Display driver quits working sometimes...

Every once in a while, like 1 or 2 times a week my screen will go dark and then come back on with a message that says something like this:



"your display drive or hardware (I forget which) quit working and has recovered"



What is this and is it something I need to worry about? Such as the dedicated GPU going bad?

Reply 1 : Display driver quits working sometimes...

It means that a driver has tripped up. There should be more details of which one in the system log (Computer Management > Event Viewer > Windows Logs. It could well be the GPU driver. They get updated frequently in a perpetual quest for more performance but sometimes push the hardware too far.



John

Reply 2 : Display driver quits working sometimes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Ratsey It means that a driver has tripped up. There should be more details of which one in the system log (Computer Management > Event Viewer > Windows Logs. It could well be the GPU driver. They get updated frequently in a perpetual quest for more performance but sometimes push the hardware too far. John

I haven't updated my display or GPU drivers since I bought the notebook. They probably have new drivers... should I try that?



I went to Computer Management > Event Viewer > Windows Logs

and this is what I got:

Reply 3 : Display driver quits working sometimes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack53 I haven't updated my display or GPU drivers since I bought the notebook. They probably have new drivers... should I try that?

That's definitely the Nvidia graphics driver. First check the Samsung website and if there's nothing newer, go to Nvidia.



John

Reply 4 : Display driver quits working sometimes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Ratsey That's definitely the Nvidia graphics driver. First check the Samsung website and if there's nothing newer, go to Nvidia. John

Well, it is time to do the driver update.

I have two to choose from:



From the Samsung website:



From the Nvidia website:





Which one should I use?

What are you guys using?

Reply 5 : Display driver quits working sometimes...

The driver from Nvidia will be newer but may lack any Samsung-specific tweaks so some of the Fn key functions may not work. Give it a try.



John

Reply 6 : Display driver quits working sometimes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Ratsey The driver from Nvidia will be newer but may lack any Samsung-specific tweaks so some of the Fn key functions may not work. Give it a try. John

Would the Nvidia give better performance?

Would either one be more stable than the current/stock one I have?



If the FN/F10 doesn't work I won't like it as I use FN/F10 all the time to shut off the touchpad when using the mini-mouse.

I find this notebook is really bad when typing with that touchpad on. This is another thing I really don't like about this notebook. Besides no 12 cell battery.

Reply 7 : Display driver quits working sometimes...

I would first try the Samsung driver.



John