Laptop freezes and on reboot the NVIDIA GPU is no longer detectable by the system. Why?

Semisour

Predator PT515-51. 

When I first got this Laptop, this issue happened as well. After talking to support I just had to completely reset the entire PC to resolve the issue.
 
Now today, I was playing Overwatch, and my laptop crashed, the screen froze and the toolbar was replicated across the entire screen. Nothing would work to fix the display so I had to hold down the power button until it turned off. Upon restarting I find the same problem as before, the GPU (rtx2060) is not detected by the system. This happened before, 2 months ago. After fixing it that time, I have had 0 issues. Sooo.....

Before when this happened, it's exactly as described above. The strange thing is, it only happens when I play Overwatch. In fact I stopped playing Overwatch because my computer crashed 2 times before and deleted the GPU. Since I last fixed the problem 2 months ago, I have played World of Warcraft quite often, with excellent performance (max settings 100fps+) and no crashing no issues at all. Sometimes my sessions are 5+ hours. I have no issues with the computer this entire time. Now today, the WOW servers are down so I boot up Overwatch. After playing for about 2 hours the above described crash happens and yeah, now my GPU is not visible in device manager, it doesn't work at all. I only have integrated graphics.

Clicking view hidden devices shows nothing. Trying to install NVIDIA Control Panel comes back with an error saying that I need an NVIDIA GPU to install this. Running Hardware and Devices troubleshooter from Windows found an error saying i needed to restart Windows and it would fix something (no idea what.) And yeah that did nothing either. Worth noting, I installed a third party program called DDU and it does see that I have a RTX 2060. Everything I'm describing is exactly the same as what happened two months ago. I know that resetting my PC (wipes all files and reinstalls windows) will fix the problem. But there has to be some solution that doesn't require this????? And WHY does it happen. If it can work flawlessly for months unless I'm playing Overwatch....keep in mind, I've had to reset the PC to fix the issue twice already. The first time I did it I hopped onto Overwatch and it deleted GPU AGAIN, so I reset again to fix the issue and didn't play Overwatch anymore until today. My guess?? is that playing with about 300 fps is causing some issue and causing the crash...but I have no clue. I don't want to reset my entire PC again and I want a solution to this. 

And also, I was only using the NVIDIA driver available for my model on the ACER website, when it first happened I had the latest drivers (after fixing I just stayed with the one available on ACER and never updated it. My BIOS is updated to the latest version. Anyone have any ideas? Because searching online isn't finding me much at all. 

xapim

Probably windows updates the latest ones have serious issues they remove the nvidia from the system this was announced by MS its all over the place and there wasnt a fix for it so far this is why im still on 1809 as it came out disabled updates completely will only update if i have issues (which i havent had ever) and/or when i need to dont trust windows updates unless you really need to fix issues

Semisour

Yeah, I never download the latest versions, not sure how to completely disable windows 10 updates yet, but probably good practice. As for my problem, I did find a solution. 

The very first time this happened I immediately assume a driver error and went looking for them. When I got onto ACER there was a BIOS update that was only 3 days old, after updating my BIOS i was able to "see" my graphics card again. However the second time it happened I was forced to reset the entire PC, as I couldn't update my BIOS again (already the latest version.)

However last night, I was super lucky. There is a 9 day old BIOS update. After updating BIOS I was able to "see" my rtx 2060 again, immediately visible in device manager as "Microsoft Basic Display Adaptor" (something like this.) Right clicking and updating recognized it as a RTX 2060, I was able to install GeForce Experience and I'm using the latest game ready driver. Still, I'd love to know exactly why this happens and a fix besides resetting PC or updating BIOS.

My guess is that, after the GPU crashes the BIOS for some reason will only use integrated graphics, and doesn't even see the NVIDIA GPU. I would hazard a guess that it's something to do with Optimus...when GPU crashes everything tries to move to integrated graphics, can't, computer freezes up because of the load and yeah, you get what's happening here. I'd bet that if you could run the RTX 2060 discretely, this issue wouldn't be happening. I did find a lot of literature describing this problem on the internet, but really not many solutions. Hopefully this helps someone. 

xapim

Here you go the reg keys to enable /disable windows 10 updates permanently also advise to set the windows update service either to manual or disabled 

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkXXDz5knA1mmynwb-jIZl3Rsu-D?e=CoQX81

Raptorr

Yo bro
This same thing is happening to me.At this point I am tired of this recurring problem.Usually I reset my pc and at this point I have done it 4 times.As you stated before my game crashes and my gpu “disappears”.Please help me find a fix for this problem.Have you contacted Acer?

