Serious Graphics Issues on GTX580

N

NJBlackwolf

n00b
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
38
Intro:
Okay, so I recently put together a new build, everything worked fine and it was glorious. It works great for roughly two weeks, and then all of a sudden I'm having serious graphical glitches and "Display Driver Stopped Working.....Recovered" error messages.

Problem:
I used to be able to run Skyrim and Arkham City on highest graphics settings with no problem whatsoever, and now quite often in Skyrim I get some ridiculous-looking graphical glitches. Sometimes it's transparent buildings, other times I get trippy looking shapes all over my screen, textured with whatever it is I'm looking at. What I really don't understand, is that this issue is also occurring on the desktop (driver fail, ghost images on desktop), browsing the internet, and League of Legends (splash screen renders improperly, accompanied by driver fail).

Attempted Solution(s):
Between when everything worked (Yesterday) and when it didn't work, which is now, I had changed nothing. I have tried reinstalling graphics drivers, rolling back drivers, fresh installing drivers from CD, and installing newest beta drivers. I have also tried manually setting the PhysX configuration from AutoSelect to the GeForce 580. None of these solutions have been fruitful. Some of the solutions result in games being playable for a short amount of time, but then inevitably, the same problems occur. I don't think it's a heat issue since these things are happening at near-idle functions, and I'm reasonably sure that there were no power incidents involved.

Any additional information can be provided if needed. Any and all attempts to assist are greatly appreciated.

System Specs:
i7 2600k (Stock Speeds)
GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) Superclocked Edition ("Stock" Speeds)
EVGA P67 SLI Motherboard (130-SB-E675-KR)
8GB G.Skill Ripjaws RAM
Corsair GS800 80-Plus Certified PSU
 
Sounds like the video card is going bad, as the symptoms you describe are usually associated with failing cards. Have you tried running Afterburner or Precision to see what the card temps are - just to make sure it isn't a thermal problem?
 
Forceman said:
Sounds like the video card is going bad, as the symptoms you describe are usually associated with failing cards. Have you tried running Afterburner or Precision to see what the card temps are - just to make sure it isn't a thermal problem?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I use Precision on a regular basis for just that concern. Not to mention, the room the machine's in is freezing cold.


Update:
After posting the OP last night, I shut the machine off and went to bed. This afternoon I get back in, and turn it on expecting to continue troubleshooting. None of the previous issues occurred whatsoever. I'm hesitant to call this issue "solved" since I can't be sure what exactly remedied the issue. Any thoughts?

Again, all assistance is appreciated.
 
I was seeing the same thing with a bunch of video cards that were historically reliable. I suspect the current 'ga' driver set might be a bit wonky. I'm having better luck with the beta drivers.
 
NJBlackwolf said:
Thanks for your reply. I use Precision on a regular basis for just that concern. Not to mention, the room the machine's in is freezing cold.


Update:
After posting the OP last night, I shut the machine off and went to bed. This afternoon I get back in, and turn it on expecting to continue troubleshooting. None of the previous issues occurred whatsoever. I'm hesitant to call this issue "solved" since I can't be sure what exactly remedied the issue. Any thoughts?

Again, all assistance is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Maybe when you shut it down then came back and turned it on maybe that reset a driver....
 
I've recently been dealing with the same exact issues. I thought my card was borked, but I followed this guide and for now my issues have not yet returned to plague me. Nvidia drivers can be a bitch to completely remove, but it can be done. I especially condone disabling Windows Update and disconnecting from the internet while installing: I had this fail once because it was interrupted by Windows 'helpfully' installing a driver in the background.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1150443/how-to-remove-your-nvidia-gpu-drivers#post15432476
 
NJBlackwolf said:
Intro:
Okay, so I recently put together a new build, everything worked fine and it was glorious. It works great for roughly two weeks, and then all of a sudden I'm having serious graphical glitches and "Display Driver Stopped Working.....Recovered" error messages.
Click to expand...


This is the exact same problem I had with my GTX 280 FTW. The card is going bad. RMA it. My RMAed card I got has been error free.
 
I'd contact EVGA. They sent me a new 580 last month after I started getting some pink dots all over my screen.
 
I had the same problem and had to Uninstall CCC. I only have the display drivers installed and use msi afterburner to overclock. I did come across this the other day, it is vista related, but It might work.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.
 
Hello everyone, and thank you all for your replies. I apologize for being so late in updating, but due to work and school it can be sometimes difficult to have a moment of free time when I'm not dead asleep.

With regard to my aforementioned issues, ever since my last update there have been no recurrences of the problem. There have been absolutely zero issues since my game of 'musical chairs' if you will, with the drivers. I'm not getting the textures of houses plastered/smeared across my screen in Skyrim, and there are no more driver crashes.

I have taken to shutting down my machine every night, as opposed to leaving it on / it sleeping -- this might just be me being superstitious, but ever since I turned it off for the night after the initial troubleshoot, everything's worked fine. [shrug]

I'm considering contacting EVGA and asking them what they think, but I'm afraid they might just say "YUP YA FIXED IT GOOD JOB" so that they're not taking the hit with an RMA.

Further discussion is encouraged and thoroughly appreciated.
 
has this worked for anybody with the " dislplay driver not working error " ?
 
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