Laptop BSOD While Playing Modern Games, Error x116

[The12thMan]

Hello Windows 7 wizards,

I've used this laptop for gaming 2+ years without issue, but recently it will BSOD whenever I'm several minutes into more strenuous games (ex. Hearthstone and Youtube work, Skyrim and Age of Wonders 3 don't). Previously I was able to play these same games for extended periods of time without issue.

So far I've attempted to troubleshoot my issue with several recommendations posted in other threads, memtest for my RAM (8 passes w/o issue), HDD scan for my harddrive (no problems), and FurMark for my GPU (no artifacts but it heats up rapidly). My leading guess is overheating, but I still get BSOD after cleaning out my comp and reapplying thermal paste. The resting GPU temp is now ~40C, I don't know how to log the temperature right before a BSOD.

The only other possibly relevant information I can think of is that I recently went 6 months without internet access while deployed. I may have missed some vital driver update or something may have been damaged while bouncing around during travel.

There's no rush to this request, I'll only have an hour so to check for updates each day and this will finally motivate me to finish my taxes! Thanks for any advice you can provide and let me know if I left off any required information.

 

[essenbe]

Hello The12thMan, welcome to the Forums. I will try to help you with this if I can. Am I correct in this Laptop has Optimus technology? What you seem to be getting is video TDR errors, which is very difficult to resolve. A TDR error (Time Delay and Recovery) basically means your drivers crashed and did not recover in the allotted time. This is what I found in your dumps

[COLOR=red]VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)[/COLOR]
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa8015b474e0, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff88006287f38, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: ffffffffc000009a, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: , Optional internal context dependent data.

nvlddmkm
start             end                 module name
fffff880`05ae4000 fffff880`064f6000   nvlddmkm T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: nvlddmkm.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nvlddmkm.sys
    Image name: nvlddmkm.sys
    Timestamp:        Thu [COLOR=red]Feb 05 12:01:37 2015[/COLOR] (54D3B001)
    CheckSum:         009D4DDE
    ImageSize:        00A12000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

What I would like you to do is download the latest WHQL driver from the Motherboard's web site or the company who built the Laptop's web site. That is important as most OEM manufacturers alter the drivers to work the way their motherboard works and they are all different. Next, try to install it this way.

I am going to give you some links that will help you get a good clean install and not have any drivers you don't need that will conflict with other drivers. Download a WHQL driver from the manufacturer's web site. Once you have them downloaded, uninstall you current driver from control panel. next clean up any left over drivers from following this tutorial http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/83814-drivers-clean-left-over-files-after-uninstalling.html and select only ATI Display Drivers. After you have done that and rebooted, install the new driver, only select custom install and install only what you have to. Very few people need most of what they include. You do not need the audio/HDMI drivers as you already have that in your Motherboard drivers. Unless there is some reason you need them, the only thing you really need is the Display Driver.

See if that makes any improvement for you. You can also install a program such a MSI Afterburner (http://gaming.msi.com/features/afterburner) to monitor your temps. It is basically an overclocking utility. I strongly advise you not to use it for that. But, it has some excellent monitoring features and you can even have your GPU temp on screen while playing a game, as well as a lot of other statistics.

 

[The12thMan]

Thanks for the response, my laptop does have Optimus technology based on a quick search, though I'm not familiar with what that really means.

I removed my previous NVIDIA driver through Programs, ran Driver Sweeper to remove the leftovers, and installed the latest version I could find for Clevo P170EM NVIDIA cards. I was able to game for about five minutes before getting another BSOD.

Afterburner had my GPU temp at ~70C right before the crash.

 

[essenbe]

This is the dump file info.

[COLOR=red]DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE (9f)
A driver has failed to complete a power IRP within a specific time.
Arguments:
[/COLOR]Arg1: 0000000000000003, A device object has been blocking an Irp for too long a time
Arg2: fffffa800d470a10, Physical Device Object of the stack
Arg3: fffff800047d53d8, nt!TRIAGE_9F_POWER on Win7 and higher, otherwise the Functional Device Object of the stack
Arg4: fffffa801f5b2c10, The blocked IRP

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for Ak27x64.sys
***[COLOR=red] ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for Ak27x64.sys[/COLOR]
 \Driver\Ak27x64

Ak27x64 is the Killer Wireless-N 1100 Series LAN device driver. I hope Clevo has a current driver for it. The company is out of business and drivers are almost impossible to find from a reputable source.

