BSOD when playing games, Kernel-Power Id: 41

[GruttePier]

First of all, I'm new to the forum so hello everyone. Thanks for helping
out with other people's problems!

Now the reason what got me to this forum, since a week or so I get BSOD's when playing games. In the eventbook listed under critical I found an error named Kernel-Power with Id 41.

What have I done so far?

- I opened my laptop and cleaned the fans and removed dust from heathpipes, also played with opened laptop with coolingpad to rule out heath problems
- Used Windows memory diagnostic tool to check memory, no problems
- Updated and reïnstalled GPU drivers
- I used a Windows recovery-point from a year earlier when the system was working allright
- Updated Realtek WLANdriver

Before I did all this the system crashed after one or two minutes in game, now it's more random. I am able to play games for a few hours without crash but sooner or later it will crash. So I had some sort of succes.

My system:
Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Clevo P170EM
OS
Windows 7 Professional x64 service pack 1
CPU
Intel Core i7-3720QM
Motherboard
Intel hm77
Memory
2x 4GB DDR3 (1600MHz) Memory Module
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 675M, Intel HD Graphics 4000
Hard Drives
HDD Hitachi HTS727550A9E364
SSD mSata Intel SSDMCEAC240B3
Antivirus
AVG
Browser
Chrome

 

[essenbe]

Hello, GruttePier and welcome to the forums. I will try to help if I can. From looking at your system specs, I am going to assume that your system has switchable graphics. Is that true?

You had 4 dump files and each one was the same.

[COLOR=red]VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE[/COLOR] (116)
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa80074894e0, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff88008c1b23c, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: ffffffffc000009a, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: 0000000000000004, Optional internal context dependent data.
Debugging Details:

That is your problem your video drivers crashed and did not respond in time, so Windows shut down assuming a graphics failure in order to protect the system from damage. That is what happened if you just had the video card. If you have switchable graphics, it is similar but a little different. The drivers took too long to switch and Windows assumed a graphics failure.

I need to know if you have switchable graphics or not. Is your Laptop still under warranty? Your answers will depend on which way we go.

Your dump files read like above as well as

 nvlddmkm
start             end                 module name
fffff880`08479000 fffff880`08e99000   nvlddmkm T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: nvlddmkm.sys
    [COLOR=red]Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nvlddmkm.sys
[/COLOR]    Image name: nvlddmkm.sys
    Timestamp:        Sat Dec 13 00:53:17 2014 (548BE25D)
    CheckSum:         009E7B4F
    ImageSize:        00A20000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

Which is your graphics driver.

 

[GruttePier]

Hello Essenbe, thanks for the welcome!
Regarding to your questions, yes I can switch GPU from
Nvidia GeForce GTX 675M to Intel HD 4000 and vice versa.
The carry-in warranty expired but I don't know about individual parts.
I contacted to reseller to find that out.

 

[essenbe]

The error is typical for laptops with switchable graphics. Each vendor determines specifically how the process is implemented so the have to edit the drivers to work that way. What happens usually is that the switch takes too long to happen, so windows assumes an graphics failure and crashes to prevent any damage to the system. It is the switching that causes the problem.

 

[GruttePier]

Oke, why is it switching GPU? When I'm gaming I use the Nvidia GPU. I set the Nvidia GPU to be the standard, does it get an error so it switches to the Intel GPU? The Intel GPU is onboard and I barely use it.

 

[essenbe]

The CPU determines which one to use. Go to device manager and expand display adaptors and see if your Nvidia card is named there. Go to the Clevo site and install the NVidia driver they have listed. Be sure to uninstall the old drivers first though. This may help you, but be sure to check Nvidia display drivers only. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/83814-drivers-clean-left-over-files-after-uninstalling.html

 

[GruttePier]

Oke before uninstalling the drivers I checked the device manager and the Geforce GTX 675M was listed under display adapters. I downloaded and installed DDU and rebooted into safe mode, in safe mode I uninstalled the drivers. I got the drivers from the Clevo website but when I tried to install them it says it can't find compatible hardware for this graphical software and when I look in the device manager under display adapters it says VGA-standard and not Geforce GTX 675M.

The only way I could get the system to recognize the GTX 675M again was through Windows Update. So now I have drivers from Windows Update and my Clevo drivers won't install. I checked to see if I had the correct drivers, I do.

 

[essenbe]

If the laptop is still under warranty, I'd be calling whoever I bought it from. Otherwise you are going to have to use it the way it is or make some decisions you probably won't like. You are going to have to disable one or the other graphics adapters so that it does not switch all the time. What that means is no more graphics intensive activities if you choose the on board graphics or a very short battery life if you choose the dedicated card. That is the only way we have ever been able to fix the problem. This is a constant problem with laptops with switchable graphics.

 

[GruttePier]

I'm going to have it looked at by the people I got it from. Thanks for all your replies and services, thanks alot!!!