How to Fix the "Display Driver Stopped Responding and Has Recovered" Error on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP

Jun. 24, 2022 / Updated by Daphne to Windows Driver Solutions

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Display Driver Stopped Responding and Has Recovered on Desktop/Laptop/Notebook

“The graphics card driver keeps crashing and recovering when I am in game.”

Browsing the Internet or playing games but suddenly got the error massage “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered”? Many users of Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP or Windows Vista have reported the display/graphics/video problem.The error of "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" on your desktop or laptop can be easily solved. Below is the all-round information about this display driver stopped working or responding error, applied to Nvidia, AMD, Intel and other graphics cards.

 amd display driver stopped responding

What Is "Display Driver Stopped Responding and Has Recovered"

When you start up your computer or use an application, say a game, or a video application, the Windows system or application will freeze, crash or exit it to the desktop; sometimes the computer is stuck in a blue screen of death (BSOD) or a black screen of death. And then you get an error message saying "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" or "Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered" with the driver info in details.

This error occurs when Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) feature detects that the graphics card (GPU) does not respond within a period of time and reinitializes it with the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM).

Why Does My Computer Say Display Driver Stopped Responding

What's the display driver stopped responding and has recovered cause? Is it helpful to download or update the display driver? The causes can be complicated, but this issue mostly happens for one or more of the following reasons:

  • The display driver is outdated, missing, corrupted or broken.

  • Your video card is very old and there isn't a fully compatible video driver for your Windows OS.

  • There are too many programs running at the same time in the background, which causes conflicts.

  • It takes more time than permitted for GPU to display graphics to your monitor.

How to Fix "Display Driver Stopped Responding and Has Recovered" Error on Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP

There are 10 useful solutions to fix this "Display driver stopped working and has recovered" error, such as AMD display driver stopped responding and has recovered, Nvidia display driver stopped responding and has recovered, etc. Since the issue would be aroused by one or more causes, you should try the methods till this issue is successfully fixed. All the methods are apply to all Windows OS 64-bit or 32-bit, including:

  • Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.

  • Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Enterprise.

  • Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Business.

1. Close the Running Programs as Many as Possible

Too many programs, browser windows, email messages, or game apps open simultaneously can use up memory and cause performance issues. Close those programs and windows that you are not using.

You can also adjust visual effects for better performance. Click Start on your computer, and select Control Panel. Type "Performance Information and Tools" in the search box and select it. Select Adjust visual effects, Visual Effects, Adjust for best performance and OK.

 display driver stopped resonding

2. Increase the GPU Processing Time

You can increase the GPU processing time by adjusting the Timeout Detection and Recovery registry value. However, you should do it carefully, because any mistake can cause conflicts and it is better to backup registry before any changes. Here is how:

Step 1. Exit all Windows based programs.

Step 2. Go to Start and type regedit in the Search box. In the results, double-click regedit.exe.

Step 3. Browse to and then click "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers".

Step 4. Click New in the Edit menu list. From the drop-down menu, select QWORD (64-bit) value for the registry value for 64 bit Windows; for 32 bit Windows, select DWORD (32-bit) value. Then type TdrDelay as the Name and click Enter. Double-click TdrDelay, add 8 for the Value data and click OK.

 display driver has recovered

After all these are done, reboot your computer.

    3. Deal with Your Applications

    This "Display driver has stopped and recovered" issue may occur only when you are using a specific application on your computer. It may have known issues or corrupt files. In this case, you need to perform a clean installation of the application. Or you can contact the application's manufacturer for further information or for possible software patches.

    4. Update the Latest Driver for Your Graphics Hardware

    The first consideration should be graphics driver update. To reduce your time and cost, we recommend you use Driver Talent (formerly called DriveTheLife). It is a professional tool to scan your PC to identify the drivers, show you which drivers are outdated, corrupted, or missing, and then helps to update to the latest Windows drivers, including the graphics drivers.

    Check to see:How to Update Graphics Driver.

    Amendment: If your graphics hardware is new enough (or not very old), you can try to update to the latest graphics driver. This can help to fix this issue caused by the driver. However, if your graphics hardware is not new (like 2-year-old), updating to the latest driver may have corrupts and other errors (because the newest driver may bring new bugs if the driver is not well matched with the old graphics hardware). In this case, we sugguest you to download a well-matched graphics driver, not the latest one. Driver Talent will help you to get the matched graphics driver. You can click the "Repair" button. It can download and install a well-matched driver to fix the outdated, missing, corrupted and broken driver issue.

    Free download and install Driver Talent on your computer.

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    5. Make Sure Microsoft DirectX is the Latest Version

    If your computer has Microsoft DirectX, make sure it's the latest version. You can refer to Microsoft official site to download and install the latest Microsoft DirectX version: How to Install the Latest Version of DirectX.

    6. Make Sure the Motherboard's BIOS/Chipset Drivers Working Properly

    You can try Driver Talent to check if the motherboard' BIOS or the chipset drivers are working properly.

    Scan your computer to identify issues. If there are driver issues, Driver Talent will tell you to repair them.

    You can also refer to: How to Update BIOS for Windows 10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista.

    7. Set Hardware to Default Settings

    An overclocked processor (CPU), graphics card or memory can cause system instability. To fix this, try to run all hardware components at their default settings. You can refer to the motherboard’s manual for instructions on how to set hardware to default settings.

    8. Make Sure the CPU and GPU are not Overheating

    Ensure the temperature does not exceed the maximum operating temperature of the product. Make sure the heatsink/fan (HSF) is being used with the processor.

    9. Check If There is Failing Hardware

    Failing Hardware (processor, graphics card, motherboard and / or memory) can cause system instability.

    You can test the hardware in another system to determine if the issue is caused by the hardware. Alternatively, you can contact the memory or motherboard manufacturer for more comprehensive troubleshooting instructions.

    10. Reinstall the Windows Operating System

    If your Windows operating system has corrupt system or registry files, it may cause the "display driver stopped responding and has recovered" issue.

    You can try to clean the operating system's registry, or perform a clean install of the operating system.

    Remember to backup all important data before you reinstall the system, because system reinstallation will delete all data in your C disk drive.

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    Summary: Try all the tips until you fix this "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" issue in Windows 10. According to the feedbacks from users, Method 1 Driver Talent works the best. If your friends also got this issue like, share this post with them. If you have any problem, contact us via the comment section below.

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