O.T. display blackout

I have a Dell XPS 8500, with Windows 7 Professional, SP1,
with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

(1) TB HD
Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-33-3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Ram 12.0 GB
System type : 64-bit operating system

I also have

I have a Dell Optiplex 780 Tower, with Windows 7 Professional,
SP1, with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
System type : 64-bit operating system

and (external hard drives)

(8500)
WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200
RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Hard Drive

(780)
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive

I was online perusingb and running a Avast full
scan when the screen went black and then I got
this message:

http://i66.tinypic.com/2dkxslk.jpg

Is this something I should be concerned about?

Thanks,
Robert

Robert in CA wrote:
I have a Dell XPS 8500, with Windows 7 Professional, SP1,
with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

(1) TB HD
Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-33-3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Ram 12.0 GB
System type : 64-bit operating system

I also have

I have a Dell Optiplex 780 Tower, with Windows 7 Professional,
SP1, with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
System type : 64-bit operating system

and (external hard drives)

(8500)
WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200
RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Hard Drive

(780)
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive

I was online perusingb and running a Avast full
scan when the screen went black and then I got
this message:

http://i66.tinypic.com/2dkxslk.jpg

Is this something I should be concerned about?

Thanks,
Robert

It could be that you have NVidia Updater running on that
machine, as you have Geforce Experience showing on your screen.

The updater could have downloaded an update while you
were using the machine, then tried to install it.

Use "Start : Run : devmgmt.msc" to
bring up Device Manager.

Find the Display Adapter, do Properties on the entry,
then Driver and verify the driver version. The error
report was against 391.35, and you would compare that
number to the "Driver Version" number. Write down
both numbers for reference.

Then, try a reboot. Then, back to checking Device Manager again.

Use "Start : Run : devmgmt.msc" to
bring up Device Manager.

See if the number has changed to a value higher than 391.35.
As it implies the reboot caused the new driver to take effect.

It could be, that the driver install (hidden, while you
were using the machine), did something to upset the
current 391.35 driver. And now that the new driver is in
place, it should be fine again, until a week later it
runs the Updater and checks again.

We already know that ShadowPlay installer doesn't work
properly on your machine, so the installer should likely
show that item as not installed. But because that is only
used to record 3D game play (as an option for gamers, it
is not necessary to play a game), no harm is done by not
having ShadowPlay.

In any case, if the driver version is bumped into the
4xx.xx range, you could consider using the NVidia control
panel, where it says something about updates, to disable
the updater so it stops scanning for new drivers and
auto-installing them. Your choice.

Just a guess,
Paul

I tried to follow your instructions:


http://i67.tinypic.com/1f7dj7.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2dl0nzm.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2zgb3fm.jpg

Robert

Robert in CA wrote:
I tried to follow your instructions:


http://i67.tinypic.com/1f7dj7.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2dl0nzm.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2zgb3fm.jpg

Robert

Have you left your Dell Driver Updater running ?

On Windows 7, a USB3 item might require a proprietary
driver, as only USB2 class drivers are provided by Microsoft.
So if your machine (8500) has USB3, that might explain it.
For USB2, the system driver should satisfy the need.

The network driver, I presume got bumped out of
position by some sort of activity.

Something on the machine did that, and it's got the
hand prints of "Driver Update program" on it. I
don't think (at least right now) this is malware,
as having a broken network doesn't help the malware
all that much.

https://i.postimg.cc/xd2TbZnn/ID-you...k-hardware.gif

Once you ID your network hardware, you could take a look
in the Control Panels : Programs and Features and see if
a driver for the NIC is available. Right-click it and
see if "Repair" is an option.

Normally, if you lost your entire ENUM hive in the
Registry, the system would restore all the drivers in
about two minutes of disk grinding, one way or another.

Paul

I have it set up that I manually due my updates
and check them beforehand.

I believe the 8500 does have USB3

I check to see if a driver is available

Thanks,
Robert

I checked in Programs and features,.
and right clicked all of the Nvidia
with the same result shown.

http://i68.tinypic.com/34xescz.jpg

Robert

Robert in CA wrote:
I checked in Programs and features,.
and right clicked all of the Nvidia
with the same result shown.

http://i68.tinypic.com/34xescz.jpg

Robert

Hmmm.

The NVidia driver is 391.35, so it's the same version
as what shows elsewhere. Maybe you're not getting an
NVidia update at the moment.

You could right-click the RealTek Ethernet Controller All-In-One
and see if it offers a "Repair" option and try and restore
the network driver that way.

And I don't see a branded USB3 driver in the picture,
so it could be the USB3 is on the Intel PCH (Southbridge)
and an Intel driver fixed it or something. You'd have to
take a look through your Device Manager (devmgmt.msc)
again and see if an existing USB3 host controller is listed
in there.

This is getting stranger and stranger. Stuff like this
should not happen. Too complicated.

Paul

See what I see? Stuff like this just happens
to me out of nowhere?

I check the RealTek Ethernet and see if it has
a repair option.


Robert

I followed your instructions:

http://i67.tinypic.com/24gr8ud.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/2mhcrv5.jpg


Robert

On Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 2:59:37 PM UTC-8, Robert in CA wrote:
See what I see? Stuff like this just happens
to me out of nowhere?

