Far Cry 4 - Random Display driver stopped responding and has recovered

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lit25

n00b
Joined
May 17, 2015
Messages
56
Hello .
My system is:
CPU - 4790 stock
RAM - 8 Kingston HyperX 1600mhz 1.5v
PSU - Corsair RM 750
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark2
GPU: Asus Strix 980 OC by factory only
Windows 7 Ultimate x64


Listen.

I am getting very random driver crash only in Far Cry 4. Black screen and Application stopped . Then i saw on events: Nvlddmkm Display driver stopped responding and has recovered. Its very random , sometimes i can play even 12 hours without driver crash and sometimes like today its crashed driver after 5 minutes of started game.
Its problem with driver or my its just my card? ( i am using stock Asus Strix 980 ). I am using the newest drivers 350.12WHQL. All other games runs without even single crash. I tested Unigine Heaven for 10 hours, without crash. I tested Metro Last Light , Crysis 3, WatchDogs, Witcher 3, for few hours without crash too.

Only Far Cry 4 sometimes crash after 5 minutes,but mostly often i can play 12 hours without driver crash.

Using 350.12 WHQL. Also i tested 347.88 WHQL and the same problem.


All my pc is stock, cpu is 4790k stock. GPU is on stock too.

From what i know,crashing display driver Nvlddmkm its always graphic card ( hardware ) failure?
Somebody said to me :"Modern NVIDIA GPU drivers push the GPUs harder, and sometimes they were clocked too high at the factory."
Is this because driver 350.12 WHQ and 347.88 WHQL driver pushes the card harder and is simply revealing a problem with card?
Its something with my card?

Guys i dont know what to do now. RMA my Strix 980 because sometimes its crashing driver only in that game? Is any chance that on another Strix 980 example i will be have the same problem?
I even change my memory to other kit from vengeance to Kingston Hyperx, and still the same problem.
I tested SuperPi , Prime95 without errors. I even tested memtest86 v 6.0 for many hours ( 12 hours + ) without errors.
















Little update. TDR crash with FC64.dll is back even with new rams. 5 days i was testing without single crash. Today TDR's back even with new ram. So all of my hope that was ram issue is gone. Now with new ram the same TDR crashing.
Card is Asus Strix 980 and my previous rams was 2x4gb corsair vengeance 1333mhz , new ram are Kingston Hyperx 2x4gb 1600mhz 1.5v.

And till today i get my first TDR crash with new rams:( App stopped, FC64.dll, and minidump file in watchdog folder reporting that nvldkmm crashed. Is my pc not stable or is this a game issue ?
I am using 350.12 WHQL.

Psu is COrsair 750 RM and cpu on stock 4790k. So that was not ram. On new rams TDR crashing back.But 5 days i was dont get single crash. Strange, huh, but why TDR started today ?!Anyway, issue is still on my pc on Far Cry 4. EHhh :( <sad>
 
Hi Litwicki ... turn off GODRAYS and FUR and SOFT SHADOWS. As per the GeForce forums, we know that FC4 + Maxwell + those GameWorks options cause FC4 crashes for many, many people. Even with the new driver from yesterday. If it's still crashing after that, remove the GPU factory overclock.
 
But somebody says about TDR . "Hardware error, Drivers only introduce TDR's when the hardware is not stable. " so my system is not stable?
 
lit25 said:
But somebody says about TDR . "Hardware error, Drivers only introduce TDR's when the hardware is not stable. " so my system is not stable?
Click to expand...

Anything can cause TDR, hardware, software, or driver. They were wrong.
 
Maxwell vdroop crash, adaptive power under load on GPU's is awesome.
 
Kor said:
Maxwell vdroop crash, adaptive power under load on GPU's is awesome.
Click to expand...

So what's the fix. My og Titan (kepler) is rock solid, and I tried two Titan X with same result.
 
xorbe said:
So what's the fix. My og Titan (kepler) is rock solid, and I tried two Titan X with same result.
Click to expand...