Semisour

Hey man, 

Yeah a reset will fix it, I mean, a total reinstall of windows. One thing that will fix it easy is a BIOS update if your lucky enough to not be running the latest one. I was lucky enough that I was able to use a BIOS update to fix this issue 3 times. Since my last post here, I haven't had the issue at all. I do limit my framerate in games to 170FPS and i don't update windows as long as I can, however, this my just be my superstition. I would fathom a guess that ACER will probably offer to have you ship the laptop to them and that's about all they can do to help other than you resetting your PC. 

There is a lot of similar problems posted on the internet most from older laptops and seems they all use Optimus in some way. None of the solutions provided in any literature online helped me in anyway except for the two I have mentioned here above, a BIOS update or a complete reinstall of windows. 

In short, laptop freezes indefinitely until you turn it off. Upon reboot the miniture NVIDIA symbol is gone from the task bar, device manager does not have the card listed either, and it is also not possible to reinstall NVIDIA software because it says the system needs a NVIDIA GPU to be installed. By all means it almost seems as if the card has been physically unplugged from the motherboard. If this is your issue, the above listed things are the only solution I have found to the problem.

 The first time this happened was the first day I got my laptop, I did contact ACER and they asked me to reset my PC, using the Recovery tab of settings, which fixed it(although as stated it happened 3 times). Obviously this issue(of not recognizing the NVIDIA GPU) is completely caused by software. 

For me, i think that the problem is caused when for some reason (guessing that laptop starts running on battery?) shifts the load from the GPU to the integrated graphics, and upon reboot it either confuses the two GPU's or only recognizes the integrated graphics. I pulled my hair out over this and you know...good luck my friend. I hope you find a better solution than the two I've outlined here. I'm lucky that i haven't suffered this problem again. 

 

brknRTX

Hello!
I'm having exactly the same issue with my Triton 500 (RTX 2060). You can get the GPU working after the crash by pressing button under your laptop 5 seconds. It's the very tiny hole under your laptop and you need a pin to press it. Just remember to shut down your computer and unplug it before doing so. This is only temporal fix though. GPU always crashes after about 2 hours CS:GO. Apparently same thing with Overwatch. Other games that have crashed my GPU are Witcher 3 and Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy. I have sent my laptop to the Acer repair once and it did not fix the issue.
Laptop is now on the way for the second repair. I hope they can fix it and explain what is/was wrong with it. Laptop that is advertised as a "gaming laptop" should not crash after two hour gaming session. I'm afraid that this issue is in every Triton 500. Hopefully I'm wrong because I really like this laptop.

XdxD

This issue is happening mostly in the predator laptops having new RTX/GTX Graphics card lineup. My 2017's PH300 with 1050Ti never had this issue. You can do one thing though, use the DCH drivers of NVidia on Windows 10 1903.

belik

XdxD said:

This issue is happening mostly in the predator laptops having new RTX/GTX Graphics card lineup. My 2017's PH300 with 1050Ti never had this issue. You can do one thing though, use the DCH drivers of NVidia on Windows 10 1903.

This issue is very similar to so-called black screen issue which happens only on triton-500 as far as I know. I wonder if newer versions with 9750H suffer from it also.

XdxD

belik said:

XdxD said:

This issue is happening mostly in the predator laptops having new RTX/GTX Graphics card lineup. My 2017's PH300 with 1050Ti never had this issue. You can do one thing though, use the DCH drivers of NVidia on Windows 10 1903.

This issue is very similar to so-called black screen issue which happens only on triton-500 as far as I know. I wonder if newer versions with 9750H suffer from it also.

