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Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

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hey

i just formatted my laptop’s hard disk, Acer Aspire 4755G, and missing a ton of drivers, notably my graphics driver for Nvidia GT 540M. I downloaded all 3 of the drivers off the acer website under the Graphics section, but none of them seem to work. The driver update says “The Graphics Driver Could Not Find Compatible Hardware”. It appears that my computer does not detect my graphics card. How can i make it do so?

Reading some other forum posts say that i have to go to Device Manager. Under display adapters, i have two “Standard VGA Graphics Adapter”s, one has a yellow triangle one does not. Right clicking both and updating however gives me a message that they are both updated.

My laptop was fine with its stock drivers during purchase, and it detected my nVidia GT540M fine, thus i’m wondering how to get it to recognize it now

Any and all help would be appreciated, thanks

Topic

Clarifications

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

Clarifications

Well it’s quite simple really

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

You didn’t use the Acer supplied Install Disc/Recovery partition and did not get the Install Method along with the Supplied Drivers. I would assume that you used a Windows Install Disc which doesn’t have the Specific Drivers for your Hardware so you have to install it after you install Windows.

Not sure what really happened with the Video Driver but if you go into the Device Manager and Right Click on the 2 listed and go to Proprieties and see what they say that they are should be a starting point.

Also depending on how you installed the OS here you may have forced it over something and it’s messed up the various Drivers.

If you where using a Vanilla Windows Install you should first install Windows and then the Audio Driver and then the Video Driver if they where not loaded when you loaded Windows.

Here I would start again with a [b]New Clean Install[/b] after formating the HDD and then if you didn’t keep the 2 NVidia Drivers download them again and install one at a time. It’s also possible that the smaller driver of 24 MEG is the wrong one and I would suggest applying the bigger of the 2 NVidia Drivers first. If that doesn’t work reinstall the OS again and this time use the smaller Video Driver.

Of course if you didn’t install Windows 7 Acer doesn’t supply any drivers for a different OS so you’ll have to hunt the necessary drivers for whatever version of Windows it is you are installing. 😉

Col

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Well it’s quite simple really

Hey thanks for the reply! I have since solved this problem (unsuitable drivers, you were right!) , and i have come up with yet another problem. Since the formatting, my computer shuts down every once in a while (an hour or two) and it’s abrupt, as in the screen suddenly goes black and all lights turned off. I thought it was my charger connecting to the laptop port issue, but even after leaving the battery in the laptop still shuts itself off every hour or two randomly, thus i believe it is not a power issue.
what steps should i carry out to take care of this problem?

(ill keep monitoring this thread until the problem is solved )

could be bad hardware

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

If you were experiencing problems before hand and the re-installation couldn’t fix the issue, then you likely have a hardware related problem.

unfortunately, faulty hardware cannot be fixed via software and you will have to send it in for repairs.

Original Poster Here : Random Shutdowns

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

Hey thanks for the reply! I have since solved this problem (unsuitable drivers, you were right!) , and i have come up with yet another problem. Since the formatting, my computer shuts down every once in a while (an hour or two) and it’s abrupt, as in the screen suddenly goes black and all lights turned off. I thought it was my charger connecting to the laptop port issue, but even after leaving the battery in the laptop still shuts itself off every hour or two randomly, thus i believe it is not a power issue.
what steps should i carry out to take care of this problem?

(ill keep monitoring this thread until the problem is solved )
edit: do let me know if i should start this as another question

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Original Poster Here : Random Shutdowns

Well you didn’t say why you reformatted the hard drive. If it’s bad that might be a source of instability. (e.g. suspend mode)

I’ve seen machines freeze (not black screen) if there are problems with the gfx driver. I’m assuming you went to the Nvidia site to get the latest driver, if so did you reapply DirectX afterwards?

Good luck!

Sounds like overheating issue.

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

It could be an overheating issue which is common in laptops that are several years old. You need to make sure the built up dirt, dust, pet hair etc is cleaned out of the CPU fan and exhaust vents. It is better performed by partially disassembling to get to the actual CPU fan than it is to just blowing through the vents. Blowing through the vents usually does not break up the big chunk of accumulated junk. Just a thought…

As for the unexpected shut downs

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

Does this happen while you are using it or when it’s idle?

