If you have a Windows computer that uses a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) made by NVIDIA, there might be times when you would have faced some errors. The one that is really common is one that says Display driver stopped responding. It further describes it by saying:
Display driver NVIDIA Windows Kernal Mode Driver, Version xyz stopped responding and has successfully recovered
This tells us nothing about the error cause or a permanent fix. This is so because it never fixes it permanently, as this issue is seen over and over again many times. Well, we logged in to the Event Viewer to view the log that shows the main causes of this error. The main error that arose was the Kernal Driver by NVIDIA was corrupt. Or maybe the driver is outdated or incompatible.
NVIDIA Kernal Mode Driver has stopped responding
What happens is that the Windows Visual settings driver clashes with the driver from NVIDIA and causes this error. Let us discuss how to fix this error.
1] Clean install the NVIDIA driver
First of all, download the latest version of Display Driver Uninstaller.
Then boot into Windows into Safe Mode.
Now, run Display Driver Uninstaller by double-clicking on the executable file and installing it.
After installing it, you have to open the program, and it will show a screen like this.
Then, as you see in the image, click on Clean and Restart.
Once the computer reboots, download NVIDIA drivers.
Select your Product Type, Product Series, Product, Operating System and Language that suits your hardware specifications and personal requirements.
Click on Search and it will show the latest available driver available as per the information you entered.
Now click on Agree and Download to start downloading the latest driver executable file.
After the download is done, run that executable file and select Custom click on Next.
Then select Clean Install and proceed further. This will install the latest driver onto your computer.
Now, reboot your machine.
If the error persists, try getting an older version of the driver and check if that works.
Related read: NVIDIA driver keeps crashing.
2] Adjust for best performance
First of all, press that WINKEY + R to start Run.
Now, type in sysdm.cpl inside run window and then hit OK.
Navigate to the Advanced tab and under the Performance column click on Settings.
To deselect every option, click on the Adjust for best performance radio button.
Now, you have to check the following buttons:
- Smooth edges of screen fonts
- Smooth-scroll list boxes
- Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
Click on OK to apply all the modified settings.
Reboot your PC to apply all the new settings finally.
Now, the error should have been fixed properly.
3] PhysX configuration
Open NVIDIA Control Panel by right-clicking on an empty area on the desktop. Or you can right-click on the NVIDIA logo on the system tray.
Now, expand the 3D Settings option into 3 sub-options.
Out of those sub-options, select Configure Surround, PhysX.
There, you will have to select your graphics card under under the Processor division instead of Auto-select.
Hit Apply set all your new settings.
Reboot your machine to boot your machine with all the new settings and fixes.
4] 3D Settings
Open NVIDIA Control Panel by right-clicking on an empty area on the desktop. Or you can right-click on the NVIDIA logo on the system tray.
Now, expand the 3D Settings option into 3 sub-options.
Out of those sub-options, select Manage 3D Settings.
Now, scroll to Vertical Sync under “I would like to use the following 3D Settings”.
Under Vertical Sync, select Off or Force Off. This will disable Vertical Sync.
Hit Apply set all your new settings.
Reboot your machine to boot your machine with all the new settings and fixes.
Related: Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered
5] Check Registry settings
First of all, press that WINKEY+R to start Run.
Now, type in regedit inside the Run window and then hit OK.
Click on Yes in the UAC Prompt.
Now, navigate to the following address:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers
Right-click on the Graphic Drivers and click on New > DWORD (32-bit) value.
Set TdrDelay as the name for the DWORD.
Then select Hexadecimal asa the base.
And now, set the value to 8.
This will change the response time of the NVIDIA GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) from 2 seconds to 8 seconds now.
Just click on OK to save the registry.
Now, reboot your machine to apply this fix.
I suppose that at least one fix from the above 5 will fix the NVIDIA GPU Driver issue. If you still have issues with your NVIDIA Graphics Card Driver, please make sure that you comment them down. I will try my best to fix them for you. If you have any other methods to fix this issue, please comment. Your help will be appreciated by many.
Read next: Display driver stopped responding and has recovered.
