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How to fix the “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered” Error?

Many Windows users have experienced an error occurring on their computers when it becomes extremely slow. After this, the screen of the computer turns off and then on again. Now, these users see a message on the bottom right corner of the screen and this message reads “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered”. 

This error occurs when the feature of “Timeout Detection and Recovery” finds that the responding time of the GPU is not within the allotted time. Due to this, the computer restarts the display drivers so that the users do not have to restart the whole system. This happens mainly when you are running some applications or playing games on your computer. So, if you are facing this problem then do not worry. Here, I will be discussing the causes and the solutions to fix this problem. 

Reason for the ‘display driver stopped responding’ error to show up

There are numerous reasons for this error to show up. So, let us take a look at them one-by-one:-

  1. Multiple applications and programs running on your system. 
  2. The display driver is missing, corrupted, or outdated. 
  3. Overheating of the computer’s GPU. 
  4. The time taken by GPU is longer than the time permitted to display the graphics on to the screen. 
  5. Defective or old graphics card. 
  6. Windows OS has corrupted registry or system files.

So, now you know the primary reasons for this error message to show up. 

Solutions for the  error message “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered”

So, let us see the solutions that can help you to solve this error. These are the most efficient solutions for fixing this error. 

Solution 1. Reinstall your graphics drivers after uninstalling them

  1. First, you have to open the dialog box of Run by pressing the R and the Windows keys simultaneously.
  2. After that, in the Run box, you have to type in “devmgmt” and hit Enter. This will open the window of the Device Manager. 
  3. Then, in this window, you have to expand the option of “Display adapters”. 
  4. Now, go to the graphics drivers and right-click on them. From the pop-up menu, you have to click on the option of “Uninstall”. You have to do this process for all the graphics drivers. 
  5. After that, restart your PC and when it boots up, it will reinstall the same version of the graphics drivers automatically. However, if you see that the drivers are not being downloaded automatically, then you can go to the official website of your GPU manufacturer and download the correct driver yourself.
  6. After installing the driver, see if the ‘display driver stopped responding’ error is fixed or not.

Solution 2. Update the graphics driver of your computer

You must check if there is any latest version of your graphics driver available. If there is, you must download and install it immediately. This can stop this error from happening. To download the latest version of the driver, you have to visit the website of the manufacturer of your GPU. Then, go to the section “Support” or “Downloads”. Here, you will be able to find any new updates available. If there is an updated driver available, you have to download it and then install it. After that, check if the “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered” error is still there. 

Solution 3. Boost the GPU’s TDR timeout

This error message is displayed when the GPU of a Windows computer does not respond within a specific time of the TDR. If you are experiencing this error frequently, then it is possible that the time out for the TDR may be too less. So, in order to solve this error, you have to increase the timeout of the TDR. This has to be done by going into the registry of your computer and editing it. You have to take caution while doing this because you are editing the registry of your computer and if anything goes wrong there, your computer can become completely unusable. So, follow the given steps carefully to increase the GPU’s TDR timeout:-

  1. Open the Run box by pressing the R and the Windows keys simultaneously. 
  2. In the Run box, you have to type “regedit” and hit Enter. This will open the window of the Registry Editor. 
  3. Now, you have to go to the folder of “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”. Then, go to the folder of “SYSTEM”. After that, go to the folder of “CurrentControlSet” and then to the folder of “Control”. 
  4. Then, on the left pane of the window, you have to select the option of “GraphicsDrivers”. Its content will be displaying on the right side of the window. 
  5. You have to go to an empty space on the right pane of the window and right-click. Then, on the context menu, you have to move your cursor over the option of “New”. This will expand this option, and you have to click on “DWORD (32-bit) Value” if you are using a Windows 32-bit version. If you are using a Windows version of 64-bit, you have to click on the option of “QWORD (64-bit) Value”. 
  6. Now, for the new registry, you have to name it “TdrDelay” and hit “Enter”. 
  7. After that, go to the registry value of “TdrDelay” and double click on it and then modify it. You have to go to the field of “Value data” and type 8 here and then press the button of “OK”. 
  8. Then, close the window of the “Registry Editor” and reboot your computer. 

After your computer boots up, check if the error message of “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered” is fixed or not. 

Solution 4. Reduce the stress on your GPU

If you are running too many programs and applications that the GPU cannot handle, it will then reboot the graphics drivers and show the error message. So, to solve this problem, you can just close the application and software that are running but you are not using it. This will allow the GPU to work freely and the error of the ‘display driver stopped responding’ may not show up anymore.    

Solution 5. Improve the performance by adjusting the visual effects settings

You can improve the performance of your computer by customizing the visual effects of your computer. By disabling some of the visual effects can also boost the performance of your system. Follow the steps below to customize the visual effects of your computer.

  1. Open the search box of Cortana and type “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows”. From the search results, you have to select “Performance options”. 
  2. Then, go to the section of “Visual Effect” and select the option of “Adjust for best performance” and press the button of “OK”. 
  3. Now, close this window. 

Conclusion

All of the above methods are simple and effective. You will be able to solve this error by using any one of these solutions. So, solve this annoying problem and start using your computer without any obstacles.

Tech - by Nickolas Johanson