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Screen going black but still running
This issue has been going on for quite some time now. My screen randomly goes black, usually while I'm playing games or using the browser. It used to be just when I was using any browser, but its developed onto when I play certain games. This has ruined some progress on papers I've written (several hours lost can be quite annoying), so I decided to put all the info here to see if I could get any help on the situation. The computer is still running fine whilst the screen is black, I can even keep skype calls going and hear people talking while not seeing a thing. The only way to get the screen to come back is to force shut it off. I've also plugged in an external monitor to test if its a hardware issue or an in system issue. Both screens crash indicating that its simply a system error.
My specs:
Dell precision M6500
Windows 7, updated to windows 10, its happened on both versions
Nvidia Quadro FX 2800M, up to date
Intel Core i5 CPU M 540 @ 2.53 GHz
8Gb Ram
64-bit
Douglas Wilcox
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December 18th, 2015 09:00
Hi,
I too have had this problem the Dell Precision M6500 and Nvidia Quadro FX 2800M with up to date drivers from the Nvidia site. It affected my machine before and after upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I noticed it never did it on battery power. When on mains power the graphics card seems to shut down as it thinks it is overheating but it is not.
The solution is to download the Nvidia PowerMizer manager software from software.informer.com
Check enable PowerMizer
Check fixed performance level select medium for both battery and mains.
Check Overheat slow down override. Select disable overheat slowdown.
That's it.
The only thing is every times Windows 10 updates (like this morning) the PowerMizer settings are stripped out of the registry. This morning my machine was blacking out as soon as I opened any program so I had to pull out the mains lead to get it running so I could start PowerMizer again. I have left a short cut to the program on my desk top.
There is a separate issue with the Precision M6500 really overheating due to dust in the main and graphics chip heatsinks. See here for my cure:
seakayakphoto.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/dell-precision-m6500-workstation.html
I hope this works for others.
Douglas
If still under the purchased warranty, click the "Get Help Now" icon on the right to start a live chat session.
Additional Video for Sleep Related Troubleshooting:
(edited)
Dart737
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September 17th, 2015 10:00
I"ve also uninstalled and reinstalled the display drivers.
LSUFAN51
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September 17th, 2015 14:00
" I've also plugged in an external monitor to test if its a hardware issue or an in system issue. Both screens crash indicating that its simply a system error. "
:emotion-2:
Did you tap F12 for Diagnostics? If you haven't, power on laptop then quickly tap F12 continuously to access the boot menu.Don't wait for any screen before tapping F12. Please click on the link below:
youtu.be/rMBIyeelQA0
LSUFAN51
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September 17th, 2015 14:00
Or.....
Update System Setup (BIOS)
www.youtube.com/watch
Dart737
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September 18th, 2015 04:00
I just ran the diagnosis, it said nothing was wrong.
I updated the bios, though, its not fully verfiy-able. When I run the updater it says theres an error and that I should reboot and retry it, but then it runs the bios update before it goes down. When I check to verify that the date on it has changed, it says it hasn't. But it says "Revised A10 Bios" at the start menu, where it didn't before. So i'm assuming that it actually did update and just isn't confirming that. Either way, I have yet had the screen crash and I'll update this post further if I do
Dart737
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September 18th, 2015 05:00
My screen has crashed once again. so either the bios won't update because of some issue it refuses to explain or the updating of the bios did nothing.
LSUFAN51
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September 18th, 2015 14:00
Try using the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files. It scan your system files and repair missing or corrupted system files. Please click the links below:
support.microsoft.com/.../929833
www.youtube.com/watch
LSUFAN51
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September 18th, 2015 15:00
You can also use "Event Viewer" to troubleshoot your laptop. Here's an article from sevenforums com: Please click on the link below:
EDIT:
Event logs are special files that record significant events on your computer, such as when a user logs on to the computer or when a program encounters an error. Whenever these types of events occur, Windows records the event in an event log that you can read by using Event Viewer. Advanced users might find the details in event logs helpful when troubleshooting problems with Windows and other programs.
www.sevenforums.com/.../226084-event-viewer-open-use-windows-7-a.html
Dart737
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September 21st, 2015 07:00
I ran the cmd test that you said, it came up with no issues showing. I also rather thoroughly attempted to trouble shoot and came up with some things that could be causing the issues, but no real clue as to what could be the actual issue or how to solve it. For the most part, when the screen goes black, it doesn't give any solid or consistent errors. One thing I noticed is that often it will say that a system file by the name of "***" isn't working or doesn't respond, and it just so happened to show before some crashes, but again, it wasn't the same for all times thats happened, so I doubt that its actually capturing the issue in the system files. I've also done multiple full system virus checks, nothing came up.
Dart737
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September 21st, 2015 08:00
After about an additional hour of searching I've found this error message:
The Event System sub system is supressing duplicate event log entries for a duration of 86400 second. The suppression timeout can be controlled by a REG_DWORD value named SuppressDuplicateDuration under the following registry key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EventSystem\EventLog
Shows up almost every time that the screen shuts down, I know this means that its suppressing a message from an application due to it spamming it, but its also likely the cause of my crashing and I don't know how to see what it is saying in the error.
Also, I noticed my last message got censored for whatever reason. The system file that isn't working says "D A M" without spaces
Dart737
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December 16th, 2015 05:00
Two months have gone by and the issue has only grown worse. I checked the event viewer since I recently crashed and its recorded no distinct thing that causes the crash. Its gotten to the point where I can't connect to more than 5 websites before the screen crashes. I've realized also since then, that is only crashes when I'm either playing Sims, or on any browser. But more intensive things like skyrim run fine with no crashing or lagging.
LSUFAN51
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December 17th, 2015 06:00
I've went to your Dell's Product Support page and noticed Dell didn't list any windows 10 drivers for your laptop. Furthermore, it haven't been tested for the windows 10 upgrade yet.
www.dell.com/.../advanced
LSUFAN51
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December 17th, 2015 06:00
" My screen randomly goes black, usually while I'm playing games or using the browser. It used to be just when I was using any browser "
Since you already downloaded windows 10, look for any games or their components in the(Task Manager) startup. If present, disable them. You can also look for any games components lurking in the background by checking Processes or System Configuration.
Task Manager -Startup):
1. Right click Start's button at the left hand bottom of the page
2. Click Task Manager
3. Click start up
Task Manager - System Configuration):
1. At top of page, click File
2. Click Run New Task
3. Type msconfig
4. Click OK
5. Click Services
6. uncheck any games
By the way, which browser you're using? Microsoft Edge ? Firefox ? etc ?
Dart737
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December 17th, 2015 12:00
There were no games running, there were a few unneccissary things, so I took those off. I've been using Mozilla Firefox. But, before this I used Chrome and it happened with that too. I also tested edge to see if it would happen, and it does. So its all browsers and very particular games. So far its only been sims games though
Also, this happened back when I had windows 7 also. So its not exclusive to Windows 10. But its still a system error of some sorts, not hardwiring, otherwise it wouldn't have shown on the external monitor that I plugged it into before.
Douglas Wilcox
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December 19th, 2015 03:00
Great stuff Dart737 I am delighted to hear of a promising start, please come back and let us know how you get on.
Douglas