This is the driver you have which is blocking the IRP

 Ak27x64
start             end                 module name
fffff880`0682b000 fffff880`06c39000   Ak27x64  T (no symbols)           
    Loaded symbol image file: Ak27x64.sys
    Image path: \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\Ak27x64.sys
    Image name: Ak27x64.sys
    Timestamp:        [COLOR=red]Wed Sep 04 14:37:23 2013[/COLOR] (52278BF3)
    CheckSum:         003EDEA6
    ImageSize:        0040E000
    Translations:     0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4

 

[The12thMan]

I managed to find a slightly newer driver for the Killer Wireless-N 1103, but had another BSOD after ~5 minutes of gaming. Tomorrow I'll try to find one that's more current (the one I found was only Nov '13 instead of Sept '13).

 

[essenbe]

I'm getting the same Nvidia driver as before and the Killer Wireless driver. I'm also getting some of the Windows updates.

Would you please go to Windows Updates and on the right column please click on 'View Update History' and see if you have any Failed Updates, then see if they eventually installed at a later date.

Also please open an elevated command prompt ( click start, type cmd in the search box, right click on the cmd entry and select run as administrator) in the black box that opens, copy/paste sfc /scannow. If you decide to type it, notice the space between the sfc and the /. It is a system file checker which will scan your system files and attempt to correct any missing or corrupt files. What we want are the results to say windows found no integrity violations. If it says files were found but could not be repaired, close the box, reboot and run it again, after opening the administrative command prompt. You may have to reboot and run it three times for it to repair all system files. If it can't repair them after 3 reboots, let us know.

It seems to be a network problem of some kind. I get references to TCPIP, NETIO, the Killer Wireless and a PCI.

 

[The12thMan]

Several security updates failed to install on the 11th and were later installed by windows updater.

/scannow did not find any integrity violations.

Not sure if it's related to the same network problem, but I've had issues with disconnects while on this wireless network for a couple years. If it's helpful I'll continue to run programs that BSOD my comp and upload the new reports, not sure if it's giving you anything new or just the same old story.

 

[essenbe]

Just upload them and we will see. Do you think it is your wireless network? We have seen a lot of problems with Killer Networking. Mostly because of a lack of current drivers, I think. Why some Motherboard companies continue to use them is beyond me. I think they work pretty well, just no driver support hurts them. I think the Motherboard companies keep the drivers up to date until the next chipset comes out, and then their attention is on the new chipset.

 

[The12thMan]

Hmm, I'm not nearly tech savy enough to know whether it's my wireless card or the network acting up. All I can do is make BSOD appear on demand! (New crash attached)

 

[essenbe]

If you are not Tech savvy, are you a Texas A&M Fan? You had no new dumps in this latest upload. They were the same as before, the last dump was 3/29. What I meant by the Network is, does it drop off frequently? If so other devices in the household and neighbors would be suffering the same symptoms. If you get a reasonably strong wireless signal consistently but are suffering these drop offs, it is most likely your computer wireless card.

What is it that you do to make the computer BSOD at will? That may be helpful to know.

 

[The12thMan]

Nicely done with the pun! I'm not sure why the other BSOD doesn't show up, it was another x116 error.

Now that you mention it, my housemates don't have as many network issues. I'd attributed it to being slightly farther away from the modem, but I always have strong signal strength.

I get the x116 BSOD whenever I play system demanding games. It used to be an hour or two before a crash, but now the same games only last a few minutes. Cleaning the dust out of my computer reduced the temperature (based on heat coming through the fans) but seemed to have little effect on the crashes.

 

[essenbe]

The crashes I have looked at were not 116's. A 116 is a graphics related BSOD. What I was seeing was Network related. As in driver Power State failure. Do you have utilities to monitor your temps? If your Laptop didn't come with any you can use Core Temp for the CPU and MSI Afterburner for the GPU. Afterburner | MSI Gaming Series. If you will go into settings on Afterburner, you can set it for on screen display which will show almost anything graphics related on screen while you are playing.

After looking again, I apologize I missed a few.

[COLOR=red]VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)[/COLOR]
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa80169f7010, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff88007096f38, 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 a tough one. A TDR is a Time Delay and Recovery error. Basically meaning you drivers crashed and did not recover. Those are quite frequent in laptops with Optimus Technology (graphics switching) the switch between adapters takes too long. However, I would not think in Gaming there would be any switching.

 

[essenbe]

I apologize, I guess I am involved with too many of these cases. I sometimes bite off more than I can chew, if you know what I mean. We have gone over that already.

There is another dump blaming pci.sys which is a Windows file.

DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE (9f)
[COLOR=red]A driver has failed to complete a power IRP within a specific time[/COLOR].
Arguments:
Arg1: 0000000000000003, A device object has been blocking an Irp for too long a time
Arg2: fffffa800d4d8a10, Physical Device Object of the stack
Arg3: fffff80000b9c3d8, nt!TRIAGE_9F_POWER on Win7 and higher, otherwise the Functional Device Object of the stack
Arg4: fffffa80167ca840, The blocked IRP

The device was your Killer wireless.

Lets try this

Please open an elevated command prompt ( click start, type cmd in the search box, right click on the cmd entry and select run as administrator) in the black box that opens, copy/paste sfc /scannow. If you decide to type it, notice the space between the sfc and the /. It is a system file checker which will scan your system files and attempt to correct any missing or corrupt files. What we want are the results to say windows found no integrity violations. If it says files were found but could not be repaired, close the box, reboot and run it again, after opening the administrative command prompt. You may have to reboot and run it three times for it to repair all system files. If it can't repair them after 3 reboots, let us know.

 

[Arc]

Hi The12thMan.

Free up the startup. Windows does not need any other program to auto start with it, but the auto start programs often conflicts and causes various problems including BSODs.

1. Click on the Start button
2. Type “msconfig (without quotes), click the resulting link. It will open the System Configuration window.
3. Select the “Startup” tab.
4. Deselect all items other than the antivirus and the touchpad driver.
   ** All items means all items. Dont be choosy there. Then it will not be helpful for you.
5. Apply > OK
6. Accept then restart.

Now let us see if it is enough to deal with the stop 0x9F. If not, we have to take some other steps.
_____________________________________________

>[ 16, 2]   0  0 fffffa8010c17050 00000000 00000000-00000000    
          Unable to load image \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\Ak27x64.sys, Win32 error 0n2
[COLOR=Red]*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for Ak27x64.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for Ak27x64.sys[/COLOR]
 \Driver\Ak27x64
            Args: 00014400 00000000 00000004 00000002

    Image name: Ak27x64.sys
[COLOR=Red]    Timestamp:        Thu Sep 05 01:07:23 2013 [/COLOR](52278BF3)

 

[The12thMan]

Ran scannow again without issue and I disabled all startup items except Avast (didn't realize none were necessary!). After restarting my computer, I started up a game and crashed less than a minute later. It was another x116 BSOD, which apparently didn't show up in the "dm log collector" file I created afterwards (attached).

After doing some checking it looks like most of the x116 crashes aren't being recorded, any idea why this would be the case and what I can do to rectify it?

Also, thanks again for all the help, I'm completely lost when it comes to BSOD issues!

 

[essenbe]

try this and see how it works, just for a test. It won't help your game playing, but it may stop the BSODs.

First set the integrated graphics as preferred .....

1. Open Nvidia control panel.
2. Click on "Manage 3D settings".
3. Click on the button below "Preferred Graphics Processor"
4. Change it to "Integrated graphics"from the drop down menu.
   
   
   This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 772x284.
   
   This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 772x284.
   
5. Apply it.

Now restart the computer.


Now, disable nvidia graphics card in the device manager.

1. Click on the start button.
2. Type Device Manager in the search bar.
3. Click on the resulting link. The Device Manager window will open.
4. The third one should be "Display Adapter". Expand it by clicking on the "►" in front of it. Your nvidia card name will be shown.
5. Right click on it. Choose "Disable" in the context menu.
6. A dialog will appear with some scary words. Dont be afraid. Click on "Yes" .
7. Restart the computer.

Hopefully the nvidia display is out of use now, and so there will not be any further chance of graphics switching.


Let us know how the computer is running after doing it.

 

[Arc]

After doing some checking it looks like most of the x116 crashes aren't being recorded, any idea why this would be the case and what I can do to rectify it?

Take a camera snap of a 116 BSOD and let us see it?

Also let us know what was being performed on the computer during those 116s.

 

[The12thMan]

My computer doesn't often crash when I'm not gaming, but I'll disable the NVIDIA driver and see if anything happens over the next few days. Before that though, I hopped on Age of Wonders 3 to get a picture of the x116 errors that don't appear to be logging (attached). I can't get more than a couple minutes into this or similarly demanding games without a BSOD. Old and less system demanding games seem to work fine.

 

[essenbe]

At the bottom of that picture it says 35. Does it ever get to 100?

If you are having the typical problem people have with switchable graphics. Your Laptop switches graphics Adaptors depending on the demand of the graphics. So, normal usage and older light gaming never causes it to require more graphics performance. Once you start loading a graphics intensive game, it has to switch adaptors. That is the time when it crashes. That is what we are really trying to determine. Is that the problem you are having. If so, you may have to make some decisions. I did with mine.

 

[Arc]

As you are disabling one graphics, I will wait and see how it goes with the other graphics.