BSoD when watching videos online

Hi,

I'm sad to report that the problem is persisting. Same thing, I get a BSoD and graphical errors while watching online videos while on battery power. Here's the latest minidump, maybe there is some new info?

- Kris

bump?

Hi all,
Here are my final conclusions about the Studio 1557 and the ATI card 4570.
The current system setup I have is ATI driver 8.710.3 and Catalyst 10.3 (preview version). I found out that none of the tested ATI drivers in this complete post is stable. If you setup the system with PowerPlay on it will crash, I’m sure.
PowerPlay is an ATI solution for Green Power. If you need video power it will speed up the Video Core and Video Memory clock frequencies. If you don’t need the power they will set to a lower frequency. It’s all to save the battery. In the Studio 1557 there is something wrong with this setup. If PowerPlay is enabled the laptop is absolutely not stable and the Laptop (ATI card) will crash with full screen video work. This is why a lot of people complain about youtube video. I can make it crash with this kind of video (hardware accelerated). Also the Flash 10.1 beta 3 version will give the same result. I can also make the video card crash with vmware full screen aero sessions. If you disable flash hardware acceleration it’s better but that is not the solution.
If you disable ATI PowerPlay the laptop is more stable. It will play youtube video full screen better and vmware is also acting better. But this is not the solution because in this mode, PowerPlay disabled, you lose the Green power futures. With PowerPlay disabled it will setup the video Core Clock to 499.5 MHz and the video Memory Clock to 796.5 MHz. These values are fixed and they will never change if PowerPlay is disabled. A very negative thing about this mode is that you lose the Green power future. There is no battery saving at all because the frequencies are not going down if you don’t need the video power. But an even more negative thing is that the Core speed frequency is also not going up. The maximum for the 4570 card is 680 MHz but you cannot use this power because it’s constantly 499.5 MHz if PowerPlay is disabled.
Conclusion:
- The Studio 1557 with the ATI 4570 card has big problems, especially in combination with the ATI PowerPlay futures.
- The laptop is very instable if PowerPlay is enabled. It will crash with full screen video. I can reproduce this when I use the laptop with only battery (6 or 9 cell) power, no power supply attached.
- If PowerPlay is disabled you cannot use all the power the video card can give. Because the maximum Core speed frequency 680 MHz is not setup.
- If PowerPlay is disabled the Green option is gone. Not good for the battery.
But there is more:
- The function key / Dell multimedia keys will swap back to multimedia key. I have to change the bios setup at least once a week.
- The Intel 5300 wifi driver supplied by Dell is not stable, you must update to the latest 13.1.1.1 version. Download it at the Intel site.
I’m testing all those things for two months now and Dell is not helping me with is.
Who can verify these conclusions and let me know the results?
If anyone has other experiences please let me know.
Grt.

HWAM,

I must be a bit slow. I'd appreciate a bit more detailed step by step instructions. I downloaded the Gateway driver, Do I click install, or simply update the INF files, then disable the driver and say have disc and point to the directory of the replacement driver? thanks for posting this info.

I have repeatedly both disabled and removed the driver without luck. Right clicking on the new MSI file I get a wrong version of windows error. When I choose "have disc" and select the Gateway driver where I deleted the old HD 4570 and add the lines you suggest, the INSTALL NEW HARDWARE comes up blank.

Any thoughts? Running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 on a Dell 1557 STOP AND FREEZE Laptop.

Hi,

I think you can better install the official ATI driver from the Dell site. I returned my Studio 1557 because this type of Dell has big problems. I'm not the only one with problems. I'm glad I returned it, I got a full refund after 2 months of testing with a lot of drivers, all without 100% succes. Never a ATI card for me again.

Grt.

DCGM,
I downloaded the driver as directed, and there is an even newer driver on the AMD (ATI) website. I removed the device under system manager, and unzipped the new driver. But, I've been unable to install the new driver. Clicking on Device Manager and directing it to the new driver says the installed driver is the latest available. Going to the driver folder and right clicking on the MSI files or INF files does returns, can't do that from here. So while some have resolved the problem with a new video drivers, I can't seem to get my Dell Disaster to let me do the simple task of switching drivers. HWAM, can you help us with bad drivers that are unwilling to go away?

Hi,

Just install the one from the Dell site. Other drivers cannot be installed without editing the .inf files. Because the problem with the unstable Studio/ATI card cannot be fixed it's not important that the driver is old. So install the Dell supported one.

I wish you a lot of succes with the unstable Studio 1557. Sell it, if you can.

Grt.