If it’s while you are using it it’s most likely a heat related issue which may be fixable by changing the temp in the BIOS that the system shuts down. If you have that option in BIOS change it to 90C for the shut down.

If it happens when it’s idle it sounds as if you have the system set to Hibernate and quite often this causes problems so it’s a good idea to turn off Hibernation in the Power Options. .

As stated above heat and NB’s is a big issue and with a few years use the internal cooling vents get clogged with Dust and other Crud. You need to blow this out with Canned Air or something similar but don’t use a Vacuum Cleaner as they generate Static in the Air Stream which is deadly to Electronics. If you use compressed air you also need to stop the fans from spinning because they also generate electricity when they spin and this isn’t good for the electronics either.

I personally always supply a Cool Pad with every NB that I sell to stop then getting clogged with Crud or having things sucked up against the bottom of them and blocking the air intake and causing overheating. I use Antec Cool Pads like the one here

http://www.antec .com/product.php?id=72&pid=22

[i]remember to remove the space from between [b]antec[/b] and the [b].com[/b] for a link.[/i]

But there are cheaper alternatives available on places like E Bay. 😉

Col

As a side note

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

Ditch the acer drivers. Go to the nVIdia website, use their driver detection tool (it works really well for me) and download the latest drivers for your laptop.

I did this on mine and it solved loads of problems, including Blue screens when locking windows.

Original Poster Here: Not overheating!

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

Really sorry that i forgot to mention earlier, but it’s definitely not a case of overheating. The laptop is always very cool and the fan runs well, ive felt the cooling vents in events of sudden shutdown.
I formatted it because i was having terrible load times in online games, always the last to load which was not the case a year back when i purchased it. Since formatting it runs much smoother and my load speed is good. I mostly use the laptop to game, so all my shutdowns occurred while gaming, not sure if related though.
I’m trying the nvidia drivers as suggested by Slayer_, will update if i dont crash ever again, thanks for the help all sorry i made this thread so long

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Original Poster Here: Not overheating!

update : nVidia drivers do not solve the problem of unexpected shutdowns. besides, it’s a shutdown and the screen suddenly goes black accompanied by the sound of an abrupt shutdown, not an issue of screen freezing or distorting and me having to manually restart – thus i’m sure its not an issue of my graphics driver crashing. any other ideas as to what could be causing this problem, if it’s not a graphics driver crash or overheating (really dont feel any heat at the cooling vents, and i’ve had another overheating laptop before) ?

It could still be a Heat Issue.

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

If the BIOS has it the heat setting could be set too low and cause this to happen. Ive seen cases where some BIOS’s have been set to 50C shutdown which is way too low.

Also what are the Power Settings in Windows here? That could just as easily be the problem. 😉

Col

Reponse To Answer

In reply to It could still be a Heat Issue.

My BIOS does not have heat settings nor sections for PC Health under BIOS. Power Settings. Am i not doing it right?
The system cores are at 50 degree celsius when idle or surfing the net, and 70 degrees celsius when gaming. A quick google search says those are mostly fine. Could it be that i have a last driver or so which i have yet to install?

OK that’s fine

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

Some NB’s do not have the Shut Down Temps in the BIOS. This was introduced by Intel many years ago to save the CPU in the event of a Overheat. I’ve seen some M’Boards shut down the system when the CPU hits 60C which is way too low so that was what I was thinking above.

Look in the [i]Acer ePower Management[/i] Software for the Shutdown Temp or if that is not installed you’ll need to blow out the Air ways of the NB to clean the crud out of it. You can also hit the Power Management of Windows to see if there is something there that shuts the system down but the Acer Software should override it though it just may not work quite right so you’ll also have to check Windows as well as the Acer Power Management Software.

Col

Does it shutdown while your using it?

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

I have seen some laptops get glitchy when the lid is opened/closed because of breaks in the wires.

try tweaking your computer.