I check the RealTek Ethernet and see if it has
a repair option.


Robert


I meant of course 'see what I mean'. This stuff just happens
out of nowhere.

btw, I did do a dry test run of the PSU and cables but some
of the cables had me a bit confused but I think I have it
straight now. It seems there's plenty of length and room to
tuck everything in.

It was a good choice and it fits just right. Thanks for picking
it out for me and the Dell 780. I noticed that before when I
would power up the 780 it would whine like an aircraft motor
but ever since we replaced the HD it's dead quiet.

Robert

Robert in CA wrote:
I followed your instructions:

http://i67.tinypic.com/24gr8ud.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/2mhcrv5.jpg


Robert

Your second picture is a bit weird.

Network adapters
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller --- no yellow marks

Other devices
Network Controller --- yellow mark

Does the machine have two wired RJ45 connectors ?
If there was just one NIC, it would be strange
for the single controller to be listed twice.

What you were supposed to do, is do

Properties

on the Network Controller with the yellow mark, and
get the HardwareID so we'd know what brand and model
of NIC it is. The numbers can be looked up on the
pci.ids URL I showed you.

http://pciids.sourceforge.net/pci.ids

There's no sense me fishing for a RealTek driver, because
at the moment we can't tell what that "yellow mark" NIC is,
what brand it is, and whether what we need is an Intel
driver perhaps.

Communications

Network adapter 10/100/1000 Mbps integrated [Realtek 8111???]
network card
Wireless• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n• [could be a dual-function card]
Bluetooth 4.0

So maybe that network controller with the yellow mark
is the Wifi card ? Was it previously turned off in the
BIOS perhaps ? Properties and some HardwareID numbers
might help identify the yellow mark items. Windows 7
doesn't have native USB3 drivers, so any third party
USB3 controllers need a proprietary driver (which
Dell would probably have).

https://www.dell.com/support/home/us...s-8500/drivers

Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller Driver Chipset Download

(second entry...)
Dell Wireless 1703 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth Driver Network Download
167.22MB Network_Driver_C54GH_WN_9.2.0.514_A00.EXE
(it's an Atheros-Qualcomm BT and Wifi driver)

Realtek 8111E Network Driver Network Download
(you don't need this, as the GBE entry has a driver already)

So the first two might help, just a guess. The third
one is already installed, but you could take a copy to
add to your driver collection.

Paul

On Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 6:56:48 PM UTC-8, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:
I followed your instructions:

http://i67.tinypic.com/24gr8ud.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/2mhcrv5.jpg


Robert

Your second picture is a bit weird.

Network adapters
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller --- no yellow marks

Other devices
Network Controller --- yellow mark

Does the machine have two wired RJ45 connectors ?
If there was just one NIC, it would be strange
for the single controller to be listed twice.

What you were supposed to do, is do

Properties

on the Network Controller with the yellow mark, and
get the HardwareID so we'd know what brand and model
of NIC it is. The numbers can be looked up on the
pci.ids URL I showed you.

http://pciids.sourceforge.net/pci.ids

There's no sense me fishing for a RealTek driver, because
at the moment we can't tell what that "yellow mark" NIC is,
what brand it is, and whether what we need is an Intel
driver perhaps.

Communications

Network adapter 10/100/1000 Mbps integrated [Realtek 8111???]
network card
Wireless• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n• [could be a dual-function card]
Bluetooth 4.0

So maybe that network controller with the yellow mark
is the Wifi card ? Was it previously turned off in the
BIOS perhaps ? Properties and some HardwareID numbers
might help identify the yellow mark items. Windows 7
doesn't have native USB3 drivers, so any third party
USB3 controllers need a proprietary driver (which
Dell would probably have).

https://www.dell.com/support/home/us...s-8500/drivers

Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller Driver Chipset Download

(second entry...)
Dell Wireless 1703 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth Driver Network Download
167.22MB Network_Driver_C54GH_WN_9.2.0.514_A00.EXE
(it's an Atheros-Qualcomm BT and Wifi driver)

Realtek 8111E Network Driver Network Download
(you don't need this, as the GBE entry has a driver already)

So the first two might help, just a guess. The third
one is already installed, but you could take a copy to
add to your driver collection.

Paul

I downloaded and installed the first and second
downloads.

I already have a download that has popped up.


Thanks,
Robert

I re-read your instructions and decided to
download the third link as well to have a
copy of the drivers as you said and when
doing so it said that I did not have any
folder/file and did I want to proceed.

Then it gave me this:


http://i67.tinypic.com/2z49x5d.jpg

Robert

Robert in CA wrote:
I re-read your instructions and decided to
download the third link as well to have a
copy of the drivers as you said and when
doing so it said that I did not have any
folder/file and did I want to proceed.

Then it gave me this:


http://i67.tinypic.com/2z49x5d.jpg

Robert


When installing drivers, you look the machine
over first and make a list of what is there,
and what doesn't currently have a driver.

If the 8500 has RealTek Sound, then a RealTek Audio Driver
makes sense. However, if a driver download is labeled
"Creative Sound Blaster" and you don't have a Sound Blaster card,
then you would not install the driver in question.

Paul

But you said:

So the first two might help, just a guess. The third
one is already installed, but you could take a copy to
add to your driver collection

and I followed your instructions.

Robert