Crashing T60: NMI Parity Check / Memory Parity Error

[norma023]

every time I have seen errors of this sort on a T60, it has been 1 of these 3 causes:

1. bad RAM - have you replaced it with some known good or new RAM chips?

2. overheating - have you physically removed the keyboard, and carefully vacuumed out all the dust around the CPU fan, heatpipe, GPU, & RAM using a vacuum cleaner hose & a clean, new 1" paint brush? (there are instructions on keyboard removal in the hardware maintenance manual which can be downloaded from the lenovo website, as well as how-to videos)

3. CMOS battery - have you checked the voltage? (you want 3.1V or more)

If you haven't done these basic things, then you haven't eliminated about 99% of the causes of a parity error.

I think a 4th item should be listed here myself. And that being "update the wireless NIC drivers".

Once that has been included, then the comment of "If you haven't done these basic things, then you haven't eliminated about 99% of the causes of a parity error" is now a bit more accurate.

For us, replacing RAM chips never solved this. In fact on the very first occurance we saw of this pesky NMI Parity Check / Memory Parity Error problem, we replaced every component inside that T60, where the only original part was the bottom panel. And did we solve the problem? No. That's when one of our tech's found something online about the drivers for the wireless card being the culprit and to update that. Once we did that, to date that same machine has not come back in for that same issue (and that was close to 1-1.5 years ago).

Just out of curiousity, how many people here use EasyServe for Tech Support issues?

I haven't called them on this specific issue since we found our fix (and even before that, they had no clue and they overnighted a box to us to send the unit in, and that same T60 went in a couple times and was never fixed by the fine folks in Memphis), but I'd be curious to know what they say about this now

[Marin85]

Like I've stated elsewhere in this thread, the NMI Parity Error BSOD is caused by poorly written drivers for how the wireless NIC (many models) and Power Management interact with each other.

With all due respect, there could be many reasons for such BSODs. Although the NIC driver problem seems to be quite common, one shouldn´t exclude other possibilities too.

[norma023]

With all due respect, there could be many reasons for such BSODs. Although the NIC driver problem seems to be quite common, one shouldn´t exclude other possibilities too.

heh, of course their are many reason's for BSOD's.

To date though, our fix for this particular T60 issue is batting 100%

[archer6]

To date though, our fix for this particular T60 issue is batting 100%

Then you're one of the lucky ones.

[pezpaul]

Then you're one of the lucky ones.

I agree, I've tried numerous different NIC drivers and have no luck For me, the NMI parity errors seems completely and utterly random, and often occur when I'm doing absolutely nothing on my computer (so no high temps even). Plugged in or on battery only. The only correlation I can think of is time--I've had my T60 for 2.5 years--this could mean heat or battery have gotten worse over time (or maybe I need a full reinstall of Windows).

I have one possible guess and I'm interested in what people think--my battery is relatively old and has been used constantly for 2.5 years (lots of cycles... didn't know much about battery conditioning when I first got my T60). Is it possible that inconsistent power/voltage/amps from the battery is causing memory/NIC/voltage issues (one of the above)?

I will most likely buy a new battery anyways, but if that doesn't fix the problem I'm tempted to instead buy a new machine and be done with it... (and unfortunately I don't want to buy a battery I won't use!)

My other thought is that it is heat related, and I should do the heatsink mod as described for the T60p in a different thread. My temps do get high (up to 80+C!) which even for a laptop seems a bit high to me. The problem is that I have no correlation whatsoever with NMI parity errors and heat (for instance if I'm playing a game or a video the GPU/CPU seem to have high temps).

Anyways, best of luck to all other NMI parity error prone T60's out there!

[archer6]

I agree, I've tried numerous different NIC drivers and have no luck :

The final solution for mine was to go to the Intel site. The mistake I had been making was to rely on what was on the Lenovo site, and forgetting that I could get the latest from Intel. Once I installed the newest version from Intel, the problem was resolved. As far as the heat issue you mentioned, my T60 did not have any heating issue. So I cannot speak to that. If you have not, I would try going to the Intel site for a new driver. I'm using my W500 at the moment and on the road, so I don't have the version number of the driver that resolved the issue.

Cheers...

[pezpaul]

The final solution for mine was to go to the Intel site.

Unfortunately (I should have mentioned this) I have the Atheros/Thinkpad based NIC, so the Intel driver won't help there--thanks for the idea though! I have tried the Atheros branded drivers, which work, but randomly give me NMI errors at around the same rate.