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

what you should try is look through the start-ups / msconfig and services /admin tools and tasks control pane to shut down unnecessary programs, like google updaters, av updaters, etc…

for all practical purposes, you don’t need automatic start-ups loading in memory when windows starts.

you don’t need non window services running.

and you don’t need any tasks being scheduled to run behind the scenes without your knowledge and permission.

so see if streamlining / tweaking your computer will help dedicate the resources to your game.

if the computer and the game does become stable, then the only thing i would turn on in the start ups is the anti virus “and” maybe the laptop kb and laptop mouse – that is if your laptop needs them loaded automatically.

then monitor the panels i mentioned on a regular basis because applications will sneak in their resource hogging crapware at every chance they get.

if however, the computer seems unstable even after you streamline it, then boot into safe mode and execute a restore point to undo your modifications and go back to square one.

If this happens during gaming

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

I would suspect thermal stress on the GPU (e.g. are you pushing the game settings as high as they will go?) You said the fans are going, but internally it could be the GPU heatsink is marginal either mechanically or the radiator surface could be gummed.

Original Poster Here : Overheating

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

I just realized that apart from formatting, that same day i added 4gb more of ram to (the 2gb of ram default on purchase) in my system. Could it be faulty ram causing this overheating? I did not think it would be an issue because I saw a marked performance in my gaming and the system registered 6GB total ram. Could it be possible that compatibility issues exist? Or should i open up the back of my laptop casing and try to clean the fan/heatsink?
Just removed the 4GB of extra ram and the computer is running fine now.
If the 2GB and 4GB ram sticks are incompatible together, should i just use the 4GB ram by itself, since it’s superior to the 2GB default? or will the faulty 4GB ram hurt my hardware in the long run?

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Original Poster Here : Overheating

sorry no the fans ARE spinning, but the problem is that I am unable to set the temperature at which the laptop shuts itself down. There is no available feature in the BIOS (System, Information, Security, Boot etc etc but nothing with regards to fan/shutdowns) and the Acer ePower Management v3.0.3010 does not work , crashes upon opening the application in Program files

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Original Poster Here : Overheating

Edit: I just realized that apart from formatting, that same day i added 4gb more of ram to (the 2gb of ram default on purchase) in my system. Could it be faulty ram causing this overheating? I did not think it would be an issue because I saw a marked performance in my gaming and the system registered 6GB total ram. Could it be possible that compatibility issues exist? Or should i open up the back of my laptop casing and try to clean the fan/heatsink?

Yes it could be RAM in the same

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

way it could be a faulty HD. Both are considered memory and bad bits or addressing limitations of the memory controller would make for sudden hard failures.

Check your laptop specs to make certain the RAM you installed is compatible and if so go get MemTest86+ burn a CD and run at least one full pass.

Hope this helps!

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Yes it could be RAM in the same

Running the computer with 2GB of ram and then 4GB of ram works fine, but together 6GB makes it overheat. Is it possible to
1.increase my fan speed on the acer laptop, if the option isnt available by BIOS? (under power options fan speed is already set at Active)
2. increase the temperature at which the computer shuts down due to overheating?

The Ram Thing is more likely a Timing Issue

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

Where the Different Modules hit a glitch with Different Speed RAM and cause the system to fall over.

You can use the Ultimate Boot CD to test the RAM but you need to remember that while both may be perfectly OK when they are used together they may not work. The way to test is to run Mem Test 86 with the complete RAM Load and if you get errors run it on each Module.

Ideally you should use Matched Modules to prevent Tomming Issues and even better use Identical RAM every time. 😉

OH and you can get the Ultimate Boot CD here free

http://www.ultimatebootcd .com/download.html

[i]remember to remove the space from between [b]ultimatebootcd[/b] and the [b].com[/b] for a working link.

Col

event log

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

check event log what causes the shutting down especially under systems folder. theres a lot causes that result to shutting down. it might be overheating (check event log under system folder with error msg ‘due to critical heat’), or defective ac port (after shutdown, unplug the ac port and check ac port pin temperature)

Easy to fix gt540m not detected

In reply to Laptop Does Not Detect GT540M After Format

you must first install the intergrated graphic(intel hd graphic 3000/4000)then you can install gt540m w/o any problem…im also using aspire 4755g 😀

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