Well the card can be RMA'd however the chances of the vendor actually detecting the issue are slim. If it's a factory OC he could wind back the clock to stock and see if it stabilizes (it probably should for otherwise the GPU was binned poorly). The other option is to modify the firmware on the card to lock in the minimum boost voltage stage to something more stable, at that point the card wont bottom out.

I had the exact same problem with my 980 when overclocking it. The thing was rock solid stable under a high load benchmark but in titles like Farcry and Shadow of Mordor it would TDR under lower loads simply because the boost function would drop the voltage to an unstable level. Changing the minimum boost voltage on the card to what is essentially the peak voltage I saw under full load solved the problem.
 
Kor said:
The other option is to modify the firmware on the card to lock in the minimum boost voltage stage to something more stable, at that point the card wont bottom out.

I had the exact same problem with my 980 when overclocking it. The thing was rock solid stable under a high load benchmark but in titles like Farcry and Shadow of Mordor it would TDR under lower loads simply because the boost function would drop the voltage to an unstable level. Changing the minimum boost voltage on the card to what is essentially the peak voltage I saw under full load solved the problem.
Click to expand...

I can flash. I can use MBT. I just don't know how to peg the voltage to constant like you are describing. Is there a verified Titan X rom somewhere already that implements this? I can take it for a spin.
 
Are you running a program like MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision?

I had random TDR crashes in StarCraft 2 for months with my GTX 970. I wasnt overlocking and the card isnt being pushed hard in game (50-60% load, temp in the 40-50C). I ended up uninstalling MSI Afterburner and all the crashes are no gone.
 
OHHH the million voltage entries correspond to the boost table. I edited that, but used the "maxair" rom and my Titan X shot up to 1516 MHz in Heaven and ran for about 15 seconds before crashing, lol. I'll craft a custom rom with a +0.050v bump, and see if that fixes FC4. It will take some hours.

Update: no dice. I bumped min voltage from 0.85 to 0.96 and added +0.05 to everything else, and ran with -90 on the core ... FC4 still CTD after 2h20m. I think it's the driver.
 
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xorbe said:
OHHH the million voltage entries correspond to the boost table. I edited that, but used the "maxair" rom and my Titan X shot up to 1516 MHz in Heaven and ran for about 15 seconds before crashing, lol. I'll craft a custom rom with a +0.050v bump, and see if that fixes FC4. It will take some hours.

Update: no dice. I bumped min voltage from 0.85 to 0.96 and added +0.05 to everything else, and ran with -90 on the core ... FC4 still CTD after 2h20m. I think it's the driver.
Click to expand...

Actually, it is both the game and the driver.
 
xorbe said:
OHHH the million voltage entries correspond to the boost table. I edited that, but used the "maxair" rom and my Titan X shot up to 1516 MHz in Heaven and ran for about 15 seconds before crashing, lol. I'll craft a custom rom with a +0.050v bump, and see if that fixes FC4. It will take some hours.

Update: no dice. I bumped min voltage from 0.85 to 0.96 and added +0.05 to everything else, and ran with -90 on the core ... FC4 still CTD after 2h20m. I think it's the driver.
Click to expand...

I'd just move the needle on the boost voltage to your full load peak, in my case it's 1.206.
 
xorbe said:
OHHH the million voltage entries correspond to the boost table. I edited that, but used the "maxair" rom and my Titan X shot up to 1516 MHz in Heaven and ran for about 15 seconds before crashing, lol. I'll craft a custom rom with a +0.050v bump, and see if that fixes FC4. It will take some hours.

Update: no dice. I bumped min voltage from 0.85 to 0.96 and added +0.05 to everything else, and ran with -90 on the core ... FC4 still CTD after 2h20m. I think it's the driver.
Click to expand...


Your titan x TDR crashes in FC4 too?
Also many peoples in geforce forum have the same problem with TDR crashes in FC4 even on gpu stock settings. ( drivers 350.12 WHQL + ). On 344.75 WHQL is fine. I play on 344.75 WHQL without single TDR crash. But on 350.12 WHQL is randomly crashing. So its a game issue or driver issue? Not my card?
 
