BSOD during gaming and internet browsing, error 0x00000116

[LilaNoira]

After nearly six hours with Alienware tech support for the past two weeks and a graphic card replacement, the BSOD error 0x00000116 still persists. I'm at a loss and at my wits' end.

Here are my basic system specs:
- Windows 7 x64
- Original OS installed
- An OEM

- I bought the machine last year, January 2011.
- Not sure how to determine the age of my hardware. I bought the machine in January 2011 and reinstalled the OS in the same month.

Also, I'm not sure if it's important to note, but I notice that after a BSOD (0x00000116), the PhysX Confingure in my NVIDIA Control Panel reverts back to a single card (I have dual GeForce GTX 460) and the SLI option is missing. I suspect it is SLI-related, but I could be wrong.

Attached is the zipped file containing the BSOD dump and system health report.

Please help!

Many thanks...

 

[writhziden]

http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html is worth looking into. I also remember someone else having a similar problem who removed the bridge between the cards. Obviously that is not the best solution as it reduces the performance with having two cards, but it might be worth checking to see if it stops the crashes. Then you could determine if it is the SLI causing the problem.

 

[LilaNoira]

Hey writhziden,
Thanks so much for your response and advice.

After many (failed) tests, I decided to remove the bridge between the cards and reinstall the drivers. I also performed a test using Unigine's Heaven DX11 Benchmark and the computer didn't freeze and reboot itself (with the SLI bridge attached, my computer usually reboots itself about two mins in). So, my assumption was right; it was probably the SLI bridge that was causing the BSOD 116 error.

Quite disappointed with the reduced graphic performance... although it is better than the constant BSOD reboots.

Hopefully the error won't occur again.

Many thanks!

 

[writhziden]

I'm glad you were able to determine the root cause. In my opinion, you should not have to run without the SLI bridge, so it may be worth talking to the providers to determine why you are having issues with it. At least you narrowed it down to that being the problem so you know what to get troubleshooting with.

 

[LilaNoira]

You're right. I'm going to run it without the SLI bridge for about a week to be sure and then I will contact tech support for Alienware or NVIDIA (perhaps both since Alienware support wasn't very helpful).

I will definitely update this thread on my computer's progress. Thanks again!

 

[writhziden]

You are welcome. Appreciate you keeping us updated. I look forward to learning the results.

 

[LilaNoira]

Just a quick update: My computer has been running without the SLI bridge on my two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 cards, and so far, I have not experienced the dreaded BSOD x116 yet. However, since the driver update, my monitor has been flicking on and off and citing "Display driver stopped responding & has recovered". I read this is a recent and common issue with the NVIDIA driver update in December and I'm not too worried about it.

As for contacting support (Alienware & NVIDIA), I have been busy in the last weeks of January to call, but I doubt they'd be much help (Alienware was way too eager to promote and sell their new gaming services and support and the communication with the techs was awkward and unclear, but despite all that, I appreciated their willingness to help solve the issue and fast response when it comes to replacing parts).

I'm planning to do some tests today: rolling back drivers, uninstalling the HD audio (a suggestion I read), installing the SLI bridge between the cards again, and crossing my fingers and hoping desperately that it will work and that I will get the performance I paid for. So, until next time...

 

[writhziden]

Yeah, uninstalling the HD Audio portion of the display card can sometimes fix erratic behavior. I have read that information in a few forums, as well. There have also been many instances where using an older driver on an nVidia card fixed the 116 crash, but the newest drivers were supposed to fix those issues that required a driver rollback. I would imagine the newest drivers would have fixed HD Audio problems, but I do not know whether they included that support or not.

I'm planning to do some tests today: rolling back drivers, uninstalling the HD audio (a suggestion I read), installing the SLI bridge between the cards again, and crossing my fingers and hoping desperately that it will work and that I will get the performance I paid for. So, until next time...

What were the results of these tests?