MA3 shuts down laptop
 

I purchased a license and installed MA3 with no problem. I can access the settings, but as soon as I try Preview or allow the screen saver to activate - the laptop SHUTS DOWN right after the splash screen!

Dell Precision M4300
Windows XP SP3 (32-bit)
4GB RAM
nVidia Quadro FX360M (ForceWare 175.75)
dual monitor - laptop panel / external LCD panel

I have the latest BIOS and graphics drivers, and do not have an issue with any other applications. This is reproducible EVERY time! I have tried several different combinations of settings, even a single monitor at various resolutions and color depths. Very frustrating!

Any suggestions?? :confused:

tomicjr - So it just started doing this after you entered a Key Code, and not when you tested it before purchasing?

Are we talking about the official download version (10d), or the test version (11e)?

Are those nVidia drivers compatible with your laptop? Very often, laptops will not accept (or run reliably) with desktop graphics drivers. Did you have to use any tricks or workarounds to get those drivers to install?

MA3 shuts down laptop
 

Thank you for the quick reply! I actually upgraded from MA 2 and 2.6 + Time that I used in the past, and purchased the upgrade before using TESTFISH mode...

The video drivers are the latest from the Dell Support site, which I have been running for well over a year with several high-end graphics applications. I have never had an application corrupt the display, let alone shutdown the laptop! Very bizarre...

Different advanced adapter settings have made no difference. It is very frustrating since it takes ~10 minutes between attempts! :(

I have to believe that there are other customers with nVidia Quadro-based systems...

Also, I have the latest BIOS and Video BIOS...and have also tried various resolutions and color depths...

For one diagnostic, please try:
A. Disconnect your external monitor and run MA3.
B. Reconnect the external monitor, turn off your built-in monitor, and run MA3.

Also, have you looked at the event log to see if there are any clues?

I have tried that, and it makes no difference...

Which event log - there is nothing in the Windows Event Viewer. Is there one for MA?

In the Settings, Display Settings screen in MA3 change the "wait for vertical sync" setting and let us know if it makes any difference.

Also, in the same MA3 screen, are you set for "automatic" in "Display mode for this adapter" setting? Maybe trying one of the appropriate other settings will make a difference?

Nope. Thanks for checking that.

What does your system do when it's re-starting? That is, is there a "Windows was not shut down properly" (or whatever that says), and an opportunity to choose whether to start XP normally or some other way?

1. Right-click My Computer.
2. Choose Properties.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Click the Settings button next to Startup and Recovery.
5. Under the System Failure group, make sure the 3 checkboxes are enabled, and the 2 boxes below are set to Small memory dump (64KB) and %SYSTEMROOT%\Minidump

Next time you crash, can you examine the file C:\Minidump in Wordpad or Notepad and see what it says?

Is the computer actually powering down or is it getting stuck on a black screen and you are having to do a hard restart?

MA3 shuts down laptop
 

The splash screen appears, then the screen goes black for a fraction of a second like it will render the screen saver...then the laptop POWERS OFF.

There is no minidump file created, no BSOD.

I recall one other time this happened...it was with iTunes and the visualizer. It didn't happen everytime like it does with MA3.

I will try it on another desktop system with an nVidia chipset.

Weird...

Thanks for your assistance and suggestions!

Did you try those suggestions in my post #7, above?

MA3 shuts down laptop
 

Yes, I did try the suggestions in #7.

I tried using Automatic, as well as several other resolutions and color depths.

Same problem every time...

I installed it another desktop system with a similar nVidia video adapter, and it seems to work fine...

As I asked in Post #8:

What does your system do when it's re-starting? That is, is there a "Windows was not shut down properly" (or whatever that says), and an opportunity to choose whether to start XP normally or some other way?

The system doesn't restart on it's own. It powers completely off. After pressing the power on button, it starts up normally with no errors or indication that it was shutdown improperly!

These threads describe a similar issue with iTunes:

http://discussions.apple.com/message...sageID=6992994
http://discussions.apple.com/message...sageID=7202206

It is not a thermal issue.

OK, thanks. Just trying to eliminate possibilities.

Similar? Can they both run the same drivers? If so, are they both running the same drivers?

We can't be sure, since the poster replaced Vista with XP, but it looks like the second problem was with Spybot.

The first one, at least the beginning poster, is using an ATI video card, so that makes that person's iTune problem very much different from yours.

I wouldn't waste a lot of time expecting the iTune discussions to be relevant to your problem other than it possibly being a video card/video driver issue.

OK, if you're sure it's not a thermal issue.

First, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555541 - to enable the Shutdown Event Tracker.

Look at a few other articles like http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...8WS.10%29.aspx and https://www.microsoft.com/resources/....mspx?mfr=true

See if that provides a clue, the next time it shuts down.

I would suggest drastically reducing the frame rate, to see if that helps -- but I can't think how to do that in your situation. Perhaps somebody else can think of a way.

