New here and seeking for help: problems with graphic card

[Shuyin03]

Hi everyone. My name is Rick. I just found this forum and I noticed there are a lot of nice people willing to help others. Kudos for that.

To start talking about my problem, there are two things that you should know about me:

1) I know close to nothing about PCs and Hardware etc.
2) If you are willing to help me, please avoid acronyms as I've no idea what they mean.

My issue is the following:

Every once in a while, while playing, my graphic card stops working for a couple of seconds. When this happens, my screen turns black and when it returns to normality, I have to close and open again the game because it turns white. On my pc, this is the message I get when this happens:

"The driver video NVIDIA Kernel Mode Driver, Version 311.06, has stopped answering and it has been correctly restored".

Few notes:

h) I've updated the drivers regurarly to the latest version avaible everytime and this STILL happens at the version 320.49
i) My graphic card is a GeForce GTS 450 on this computer
l) It does not happen in every games
m) It DOES happen (althou less frequently) even when not playing and just browsing google chrome
n) I've already trying searching with google. Haven't had any luck or/and if there is something they tried, I couldn't do it because it wasn't explained how to do it.
o) Sometimes it does not turn back to the normality and I have just to reset my pc.

Now, I've no idea what these infos are or if they are helpful but I'll list them here:

ACPI x64 based PC
Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU G860 @3.00GHZ
RAM 4.00 GB
64-bit

If you need to know more, please tell me where to get the info you need and I'll list here. If I need a tool to get you more infos, I'll download it and copy-paste everything you need. I'm really desperate, help me please.

EDIT: I've download also GPU-Z so if you need something from that, let me know.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

you said you updated the drivers. When you did this, did you uninstall the previous drivers, or just install the new ones over top of the old ones?

 

[Shuyin03]

you said you updated the drivers. When you did this, did you uninstall the previous drivers, or just install the new ones over top of the old ones?

Unistalled.

 

[FX-GMC]

Unistalled.

You are having TDR errors.

Here is a post from the Geforce forums that you should read through: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/389688/geforce-drivers/nvidia-statement-on-tdr-errors-display-driver-nvlddmkm-stopped-/

 

[Law-II]

Hi

Welcome to TPU

Use an older driver that was stable while testing

Test with a spare cable from the graphic card and connect to the monitor
Test with a spare monitor and or borrow one from a friend

nb: Maybe video memory failing
Test with spare graphic card and or borrow one

atb (all the best)

Law-II

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

Step one is to fill out your system specifications under your profile. That's the minimum amount of information we generally ask for if somebody has a problem. It is a necessity given how many different hardware combinations are out there.

What your system is telling you is that the graphics driver is faulting, and killing your video signal. Because the fault is generally only minor, the automated recovery function of the drivers is kicking in, and restarting them.

If this were just gaming, I'd say that you've got some overheating issues and were pushing your graphics card too hard. Given that it is not limited to graphics intensive programs, you're likely experiencing some conflicts with older and newer components of various drivers.

The first thing you need to do is start from scratch, and isolate if it is drivers.
1) Download the latest driver package from Nvidea (http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2256/nvidia-forceware-320-49-vista-w7-64-bit/ if you're running windows 7 64 bit).
2) Go to the device manager (right click on My Computer and choose manage, or type device manager into the windows search bar). Choose Display Adapters, right click on the appropriate graphics card, and disable.
3) If this requires a restart do so.
4) Now go into the programs menu, and uninstall the Nvidea components.
5) Restart as necessary. Note that this will make your resolution go wonky, but that's a sign that the drivers have been properly removed.
6) Use the driver package you got in step 1, and reinstall. This should clear out all old components and leave only a clean install.

Run the games, and confirm whether this fixed the problem or not. If you're still getting the error the next step is to check the connections inside the computer. Shut everything down, unplug the computer from the outlet, and wait 2-3 minutes. Now crack open the case, and get ready for some cleaning. The three things you need to check are extra power cabling, the PCI-e slot interface, and the cleanliness of the cooling device. Let's look at each of these separately.
1) Recent cards require more power than the PCI-e bus can provide. Look to see if the graphics card has any large wires running to it, and confirm that they are well seated. If they aren't, seat them and reboot the system, testing if this solved the issue. If it didn't move on to cleanliness.
2) Invest in a soft rubber eraser. This is an odd thing to say, but the connection between the motherboard and the card (a PCI-e slot) sometimes starts to oxidize. The copper rust will impede signals, and cause occasional crashes. Making sure the power is off, disconnect the stuff holding you graphics card in place. This is usually a couple of screws to the case, and the slot will have some sort of locking device. Gently pull on the card, until it frees and you can hold it. Run the eraser along the copper tabs that used to be in the motherboard, making sure the gunk doesn't go back into the computer. Once this is cleaned up, move on to step 3.
3) With a freed graphics card you can inspect the cooling. Fans tend to build up dust over time. Get some compressed air, pin the fan in place so it doesn't spin, and blast that sucker. Once everything is clean, put everything back together, making sure it is installed exactly like it looked before step 2. Test again, and make sure whether this did or didn't solve the problem.

