Alright deep breath here: (Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit btw) Today I installed Star Craft 2 Beta. After trying to log in, it had some issues where it said my device stopped working (referring to my video device I have to imagine). After I force quit the game there were some random "hot" (various colors if i remember correctly) pixels on the screen. I decided to reboot and try again with similar results. I figured that maybe my display drivers could stand to be updated (I don't frequently update them as I don't often run into problems). I went out to nVidia's website and grabbed the latest drivers for Windows 7 64 bit GeForce 9 series. (I have SLi-ed 9800 GTs). Everything seemed to install fine and I performed the restart. This is when things went from bad (can't play SC2 beta ;) ) to worse (can't boot into windows!). Initially the very first splash screen - I think it's the bios splash screen - had lines of colored pixels covering it. It then displayed a screen that had lots of "(" on it. After that it showed the normal windows 7 splash screen as if it were going to load into Windows. Before getting much further, it BSODed on me. It was a 0x0000003B stop error. At nvlddmkm.sys. A little digging let verified that this was a problem with an nVidia graphics device, not a real shocker. Windows decided it would try to help me diagnose the problem, which it's only answer to was a System Restore, which did nothing to alleviate the problem. I was able to boot up fine in safe mode and was not able to roll back the driver, however I did uninstall the driver and reboot. I still had the graphical anomalies during the first two screens (same colored "."'s and weird "("'s), but there was NOT a stop error. Windows loaded up, found a default driver for the device and installed it and I restarted to let it load - and had yet another BSOD Stop error. Repeat driver uninstall, this time I reloaded the same version (I think it's possible that I was running a 32 bit version or a vista versus windows 7 version, but I don't have that information handy) of the nVidia driver from their website. Restart, same anomalies, same Stop Error. I am at a loss - At this point all I can think is that the firmware for the Video cards got fried or there's actual damage to the cards which I sincerely hope is not the case but the sooner I know the better. Any insight into what I might be able to do to troubleshoot/fix this problem would be most helpful. Attached below is a dump from DxDiag. Please let me know if there is more info that I could provide. ------------------ System Information ------------------ Time of this report: 3/18/2010, 23:22:48 Machine name: BRIAN-PC Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_rtm.090713-1255) Language: English (Regional Setting: English) System Manufacturer: Dell Inc System Model: XPS 630i BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.3GHz Memory: 8192MB RAM Available OS Memory: 8190MB RAM Page File: 1855MB used, 14521MB available Windows Dir: C:\Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 11 DX Setup Parameters: Not found User DPI Setting: Using System DPI System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent) DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled DxDiag Version: 6.01.7600.16385 32bit Unicode DxDiag Previously: Crashed in DirectShow (stage 1). Re-running DxDiag with "dontskip" command line parameter or choosing not to bypass information gathering when prompted might result in DxDiag successfully obtaining this information ------------ DxDiag Notes ------------ Display Tab 1: No problems found. Sound Tab 1: No problems found. Sound Tab 2: No problems found. Sound Tab 3: No problems found. Input Tab: No problems found. -------------------- DirectX Debug Levels -------------------- Direct3D: 0/4 (retail) DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail) DirectInput: 0/5 (retail) DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail) DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail) DirectSound: 0/5 (retail) DirectShow: 0/6 (retail) --------------- Display Devices --------------- Card name: Manufacturer: Chip type: DAC type: Device Key: Enum\ Display Memory: n/a Dedicated Memory: n/a Shared Memory: n/a Current Mode: 1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (1Hz) Driver Name: Driver File Version: () Driver Version: DDI Version: unknown Driver Model: unknown Driver Attributes: Final Retail Driver Date/Size: , 0 bytes WHQL Logo'd: n/a WHQL Date Stamp: n/a Device Identifier: {D7B70EE0-4340-11CF-B123-B03DAEC2CB35} Vendor ID: 0x0000 Device ID: 0x0000 SubSys ID: 0x00000000 Revision ID: 0x0000 Driver Strong Name: Unknown Rank Of Driver: Unknown Video Accel: Deinterlace Caps: n/a D3D9 Overlay: n/a DXVA-HD: n/a DDraw Status: Not Available D3D Status: Not Available AGP Status: Not Available ------------- Sound Devices ------------- Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio) Default Sound Playback: Yes Default Voice Playback: Yes Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0888&SUBSYS_10280249&REV_1001 Manufacturer ID: 1 Product ID: 100 Type: WDM Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5667 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail WHQL Logo'd: n/a Date and Size: 8/18/2008 04:05:28, 1485592 bytes Other Files: Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HW Accel Level: Basic Cap Flags: 0x0 Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0 Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0 HW Memory: 0 Voice Management: No EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio) Default Sound Playback: No Default Voice Playback: No Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0888&SUBSYS_10280249&REV_1001 Manufacturer ID: 1 Product ID: 100 Type: WDM Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5667 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail WHQL Logo'd: n/a Date and Size: 8/18/2008 04:05:28, 1485592 bytes Other Files: Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HW Accel Level: Basic Cap Flags: 0x0 Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0 Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0 HW Memory: 0 Voice Management: No EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No Description: Realtek HDMI Output (Realtek High Definition Audio) Default Sound Playback: No Default Voice Playback: No Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0888&SUBSYS_10280249&REV_1001 Manufacturer ID: 1 Product ID: 100 Type: WDM Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5667 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail WHQL Logo'd: n/a Date and Size: 8/18/2008 04:05:28, 1485592 bytes Other Files: Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HW Accel Level: Basic Cap Flags: 0x0 Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0 Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0 HW Memory: 0 Voice Management: No EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No --------------------- Sound Capture Devices --------------------- Description: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio) Default Sound Capture: Yes Default Voice Capture: Yes Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5667 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail Date and Size: 8/18/2008 04:05:28, 1485592 bytes Cap Flags: 0x0 Format Flags: 0x0 Description: Realtek Digital Input (Realtek