If Tomicjr is comfortable using regedit, he might try the following keys:

HKCU\Software\SereneScreen\ MarineAquarium3\StartWindowed
Set DWORD value to 1 to start MA3 in Windowed mode, 0 in full screen mode.

HKCU\Software\SereneScreen\ MarineAquarium3\FrameSleepTime
Set Binary data to 1e 00 00 00 to set Sleep Rate to 30 (lowest frame rate)


The usual caveats about editing one's registry apply. Namely, if you are not comfortable editing the registry directly, you probably shouldn't do so at all. It is not a good place to tinker around in since making a mistake in there can result in serious problems with your computer.

Thanks, Rick.

Just checking - I presume you are aware that Dell has had problems with M4300s with NVidia GPUs, and has extended the warranty.

Also - what is your networking connection? If you are just using wireless, there's a suspected issue with power settings. Not applicable with wired networks, of course.

Yes, we're grasping at straws here.

MA3 shuts down laptop
 

Yes, I am aware of the M4300 nVidia GPU issues - my system is not exhibiting those issues, and has the latest BIOS updates.

I use both wired / wireless networking - issue occurs either way.

I updated those registry settings - still shutsdown every time!

Shutdown event tracker doesn't help. The shutdown is IMMEDIATE, not graceful or under the control of the OS.

I am trying the latest video drivers from nVidia instead of Dell.

Incidentally, I tried MA 2.6 and the problem exists with that version too.

Wow. Considering MA2.6 and MA3.0 have barely a line of code in common between them, that IS strange. MA2.6 is built for DirectX 7. MA3 is built for DirectX 8, requiring a complete rewrite.

Could you try downloading the screen saver at http://www.DreamAquarium.com/ to see if that one gives you the same trouble?

Do you have any other apps you can use to test the 3D abilities of your computer?

Some stray questions:

1. How is your external monitor connected to your computer?

2. Do you have any other external devices connected to your computer?

3. What things have you added to your computer, since you purchased it? More memory? Changed hardware?

4.
Why are you sure of that?

The only thing that I know of, that will cause an "instant shutdown", is a hardware issue.

Most commonly, a problem with the power supply. Less frequently, a thermal issue, peripherals, etc.

In this case, given the symptoms, I suspect the power supply.

Considering a laptop, I think his hardware fixing options are limited.

That's why I suggested testing other 3D software. If all 3D software craters his laptop, then his graphics chipset is bad, which would be a warranty repair.

I agree that it's a good thing to test.

I would also suggest this one from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...reensaver.mspx This may already be available on the machine.

However:
1. If other 3D software craters the laptop, why would you conclusively say that the fault is the graphics chipset.
2. If a few other pieces of 3D software do not cause problems, what should we conclude?

...and why are you sure this would be a warranty repair?

Limited, yes. But - for instance - a significant portion of the power supply is external. So, if the problem happens to be power supply shutdown (detected overload, whether real or not), then fixing that is rather easy.

I run MANY other high-end 3D applications for CAD and Visualization. I have NEVER experienced this issue with any one of them (OPENGL or other)! The ONLY other application that exhibits this behavior is iTunes visualizer.

I tried the 3D Windows XP screen saver, and it works perfectly fine.

The dxdiag runs fine - DirectX 9.0c.

I cannot run MA in any mode / settting combination - it shuts DOWN immediately every time...Arghh...

I have setup a dual-boot, and will try under fresh install of Windows XP x64 to rule out a hardware / graphics chipset issue. System will eventutally be replaced with a M4500 running Windows 7....but I really would like to get MA3 running!

I'm a bit confused about what you expect to happen?

What will you conclude if a fresh install of XP-SP3 on the same computer, instantly shuts down when MA3 starts?

What will you conclude if MA3 runs correctly on the same computer, but with a fresh install of XP-SP3?

In any case, please let us know the results of your test.

tomicjr - have you tried deleting the entire Registry entry for MA3?

WOW.................... I hope you got it fixed.

I wonder what the "answer" was.

He deleted the registry entry and was never seen or heard from again. No wonder they warn against messing with the Registry :)

LOL! I survived the registry bit...and so did my system! I have tried MA3 on a few other similar systems (Dell, NVIDIA graphics, WinXP & 7) and cannot reproduce the issue. I figured there is something wrong with my M4300, and didn't invest any more time in trying to resolve the shutdown...back to a boring screensaver for now, until this unit is replaced... :(

Thank you for the advice in troubleshooting!

For the future benefit of others, please tell us the results of your testing.

Quick update - I finally rec'd my new Dell M4500 latptop. It is running Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit, with NVIDIA graphics...

I just installed MA 3.1 .... and it works flawlessly!

I believe the earlier issues I was experiencing were isolated to that particular system. The M4300 started to randomly reboot with other graphics apps too.

Thanks again for a great product! :TU:

Thanks for getting back to us.