Nvidia display stopped working but recovered

M

MarkGerazzi

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 26, 2011
Messages
112
Specs:

Asus P9x79
3930k
8gigs of ram

Video card http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

Apparently there is no real solution to this, I've tried clean installing the latest drivers including the beta.
I get this error msg white surfing the net, like right this second.
It seems to affect random people, should I return for a Radeon?

I'm not doing any overclocking or anything fancy. My rig has the latest bios updates, etc.
Haven't tried running newer games, only FIFA 12 and crysis 2 so far, no issues.

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=221034

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=216187
 
Well, this solution works on amd, so maybe it does on nvidia too:

Just try and set the speed of your memory to the exact same ammount, be it on 3d as on 2d.
 
MarkGerazzi said:
Specs:

Asus P9x79
3930k
8gigs of ram

Video card http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

Apparently there is no real solution to this, I've tried clean installing the latest drivers including the beta.
I get this error msg white surfing the net, like right this second.
It seems to affect random people, should I return for a Radeon?

I'm not doing any overclocking or anything fancy. My rig has the latest bios updates, etc.
Haven't tried running newer games, only FIFA 12 and crysis 2 so far, no issues.

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=221034

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=216187
Click to expand...

I was having similiar issues (3930k, 32gb, Asus PX79 Pro) on a similar build it ended up being a RAM issue
 
I saw that with a MSI video card once, any FSB changes would cause it to wig out... but if your not overclocking anything something is bad.

You have at least a quality 600watt power supply right?
 
Again, it is the timeout detection of Windows 7, somehow when vidcards change memory speed from 2d to 3d settings and viceversa some command takes a bit more than what Windows thinks should be, so it restarts the driver to avoid crashing the entire kernel.

This is good but annoying, there are some ways to increase the timeout detection of windows by registry editting, but it is a hit or miss fix, and thus i have found out that about the ram speed of the vidcard.

Dunno how it works on nvidia regarding presets, but i created 3 overclocking presets, i turn them on with a hotkey combination (ctrl alt 1-3), on those presets i put the speed for the 3 different power states the same (2d, 3d and video are the settings for AMD). I am pretty sure that there must be some utility that lets you set up the clock rate for your power states on nvidia too, maybe afterburner?.

It is annoying? sure, a bit, but way less than getting the driver crash thingie. And so far i haven't seen a solution that works perfectly on neither camp if the issue shows up.
 
This is an ongoing issue since around June of 2011. It has something to do with switching power states (and voltages) but NV haven't been able to fix it yet. Very annoying. With the newest beta drivers I don't seem to get as many crashes as I used to. Overclocking makes it worse (for me).
 
I used the registry thing a few versions of the driver ago. I didn't get the error nearly as much as you, but it did hide the problem. I suspect it was a bad stick of RAM as I no longer randomly crash from games either.
 
I have a 560ti and I used to experience the same problems. My fix isn't what I'd call "acceptable" in a traditional sense but it does allow me to use my card without the constant freezing or driver errors.

The first thing I'd ask you to do is power off your PC, then unplug your PS (or flip the power switch off) for about five minutes. After five minutes plug it back in and see if the problem happens again. I've found that when I get the graphics display crash if I restarted using this method I don't see the error again for about 7-10 days. Mind you at the time I figured this out I was a "computer is on 24/7/365", now I turn my computer off when I'm not using it and I haven't experienced the problem. *NOTE* If you're already getting the graphics driver error you need to power down your system in this manner to get it to stop, a simple restart or graphics driver reinstallation won't fix it. I don't know if it will work for you but it worked for me.

As strange as this will sound, are you using Firefox by chance? I've done a lot of research on this issue and most everyone that experiences the problem uses Firefox. If you are using it, would you be able to switch to another browser for a few days to see if that clears the problem up?

I'm not sure what the exact problem is, whether it's hardware of software, but I do know doing the previous two steps has my card working as it should. I've held off on an RMA because I have a feeling this is more than an isolated issue and since I can get what I have working I just stick with it.

