Windows 7 Video Hardware Errors, frequent crashes, screen freezes.

As far as catching this problem earlier:  This GTX 650 was a warranty claim replacement for my old GTS 450, meaning that if there is something wrong with the 650 im out of luck.  I don't think I can make a warranty claim on a warranty claim :/

You could always try.. :-)

Is yours the type which requires a separate power feed?

Why did the GTS 450 fail?

Hello,

Thank you for keeping us updated on the status of the issue

I am sorry for late response.

I would suggest you to try following Microsoft help article and check if it helps.

"Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error in Windows 7 or Windows Vistahttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/2665946

Also, Refer to suggestions provided in the following link:

Display driver stopped responding and has recovered

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/0cd5ec8b-df03-4560-952b-8c7d10e67241/display-driver-stopped-responding-and-has-recovered?forum=w7itproinstall

Important Notes:

Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/back-up-registry#1TC=windows-7

Using Third Party Software, including hardware drivers can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Third Party Software can be solved. Using Third Party Software is at your own risk.

I hope this information helps.

Please do let us know if you need any further assistance.

Thank you

Got around today to a little more troubleshooting, here is an image of the Speccy voltages for my Motherboard:

Only voltage that changes at all is the +5V one, and it changes very little.

What exactly do you mean by "Post Beeps"?

Thanks for the continued help.

EDIT: Did a copy and paste of next sentence accidentally

Should have been - " Does my psu supply power to my motherboard?  " 

Not - "I am able to run just fine on integrated graphics, then wouldn't that rule out the possibility that my psu is the problem?"

Yes it does run the motherboard - No, it does not necessarily rule out the psu, but

does point more toward a faulty gpu or motherboard.

All three psu rails go to the motherboard  +2 - +5 & +12V, via the large connector (ATX)

with multiple wires, and another +12V connector for the cpu. 

I was only having you check the motherboard voltage as part of the process to verify stable current.

• If the psu is faulting it would not necessarily have a problem when the gpu is not installed , but

that little bit more power that is drawn by the gpu  could be more than the psu can handle.

More commonly though psu issues manifest when running a game as the gpu draws significantly more

power under load than at idle.

However, while booting into Windows and loading the drivers  I'm not sure if the gpu starts at full clocks and power draw or not. I do know the fans will spin up to max speed for a short time before

the drivers are loaded.

"...GTX 650 because I can't even turn the computer on long enough to log in before crashing."

Ooops - Was overlooking that minor detail when suggesting monitoring the voltage, wasn't I ?  

Are there no 'Post' beeps when the drivers are installed and the machine fails to boot into Windows ?

It's sounding pretty grim when you cannot even boot into Windows with the Nvidia drivers installed.

The drivers enable the gpu, and Safe Mode is not an option for troubleshooting because it disables

the drivers..

It's still guesswork without being able to verify the card and motherboards PCI-e controller by

part swapping.

• One more test option ;

If the motherboard has another PCI-e slot ( X8 is OK for troubleshooting) you could try the card in

that. This still only tests the physical slot though, not the PCI-e controller. I don't know how the

controller is tested.

Even re-seating the card and power connector may help *Cross fingers*

Beyond this, the only way to isolate the issue is take the machine to a technician. Never know, he

may find something simple. It's a lot easier troubleshooting up close and personal.

"I don't think I can make a warranty claim on a warranty claim :/"

EDIT (again ;) : After re-reading I see you had the old card for close to full warranty period so you are not

likely to get an RMA from this one as it would be warranted from the date of the 450.

If it's only been two years eleven months you still have a chance.

.

Yes the clean boot attempts were with the nvidia graphics drivers installed, and trying to run off my GTX 650.

I just uninstalled all the nvidia graphics drivers again, rebooted, and then tried to use Treexy.  When I attempted to delete my nvidia drivers it said "no entries were detected".  Doesnt look like thats the problem.

Something I dont fully understand is how a desktop psu provides power to different components.  Does my psu supply power to my motherboard?  Because if it does, and I am able to run just fine on integrated graphics, then wouldn't that rule out the possibility that my psu is the problem?

The other thing is that it occured to me that I am probably not able to monitor the voltage of my psu while running on my GTX 650 because I can't even turn the computer on long enough to log in before crashing.

As far as catching this problem earlier:  This GTX 650 was a warranty claim replacement for my old GTS 450, meaning that if there is something wrong with the 650 im out of luck.  I don't think I can make a warranty claim on a warranty claim :/

Also, here at university I don't have access to any other desktops for troubleshooting my card.  I also don't have access to any other cards.

Thanks for the continued help.