I've been having lockups as well, always related to something redrawing on the screen. It doesn't lock up just when it's 3D accelerated stuff, although it will virtually always lock up if I am playing a 3D game, but it is always during a window move or some action where the screen is redrawing. (In other words, it can sit idle for days, and I can wiggle the mouse around a lot, but if I grab a window and start dragging it around and around the screen, it will probably lockup after a while.)

I typically also get lots of horrible static before a lockup though.

See also this thread:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_video&message.id=90935

i'got the same problem and the same configuration , 3,06 ghz, ati radeon 32 Mo, with a 3D application, the screen freezes and nothing to do , except restarting....

dell, please do something, we can't work with the 5150

i am currently experiencing the very same problem with my inspiron 5150 windows XP pro w/3.06 ghz 512 mb ram with geforce fx 5200 go card... i have installed all of the latest driver updates as well as windows/direct x updates but to no avail... whenever i am playing a 3D intensive game the system would randomly lockup after 10-30 minutes.. the mouse and display would freeze up and only the music will keep playing.. ctrl-alt-del wouldn't work and neither does alt-tab or esc.. the only way out of it is to restart the system. i had initially thought this was a problem with my AC adapter/power source but it does the same thing on battery power as well. this is a SERIOUS problem and i would want this fixed ASAP.. i am fairly certain that this is a hardware flaw on part of dell's system design for i had just received this laptop about 2 weeks ago... if anyone can offer any suggestions for help it'd be much appreciated.

yes i think everyone who just ordered a 5150 in the last month has the same problem... momo just bought his and ive had it for a month... my details above should be enough for dell to get this fixed quickly... maybe the admin can get us help right away and call his buddies at nvidia.

found the official dell driver 44.82a  not sure why its just "a" i guess because its dell's A00 version this might be better than the nvidia offical drivers 45.23 is on www.nvidia.com  however the website i found says the 42.57 drivers are more stable on dell laptops.

nVidia GeForce FX Go5200, Driver, Windows XP, Multi Language, Inspiron 5150, v.6.14.10.4482a, A00

 http://support.ap.dell.com/ap/en/filelib/download/download.asp?fileid=R63423&devid=&format=82146&sid=&lib=0&os=Windows_NT&searchtype=adv&searchcriteria=go5200

nVidia Quadro4 700 GoGL, Driver, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Multi Language, Precision M50, v.6.13.10.4257, A02

http://support.dell.com/filelib/download.aspx?FileID=74026&releaseid=R60002

 

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/ohau-estate/modifyinf.htm

Lots of good info not sure if this is our solution but this is a website by a guy who knows about dell screen problems apaprently.

THe detonator 42.57 drivers are good for dell 1600uxga screens he says so if the 45.23 is not good ill try 42.57

looking at modified drivers on a website with info on dell screens:

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/ohau-estate/delluxga.htm

"

Inspiron 8000 and 8100 with UXGA screens (1600x1200), these older Inspirons with certain LCD panels, can't get past 800x600x4 with most detonators.
Not all of them do it, only certain machines, I haven't had the time to test which make of Panel is to blame.
The only solution (if you can call it that) is to try until a certain Detonator works for you. Not ideal but better than nothing.

Inspiron 8200 and M50 with Ultra Sharp UXGA screens (1600x1200), now with these screens, I've tracked it down to the Samsung Ultra sharp LCD panel causing the display not getting to max resolution.
The Sharp Ultra sharp LCD panel works just fine. There is no fix for this, but like the i8000 and i8100 just try drivers until you find one that works. (not many do)
For the owners of the above with a Quadro4 700goGL card can safely use my 42.57 INF this works.

If you have one of the above Panels and can get a certain detonator to work for your machine, give me a yell and I'll list the detonators here for others.

The whole problem with all this is the EDID being read or interpreted wrong.
This is what WinXP reads from the LCD panel (i8200/M50) or from nVidia lookup tables (i8000/8100).
I don't know of a fix, and it gets very time consuming and complicated, especially not having an UXGA screen my self.
But it is just matter of trying until you find a working Driver."

>>>>>UPDATE: SEE PAGE 3 FOR SOLUTION!<<<<<<<<

It alright guys were going to be ok! I have had the same problem for a week now. 30 minutes of gaming seems to whamp it wont move the sound loops the keyboard fails to respond and the mouse... CTRL ALT DELETE DOES WORK it just takes about 5 minutes to get to the desktop... the processor isnt overloading and the memory is fine guys... the device driver is the problem lucky me i got windows to tell me what was wrong at the blue screen and found the technical information in wdl log file. Below is posted the info I found. This is my way of notifying dell. They should be able to fix this with a detonator driver. I have a UXGA screen too 1600x1200 is great and I just updated my GPU drivers to the newest Detonator drivers. I have the GeForce FX Go5200. I have the 44.82  drivers but im updating to the new 45 to see if it fixes.

Found this at windows\logfiles\watchdog\030920_1535_01.wdl

//
// Watchdog Event Log File
//

LogType: Watchdog
Created: 2003-09-20 15:35:38
TimeZone: 360 - Central Standard Time
WindowsVersion: XP
EventType: 0xEA - Thread Stuck in Device Driver

//
// The driver for the display device got stuck in an infinite loop. This
// usually indicates a problem with the device itself or with the device
// driver programming the hardware incorrectly. Please check with your
// display device vendor for any driver updates.
//

EaRecovery: 1
ShutdownCount: 45
Shutdown: 0
EventCount: 5
BreakCount: 5
BugcheckTriggered: 1
DebuggerNotPresent: 1
DriverName: nv4_disp
EventFlag: 1
DeviceClass: Display
DeviceDescription: NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200
HardwareID: PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0324&SUBSYS_015F1028&REV_A1
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
DriverFixedFileInfo: FEEF04BD 00010000 0006000E 000A1182 0006000E 000A1182 0000003F 00000008 00040004 00000003 00000004 00000000 00000000
DriverCompanyName: NVIDIA Corporation
DriverFileDescription: NVIDIA Compatible Windows 2000 Display driver, Version 44.82
DriverFileVersion: 6.14.10.4482
DriverInternalName: nv4_disp.dll
DriverLegalCopyright: (C) NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved.
DriverOriginalFilename: nv4_disp.dll
DriverProductName: NVIDIA Compatible Windows 2000 Display driver, Version 44.82
DriverProductVersion: 6.14.10.4482

 

Message Edited by citrixcl on 09-21-2003 03:11 PM

hey wow helpful resources! are u going to try each tweak driver individually?

nope; i've tried the BIOS A24 and the problem still persists :( i've also got driver 44.82 (where would u get 45?) ive gotten the gfx driver updates from both dell's website as well as nvidia's and tried both but neither helped either.. ive even tried override my directdraw refresh rate to 60 hertz but that didn't help either... i wonder if everyone who owns a 5150 share the same problems we do.. cuz i think this is a very major issue and if it cant be fixed i think im going to have to return this machine.. and why aren't the dell support guys posting anything to help?!

no didnt get it fixed im just alot closer to figuired out what all the hex code and infinite loop is caused by

New BIOS might be help:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_bios&message.id=20762

IM upgrading my detonators now

and looking for info on the screen's problems with modified drivers see above

so did u get it fixed yet or is dell still working on that new detonator driver? i have like the exact same config as u... i seriously hope it's a driver programming flaw as opposed to a hardware heating problem or anything worse... :( but ur post gave me some hope