High Definition Audio) Default Sound Capture: No Default Voice Capture: No Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys Driver Version: 6.00.0001.5667 (English) Driver Attributes: Final Retail Date and Size: 8/18/2008 04:05:28, 1485592 bytes Cap Flags: 0x0 Format Flags: 0x0 ------------------- DirectInput Devices ------------------- Device Name: Mouse Attached: 1 Controller ID: n/a Vendor/Product ID: n/a FF Driver: n/a Device Name: Keyboard Attached: 1 Controller ID: n/a Vendor/Product ID: n/a FF Driver: n/a Device Name: ESA FW Update Attached: 1 Controller ID: 0x0 Vendor/Product ID: 0x0955, 0x000A FF Driver: n/a Poll w/ Interrupt: No ----------- USB Devices ----------- + USB Root Hub | Vendor/Product ID: 0x10DE, 0x026D | Matching Device ID: usb\root_hub | Service: usbhub | +-+ USB Input Device | | Vendor/Product ID: 0x0955, 0x000A | | Location: Port_#0002.Hub_#0001 | | Matching Device ID: generic_hid_device | | Service: HidUsb | | | +-+ HID-compliant device | | | Vendor/Product ID: 0x0955, 0x000A | | | Matching Device ID: hid_device | | +-+ USB Input Device | | Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC01E | | Location: Port_#0003.Hub_#0001 | | Matching Device ID: generic_hid_device | | Service: HidUsb | | | +-+ HID-compliant mouse | | | Vendor/Product ID: 0x046D, 0xC01E | | | Matching Device ID: hid_device_system_mouse | | | Service: mouhid ---------------- Gameport Devices ---------------- ------------ PS/2 Devices ------------ + Standard PS/2 Keyboard | Matching Device ID: *pnp0303 | Service: i8042prt | + Terminal Server Keyboard Driver | Matching Device ID: root\rdp_kbd | Upper Filters: kbdclass | Service: TermDD | + Terminal Server Mouse Driver | Matching Device ID: root\rdp_mou | Upper Filters: mouclass | Service: TermDD ------------------------ Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives ------------------------ Drive: C: Free Space: 324.3 GB Total Space: 608.4 GB File System: NTFS Model: WDC WD64 00AAKS-75A7B SCSI Disk Device Drive: D: Free Space: 1.0 GB Total Space: 2.0 GB File System: NTFS Model: WDC WD64 00AAKS-75A7B SCSI Disk Device Drive: E: Model: TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-H653F SCSI CdRom Device Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.01.7600.16385 (English), , 0 bytes -------------- System Devices -------------- Name: PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B7&SUBSYS_000010DE&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&18 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03AF&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&0A Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard host CPU bridge Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03A3&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A2\3&2411E6FE&1&00 Driver: n/a Name: NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0267&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&78 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B6&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&10 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03AE&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&09 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0272&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A3\3&2411E6FE&1&52 Driver: n/a Name: NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0266&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&70 Driver: n/a Name: LSI 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_11C1&DEV_5811&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_70\4&14591D7E&0&2880 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B5&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&06 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03AD&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&08 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0270&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A2\3&2411E6FE&1&48 Driver: n/a Name: Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0265&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&68 Driver: n/a Name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0605&SUBSYS_062D10DE&REV_A2\4&4BABE2A&0&0028 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B4&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&07 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03AC&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&01 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_026F&SUBSYS_CB8410DE&REV_A2\3&2411E6FE&1&80 Driver: n/a Name: NVIDIA nForce PCI System Management Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0264&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A3\3&2411E6FE&1&51 Driver: n/a Name: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0605&SUBSYS_062D10DE&REV_A2\4&10BD3C89&0&0018 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B3&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&0E Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03AB&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&04 Driver: n/a Name: Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_026E&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A3\3&2411E6FE&1&59 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard ISA bridge Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0260&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A3\3&2411E6FE&1&50 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03BC&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&11 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B2&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&0D Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03AA&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&02 Driver: n/a Name: Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_026D&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A3\3&2411E6FE&1&58 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03BA&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&12 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B1&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&0C Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03A9&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&03 Driver: n/a Name: High Definition Audio Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_026C&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A2\3&2411E6FE&1&81 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B8&SUBSYS_000010DE&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&28 Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03B0&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A1\3&2411E6FE&1&0B Driver: n/a Name: PCI standard RAM Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03A8&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A2\3&2411E6FE&1&05 Driver: n/a Name: NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller Device ID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0269&SUBSYS_02491028&REV_A3\3&2411E6FE&1&A0 Driver: n/a --------------- EVR Power Information --------------- Current Setting: {5C67A112-A4C9-483F-B4A7-1D473BECAFDC} (Quality) Quality Flags: 2576 Enabled: Force throttling Allow half deinterlace Allow scaling Decode Power Usage: 100 Balanced Flags: 1424 Enabled: Force throttling Allow batching Force half deinterlace Force scaling Decode Power Usage: 50 PowerFlags: 1424 Enabled: Force throttling Allow batching Force half deinterlace Force scaling Decode Power Usage: 0