It's NVidia's fault if it is with their drivers (not correct according to me since desktops don't have this issue on any configuration); it's Acer's fault (maybe not, since other OEMs are also having this issue) since they should've used DCH drivers if the new PCs are coming with 1903 build; it's Microsoft's fault if it is Windows 10's fault (which is, according to me, not correct, since desktop PCs don't have these Graphics driver issues on Windows 10).

Deejay_tech

instead of waiting for a new bios to flash, you can do the following , depending upon your ability.
1) open the back cover and disconnect the clock / cmos battery. wait 10-15 minutrs and then reconnect it. this will reset the bios balues so you may have to enter bios setup and change the settings as per your previos values. 

if this does not work then
2) you can reflash the same bios again. if the bios installer does not allow it then you can change the override flag in the platform.ini file, which is in the same extracted folder. (you have to unzip the bios file from acer.)
this may help ....

XdxD

@Deejay_tech, BIOS installer allows to install on top of the same installed version (I've tried it on my Predator G3-572).

Raptorr

Help this same problem is happening to me

Deejay_tech

XdxD said:

@Deejay_tech, BIOS installer allows to install on top of the same installed version (I've tried it on my Predator G3-572).

Good. then the process is easier.

Semisour

To clarify for future use of this thread. We are talking about Triton 500 with RTX graphics cards. I have the 2060 model. I can say with assurance that the flashing with the same BIOS will not help your invisible GPU show back up. Only flashing to updated version worked for me. 

When I flashed to the same BIOS I already had, it gave a window saying I already had the latest BIOS and didn't finish. Though I haven't tried changing the override flag as suggested above. I also haven't tried pushing a reset button with a pin or pulling out the cmos battery. However, I also have not had this issue reoccur since I updated to the latest BIOS back in June when I first opened this thread. 

I would say this is not a driver related issue as I've had this crash(and disappearing act) happen with 3 different drivers installed, including the stock driver from ACER. I still think it has to do with Optimus, in fact I would assume that if you were to get a game going for a while and unplug your power cord it would recreate the issue, keeping in mind that....the issue here is that the GPU "disappears" after the crash. 

The abover poster saying you can get the GPU to reappear by pushing the reset with a pin is promising. Currently I've been problem free since June, I use the latest BIOS and the latest Creator Driver from Nvidia with my gaming sessions usually well in excess of 2 hours. So far so good. 

xapim

Semisour you would probably be right when you say  <<<<I would assume that if you were to get a game going for a while and unplug your power cord it would recreate the issue>>>  that would probably be correct as it would be on high performance profile for awhile probably with also the battery helping the adapter and suddenly forced to go instantly to battery saving mode but again only someone with the same hardware could confirm this as this issue was only seen so far in the newer nvidia gpus the older ones this wouldnt happen as far as im aware and a battery powerdrain might fix it or not 

Semisour

@Xapim that is an interesting input because I do actually sometimes experience battery drain while gaming with my device plugged in (drops perhaps 10-20%), however I thought this may be normal. As I said, it also doesn't happen all the time. Would you mind explaining the process of a battery powerdrain? Thanks in advance. 

<<<<and suddenly forced to go instantly to battery saving mode>>>> is exactly the scenario i was envisioning

xapim

Semisour to perform a battery powerdrain disconnect from AC press/hold the battery pinhole in the back for 30s let the laptop rest for 2/3h to drain all the accumulated  static energy left in the components then boot into bios (F2 on boot) reset to default settings and bot normally see if the issue persists regarding the battery draining when on gaming its normal depending on the game cpu/gpu usage itself always start to play any game on AC and with 100% battery hope this explanation helps someone

Chucho

Does anyone have an update for this issue?? I tried the bios update and i disabled the windows updates, but nothing is working
Please help!

brknRTX

Chucho said:

Does anyone have an update for this issue?? I tried the bios update and i disabled the windows updates, but nothing is working
Please help!

I ended up sending my laptop twice to repair before they found what was wrong with it. Apparently it has something to do with the motherboard since it was replaced on mine. After that the laptop has worked perfectly.

xapim

Chucho backup whatever you need and try a stock recovery clean install to completely rule out any software issues if after this the problem persists contact acer support directly and send it back