If you're able would you please respond with your results? I'm curious to see if this fix works across different cards.
 
SonDogg said:
As strange as this will sound, are you using Firefox by chance? I've done a lot of research on this issue and most everyone that experiences the problem uses Firefox. If you are using it, would you be able to switch to another browser for a few days to see if that clears the problem up?
Click to expand...

Good catch! i forgot that part, as some other browsers offer some limited hardware acceleration, while Firefox puts it on by default, and it is NOT stable, on neither band nor in any browser that i have seen so far!

All in all, this all has to do with PowerStates being something good on paper, but not properly accounted entirely in hardware nor software.
 
Revdarian said:
Good catch! i forgot that part, as some other browsers offer some limited hardware acceleration, while Firefox puts it on by default, and it is NOT stable, on neither band nor in any browser that i have seen so far!...
Click to expand...

Yes, Firefox has caused the same problems for me. Not stable on this build or my previous, This one with a GTX 580 and the previous with a 4870x2. Don't know if it helps but I have not had the problem since installing the Firefox 10.0 betas.
 
Supposedly, there is a new driver drop coming within a week. They are working to nail the Firefox / desktop TDR issue finally. Firefox is a huge trigger for the issue, but not the only one. Strangely, it can happen with an idle desktop and not touching the mouse or keyboard. It wouldn't surprise me if FF10 didn't trigger it as much, as I read a bug report about fixing some accelerated redraw issue. Desktop TDR could be a buggy driver + buggy software issue ... but only those at nv would know for sure, presently.

I see that the OP's card is a "super clock" version ...
 
Like another person said, it could be the RAM

I had this happen, and it ended up being my RAM, and then my Video card.

I would run Memtest, and see what results you get.
 
I had this issue and it was because I had Aero/fluff features turned off.
 
have this issue when I OC and play around with voltage settings. It doesn't seem to like anything other than standard voltage.
 
RMA your card, had the same issue on my old 8800GT when I was still using it, crashes every time in games that way, and no amount of driver cleaning/reinstalling worked. You shouldn't need to much around with the registry anyway (and that didn't work for me back then when I had this issue).

Firefox uses the GPU for certain tasks so chances are that's why it causes the crash.
 
Last edited:
SonDogg said:
I have a 560ti and I used to experience the same problems. My fix isn't what I'd call "acceptable" in a traditional sense but it does allow me to use my card without the constant freezing or driver errors.

The first thing I'd ask you to do is power off your PC, then unplug your PS (or flip the power switch off) for about five minutes. After five minutes plug it back in and see if the problem happens again. I've found that when I get the graphics display crash if I restarted using this method I don't see the error again for about 7-10 days. Mind you at the time I figured this out I was a "computer is on 24/7/365", now I turn my computer off when I'm not using it and I haven't experienced the problem. *NOTE* If you're already getting the graphics driver error you need to power down your system in this manner to get it to stop, a simple restart or graphics driver reinstallation won't fix it. I don't know if it will work for you but it worked for me.
Click to expand...

Nail on head...

I have been battling this exact issue and many others have too. Video card becomes unstable after 8-14 days of 24/7 use. Only solution once this happens is to turn off PC and pull power...then PC will run perfectly for another 8-14 days.

This issue is driving me nuts... I replaced my card after I initially bought it and the new one did the exact same thing. This is some sort of design issue...
 
wow... this idea of cold powering the PSU..kind of makes sense. I will try tonight and report back

Yesterday i crashed in SWTOR.. so I dl and installed the new 295 betas.. well a bit into that..just watching a stupid You Tube video..I actually had my very first Win 7 BSOD... I removed the 295's.. but it had crossed my mind that maybe power was at root.. build is in sig..but its a new Sea Sonic 750.. and I only have 1 gtx580.. but I was considering going to a 1200w.. maybe this cold boot on the psu will make a difference... thanks..will post back...

while I have FF9 on my rig ( its the only browser that works well with my Citrix CAG for work ) I use Chrome almost exclusively for all regular browsing...


design issue.. vid card.. or PSU ya think?
 
heading home now.. Ill power down for 5+ mins with PSU off too..and game tonight..and report if I have any issues...
 