I'll be upgrading to Windows 7 in a couple weeks when the final version is released, so that should help me decide on the next step (with a fresh install). My guess is that I will only crash 2 maybe 3 times until then, so I'll sit tight unless there are any other helpful suggestions Hopefully the clean install will clear things up, but who knows at this point.

[kelehman]

Just want to add, I have been running windows 7 since the RC was released. I used to get the NMI error 2+ times a week with vista. Since my upgrade to Win 7, it hasn't happened once! (3 months?)

[pezpaul]

Just want to add, I have been running windows 7 since the RC was released. I used to get the NMI error 2+ times a week with vista. Since my upgrade to Win 7, it hasn't happened once! (3 months?)

OK great, that's good to know, hopefully that will fix my problems as well (I may try the RC first since these errors are bloody annoying!)

[FrankL]

ok I'm experiencing the Parity Error too here on a T60p model 2007WLY with Atheros 802.11a/b/g wireless chipset. Only twice now in about 200-300 hours of use.
OS: Win7RC x64.

Replacing the RAM didn't fix this issue (upgraded it because of an unrelated issue: increase RAM from 1GB to 3GB dual channel).
I'm using the wireless drivers that came with Win7RC and I have got no idea where to download updated Win7 drivers for this chipset (AR5006EX ?).

Since reading this thread I've disabled the switching between power states on a battery/ac switch event. Hopefully this will fix it for now. If I still experience BSODs I'll report on it.

[pezpaul]

Just a quick update for those that might find it useful....

I reinstalled a fresh version of Windows Vista (I'll switch to Win7 eventually), and STILL ran into the errors! BUT I found a fix that has worked thus far for me, with the fresh install, thanks to the help in this thread...

I installed the old old old network driver from 3/29/2007, which was version 7.2.0.190 from Atheros (I have the Thinkpad a/b/g adapter). Looking at the driver history, it looks like the only things that were added to the driver between 2007 and 2009 was support for new cards, which I obviously have no use for--and I'd wager that it only induces incompatibilities rather than fixes.

Anyways, I thought I'd give an update for any of those running into trouble--the really old driver may help (the old driver works perfectly well, and it may even work well in Win7).

[Delmarco]

I've been having this NMI/BSOD issue since 2009 on my T60 that is still running XP Prof/SP3.



Now that I've finally replaced it with a T61 I was hoping to clear the NMI/BSOD error up for good before selling the T60.

My quick fix that worked over the years was removing the battery when the laptop was plugged in via AC.

At first I figured it was the memory and battery. So I replaced both the memory and battery(with a brand new 9 cell) from Lenovo and the NMI/BSOD came back eventually.

My NMIs are freakishly rare (5-6 times a year) and mainly only tend to appear when watching videos on YouTube for a long length of time or watching multiple video windows (ie. DVD player, Youtube, video games) at the same time.

For instance in early 2010 I got three NMIs in one day. All I did was reboot the system each time. Then during the next 12 months of daily use I NEVER got another NMI/BSOD.

Over the years, I got so good that I could sense when an NMI was coming on because the fan would get louder and/or the screen would flicker right before the NMI/BSOD.

The over all pattern that I discerned was:

1. I never got the NMI/BSOD when working offline, when working on word documents or when doing normal web browsing (like eBay, Facebook, forums).

2. I never got an NMI/BSOD when the laptop was only using battery power.

3. I never, if rarely, got an NMI/BSOD when just the AC adapter was plugged in with the battery removed.

4. 99% of my NMI/BSOD came when watching any video or graphic media over the internet continuously for a period of time greater than 30 minutes. Each time the fan would increase and the screen would flicker slightly seconds before the BSOD.

or

5. 99% of my NMI/BSOD came when the battery and the AC power were connected to the T60 at the same time.


In the end I figured it had to be related to battery/AC connection (laptop getting hot before NMI), or Graphics Card/WiFi source (screen flickering before NMI).

Anyway I just updated the BIOS and all the Think Vantage drivers and stuff for March 2012 so I will see if that fixes it.



NMI = memory parity error
BSOD = blue screen of death

[taichi]

As posted a few threads down, this error is often related to the wireless card.

Of course it is always possible that one's memory may be faulty, or one's GPU, but after extensive testing of these with no error shown, I found that disabling my suspected-malfunctioning wireless card greatly ameliorated the problem. Ultimately, the physical removal of the defective Intel card eliminated the memory parity error after ten months of grappling with it.

