Nvidia display error

[mrogers]

Just lately after having a new 500w PSU installed to replace a failed 400w psu, I started to get this "nv4_display stopped responding" error box sometimes after using a combination of fs9, google earth and ADE (airport design program similar to afcad) resulting in a reboot of my pc.
I had a look on the net and most info said it was a registry error that can be fixed. I don't think it would have anything to do with the new psu at all.

However I went back to the shop where i had the psu replaced and told the tech what had happened. He seems unsure why it happened and did not think it was a registry error or the psu either and he thought it might be the graphics card overheating after a time thereby stopping it working, however the pc case feels cool to the touch and have 3 fans going in the pc, and it has the latest nvidia drivers.

I remember that after I got the pc back from the shop, I thought I would do a little clean of one of the fans so pulled it out to clean it before putting it back. I am sure that I replaced it correctly, but perhaps might have been put back the wrong way around?
One fan blows out while the other fan sucks in. The 3rd one is the psu fan. Is that the correct order or should both fans be sucking in?

Would there be anyone here who has had this happen before and what was done to fix it? Appreciate it if anyone can help

[Mick]

For a long time I used to get a pretty similar error: "Display Driver Stopped Responding..."

It happened fairly often for over a year and through at least two nVidia driver updates. Then there came another driver update and the error never happened again.

[mrogers]

Thanks Mick. How 'd you get the updates? Was it from the Nvidia website?

[Mick]

Thanks Mick. How 'd you get the updates? Was it from the Nvidia website?

You could go there and seek them out, but you can easily set up your confuter to check regularly and let you know when something's available. My rig's settings were for a pop-up notice when a driver update is available, so I just had to say yes or no to download and install it. (Now that I have a driver that works properly, I plan to stand pat and I've turned off that feature.)

To set this up, first check your Notification Area (on the right end of the Task Bar) and see if you have the NVIDIA icon there. If not, go to Control Panel, then NVIDIA Control Panel, and click Desktop on the NVIDIA Control Panel menu bar. Then click Show Notification Tray Icon.

Now that you have the icon there, you can go into the Notification Area and right click the icon. One of the selections on the pop-up menu is Check For Updates, and you can do that any time. You can also click Show Notifications and select New Updates. Then you'll get a little pop-up balloon to notify you when a new update is available.

You could also select an option to automatically download and install all updates. That's probably optimal for someone who always has the latest games, but I think it risks replacing something that works with something that might not work so well for your currently installed software. Now that I have everything working well, and since I don't ever add any new games, I'm going to stand pat with what I have now , so I have turned off notifications for new driver updates.

Since you may not have the best driver for your purposes, you might want to go to the web site and try different drivers from their available downloads (assuming you can select from different versions.) For what it might be worth, my card is a GeForce GTX 550 Ti and it's running driver version 334.89, which is not the latest driver available, but it works for me so I'm going to stick with it.

[Dangerousdave26]

One thing that is over looked by many people when buying a new PSU is the number of 12 volt rails. If your video card has a external power connector connected to it that connector should not be shared with any other components.

If you have only one 12volt rail then all of your components are connected to it and you are likely staving the video card for power.

Do some research on your PSU. Find out how many 12 volt rails it has and make sure the video card is on its own rail if you have more than one.

[Dangerousdave26]

Here is another thing to look for, while talking to WND on the TeamSpeak3 server this morning he was telling me about a problem he just found with his PC that has been giving him random BSODs.

His new power supply is modular and the cables are pulling on the socket on the power supply. The one that feeds the video card is actually coming out and causing the problem he has been having. Changing the routing of the cables fixed the issue.

[mrogers]

Thanks, Mick snd Dangerousdave for your tips. I'll follow them up. I certainly will have a look at the PSU and the 12v rails.
By the way, I didn't have a BSOD, but the pc went into "safe mode", screen with all the icons, desktop etc, in weird colours and the screen resolution 640× 800. Rebooting restored everything back to normal.
I had the latest drivers before the the PSU waa replaced, it was working fine , and after the new PSU was put in, started getting the nvidia display driver error boxes. The drivers are still the same and are the latest.
The vid card is a nividia 7900GT/GTX.
I'll find out what brand the PSU is.

[mrogers]

Ok, I did my research and found the PSU to be a Aywun A1-5000, it has 2 12v rails it seems, but according to people's comments on the net about it, they say get a better psu because it's a cheap one.
I checked the cable feeding the vid card and noticed one of the pins was slightly not in as much as the other pins so pushed that in all the way in. My pc's an old P4 with a PCI-E vid card, a 7900GT/GTX. I can't afford a new PC just yet.