Interesting indeed!

when I got home, shut down, unplugged PSU.. even hit the power button to discharge Caps...

5+ ish mins..

never had a issue all night playing SWTOR all night!

thanks for the TIP!

definitely made a difference! From now on.. before settling in for a gaming session.. I will power down, unplug for 5+ mins..
 
I have the EXACT same problem. Had it since I purchased the card. Took the PC back to the store, but was unable to replicate the problem (of course -.-). It is absolutely annoying. Only report it happening when the computer has been on for a long time. GTX560 here.

Hate-hate-hate this!
http://i.imgur.com/WYO9w.png

This just happened. Guess I better turn it off at the wall for awhile. Thanks for the fix.
 
this is not just a hardware problem. There are alos some regestry changes you can make.

http://mikemstech.blogspot.com/2011/12/troubleshooting-0x116-videotdrerror.html


http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg487368.aspx


Timeout Detection and Recovery of GPUs through WDDMUpdated: April 27, 2009

On This Page

Introduction
Timeout Detection and Recovery
Windows Vista SP1 Update
Error Messaging
Registry Keys
Next Steps
Resources





IntroductionOne of the most common stability problems in graphics is when the system appears completely "frozen" or "hung" while processing an end-user command or operation. Users generally wait a few seconds and then reboot the system by pressing the Power button. Usually the graphics processing unit (GPU) is "busy" processing intensive graphical operations, typically during gameplay. This results in nothing being updated on the screen, thus appearing to the user that the system is frozen.

This paper briefly describes the timeout detection and recovery (TDR) process in Windows Vista. It also documents the registry controls so developers can easily debug problems.

What's New for Windows Vista SP1
Changes for Windows Vista SP1 to improve user experience in cases of frequent and rapidly occurring GPU hangs. New registry keys to support these changes.

Top of page
Timeout Detection and RecoveryWindows Vista attempts to detect these problematic hang situations and recover a responsive desktop dynamically. In this process, the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver is reinitialized and the GPU is reset. No reboot is necessary, which greatly enhances the user experience. The only visible artifact from the hang detection to the recovery is a screen flicker, which results from resetting some portions of the graphics stack, causing a screen redraw. Some older Microsoft DirectX applications may render to a black screen at the end of this recovery. The end user would have to restart these applications.

The following is a brief overview of the TDR process:

1.Timeout detection: The Video Scheduler component of the Windows Vista graphics stack detects that the GPU is taking more than the permitted quantum time to execute the particular task and tries to preempt this particular task. The preempt operation has a "wait" timeout—the actual "TDR timeout." This step is thus the "timeout detection" phase of the process. The default timeout period in Windows Vista is 2 seconds. If the GPU cannot complete or preempt the current task within the TDR timeout, then the GPU is diagnosed as hung.

2.Preparation for recovery: The operating system informs the WDDM driver that a timeout has been detected and it must reset the GPU. The driver is told to stop accessing memory and should not access hardware after this time. The operating system and the WDDM driver collect hardware and other state information that could be useful for post-mortem diagnosis.

3.Desktop recovery: The operating system resets the appropriate state of the graphics stack. The Video Memory Manager component of the graphics stack purges all allocations from video memory. The WDDM driver resets the GPU hardware state. The graphics stack takes the final actions and restores the desktop to the responsive state. As mentioned earlier, some older DirectX applications may now render just black, and the user may be required to restart these applications. Well-written DirectX 9Ex and DirectX 10 applications that handle "Device Remove" continue to work correctly. The application must release and then recreate its Microsoft Direct3D device and all of its objects. DirectX application programmers can find more information in the Windows SDK.