In some peoples' experience updating the wireless card driver also solved the problem, but in my case the card definitely was failing, and then burned out... not an uncommon event.

As to your observation about battery and power supply issues, I cannot comment. But your observation that working off-line (with the wireless card not actively engaged) helped is interesting. What was revelatory to me, leading to the removal of the card, was that even when disabled, a faulty card was detected by the computer.

[Delmarco]

Actually one of the ThinkVantage updates was for the wireless card.

I never updated the wireless card since unboxing the T60 back in 2009.

So hopefully this may help.

Also the relevancy of the battery/AC-adapter creating a pattern of NMIs is that I believed something was overheating inside the cpu when the battery was connected and charged and the AC was also plugged in.

As noted an NMI/BSOD would occur 99% of the time when three conditions we occuring at the same time.

1. Battery connected and charged
2. AC plugged in
3. Watching YouTube videos for longer than 30 minutes. (Funny enough watching Netflix streaming movies for hours on end never gave me an NMI-go figure)

With all three of the above occuring simultaneously the T60 after 30 minutes would eventually get hot, resulting in the fan speed/noise increase and screen flicker seconds before the NMI.

However, remove any one of those conditions (i.e remove the battery or unplug the AC or stop watching You Tube videos for longer than 30 minutes) and the NMI/BSOD would have a less than 10% chance of happening.

These figures are based on my observations from daily use with my T60 2008-VEP between 5/2009 and 3/2012.

The good thing for me was that I rarely watch Youtube videos for long periods. I also got into a habit of removing the battery when the ac power was plugged in.

As posted a few threads down, this error is often related to the wireless card.

Of course it is always possible that one's memory may be faulty, or one's GPU, but after extensive testing of these with no error shown, I found that disabling my suspected-malfunctioning wireless card greatly ameliorated the problem. Ultimately, the physical removal of the defective Intel card eliminated the memory parity error after ten months of grappling with it.

In some peoples' experience updating the wireless card driver also solved the problem, but in my case the card definitely was failing, and then burned out... not an uncommon event.

As to your observation about battery and power supply issues, I cannot comment. But your observation that working off-line (with the wireless card not actively engaged) helped is interesting. What was revelatory to me, leading to the removal of the card, was that even when disabled, a faulty card was detected by the computer.

[taichi]

Well, in my case I did every diagnostic suggested, and read everything on this forum, as well as everything I could find on the Internet relating to this problem... both with respect to Thinkpads, other Windows laptops, and Vista SP2, which I use without complaint.

The most relevant suggestions always had to do with the wireless card, and disabling, as I mentioned, helped a great deal. Ultimately, after much frustration, removing the card did the trick. By the time I did that, everything pointed to a defective wireless card.

My point is that issues relating to the wireless card, whether they be driver issues or hardware issues, clearly can be a cause of the memory parity error.

I would also hazard a guess that the same error can derive from other malfunctioning hardware issues, besides the more typical memory and GPU problems. However, I think it is reasonable to say that the wireless card is a somewhat common source of this problem..

[Delmarco]

Oh ok.

Thanks.

So that is good news for me in terms of the ThinkVantage update for the wireless card working.

I'll see if that helps quell the NMIs before I sell the T60.

Well, in my case I did every diagnostic suggested, and read everything on this forum, as well as everything I could find on the Internet relating to this problem... both with respect to Thinkpads, other Windows laptops, and Vista SP2, which I use without complaint.

The most relevant suggestions always had to do with the wireless card, and disabling, as I mentioned, helped a great deal. Ultimately, after much frustration, removing the card did the trick. By the time I did that, everything pointed to a defective wireless card.

My point is that issues relating to the wireless card, whether they be driver issues or hardware issues, clearly can be a cause of the memory parity error.

[taichi]

I did the wireless card driver update, in fact trying to Lenovo version, the Intel version, and the Microsoft version. None of them helped, and none of them would help a defective wireless card. Removing the card... a ten minute operation...worked. This is a much less radical move than selling your excellent T60.

Router/modems burn out, as do wireless cards. Right now I'm running on ethernet, and when I find a source for a NEW
N capable wireless card at an affordable price, I'll buy it. You can buy used/pulled wireless cards for very little money from forum members.

