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Re: Game Keeps Freezing On New Dell XPS

@juegoconfuego  Your dxdiag lists a number of serious errors related to your graphics driver, or one of them at least.  So the first step is to do a clean uninstall and reinstall of the Nvidia driver.  Here's how:

https://crinrict.com/blog/2019/02/clean-re-install-of-graphics-drivers-with-display-driver-uninstaller-ddu.html

You can get the most recent Nvidia driver offered by Dell here:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/xps-15-9510-laptop/drivers

It's best to use the one Dell offers rather than a newer one, at least at first.  Restart your computer after the driver installs and before trying to play.

If you get another freeze or crash, let me know again what was happening on-screen at the time.  Please also look for related entries in the Reliability Monitor.  Hit Windows key-R and enter "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart of errors and updates with a column for each day.

I'm only interested in errors that happen after you've reinstalled the Nvidia driver.  For any of these that mention Sims 3 or Origin, or any that happened at the same time as you tried to play, right-click on the error name and select "View technical details," then copy the info you see and paste it into a reply here.

9 Replies

  • juegoconfuego's avatar
    juegoconfuego
    4 years ago

    Hi @puzzlezaddict -- thanks for these suggestions. I clicked the helpful Dell link that you shared and downloaded a driver update. That seemed to do the trick, without needing to completely uninstall and reinstall the driver. If I continue to have problems, however, I will try the clean uninstall followed by a reinstall, if you think that would be a good next step.

    Thanks again!

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @juegoconfuego  I'm surprised that worked considering that your computer already had the latest driver installed.  But it's possible that the installer Dell provides works that way, or that Dell made some slight revision that doesn't show in the driver version in the dxdiag.

    If you do have more issues, then yes, I'd recommend doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of the driver.  But if everything is fine now, there's no need to worry about it.

  • juegoconfuego's avatar
    juegoconfuego
    4 years ago

    Hi @puzzlezaddict -- I apparently spoke too soon. My game started freezing shortly after I posted my last message, prompting me to reach out to Dell customer support. The support specialist I spoke with had me run SupportAssist, which apparently revealed no issues with my PC beyond the need for some updates. I subsequently downloaded the updates -- something related to NVIDIA and BIOS -- and my game seemed to be working well afterwards. However, after I played it a few more times, it began freezing again. I tried the "repair game" function again in Origin, but that didn't seem to work either. (I unfortunately can't provide more info on the downloads, as that's all I remember and there doesn't appear to be a history of them in Support Assist.)

    I have to admit I am growingly increasingly frustrated, as this is a new laptop. Could the problem be with the game itself? I know Sims is notoriously glitchy, perhaps even with the best computers. 

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @juegoconfuego  Sims 3 does have its issues, but it should absolutely be running better for you than it is.  Since it's been a little while, I'd like to see a new dxdiag on your computer.  Please also let me know whether you've taken steps to manually limit the in-game framerates your graphics card generates, and whether the game freezes in Sunset Valley.  While Roaring Heights should be fine, it's not as well-made as SV, Riverview, or Twinbrook, and it's worth testing performance somewhere known to be very stable.

  • juegoconfuego's avatar
    juegoconfuego
    4 years ago

    Hi @puzzlezaddict -- After two freezes at Sims University, the game seemed to work okay during my third attempt. I then ran the game in Sunset Valley for about an hour with no issues. I've yet to try Roaring Heights again. As for in-game framerates, I admittedly wouldn't know how to limit those if I tried. 

    The dixdiag is attached. Thanks for looking it over. If you're still seeing issues, would you mind letting me know where they are in the report? It might help if I highlight that with Dell.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @juegoconfuego  There are a few interesting errors in your dxdiag that weren't there the last time.  All of them are in the Windows Error Report (WER) section at the bottom of the dxdiag.  First of all, your new dxdiag has one of these, and your old one had two:

    Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
    Response: Not available
    Cab Id: 6ad7f7e9-f79e-4a14-ae07-d4afd2f0b90d
    
    Problem signature:
    P1: 141
    P2: ffffa90b97fca460
    P3: fffff801921a6b44
    P4: 0
    P5: 0
    P6: 10_0_22000
    P7: 0_0
    P8: 768_1
    P9: 
    P10: 
    

    which is a video driver timeout: the graphics driver stopped responding for a certain amount of time, so Windows recorded an error.  Your new dxdiag also has these:

    Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
    Response: Not available
    Cab Id: 841f7b82-3eba-4c9e-ac89-6bcb07e3a581
    
    Problem signature:
    P1: 1a8
    P2: 8
    P3: 0
    P4: 0
    P5: 0
    P6: 10_0_22000
    P7: 0_0
    P8: 768_1
    P9: 
    P10: 
    Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
    Response: Not available
    Cab Id: 5c465324-b410-4046-ace6-da881214b0b5
    
    Problem signature:
    P1: 1b8
    P2: 8
    P3: 0
    P4: 0
    P5: 0
    P6: 10_0_22000
    P7: 0_0
    P8: 768_1
    P9: 
    P10: 
    

    which are both user-initiated dumps, meaning that you, or perhaps the Dell support people, triggered the errors.  These would only be of interest if you have no idea how they happened AND they don't correspond to any other issues you've been seeing.  On that note, you can check the timestamps in the Reliability Monitor: hit Windows key-R, enter
    "perfmon /rel" without quotes, and you'll see a chart listing errors and updates with a column for each day.  Aside from checking the timestamps for the above errors, you can also reference the info you find there when dealing with Dell support.

    Still, you can ignore the second and third errors, at least for now, and focus on the video driver timeout, which is one of the reasons (the other being the LiveKernelEvent 117 errors) I originally suggested doing a clean uninstall and reinstall of the graphics driver.  I'd still do that given that you're seeing this error again: it shouldn't cause any harm, and a misfiring video driver can cause all sorts of trouble.

    As for limiting your in-game framerates, you really do need to take care of that.  Your Nvidia graphics card is fast enough to throw wildly high fps and overwork itself in the process, which isn't good for the long-term health of the card.  Since you have a laptop with dual GPUs, it may not be straightforward, but the first thing to try is using Nvidia Control Panel.  Right-click on your desktop, select the CP, choose Manage 3D Settings > Program settings, choose TS3.exe from the list, scroll down to Max frame rate, set it to 59, and click Apply.

    Open your game, load a save, open the cheats console (crtl-shift-C), and enter "fps on" without quotes.  The number will appear in the upper-right corner, and it should never go above the limit you've set, 59 in this case.  You can also try 58 or 60 if it doesn't stick.

    If none of those work, you'll need an outside tool.  Let me know whether you ever play in windowed mode or only in fullscreen, since that will determine which options you have.

  • juegoconfuego's avatar
    juegoconfuego
    4 years ago

    Hi @puzzlezaddict - Thanks for flagging these issues in my dxdiag report and for offering additional suggestions. I subsequently uninstalled and reinstalled my graphics drivers following steps provided by Nvidia, though shortly afterwards, my game froze and I got a blue screen error message that said "machine check exception."

    I shared this update with Dell support, who now claims I may have a hardware problem despite initially insisting that there was nothing wrong with my hardware. I shared this same error report with Nvidia, who told me there was probably something wrong with the game itself. After receiving this largely unhelpful and conflicting advice from Dell and Nvdia, I took your suggestion of changing the fps to 60, as 59 didn't work. Fingers crossed, but so far this seems to be working.

    If it turns out that a combination of software updates, a clean uninstall/reinstall of graphics drivers and and fps switched to 60 did the trick, then hopefully that's the case. Assuming I don't continue to have any problems, would you recommend attempting to play in a purchased town -- like Lucky Plans or Hidden Springs -- or stick with towns that come with expansion packs for now?

    Thanks for all your help!

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    4 years ago

    @juegoconfuego  A machine check exception can definitely be serious and hardware-related, so I'd keep a close eye on things.  But that error also means that Windows didn't have enough info to generate a more specific error, so it's difficult to know for sure what might be wrong.  And this is definitely the type of issue to address before your warranty runs out.

    As far as Sims 3, there's no reason not to play in a store world.  The game should run equally fine in those as in most expansion worlds, with the store worlds being more stable than Bridgeport or especially Isla Paradiso.

  • juegoconfuego's avatar
    juegoconfuego
    4 years ago

    Hi @puzzlezaddict - So far the game hasn't frozen since that blue screen error message and my subsequent switch to 60 fps. Famous last words, but hopefully it stays that way. If not, I'll be mindful of that error message. Thanks again for all of your help. 

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