Top of page
Windows Vista SP1 UpdateMinor changes were made in Windows Vista SP1 to improve the user experience in cases of frequent and rapidly occurring GPU hangs. Repetitive GPU hangs indicate that the graphics hardware has not recovered successfully. In these instances, the system must be shut down and restarted to fully reset the graphics hardware. If the operating system detects that six or more GPU hangs and subsequent recoveries occur within 1 minute, then the following GPU hang is treated as a system bug check.

Top of page
Error MessagingThroughout the process of GPU hang detection and recovery, the desktop is unresponsive and thus unavailable to the user. In the final stages of recovery, a brief screen flash occurs that is similar to the one when the screen resolution is changed. After the desktop has been successfully recovered, the following informational message appears to the user.




The message is also logged in the Windows Vista Event Viewer. Diagnosis information is collected in the form of a debug report that is returned to Microsoft through the Online Crash Analysis (OCA) mechanism if the user opts in to provide feedback.

Top of page
Registry KeysThe following registry keys are documented for testing purposes only. These registry keys should not be manipulated by any applications outside targeted testing or debugging.

The TDR-related registry keys are located under HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers.

TdrLevel: REG_DWORD. The initial level of recovery. The possible values are:

TdrLevelOff (0). – Detection disabled.

TdrLevelBugcheck (1) – Bug check on detected timeout, for example, no recovery.

TdrLevelRecoverVGA (2) – Recover to VGA (not implemented).

TdrLevelRecover(3) – Recover on timeout. This is the default value.

TdrDelay: REG_DWORD. The number of seconds that the GPU is allowed to delay the preempt request from the scheduler. This is effectively the timeout threshold. The default value is 2.

TdrDdiDelay: REG_DWORD. The number of seconds that the operating system allows threads to leave the driver. After a specified time, the operating system bug checks the system with the code VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (0x116). The default value is 5.

TdrTestMode: REG_DWORD: Internal test usage.

TdrDebugMode: REG_DWORD: The debugging-related behavior of the TDR process.

TDR_DEBUG_MODE_OFF (0) breaks to kernel debugger before the recovery to allow investigation of the timeout.

TDR_DEBUG_MODE_IGNORE_TIMEOUT (1) ignores any timeout.

TDR_DEBUG_MODE_RECOVER_NO_PROMPT (2) recovers without break into the debugger. This is the default value.

TDR_DEBUG_MODE_RECOVER_UNCONDITIONAL (3) recovers even if some recovery conditions are not met (for example, recovers on consecutive timeouts).

TdrLimitTime: REG_DWORD (Windows Vista SP1 and later versions only): The default time within which a "TdrLimitCount" number of TDRs are allowed without crashing the system.

TdrLimitCount: REG_DWORD (Windows Vista SP1 and later versions only): The default number of TDRs (0x117) that are allowed in "TdrLimitTime" without crashing the system.

Top of page
Next StepsGraphics hardware vendors:

Ensure that graphics operations (that is, DMA buffer completion) take no more than 2 seconds in end-user scenarios such as productivity and gameplay.

Graphics software vendors:

Ensure that the DirectX graphics application does not run at a low frames per second (FPS) rate. As the FPS decreases, the likelihood of the GPU getting reset increases. If the application is running at 10 FPS or lower and a complex graphics operation is about to start, then a flush can be inserted.

For running benchmark tests on low-end GPUs, use the aforementioned registry keys that control the TDR timeout. Remember that they should not be used in production systems because it would affect overall system stability and robustness. Use these keys only as a final solution.

System manufacturers:

Work with the graphics hardware vendor to diagnose the TDR debug reports.

Remember that any system that uses the aforementioned TDR registry keys to change the default values is a Windows Logo Program violation.
 
I can't believe there hasn't been a bigger outcry over this from the PC gaming press - this issue is affecting almost everyone I know with an Nvidia 5 series card now. It's clearly the drivers doing it, it never happened prior to the 280+ series ones.

I'm to the point where I'm going to stop recommending Nvidia cards to friends and customers of the simulation company I work for - two friends who just built brand new systems with 560 Tis are getting TDRs every couple minutes, one is already returning his card for an AMD 6950. Nvidia needs to make this their #1 priority right now.
 
