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NVIDIA nvlddmkm Error — GPU Driver Crash and Display Recovery

Criticaldriver

Overview

Fix NVIDIA nvlddmkm.sys GPU driver crash causing display freezes, black screens, and TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) events on Windows.

Key Details

  • nvlddmkm.sys is the NVIDIA Windows kernel-mode driver — crashes in this driver cause display failures
  • TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) resets the GPU when the driver stops responding within 2 seconds
  • Symptoms include screen freezing, going black, then recovering with 'Display driver stopped responding and has recovered'
  • In severe cases, the system blue-screens with VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (nvlddmkm.sys)
  • Overheating, overclocking, power supply issues, and driver bugs are common causes

Common Causes

  • GPU overheating due to blocked fans, dried thermal paste, or poor case airflow
  • Unstable GPU overclock pushing core clock or memory beyond stable limits
  • Power supply not delivering enough wattage or stable power to the GPU
  • NVIDIA driver version with known bugs for your specific GPU model

Steps

  1. 1Use DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in Safe Mode to completely remove current NVIDIA drivers
  2. 2Install a known-stable NVIDIA driver version — check forums for your GPU model's recommended version
  3. 3Monitor GPU temperature with HWMonitor or GPU-Z: should stay below 85°C under load
  4. 4Remove any GPU overclock using MSI Afterburner — reset to default clocks
  5. 5Increase TDR timeout: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\TdrDelay (DWORD, set to 8)

Tags

nvidianvlddmkmgpu-crashtdrdisplay-driver

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Frequently Asked Questions

TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) is a Windows mechanism that detects when the GPU driver stops responding for more than 2 seconds. It resets the driver to recover the display instead of crashing the system.