VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE: 7 Causes of This Blue Screen and How to Fix Them

In this guide (9 sections)

• What exactly happens?
• 1. The graphics driver is damaged or has a bug
• 2. The graphics card is running faster than it can handle
• 3. The graphics card is overheating
• 4. The graphics card isn’t getting steady power
• 5. The card’s connection to the motherboard is poor
• 6. An app or browser makes the graphics driver hang
• 7. The graphics card is failing
• Real cases: what other users ran into

VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (stop code 116) means the graphics card stopped responding and Windows couldn’t bring it back. Normally, when the card hangs for more than about two seconds, Windows quietly restarts its driver: the screen flickers black and comes back. That safety net is called TDRTDR (graphics driver timeout): A Windows safety net: if the graphics card stops responding for a couple of seconds, Windows restarts its driver. More in our Windows & performance glossary →Close ✕. When the restart fails, or it keeps happening, Windows stops with this blue screen. The cause can be on the software side (the driver, a setting or an app), or the card may not be getting what it needs (power, cooling, a good connection). Only sometimes is the card itself faulty.

If you’re not sure which blue screen you have, start with our guide on how to find what caused a blue screen.

What exactly happens?

What you see	Most likely cause	Where to look
The crashes started after a graphics driver or Windows update.	The graphics driver	Cause 1
The crashes started after overclocking the card, or happen only in demanding games.	The card running too fast	Cause 2
The crashes come after a long time gaming, and the card is hot and loud.	Overheating	Cause 3
The crashes started after a new graphics card, power supply or cables.	Not enough steady power for the card	Cause 4
The card is mounted upright with an extension cable (riser), or was recently moved.	The card’s connection	Cause 5
The crashes happen while browsing or watching videos, not in games.	Hardware acceleration in an app	Cause 6
The crashes continue after every fix, or the picture shows strange colors or lines.	A failing graphics card	Cause 7

1. The graphics driver is damaged or has a bug

The most common cause. A driver update that went wrong, leftovers from an older driver, a driver installed by Windows Update, or simply a buggy new release can all make the card hang.

How to check: the blue screen or the crash dump shows the file nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA), amdkmdag.sys or atikmpag.sys (AMD), or igdkmd64.sys (Intel graphics). The crashes may have started after an update.

Fix:

1. Do a clean driver installClean driver install (DDU): Removing every trace of the graphics driver with a free tool, then installing a fresh copy. More in our Windows & performance glossary →Close ✕ with DDU. Our guide on how to find what caused a blue screen has every step.
2. If the newest driver crashes, install the previous one (NVIDIA, AMD and Intel all keep older drivers on their websites) and stay on it until the next release.
3. On laptops, try the driver from the laptop maker’s website, which is tested for that model.

2. The graphics card is running faster than it can handle

An overclock you applied, or the factory overclock many cards come with, can be slightly too much for some cards, especially as they age. The card makes an error, hangs, and the graphics driver can’t recover it.

How to check: the crashes happen in demanding games, and you overclocked the card or use a tuning app such as MSI Afterburner.

Fix:

1. Reset the tuning app to default, or uninstall it and restart.
2. If the crashes continue, lower the card’s core clock by 50–100 MHz in MSI Afterburner, or lower its power limit by 10%. If that stops the crashes, the card’s factory settings are borderline: keep the lower setting, and if the card is under warranty, consider contacting the maker.

3. The graphics card is overheating

A hot graphics card can hang. Dust, a failing fan or poor airflow in the case let the temperature climb during long sessions.

How to check: watch the graphics card’s temperature and hot spotGPU hot spot (junction temperature): The temperature of the hottest point on the graphics chip. It always reads higher than the normal "GPU temperature". More in our Graphics cards & display glossary →Close ✕ while you play. Our guide on how to monitor temps while gaming shows how, and how hot a graphics card should run explains which numbers are a problem.

Fix: clean the card and the case filters (how to clean a graphics card’s fans), check that every fan on the card spins, and make sure the case gets fresh air.

4. The graphics card isn’t getting steady power

Graphics cards draw most of their power through the cables on top of the card. A loose plug, one cable doing the job of two, or a power supply that can’t handle sudden power spikes can make the card hang under load.

How to check: the crashes come in demanding scenes, the PC was recently built or upgraded, or the PC sometimes switches off completely instead.

Fix:

• With the PC off and unplugged, push each power plug on the card in fully, until the clip locks.
• Use one separate cable from the power supply for each socket on the card, rather than one cable with two plugs.
• On 16-pin plugs (12VHPWR or 12V-2x6), push the plug in all the way and avoid sharp bends near it.

Our guide on a PC that turns off while gaming has a diagram of the cables, and our guide to the signs of a failing power supply shows how to test it.

5. The card’s connection to the motherboard is poor

The card talks to the rest of the PC through its slot. A card that isn’t fully seated, a sagging heavy card or an extension cable used to mount the card upright can cause brief connection errors that end in a hang.

How to check: the card was recently moved or installed, the end of the card furthest from its screws droops, or it’s connected through an extension cable.

