nvidia driver has stopped responding and has recovered

Ionium

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Messages
351
I get this error sometimes when I am level designing in UT3, or when playing a steam powered game like team fortress or counter strike. My monitor will go blank, then come back on in a few seconds with the error "nvidia driver has stopped responding and has recovered" in the system tray. It's very annoying and I'd like to know what causes it! I've searched all over google but to no avail, I'm hoping someone here could shed some light on the situation. My system is NOT overclocked, plenty cooled since its an antec skeleton case, I've tried un-installing the nvidia drivers completley and installing new ones, it still happens. I don't know what to do! I'm running windows 7 64 bit.
 
What driver version?

I had something similar happen to me recently and it wound up being the physx drivers. I had to get the latest version of driver sweeper to get the bad drivers to uninstall.

I hope that helps
 
just make sure when it happens you check your cards clock speeds because when nvidia drivers crash they lock the card in 2D mode..
 
Sounds like an unstable overclock. Given that you haven't overclocked it, that could mean that stock clocks are more than it can handle. Try underclocking it and see if it improves.
 
Woops sorry, forgot to mention GTX 285 card, latest drivers installed from nvidia's website!
 
Sounds like an unstable overclock. Given that you haven't overclocked it, that could mean that stock clocks are more than it can handle. Try underclocking it and see if it improves.

Care to tell a newbie how to underclock it?
 
I've bitched about having this exact issue on my desktop (2 280s SLIed) and even my laptop that has a 9600GT in it. Never had this issue before until I updated the drivers from the 197 series.

I recently removed/cleaned/restored the 197 notebook variant on the laptop and so far so good and as for the desktop, hrm. I've tried drivercleaner on it before and reinstalling but the issue never went away. I get the impression sometimes that the cleaners either miss something or on the reboot Windows is putting something old back before you can do the reinstall.
 
Care to tell a newbie how to underclock it?
Don't know about nVidias, haven't had one in a while... ATIs have sliders right there in the control panel, so yours might be the same. Failing that, download Rivatuner (should be pretty self-explanatory from there on).

I'd try dropping the clocks (both core and mem) by ~20%. If that fixes it, you've probably got grounds for an RMA.

BTW, is this a new problem, or has it always been like that?
 
Just reading up on that TDR link, it mentions a possibility being heat. There are people saying their cards are running hotter and/or fan issues of all sorts with the newer drivers. I don't know sure, just stabbing in the dark with ideas. Doozer's suggestion worked for him was a good driver clean and reinstall. After work I think I'm trying that again, maybe with a different cleaner then Drivesweeper.
 
I ran into this problem with my GTX275. I notice it only happen on older games. Newer games run fine. Driver version makes no difference. My card is overclocked from the factory. Lowering my gpu to stock settings seem to fix the problem.
 
Hmm. I've been having very similar issues. I am currently running 258.69 and these issues started with these drivers.

This is in my Sig Rig and has been rock solid stable for 18 months.
 
I started experiencing this too, but ONLY in Fallout 3. FFXIV, Metro, Just Cause 2, and many other games work just fine.

Fallout 3 has been a buggy bitch for me, and the problems are very widespread. Their (Bethesda's) forum is overflowing with Windows 7 x64 compatibility issues since the big steam sale.
 
So should I downgrade to 196.21 drivers?

No. This isn't a wide spread problem, IMO.

If you keep having issues, calling your card's tech support and RMA your card. If the card keeps crashing at stock clocks, you may be experiencing a hardware error.
 
got this problem all the time...(A lot less with GTX 480 compare to other older nVidia card that I have)

still remember last time I report this issue, people just assume I have a defective card, even though I been switch like 5 cards already...
 
Wait so is it a software or hardware problem? I don't want to go through getting another card just to have it happen again!
 
Well then if switching to an older driver doesn't help, what does?


run evga precision or msi afterburner.. watch the graph and watch your gpu temp.. see if thats the cause first.. you can also downlock the card in either program as well.. but id watch the temps first and see what happens.. the only problem the 258.xx or higher have had is the fan controls in the 200 series or at least thats what some people are claiming.. see if your suffering from the same problem and if need be use either program to set the fan to 60% should be enough to keep that card cool for what your doing and you wont hear the fan.. anything over 65% and you will start hearing it..
 
Well I don't know, my card changes colors when it demands more GPU, only red color if intense GPU things going like crysis.
 
I'm getting same error on one of my gtx460. Plan to rma next week.
40'C with no oc.
My other gtx460 is working fine so its hardware issue.
 
