tryjay : Any time you see an error message such as this (especially since it is causing the system to restart or be unable to continue or proceed to operate) you should be noting the particulars of the message on the first occurrence. In other words the message is telling you that a file [nvlddmkm] is causing a problem , therefore the system must restart. You have to pay litteral attention to the details of the message to decipher it's meaning. IE : " The description for Event ID 13" , means the computer is recognizing a failure of a certain file [nvlddmkm] that will not load , does not belong or is corrupt etc. and that this is the 13th such type (or same) error of it's type. "From source" , means the computer is spelling out which file is causing the problem [nvlddmkm] , and "cannot be found". All of these descriptions mean something. Being that the system cannot find [nvlddmkm] , that means it is still set up to look for it to start the video card or chipset controller or both. The OS HD is still set up to look for it.
You really do have to be computer literate to understand what this all means , and how to go about resolving this , but the main thing you should understand from all of this is : that this file [nvlddmkm] cannot be found. Right away you should notice the "nv" in the filename = nvidia. It is an Nvidia file , so that means it's a video card file or an Nvidia chipset controller file. Usually these problem Nvidia files come along as [nvdll , not nvldd] . Where "nvdll" = nvidia download link (which means it's an Nvidia file that was downloaded). But ... "nvldd" = nvidia load driver (mkm). "mkm" is specific to the video card or chipset controller and it's driver.
When I see this I know it's an Nvidia file and it doesn't matter whether you "are" or "have" been using all Nvidia video cards or all ATI / AMD video cards , or have switched back and forth or changed between one or the other manufacturers. This error message is telling you that your OS is not able to respond to this file [nvlddmkm] because : the file/s were not properly or entirely removed from the OS HD during formatting / replacing or altering , or - the file/s were completely or partially removed from a batch and cannot be found , while the system is still set to look for them to start normally (as is the case here). One thing to point out for sure is that Nvidia video card files and ATI/AMD video card files are not compatible or alike. This is where the problem is , but the specific problem is that your operating system HD still has this Nvidia file [nvlddmkm] set into the video card startup process (which was removed , and cannot be found). OK... so knowing all this , it means the process (or video card startup folder if you will , is still set to look for this Nvidia file [nvlddmkm]. Which was removed when you formatted or altered (changed video cards or upgraded or replaced the OS type or motherboad) on the OS HD. "If" you could determine what "mkm" is , then you might be able to replace this file and successfully have the system continue to load this batch process or files - but , it is much simpler to determine that upgrades to your computer have changed the batch files which reside in the reserved HD space. And... this "mkm" file is more than likely not the one that needs to be on your new setup. So , that is a wild goosechase , but it can also be done. An easy way to find out is to google [nvlddmkm] to determine it's age or what it belongs to. That should help you decide what to do.
The only way to correct this is to attempt to , more completely format the OS HD. I have said it before , and I will say it again , that through my experience with these types of problems and error messages (solving them) , is that this type of thing occurs when you use an operating system "other" than the one that created the startup files where this deleted or through formatting file [nvlddmkm] was removed. In other words , if this file , it's folder and the process or "bat.file" (bat means = batch) was created by Win XP or Win7 , the entire formatting must be done with a Win XP or Win7 OS , not a Win8 OS. This all means that each OS has it's own specific formatting process , and can only thoroughly format it's own kind. They are not completely capable of formatting other OS files in all cases.
The Solution : To prove this is the solution , the quickest way to determine that , is to buy a brand new hard drive (80 or 120gb) and load the OS type you want to end up with onto it , and test if the problem exists. If it doesn't , then you will have to format your current OS HD with a fully functioning operating system of it's type etc.(IE : you can format any OS type on a different machine and use it as new to load any OS within the machine (mobo) you want , this is still possible). In conclusion , it is a process or batch execution file (bat.exe) that still exists within the small amount of space that is unusable on the HD. For example , you have a 120gb HD , but it shows up as 118gb. That 2gb of space is where "batch.execution" files are written. This saves the operating system from being totally lost or inaccessible. And it also protects the system from becoming fully loaded , IE : 120gb used. Then the OS cannot function , because there is no room to open and close programs or files. Since Win7 was created , as soon as you begin loading the OS files , the motherboard is registered to that HD and it will not work on any other motherboard. But when you completely format (with the initial OS type : IE : WinXP / Win7 & Win8) , the HD is free of any registration and security blocks. Which means you can take any HD out of a machine , format it correctly with another compatible machine that is running the initial OS type , and it is fully transferable (unregistered) to any other motherboard , to be able to load any OS.
A simple start would be to do a search on this file [nvlddmkm] , but the message tells you "it cannot be found". Which means you are probably wasting your time doing so. But you could try a full system search for that file to be sure. It is possible that only part of the folder or file exists and needs to be deleted. If you find any part of it - delete it. And you can also uninstall anything or any file that has anything to do with video cards. And reinstall the proper video card files you need. This is why having a disc with your video card files on it is handy. And all of these solutions require that your system is working. When yours is restarting repeatedly.
Best case scenario , replace the OS HD and reinstall the OS. For your information : since Win7 was made , you can no longer place a HD in a machine and make it post , if the HD's OS was loaded on a different machine. The serial number alone of the different motherboard , disallows access , even at the "offline" level. And the newer motherboards , do not even allow this with Win XP either. There is another way to correct this , but it is at the "command line" level and you must be fully capable of command line keystroke actions / their functions and their abilities. And even if you removed the batch file , or found the correct place to fix this non-existing file - you have to replace it with the correct new files. Which means you have to be able to seek them out , name them through a command line description , and load them into the batch file . Really not adviseable , when you can just remove the OS HD , fully format it on another compatible machine (which is running the original OS that the HD had when new) , and then place it back into your machine and load Win7 or Win8 , and everything will work as new.
It very much is a hard lesson learned process , where you have to know that any HD which has a capacity of less than 1TB , should be formatted with WinXP or earlier OS's , and only when the HD's capacity exceeds 1TB , is it more probable that Win7 formatting will do. At the end of the day - you come to realize that each OS (WinXP , Win7 and Win8 etc.) all are only capable of deleting what they created. And if you attempt to use them across the board , not all files or processes will be removed in all cases. If you know the history of the HD (you have had it since new and know which OS's have been on it , removed etc.) that makes it easy to determine what to do. Knowing the differences I mention here.
Since I run a triple operating system machine , I can select which operating system I want to boot , and format any other HD I install. In other words , I can run Win98 , WinXP, Win7 or Win8 because I have a hard drive for each OS installed in my tower. You cannot format a currently running OS HD , but you can add a hard drive and format it with it's correct operating system. Then , do what you want with it. Then simply set the bios to only recognize Win8 or whichever OS you normally run. Right from the keyboard. I have posted some lengthy explanations of how to do this in these forums , when they were all working 100% and still are.
post edited by ZROCKMAN - 2015/01/20 00:08:48