Kor said:
I'd just move the needle on the boost voltage to your full load peak, in my case it's 1.206.
Click to expand...

Needle on the boost voltage ... is there a specific MBT parameter you're referring to?

lit25 said:
Your titan x TDR crashes in FC4 too?
Also many peoples in geforce forum have the same problem with TDR crashes in FC4 even on gpu stock settings. ( drivers 350.12 WHQL + ). On 344.75 WHQL is fine. I play on 344.75 WHQL without single TDR crash. But on 350.12 WHQL is randomly crashing. So its a game issue or driver issue? Not my card?
Click to expand...

sde444, I think it's a driver issue, because Titan (kepler) works with FC4, and apparently also 344.75 works with FC4. Titan X cannot work with 344.75 because the that driver version doesn't support Titan X. I am stuck with a driver past the last know solid driver. All the problem reports on GF forum are Maxwell, and other people have thrown multiple cards at it with the same result. Either a very, very high % of cards are broken, or it's simply a driver bug.

I would either avoid FC4 or turn off the GameWorks features -- no soft shadow, no HBAO+, no TXAA2, no godrays (turn that crap off anyways it looks horrible), no simulated fur. Honestly high vs ultra, I did not notice any differences.
 
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I switch my memory from Corsair Vengeance 2x4gb 1333mhz to Kingston Hyperx 2x4gb 1600mhz and my TDR ( Nvlddmkm Display driver stopped responding and has recovered ) crashing in Far Cry 4 almost gone. I mean with my new memory i was get only one single TDR crash of 70 hours of play. Is this reason to worry ?Should i be worried of one TDR crash of 70 hours of being in game?

I am using Asus Strix 980 stock OC, 4790k stock,new memory Kingston Hyperx 2x4gb 1600mhz, Corsair 750 RM
 
Edit , nvm today next crash .
Guys explain me. I am in big hole now. Sometimes i can play Far Cry 4 12-24 hours without single TDR ( nvlddmkm ) crash. But in next day game can crash with TDR ( nvlddmkm ) after 10 minutes. Is this related to my card or what?
 
I think you've worn these guys out. Time to try AnandTech or TPU or GF next again.
 
Had problems with Farcry 4 with crashing and texture flickering within the game - recently did a fresh install of Windows 8.1 and Nvidia 352.86 drivers and now it runs without crashing and texture flickering - granted my trouble may have been related to going from Windows 7 to Windows 8 as an upgrade (instead of a fresh install) and having an AMD card in previously - but it may be worth your time if you've exhausted all other possibilities offered by those who've replied.
 
I think i resolved issue with TDR crashing on Asus Strix 980 . I updated to 352.86 drivers and i am using Ultra shadows, not soft shadows. No crashes of 4 days playing. Or drivers or changing shadows to ultra helped.
 
lit25 said:
I think i resolved issue with TDR crashing on Asus Strix 980 . I updated to 352.86 drivers and i am using Ultra shadows, not soft shadows. No crashes of 4 days playing. Or drivers or changing shadows to ultra helped.
Click to expand...

Told you weeks ago to ditch the GameWorks features in FC4! I have never had a crash with them off. Frustrating that they work on Kepler, but not Maxwell.
 
xorbe said:
Told you weeks ago to ditch the GameWorks features in FC4! I have never had a crash with them off. Frustrating that they work on Kepler, but not Maxwell.
Click to expand...

Yes but why it crashing driver nvlddmkm ( TDR ) with enabled gameworks features? Is this related to our cards ( voltage or something ) or with game engine\drivers?
 
Oddly enough, it ran just fine on my GTX670 at relatively high settings. Turned off Hairworks, looks like crap.

Have you tried dropping the settings and slowly tuning them up until you see what breaks?
 
lit25 said:
Yes but why it crashing driver nvlddmkm ( TDR ) with enabled gameworks features? Is this related to our cards ( voltage or something ) or with game engine\drivers?
Click to expand...