Assuming the issue isn't drivers or cleanliness, the only remaining issue is hardware. The most likely culprits are a power supply (PSU) or faulty Graphics Card (GPU). If the warranty is still valid on the GPU, I would RMA it (Return Material Authorization, return it to the manufacturer for testing and replacement if necessary). If you don't know, the cheapest solution is a new PSU, then a replacement GPU. You have to play this one by ear, unless you've got another PC to test the GPU in.


If you've got additional questions shoot me a PM. I'd be happy to help wherever I can.

 

[Shuyin03]

Thanks very much lilhasselhoffer. I'll start doing what you suggested step by step.

One question thou: you suggested me to Download the latest driver package from Nvidea. However, the link you posted is for the newly released GeForce GTX 760? Am I supposed to download the drivers for that card?

Sorry for my questions. As I said, I'm not an expert at all.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

I don't know which OS you've got, so I recommended the latest package. It'll contain enough drivers to get you up and running. The Nvidea website is where you might want to get the specific ones you need: http://www.geforce.com/drivers

 

[Shuyin03]

I don't know which OS you've got, so I recommended the latest package. It'll contain enough drivers to get you up and running. The Nvidea website is where you might want to get the specific ones you need: http://www.geforce.com/drivers

I guess OS is Operating System? In that case, I'm using Windows Vista 64-bit and the GPU is a GeForce GTS 450.

Small note: I tried to put my System Specs in my Profile but I've no idea where to get the exact infos of my specs.

EDIT: Just searched in the site. The one you gave me is exactly the same if I search under the GeForce GTS 450 category. So, I'll start my reinstall today.

EDIT2: Just finished my first step. Thou, instead of installing the most recent drivers (320.49), I've installed some older ones (310.xx). This because I remembered that when I first got this GPU (with the 310 drivers), I wasn't suffering of this problem.

EDIT3: Where can I see my PSU and Cooling specs? Can't find them anywhere.


I will let you know if with these drivers, I'll still encounter this problem.

 

[Law-II]

Hi

Where can I see my PSU

Will be on one of the sides of the PSU (Power Supply Unit) [may need to power down the PC (Personal Computer) and unplug it from the wall wait a couple of minutes remove the computer cover/side panels to see this information]
Example:

Cooling specs

This refers to the cooling for the CPU (Central Processing Unit) this may just be a generic heat sink and fan that came with the CPU
Example:


Note: Is there a manufacturers name and model number on the computer [this will assist other member of TPU]

atb

Law-II

 

[Frogger]

I would suggest that you run GPU-z on the "sensors" tab 'Check' the "log to file" box

note the location of the log file so you can recover it later to read & post. Then try to repeat the
"The driver video has stopped answering and it has been correctly restored".
error several times. Having done that take a look @ the log file & see if the card is overheating to the point of shutdown causing the error. Most likely 60/65c .

 

[Shuyin03]

I would suggest that you run GPU-z on the "sensors" tab 'Check' the "log to file" box

note the location of the log file so you can recover it later to read & post. Then try to repeat the
"The driver video has stopped answering and it has been correctly restored".
error several times. Having done that take a look @ the log file & see if the card is overheating to the point of shutdown causing the error. Most likely 60/65c .

I will try that. So far, today it hasn't happened at all.

 

[Shuyin03]

Just happened again. I will try to clean the PC.

Btw, I've read somewhere that it might be a voltage problem. Just putting it there in case someone might think of something else.

EDIT: This one happened when the PC was on, I was away for like 1h and when I came back it gave me the error. It wasn't doing anything, I had just one page of Chrome opened.

EDIT2: Added everything I could find to my Specs. Can't open the PC so can't tell the PSU.