Black Screen of Death - Help, please.

[Bill H]

I'm running X6 MU2 under XP. Recently I've had a problem where my computer (Dell Precision 5400) temporarily freezes and the screen goes all black whenever any command is entered in MC. After hanging for 30 seconds or so, functionality returns. The problem will repeat itself at random intervals throughout the session. I've checked that all Windows updates have been installed and that my BIOS is current. Today I uninstalled MC and then re-installed, but this didn't make a difference. The problem is the same regardless of whether I've got any other applications running. Any ideas what I should try next (other than a large hammer)?

[MrFish]

Could be your display driver. Ours randomly crashes and then reboots it's self every now and then, usually we get a message telling us this is what has happened though.

[CADCAM3D5AXIS]

How about the video card is it onboard video or do you just have a weak video card??

[Bill H]

NVIDEA Quadro FX 570 video card. I just tried updating its driver. Let's see what happens . . . .

[maestro]

I have had this same problem with my Dell T7400 running XP and a Quadro FX 4600 video card. If I let windows automaticaly update to the latests updates, this would cause this problem. When it would start doing this, I could use system restore to restore it back to a date before the update was applied and the problem would go away. We have another workstation here that is the same except for the video card, but this problem never shows up on it. Apparently one of the updates causes this to happen. We just haven't figured out which one.

[GF8er]

Are you using drivers from Dell or Nvidia? I've heard of people having problems with the Dell drivers.

[Jayson Kramer]

I always take the dell drivers out for the video cards on my laptops and desktop. I always go get the latest.

[mayday]

Turn off optimus in the bios if you have the option.that forces all vidio to the nvidia card

[Bill H]

The problem didn't recur today after I updated to the latest NVIDEA driver. Let's see what happens tomorrow . . . .

[headhunter]

I was having the same problem. It went away after I updated the driver for the video card. So far, so good after about 2 weeks or so.

[Jayson Kramer]

Turn off optimus in the bios if you have the option.that forces all vidio to the nvidia card

Wes this is only on the laptops for power savings.

[Bill H]

Updating the video card driver wasn't the answer. I've still got the problem. Arrggghhhh!!!

[gcode]

Have you recently dropped an earlier version config file into your X6MU2 install?

If so, pull it our of your config folder and start Mastercam. That will create a new default config file.

[Bill H]

gcode - No, I haven't done that.

[Bill H]

A clue, perhaps? Using Task Manager, I noticed CPU usage increases to about 30% when the display locks up. As soon as the display unfreezes, usage goes back down to less than 5%.

[gcode]

Have you got your display settings set to Best Performance ( all windoze eye candy off)

[Bill H]

gcode - Hmmm, not sure of this. How do you do this?

[Guest]

Right click on My Computer >> Properties >> Advanced System Settings >> Under Performance, click the Settings Button

[Bill H]

gcode - Cancel my last post. Yes, I've done this and it didn't make any difference.

[Guest]

Reading this entire thread, I had a customer who had something similar happening, turned out he had a bad video card.

 

In his case it was new, so he returned and replaced it, problem solved.

 

Is it possible to pull a card out of another system and try it before just purchasing one

[Bill H]

John - Thanks for the suggestion, but may other machines are laptops. This is such a pain. And of course a client gave me a new rush project yesterday that they need for Monday!

[Chris In-House Solutions]

Hey Bill,

 

Okay so this problem started with MU2. Have you installed anything else on the computer in the past few weeks. Any sort of drivers other than the video card driver which appeared to work for a brief moment? Could you run a dxdiag and post the findings of that here as this may give us some insight on the issue.

 

My suggestion maybe ugly but for the time may relieve you of some headaches. Why not backup your files, uninstall and re-install. You cant just uninstall MU2 as it will Uninstall X6 along with it so be sure to backup your files. Try X6 make sure it works and then install MU1 makes sure that works. If it works I would say use it until you complete your rush job and get some time to diagnose the issue.

[gcode]

In the spirt of John's reply...hardware problems can be caused by over heating

do you leave your computer on all the time..??

if you do.. shut it off for a couple of hours then test it

if it works OK for a while then starts acting up, it may be an overheating issue.

are your vents covered with dust and such. My office has filthy air and I have to vacuum it's

vent grills every couple of months.

open the machine up and see if it's dusty in there

over time dust can build up on the components creating an insulating layer of dust

that traps heat and bakes your components

 

It may be as simple as poping the video card out of its slot and putting it back in.

many high end cards has an extrra power cord that runs the video card fan.

 

all simple things to check ... and free too

[Bill H]

Chris - To clarify, the problem was present in MU1 as well. It continued after the MU2 installation. I've already tried the complete uninstall/reinstall procedure and the problem persisted. How do you run a dxdiag?

 

gcode - Yes, the machine stays on all the time and the air here is very dirty. I'll try cleaning everything out.

[gcode]

try shutting the machine down next time you leave for the day.

If it works OK for a while, then starts acting up over time, it may be an overheating issue