I certainly understand your concern; this could be an indication of hardware failure.  There are a lot of variables and it could be just software or driver issues as well.  

Since it is video related, I certainly suggest uninstalling the video driver.  Look for the Intel and Nvidia drivers in programs and features in control panel.  Select them and choose uninstall.

Download the latest version of the drivers from the following links

Once you have the video drivers reinstalled check to see if the system continues to crash.

Hello, sorry for the delay in replying.

I uninstalled the video drivers & installed both the intel & older nvidia driver.

That didn't appear to make much difference.

So... I formatted & started again from the beginning with a fresh install of Windows and recommended drivers.

That didn't work either.

The memory corruption has disappeared & the crashes are less frequent but it's still anything from 2-6 times an hour when playing games or even watching movies. Tends to blue screen on movies & driver crash on games. Temperatures have settled slighty too, from 70-85 down to 62 when idle & 75-76 when there is a lot happening on-screen.

Saying that, I did hit 89-90 (I think it was) when I had a shot on Minecraft (Java game).

*Temperatures in Celcius.

What do the Dell diagnostics reveal (F12 at powerup)?

Crashing 2 to six times an hour is about six times too many.  ejn63 does have the right of it.  The next step is to run diags, and after the basic tests complete if you have the option, run hard drive diagnostics.   Does the system crash while running diags, do you receive any errors?

TB

Both tests ran fine, no problems discovered.

What shall I try next?

How long did the diagnostics run?  You have mentioned that you get  two to six crashes an hour, did the same thing apply while running diagnostics?  You mentioned that you reinstalled Windows did the system crash in that process?  If not when did it start crashing?  Did you get Windows installed completely before the crashes started?  Did you get the drivers installed before the crashes started? Was it after Windows and drivers was installed that the crashes started happening and if so what was the last software installed?

TB

How long did the diagnostics run?

First test ran for around 5-10 minutes, at the end I got a dialogue box with something like: "No errors have been found, would you like to do further tests? may take up to 30 minutes". The further tests ran for 15-20 minutes & found no errors.

You have mentioned that you get  two to six crashes an hour, did the same thing apply while running diagnostics?

No, did not crash in any way during the tests.

You mentioned that you reinstalled Windows did the system crash in that process?

No, installation was without error.

If not when did it start crashing?

Shortly after I run a game, movie or anything that puts load onto the graphics card.

Did you get Windows installed completely before the crashes started?

Yes.

Did you get the drivers installed before the crashes started?

Yes.

Was it after Windows and drivers was installed that the crashes started happening and if so what was the last software installed?

I have reinstalled Windows a few times since I got this laptop, every time the first part fo the process is the same;

1st time: Installed Windows, Windows updates, Dell drivers then... Battlefied 2

2nd time: Installed Windows, Windows updates, Dell drivers then... World of Warcraft

3rd time: Installed Windows, Windows updates, Dell drivers then... Futuremark 3dMark06 basic edition. (Followed by Futuremark 3dMark Vantage then 3dMark11)

Looks like you have done everything needed.  If you have not already tested is to see if Optimus is part of the problem.  Here is a sticky that I created for configuring Optimus.

en.community.dell.com/.../19405027.aspx

I suggest testing with the Nvidia GPU set globally as the default GPU

Selecting a Preferred Graphics Processor

Open the NVIDIA Control Panel

* Select Manage 3D Settings

* Under the Global Settings tab, select High-performance NVIDIA processor

* Click Apply

Then test assigning the Nvidia GPU as the default GPU for the games that you are running.

Open the NVIDIA Control Panel

* Select Manage 3D Settings

* Click on the Program Settings tab

* In 1: Select a program to customize, click on Add

* Browse to the application/game and open the executable file by clicking Open

* In 2: Select the preferred graphics processor for this program, click on the tab and select High Performance NVIDIA processor

* Click on Apply and the settings will be saved

Try to find out if the problems happen when Optimus selects the Intel GPU, or if the Nvidia GPU is running.

If you continue to have crashes the only other thing I suggest is looking into having the system board / video card replaced.

TB

I had the settings in place already, it was brought up in a discussion on the WoW forums but never appeared to make a difference. I recently read (on forum.notebookreview.com/.../564192-dell-xps-15-r2-l502x-owners-lounge.html) that people who have had similar problems seen a vast improvement when the motherboard was replaced.

Also, I read earlier today that it could be an i7/Windows issue. Something to do with core parking.

I've changed the registry keys as advised* (see below) but not had much time test it. I managed to get 15-30 minutes of play time without a crash but I need to test some more before I can honestly say it's an improvement. I will update you tomorrow evening.

*

- Go to Regedit - Find this key:-  " 0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583 " - Within this key, there is a value called:  " ValueMax " - This value represents the % number of cores the system will park - the default 100%  ie:  all Cores are potentially park-able - Change the value from 64 to 0 so the " ValueMin "  and  " ValueMax " are both zero - You will have to find the key a few times and repeat the process for each time it is found - the number of instances will depend on the number of power profiles in your system - Do a full shutdown and power-off and cold-re-start

If it doesn't help / fix anything, what would be the best way to contact someone about getting the system board / video card replaced?

Thanks for all your help & advice :)

If you are still having issues with all the games, after performing a reinstall of Windows, and assigning the Nvidia GPU as the primary GPU we can try replacing the video card / system board.  I am not a hundred percent convinced that this is the problem but you have done all the troubleshooting and are still unable to find a resolution.

If you would like to try the repair service shoot me a private message and include the service tag of the notebook, your name, your location, the shipping and email address and phone number. I will be more than happy to research service options.

TB

After stopping Windows from "core parking" it appeared to work well for a good 8-10 hours (not continuous) of gaming then started crashing again as usual.

I've sent you a PM with my details

Thanks again :)

en.community.dell.com/.../19964110.aspx

is another forum that is attempting to address the same issues.  It seems that is is related to the 540m and not the 525m.  Some users have said that there is some relation with running on battery and running while plugged in, as the plugged in is when the crashes have occurred.  I have not tested the battery theory and I have had motherboard replaced along with heat sink, thermal paste and fan with no success.  I am thinking that the problem might actually reside with the video card.  I will be calling dell to find out if the revision that I have is the same as what is currently available.  

this laptop have problem , i'm sure it is a hardware problem , with battery work fine but when plugged in AC power freeze  , i use this way and can play games ( with lag and some problem but no freeze ! ) , follow this way :

download and install this drivers :

1 - BIOS A07

2 - Realtek high defintion audio 6.0.1.6312

3 - Intel HD graphics family 8.15.10.2342

4- Nvedia Graphic driver 285.62

after install all download and run this program ( autorunS )

download link right there => up2.iranblog.com/.../i3n3ze26dusl4w74nu7.zip

after run it search all component and dll and everything on start up and services wait for end and go to Applnit tab and uncheck ( remove check box ) up and down ( 32bit and 64bit ) after that close program and run your game run good and no freeze anymore but some games like NFS the run can't run ! i dont know why but i cant play it !

anyway this is only way ! we can run a game with no freeze ! also with Fking LAG ! thank you DELL for this laptop !

Herogame...This actually decreased my video performance....