I've already answered this on another forum. Given that I tried 2 cards, others have tried 3 cards, and I tried under-clocking and reflashing gpu rom w/higher voltages -- it's either the driver, or a design flaw in Maxwell. ie, it's not going to do you any good to change cards. Just forget about it, or go back to Kepler.

Decibel said:
Oddly enough, it ran just fine on my GTX670 at relatively high settings.
Click to expand...

Yup, kepler og Titan works in FC4, but maxwell Titan X / 980 both crash. It's not the "970 vdroop issue" (aka 560 issue) in my opinion.
 
But on youtube there many movies users with Titan X playing Far Cry 4 without any crashes.
 
lit25 said:
But on youtube there many movies users with Titan X playing Far Cry 4 without any crashes.
Click to expand...

Man, stop trolling like this. Does it show them playing for 3 hours, or what their gfx options were? Then pointing this out is entirely useless. How many accounts do you have here, Litwicki?
 
Nvm crash today again with 352.86 drivers. Also i used Ultra shadows. That doesnt matter. IT crashed today. I am thinking that my card is just unstable.
 
lit25 said:
Nvm crash today again with 352.86 drivers. Also i used Ultra shadows. That doesnt matter. IT crashed today. I am thinking that my card is just unstable.
Click to expand...

Shangri-La crashed for me twice too now, even with GameWorks off, no OC, and card hard-flashed with voltage bump. It's just FC4. It has an abnormal amount of online crashing complaints.

Forget about FC4. Try a different game. No crashes in GTA V so far here.
 
I have a question. I have on background running GPUZ and Fraps during playing far Cry 4. Or that doesnt matter with TDR crashes?
 
Oddly enough I had similar issues with my 970 in several games. I think it's related to the boost mode of these chips. I generally get much less crashing if I enable the K-Boost feature in EVGA's Precision X software. It makes the card run at full speed constantly. IIRC you can do a similar thing in Afterburner if you check in the options. I tend to use Precision X to enable it rather than Afterburner because unlike afterburner, I can turn off kboost without a reboot in Precision X. Otherwise Afterburner is the better program. Also remember that when using all the features of the game, you're overclocks are more susceptible to instability. In most games I can OC my 970 to 1516, but not in Witcher 3, that one had to have it's own profile that is at 1506.
 
I dont had any single TDR crash in Witcher 3. And i played 3-4 days.I have Asus Strix 980 stock, oc by factory only. But i have randomly TDR crashes only in Far Cry 4.
 
GTX 980 here; I stopped playing for quite a while due to crashing in Shangri-La.

This game is a bit of a joke. Nowhere near as good as FC3. The crashing in Shagri-La caused me to put the game on indefinite hiatus. Now after seeing this thread I might as well uninstall.
 
Dude, with the latest driver, I can't even turn on godrays or fur, fc4 hangs at the menu, after apply then esc.
Edit: okay, I guess FC4 + DSR don't get along. Turning off DSR fixed the menu crashing.
 
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I deleted GamerProfile.xml and i dont had any crash after many hours ( 2 days ). Luck or it helped? But i am thinking that is luck. I bet that will crash later.
 
lit25 said:
I deleted GamerProfile.xml and i dont had any crash after many hours ( 2 days ). Luck or it helped? But i am thinking that is luck. I bet that will crash later.
Click to expand...

Others tried that already, it's not a fix ... I turned DSR off entirely (disabled in cp) and also no crash for 2 hours, but you know how it is, it'll hide for several days and then crash after 5 minutes one day.
 
xorbe said:
Others tried that already, it's not a fix ... I turned DSR off entirely (disabled in cp) and also no crash for 2 hours, but you know how it is, it'll hide for several days and then crash after 5 minutes one day.
Click to expand...

You said"it'll hide for several days and then crash after 5 minutes one day". So its issue with card or driver\game?
 
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