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From: Tom Lake on 20 Jun 2010 18:33
I'm getting an error in Dell PC Checkup

"2D.3D Video Primary Surface Test
The scan fails with the following error:
ErrorInputDiffersFromOutput - Error at pixel 969 969 : Input
color 00555555 not equal to output color 00353535.. Rerun
the scan and if it fails again, use the button to contact Dell."

I don't think Dell can be much help since I replaced both the
CPU and video card (with Core i7 X980 and nVidia GTX 275
respectively). I'm using the latest nVidia drivers.

I've tried other software to test main RAM and video RAM
but no errors show up in those programs. I don't see any
artifacts on the screen. If this was a real error, wouldn't I
see some off-color dot?

Does anyone know what I can try to pinpoint the cause of
the error? Some other software? Most of the test programs
I've found are for benchmarking and test the speed of the
GPU and CPU. I need to test the *functionality* of them.

TIA

Tom Lake
From: William R. Walsh on 21 Jun 2010 09:38
Hi!

> I don't think Dell can be much help since I replaced both the
> CPU and video card (with Core i7 X980 and nVidia GTX 275
> respectively).  I'm using the latest nVidia drivers.

As Dell themselves once said in their diagnostic program:

"Testing of non-Dell components will produce inconclusive results."
(or something very similar)

Dell's diagnostics are only intended to be used with the original
hardware that Dell put in your system.

> I've tried other software to test main RAM and video RAM
> but no errors show up in those programs.  I don't see any
> artifacts on the screen.  If this was a real error, wouldn't I
> see some off-color dot?

Maybe, if you look very closely. As things are, it's likely that you'd
see several. Video memory typically operates in an interleaved fashion
and with today's memory densities, it's very unlikely that just one
bit's worth is going to show up as "bad". I've found that pretty much
all video chipsets behave the same way when their memory is bad. They
show stripes, incorrect colors, many jittery pixels, strange patterns
or they lock up the whole system.

Perhaps the best functionality test is the practical one. Software
such as Prime95 (or even distributed.net) can be used to load your CPU
as much as it can be loaded. Anything that makes use of high end
graphics (like a game) will be a good test for your video card.

William
From: Tom Lake on 21 Jun 2010 18:40

"Tom Lake" <tlake(a)twcny.rr.com> wrote in message
news:hvm4vt$vmt$1(a)news.albasani.net...
> I'm getting an error in Dell PC Checkup
>
> "2D.3D Video Primary Surface Test
> The scan fails with the following error:
> ErrorInputDiffersFromOutput - Error at pixel 969 969 : Input
> color 00555555 not equal to output color 00353535.. Rerun
> the scan and if it fails again, use the button to contact Dell."
>

Problem solved. I uninstalled the latest nVidia driver and let the system
pick up the driver included with Win 7. The test now passes.

There's some kind of interaction with that nVidia driver.

Tom Lake

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