So right now in the precision program my fan speed is 20, temp 57 C, core clock 662 mem clock 1242. I am not gaming just have firefox open.
 
well if this precision tool doesn't work at all I'm going to RMA the card, im sick of this.
 
I have 4 GTX 285's watercooled and experience the same issues - tis the drivers not the hardware. I have done a clean install of W7 Ulitmate 64 bit and still run into the Drivers crashing. I thought it was the Matrox Unit I was using until I found I could go direct and that Nvidia now supports multiple monitors under SLI (Finally) fioir the 200 series and newer cards - however with this driver update is it still unstable IMO. I still get the crash - screws up Aero Peek as well.
 
one person says it's the card, other people the drivers, I dunno what to believe anymore!
 
I had the same issue with my ATI cards. It's not a card, overclocking or driver issue. It's a Windows issue.

The problem is that your idle clocks are too low to operate Windows Aero and other graphic features.
When Windows requests your graphics card to respond, it thinks it not working due to the low clocks not being sufficient to drive Windows Aero. So WIndows resets your drivers, thus "Driver Stopped Working, Windows has recovered."

This is what I did to solve the issue.

I created a custom profile in CCC, then I double the idle clocks. Saved the profile and applied it.
Problem solved. I just got a Nvidia Card so I'm going to check to see if I can do the same with this. If I can, I will post a guide to solve your issue.
 
one person says it's the card, other people the drivers, I dunno what to believe anymore!


its definitely the driver issue on the GTX 200 series cards.. as far as the 400 series i have no clue.. just typical nvidia drivers but what ever..

I had the same issue with my ATI cards. It's not a card, overclocking or driver issue. It's a Windows issue.

The problem is that your idle clocks are too low to operate Windows Aero and other graphic features.
When Windows requests your graphics card to respond, it thinks it not working due to the low clocks not being sufficient to drive Windows Aero. So WIndows resets your drivers, thus "Driver Stopped Working, Windows has recovered."

This is what I did to solve the issue.

I created a custom profile in CCC, then I double the idle clocks. Saved the profile and applied it.
Problem solved. I just got a Nvidia Card so I'm going to check to see if I can do the same with this. If I can, I will post a guide to solve your issue.


nvidia does not support 2D clock modes in multi-display.. never have and never will the problem for ATI only exists when using multi-display.. so dont waste your time with this because it wont fix the drivers on the nvidia side.. and even the 2D mode nvidia uses in single display is no where near as low as ATI sets their 2D clocks.. i mean hell you can still play crysis when the cards locked in 2D mode so theres no way windows aero is going to choke on it..
 
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its definitely the drivers but we had to rule out hardware as well its common sense troubleshooting.. take out each variable til you find the source of the problem..





nvidia does not support 2D clock modes in multi-display.. never have and never will the problem for ATI only exists when using multi-display.. so dont waste your time with this because it wont fix shit on the nvidia side..

Wow people like you amaze me. You really had to curse? Have all the answers but no solution for the problem. I've solved other people issue on ATI by increasing the 2D clocks.
I'm new to Nvidia, so I'm trying to see if the same can be done. I've solved the issue before, have you?
Being an ASS about what you know doesn't prove anything but you being an ASS. Another Hard Member of the Month being a Douche.
 
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I've had this issue since jumping to Vista and persisting through Win7 only with Nvidia cards. I liked the performance I got with both my 9800GTX+ and my GTX 275, but this error happened frequently enough with either card that I went back to ATI. As far as I can tell, this is just Nvidia not being very good at writing drivers for the newer Windows kernel. All of the same games and same installed crap, not an issue with crossfired 5770s (except Borderlands hates crossfire apparently)
 
Well I don't have any money to buy an ATI card so I need a solution to my problem as well as the rest of the crowd with the problem.
 
Some how my MSI GTX460 is getting this problem
but gateway GTX460 is not having problem.
Both stock no oc. So i thought its hardware.
Even my last good working gtx460 is giving me artifacts in sc2 so 3 out of 3 for defective cards......
Need to find different retail store.
 
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Its really weird problem.
tested msi gtx460 and ran fine(it was getting me nvidia driver has stopped responding error)
so added gigabyte gtx460 to sli.
Now I;m getting nvidia driver has stopped responding error in sli surround.
Cant even run 3dmark vantage

std::exception
FullscreenState lost

update: works fine on two screen but fail to run anything on surround.
 
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