Found the setting for windows 7!!!!!!!!!

<<
The work around is: Press Start, Search "regedit", launch the program that comes up, use the file system on the side and click the drop down arrow on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then HARDWARE, then DEVICEMAP, then double click VIDEO, a file named MaxObjectNumber shows up in the directory with the Type REG_DWORD, this is your TDR Timeout setting, 0 = Off >>



fffffffffffffffff reading further down, windows apparently tries to "fix this" for you by resetting the value sometimes... i will give it a shot tho.


EDIT TO ADD: this does reset. sucks so much, i'll keep my vidcard's ram at 3d speeds then <.<
Directions where found here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com.../thread/92a45329-3dd1-4c42-8a53-42dd232edd81/ sucks that it didnt work.
 
Last edited:
Tabs said:
I can't believe there hasn't been a bigger outcry over this from the PC gaming press - this issue is affecting almost everyone I know with an Nvidia 5 series card now. It's clearly the drivers doing it, it never happened prior to the 280+ series ones.

I'm to the point where I'm going to stop recommending Nvidia cards to friends and customers of the simulation company I work for - two friends who just built brand new systems with 560 Tis are getting TDRs every couple minutes, one is already returning his card for an AMD 6950. Nvidia needs to make this their #1 priority right now.
Click to expand...

It is really surprising. I thought I was experiencing them more often than others because my system is old, but my friend built a brand new PC with a quality PSU and MSI 560Ti Hawk and is getting them too. Pretty lame it is not 100% resolved by now.
 
There probably is not single cause for this issue. When I put together my current machine I was getting this and then discovered I had accidentally set my memory timings to 7-8-7-21 instead of the 7-8-7-24 listed on the specs. After correcting I have not seen this issue reappear.
 
I only have this issue if I use Firefox otherwise it never happens.
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
There probably is not single cause for this issue. When I put together my current machine I was getting this and then discovered I had accidentally set my memory timings to 7-8-7-21 instead of the 7-8-7-24 listed on the specs. After correcting I have not seen this issue reappear.
Click to expand...

Yes, TDRs can definitely be caused by bad hw settings, faulty hw, bad super/oc gfx card etc. But there is definitely a class of nv TDRs afflicting desktop/firefox/flash not related to any hw issues, solved entirely by rolling back to 275.33 driver.
 
xorbe said:
...But there is definitely a class of nv TDRs afflicting desktop/firefox/flash not related to any hw issues, solved entirely by rolling back to 275.33 driver.
Click to expand...

I have experienced Firefox crashing and assumed it was hardware acceleration, but since Firefox 10.0 have not had that problem any more either. I haven't had my GTX 580 long, so I never used the 275.33 driver.
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
I have experienced Firefox crashing and assumed it was hardware acceleration, but since Firefox 10.0 have not had that problem any more either. I haven't had my GTX 580 long, so I never used the 275.33 driver.
Click to expand...

We have gone 13 days between TDRs. The record over on the NV forum is 19 days. FF is really good at tickling the issue. Maybe something changed with the latest FF, but that's just avoiding the issue ... FF isn't the only place it happens. We've seen it happen just sitting at the desktop, no windows open, no mouse/kb activity. They've semi-admitted the issue, but no real details have been shared.
 
There are two things that causes these (at least for me), from what I've found out:

Firefox

Too low of a voltage.

The former is fixed with disabling hardware acceleration

The latter is fixed by raising the voltage. I have the Asus GTX 570 DirectCUII, and there was a vbios update that did this exactly. Had no issues since then except for the firefox hardware acceleration.

There was another cause, though I am not completely sure, but it had to do with lower power states. Since I run dual monitors, I can't completely test this out unless I run with a single monitor for a while.

Been using the 285.62 drivers.
 
I've got this same problem, GTX580 with 285.62 drivers.

Only crashes with firefox or flash videos.

Problem can be fixed with a cold boot like others have mentioned.


Never had any problems in games, just firefox and flash vids.
 
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