[Delmarco]

I did the wireless card driver update, in fact trying to Lenovo version, the Intel version, and the Microsoft version. None of them helped, and none of them would help a defective wireless card. Removing the card... a ten minute operation...worked. This is a much less radical move than selling your excellent T60.

Router/modems burn out, as do wireless cards. Right now I'm running on ethernet, and when I find a source for a NEW
N capable wireless card at an affordable price, I'll buy it. You can buy used/pulled wireless cards for very little money from forum members.

How often were you getting the NMIs that you were forced to gut the wifi card?

My NMIs were so infrequent (like 5 or 6 times a year) and I use my T60 everyday between 5 to 9 hours for internet access and work. I also never has issues with losing data or work because a reboot after an NMI for some reasons opens up all the windows and programs exactly as they were that were running when the NMI crashed out to the BSOD.

So it wasn't even an issue for me in the years I've had the T60. I'm only coming to terms with it now because I don't want to sell it with the NMI issue and have a buyer complain to me about it.

Also I'm sure the NMI would be way more bothersome to someone buying my T60 mainly to watch youtube or play heavy graphic online video games.

I will look into replacing the wifi card.

[taichi]

The frequency of the problem was greater than your experience.

The Thinkpad would boot normally after the error message.

Again, this is my experience, but a valuable one given how that the wireless card is not often on the checklist for this error, even though it is more a common source of the problem than some have maintained.

[Delmarco]

My point is that issues relating to the wireless card, whether they be driver issues or hardware issues, clearly can be a cause of the memory parity error.

Yup. You are correct. Lenovo even admits this in this May 2011 bulletin linked and quoted below. They even mention the AC Adapter and Battery as well. Lenovo's tone is careful because they say the Intel update for the card fixes 'specific' issues that 'can' lead to the NMI/BSOD. They don't imply that the card is wholly at fault for the NMI nor do they guarantee that the update will even be relevant to other 'specific' causes of the NMI. Funny.

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/diagnos ... D=HT003171

Document ID : HT003171
Last Updated : 31 May 2011
Copyright © Lenovo 2011, all rights reserved


Blue screen error "NMI Parity Error" may intermittently occur - ThinkPad R60, R60e, T60, T60p, X60, X60s, X60 Tablet, Z60m, Z60t, Z61e, Z61m, Z61p, Z61t Symptom

Some ThinkPad systems that contain the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini PCI adapter may experience a specific blue screen error called "NMI Parity Error". This may occur when the system is booting to the Microsoft Windows desktop, or while the system is up and running. It could occur on battery mode, or while the system is plugged into the AC adapter.

Affected configurations

The following ThinkPad systems with the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini PCI adapter running Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows 2000.

ThinkPad R60, R60e
ThinkPad T60, T60p
ThinkPad X60, X60s, X60 Tablet
ThinkPad Z60m, Z60t
ThinkPad Z61e, Z61m, Z61p, Z61t

Solution

The latest Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini PCI adapter software (package version 10.5.3.1, driver version 10.5.1.89) fixes a specific problem that can lead to a "NMI Parity Error" blue screen message.

Click here to download the latest Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini PCI adapter software.
Additional information

Note: There are many possible different sources for the same blue screen error message under the Microsoft Windows operating systems. Not all "NMI Parity Error" problems are caused by this one specific wireless driver issue.

[PMM]

Hello all!

I had very, very similar problems with my R60 and I registered here just to tell how I solved my NMI problems. Hope it works for somebody else too.

I'm running Win 7 Ultimate, and the answer for my problems was display adapter drivers (X1400).
The crashes were random. Sometimes 2-3 times a week, sometimes daily, sometimes a few times in a month.

I uninstalled ATI drivers and went for the ones in Microsoft Catalog (or whatever they call it) and never had NMI problems since.

Here's what I tried:

Running memory modules single, both sticks, both slots - No BSOD's at all
Removed WiFi card - still getting BSODs
Tried running without battery - BSODs
Tried running with battery only - No BSOD's!?? Just like Delmarco
Lot's of other stuff I can't remember right now...
Tried Win X1400 drivers instead of ATI's - Bingo!

It might be just me, but I believe I felt my R60 heat a lot just before BSOD.
BSOD's happened usually when running Photoshop / Youtube videos / etc. graphic media.

My R60 is 9461-54G if it matters to someone. Upgraded with 2x2GB Kingston RAM sticks.
Getting Samsung 830 SSD this week too