PC constantly hanging/display driver stopped responding then recovers

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jb223

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Aug 1, 2011
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The problem started a few days ago while playing CS:GO. I'll usually get no more than 60 seconds in to a game when the screen will go black and I'll get a sound-loop for a few seconds, then it recovers and carries on fine briefly before the same thing happens again.
I thought maybe it could be just specific to that game as I'd only just bought it, but I tried another game which has always worked fine and the same thing was happening.

I went in to Event Viewer and found this warning whenever it had happened: "Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered."

I've since fitted an older GPU (after reformatting and reinstalling everything didn't work) and the problem seems to have gone away.

Before I go ahead and drop a load of cash on a new GPU, could it still be something else that's the problem? i.e. the PSU not supplying enough power to the beefier card but is okay for the less powerful one.

The GPU seemingly at fault is a GTX 770.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. I ran MSI Afterburner while I was playing and noticed that the power usage shot from 60%-70% to 98%/99% when the freezing occurred.
 
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My PSU is an OCZ ZS Series 750W.
I know it's not the strongest power supply ever - I bought it a while ago when I was on quite a budget.

And yes, I did use the DDU to perform a clean install.

Thanks for the reply.
 
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That's not a terrible unit. Not the best out there, but one of the few made by Sirfa that's probably "ok". It got a 9 on JonnyGuru's review so that's actually quite decent, surprisingly, for an OCZ branded unit. That in itself doesn't mean it can't be the problem, especially if it has some miles on it. I'd download HWinfo, run sensors only, and take screenshots of all sensor readings, then post them here. Instructions on how to do this can be found here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2583515/basic-troubleshooting-layman.html


If the PSU readings look good, then considering your success with a different, albeit older and probably weaker GPU, along with the power usage results in Afterburner, it might well just be a failing/failed card.
 
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Your GPU temp and VRAM usage seems high for having a 0% GPU core load. PSU voltages and other sensor data looks ok, but it's not under a load either. Try taking another series of screenshots while running Furmark or Prime95 on small FFT's. I'd also go into the BIOS and record what's listed there regarding the PSU system voltages as well.
 
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Sorry for the late reply. Been busy lately.

I haven't really used my computer a great deal since I replaced the 770 with the 560Ti, but I was just in a game for a couple of minutes and got the same error as I had before with the 770.
As well as just the display error, this time I think possibly some USB ports stopped working as my internet cut out and only worked again after unplugging and plugging back in the wireless dongle along with Windows being generally unresponsive.
Could this still perhaps be a power issue? Or maybe a MoBo issue?

The errors I got in Event Viewer were again "Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered." but also this time several instances of:
"The description for Event ID 13 from source nvlddmkm cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

\Device\Video5
Graphics Exception: Shader Program Header 17 Error"

Any help would be appreciated again.
 
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So this evening I decided to put the 770 back in seeing as though the 560Ti had the same issue (albeit only once).
Fired up a game and within about a minute the screens went black and the fans on something went absolutely mental. They got ridiculously loud. I turned it off straight away so I didn't get a chance to see which fans were going so fast but something's not right.

I figured this was another symptom that might help. It's been hot here recently as well. Thinking maybe that could have something to do with it? I've put the little 560Ti back in and its fans are spinning at 4k RPM and reach temps of 97C.
I'm thinking of buying a better case as mine's seen better days and the cable management is non-existent thanks to a lack of space inside it.
I've also thought about buying another PSU just for peace of mind but I can't convince myself to spend £70 or £80 to replace something which might be fine.
 
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I indicated at the beginning of the thread to follow the clean drivers tutorial, which outlines that the latest drivers should always be used unless there is a known issue with the latest release. So don't "sheesh" me. I had to assume that those instructions were followed and therefore the latest drivers were installed. IF the most recent drivers were not installed and you're not running the 353.30 drivers, clearly you should update and then go from there.

I don't see any mention of the fact that you're running that version, but if you are, shame on you for not telling me. JK. :)
 
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On the nvidia website 353.30 is the latest version they list. I couldn't see any past that when searching for beta drivers either so I assumed they were the latest ones. I'll install .38 when I get home later.

Thanks guys.
 
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Actually, looking closer, version 353.30 IS the most recent version for your card and operating system.

http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/86504/en-us

The 353.38 is a hotfix release, so you can try it, but it's not a full version driver release, at least not as listed on the Nvidia site for current stable drivers. I think if there was a major issue for all users, they would have dropped the other release. I'd try the hotfix and see if it helps.
 
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The hotfix drivers didn't fix it. I did manage to play a bit longer before I got any errors, but that could just be chance.

Gonna try reverting to some older drivers and see if that helps.

EDIT: Tried some older drivers - 350.12. Same story.
 
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Okay. I'll do that later today.

I'm starting to think it could be heat related, though. After getting the TDRs last night I decided to try playing a game on all the lowest settings so it was running around the mid 50s temps instead of high 70s/low 80s. I managed to play for a while and I never got a TDR.
I'm not sure why it would be causing problems now though as I'm sure the card has been reaching those temperatures since I got it and it never caused any problems.
 
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My case is a mess to be honest. It's battered and broken and some of the fans aren't working. I've got the side of it off at the moment to try help. Cable management is non-existent as there's not a great deal of room. I think I'm gonna buy a new one this weekend to try and get it running a bit cooler.
 
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Are you planning to buy locally or online? I can make some good recommendations either way, depending on where you plan to buy. It's highly possible that the cooling situation isn't helping but with the side panel off, it shouldn't be the issue. Was the side panel off already when you started having these problems or did you take it off since then.
 
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