Fix:

1. With the PC off and unplugged, take the card out and push it back in until the slot’s latch clicks. Screw it firmly to the PC case.
2. Support a heavy card with the small stand that came with it, or with one built into the case.
3. With an extension cable, set the graphics slot to Gen 3 in the BIOS (often called “PCIe Link Speed” or “Link Mode”). Many extension cables aren’t reliable at faster speeds, and the loss of performance is usually tiny.

6. An app or browser makes the graphics driver hang

Browsers, video players, chat apps and overlays use the graphics card too (“hardware acceleration”). Some combinations of app, driver and monitor setup make the driver hang even when you’re not gaming.

How to check: the crashes happen while browsing, watching videos or streaming, or with two monitors running at different refresh rates.

Fix:

1. Turn off hardware acceleration in your browser as a test. In Chrome it’s in Settings → System; in Edge, Settings → System and performance.
2. Close overlays and recording tools (Discord, Steam, the graphics driver’s own overlay) one at a time.
3. Update the graphics driver: these bugs are often fixed in later releases.

7. The graphics card is failing

If none of the above helps, the card itself may be faulty, especially if you also see strange colors, lines or flashing shapes on the screen (artifacts), or crashes even at default settings with a fresh driver.

How to check: the surest test is another graphics card. Borrow one, or use the processor’s integrated graphics if it has them (plug the monitor into the motherboard). If the crashes stop, the card is the problem.

Fix: contact the card’s maker or the shop about a warranty replacement. Mention the steps you’ve already taken; it speeds things up.

Real cases: what other users ran into

These are real threads from PC forums, summarized in our own words. Each one links to the original.

Real caseCore i9-13900KF · ASRock Z690 Taichi · Gigabyte RTX 4090 Gaming OC · Corsair 1200WSolution not confirmed by the userRandom crashes after waking from sleep that pointed to the cardRead what happened

In June 2023, a high-end PC kept going black and restarting at random, often soon after waking from sleep, while browsing or watching videos, but never while gaming. The crash dumps showed VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE in the NVIDIA driver. A Windows reset, several driver versions, removing the RGB app, a stress test, reseating the card and a BIOS update didn’t stop it. The forum’s expert concluded the RTX 4090 was most likely at fault. With an older GTX 1080 swapped in, there were no crashes in the first two days, and the person who posted was considering a warranty return.

Takeaway: a swap with another card is the clearest test. See cause 7.

Source: BleepingComputer Forums

Real caseGigabyte GTX 1050 Ti · Seasonic Focus+ 550WSolved by replacing hardwareCrashes in game menus solved by a new graphics cardRead what happened

In December 2024, an older PC started crashing with VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE when loading into combat in a game, and then every time a game reached its menu, while browsing and videos worked fine. Clean reinstalls with DDU in Safe Mode, with the newest driver and two older ones, crashed the same way, and a short processor stress test passed. Forum members leaned toward a faulty card. A week later, the person who posted reported that a new graphics card seemed to have solved it. A separate problem, where the card occasionally dropped out, continued with the new card, and they suspected their 7-year-old motherboard.

Takeaway: when several graphics driver versions crash in the same way, suspect the card. See cause 7.

Source: AnandTech Forums

Real caseRyzen 5 3600 · MSI RTX 3060 Ti Ventus 2X OC · Gigabyte G750HNot solved by the userThe browser crashes stopped, but the game crashes continuedRead what happened

In June 2022, a PC with no overclock suddenly started crashing with VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE in Red Dead Redemption 2, and also while browsing in Chrome. Updating the driver, clean driver installs and a Windows reinstall didn’t help. Turning off Chrome’s hardware acceleration stopped the crashes while browsing, but a few days later the PC was crashing even when doing nothing. Forum members pointed to the power supply, which reviews rate poorly, or a faulty card, and suggested testing with another card. The thread ends without a result.

Takeaway: hardware acceleration can explain crashes outside games, but not all of them. See cause 6.

Source: Tom's Hardware Forum

Frequently asked questions

Does VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE mean my graphics card is broken?

Not usually. The graphics driver, an overclock, the power cables or heat are more common causes. A faulty card becomes likely only when the crashes continue after all of them are ruled out, or when the picture shows artifacts.

What’s the difference between this and “display driver stopped responding and has recovered”?

It’s the same problem. The “has recovered” message means Windows managed to restart the driver; VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE means it didn’t. Frequent “recovered” messages are an early warning worth acting on.

Should I increase the TDR delay in the registry?

It’s often suggested online, but it only gives the card more time before Windows steps in; it doesn’t fix why the card hangs. It’s better to find the cause with the steps above.

Can RAM cause VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE?

Yes, occasionally. Unstable RAM, often from XMP or EXPO, can corrupt the data the driver works with. If the crashes come with other stop codes too, test the RAM (how to test it).

My laptop crashes with this error. Is anything different?

The same causes apply, but use the graphics driver from the laptop maker’s website first, keep the laptop plugged in when gaming, and make sure its vents aren’t blocked.