system service, Memory, 3rd party remote control,


Driver: nvlddmkm.sys
Refers to: Nividia Video drivers
Dated: Sun May 12 20:09:45 2013

As the Nividia driver seems to be causing issues, I think the logical thing to do is to roll back your driver to the previous version, also disable the Nividia update program:

Roll Back Drivers Tutorial


I would also suggest updating Logitech Mouse and keyboard drivers to the latest version:

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/support

Run memtest.
Run for 8 passes and test each stick in a know good slot for an additional 6 passes.

https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html



The goal is to test all the RAM sticks and all the motherboard slots.

Post back any results / observations

Cheers

Dave

Thanks much - I will check on all your suggestions.

No problem, I await your response

Samsung notebook. Gtx 675m graphics. On about 7-10, I had crashes and submitted an SF file for help. Thread is here:

https://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help...ml#post2458210

Here's what I got for a response:

Bugcheck Analysis

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.
BugCheck 7E, {ffffffffc0000005, fffff8800e1ab6cc, fffff88003768058, fffff880037678b0}
Unable to load image nvlddmkm.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for nvlddmkm.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for nvlddmkm.sys
Probably caused by : nvlddmkm.sys ( nvlddmkm+8bf6cc )
Followup: MachineOwner
---------
4: kd> !analyze -v
Bugcheck Analysis


SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (7e)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, so I uninstalled the Drivers from the Nvidia site, since they were apparently causing the issues. I called Samsung to ask if they have any updated drivers. Their last release was 02-2012, which was a few months before I bought this notebook new. They said the one on their site is the only officially supported one, but there are many different updated versions on the Nvidia site which should work for me.

I never tried any game play on the stock Samsung driver, because I replaced the C drive with an SSD right when I received it. I then did a clean install of Win 7 home prem 64 bit. So then I went to the Nvidia site and tried the "Nvidia Experience" program which auto-downloads drivers and settings for games.

I recently deleted the "Nvidia Experience" and the Nvidia driver which was causing the issues. So now I'm at a point where I want to start playing games. I installed the stock driver from Samsung. If I don't like it, I'll try a different Nvidia driver than the one I previously had installed.

After I installed the stock driver, out of curiosity, I did a search for the file which was causing the issue to see if it is in the Samsung driver also. I got 4 results for the same exact file name, nvlddmkm.sys. The dates "created, "modified", and "accessed" are different on two sets, and they are in different folders also.

Before I start loading games, I'd like to know if having multiple versions of the same file name in separate folders is going to become an issue, or if I should just let them be. I haven't done any gaming on it yet, but I've had zero errors related to the drivers since installing the stock driver. Do I "NEED" all of these files, or should I delete one or more? If so, which ones should I keep/delete?

Here's notes and snips for each one.

These top two seem identical except for the locations. They were both "created" July 18th 2013, which is about the date I installed the stock Samsung drivers. Plus, the dates last "Modified" are 02/2012, which matches the date of the latest updated driver on the Samsung site.

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys

and

C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_lh.inf_amd64_neutral_bc69f20e3115af59\nvlddmkm.sys



C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_nv_lh.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_none_4a5c7d78e486512b\nvlddmkm.sys

and

C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_lh.inf_amd64_neutral_bc69f20e3115af59

These two also seem identical but in separate folders
ALL dates for these two files are during 2009 are during 2009. Notebook was
bought new 6/2012. Plus, size of these two files are smaller than the two above.

If this is any help, this is the last error message I got back before uninstalling the new driver and installing the older one.

1026801712Template_1712_9.xslt9Stop (blue screen) error caused by a device or driverDevice driver problem found Click to see details about a device driver problem.LowERC607fa4d4-8d70-4b6a-80d5-6715a34a437dX64_0x7E_BAD_IP_nvlddmkm+8bf6cchttps://wer.microsoft.com/Responses/Template_1712_9.xsltF7-5D-29-C4-A5-34-CF-B5-80-39-A9-A3-07-F3-DE-C0-BB-E0-8F-FA-07-0A-CF-34-6E-CE-DB-A1-21-0C-42-3E1033.96.1.7601.2.00010300.1.050331649SAMSUNG_ELECTRONICS_CO___LTD_Troubleshoot driver problemsmshelp://windows/?id=a8e04b78-0f18-47f0-99e7-6de781fe5f35WinHelpYellowMaintenanceTroubleshoot a problem with a device or driverA device or driver caused your computer to shut down unexpectedly to protect itself from data corruption or loss. This problem has occurred #NUMREPORTS# time(s), last occurring on #LASTREPORTTIME#.Troubleshoot a problem with a device or driverClick for more information.22useramd64X64_0x7E_BAD_IP_nvlddmkm+8bf6cc255114b10f5-3f4a-4d9a-a5b1-549303c958d3

Thanks in advance for any helpful info!Here's links to snips. Forum upload not working.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/c1dc19b8f...asuyo1_500.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/b7acf9544...asuyo2_500.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/e825f20fc...asuyo3_500.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/3e1fc6582...asuyo4_500.jpg

Upload your MSINFO32.nfo file.

1. Click on the start button
2. Type "msinfo32" (without quotes) in the search bar of the start menu, click the resulting link. It will open the System Information window.
3. File>Save. In the "File Name" filed, put "MSINFO32" (without Quote), give the save location to desktop, and click the "save" button.
4. Give the time for processing, it will save a .nfo file on your desktop.
5. Zip it, and upload it following the instruction.

And, if you think that the BSOD issue is over (since it is a different issue and last post in that thread is two weeks ago), please mark the https://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help...ml#post2458210 thread as solved.

Hi Arc,

I thank you for your advice regarding the multiple files of "nvlddmkm.sys" .

I definitely will mark both your post and the one replied to by Northernsoul55
as solved(Hopefully it WILL be solved). I didn't mark the 1st post as solved because I didn't follow his instructions until I had time to do so, some days later.

I usually have no problem uploading snips to my posts, but that morning when I clicked on browse, it did nothing. I tried opening a new session of Firefox, restarting my computer, starting a new thread and trying again, but every time I would click to browse it did nothing. So today I just tested it before sending this reply, and it went smooth as silk.

https://www.sevenforums.com/drivers/2...load-test.html

So I don't know what the issue was, but it's working now. Thanks for that link. It did show me a couple options I was not aware of.


Did you want me to upload the MSINFO zip into a reply to this thread, or somewhere else? As a new post in "BSOD" or "Drivers"?

I've spent a lot of hours getting my notebook system to the point where I'm not getting errors constantly. Some were probably caused by me changing things based on advice from others, so before I do this, can you explain if having these multiple instances of "nvlddmkm.sys" is a potential problem, and if so, how the MSINFO file will be used, and by whom? I'm cautious about uploading system info. I've uploaded SF files before, but never MSINFO.

Thanks for your time and I'll get that ready to upload while I await your response.

Eddie

Hi Northernsoul55,

Thanks again for your suggestions re this post: https://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help...ml#post2458625

Seems to be much better now, with one issue I've noticed. I posted a thread on it here:

Multiple copies of Video drivers-what to do?


arc has replied and I'm waiting for him to reply again re where to post the MSINFO file.

Thought I'd keep you in the loop and I will mark both your posts as solved when we're done.

Thanks again,

Eddie

Hi,

Ok thanks, though 2 posts can often be confusing as to state of play

I would post up the msinfo32 file in Arc's thread as he has asked for it.

It may be best to merge the two posts for continuity sake?

cheers

Dave

Sounds good,

Do I just post the MSINFO in my reply, or somewhere else?

I searched for "Merge posts" and nothing found. Do you have a link or instructions?

Thanks,

Eddie