Display driver keeps crashing on the computer and receive error message "Display driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver Version 306.97 has stopped working and recovered".

Anonymous
2012-10-29T09:27:10+00:00

Original Title: Display driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver Version 306.97 has stopped working and recovered.

Hiya,

I recently installed Windows 8 Pro, installed all my usual apps etc.

The problem I've encountered is the display driver keeps crashing. Or having time outs. The exact error message reads;

"Display driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver Version 306.97 has stopped working and recovered."

So far it randomly times out even when the computer is idle, and more frequently when I'm watching videos online. Also, viewing videos fullscreen on certain sites like YouTube is ok, but on others it's very laggy (image updates maybe once a second) and the audio is out of sync.

I can't find a way to properly uninstall the graphics driver.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2012-10-31T17:40:51+00:00

At least yours is semi working.. I have the GTS 450 ( uses the same drivers ) and mine doesn't work at all.. Stuck with the regular on-board driver atm and cant play any games... Microsoft tells me to wait a couple of weeks and to call back and Nvida says 10 ways to uninstall and re-install the same drivers. Hopefully someone with get a fix for this soon.

Hi guys,

Seems like it's not just me.

Just an update, I can't confirm it as a fix, but I haven't run into any problems (apart from a little screenlag) since installing the beta drivers. For me, the beta driver version is 310.33, R130. The only other change made to my system is updating the Adobe Flash version packaged with Google Chrome from 11.4.31X to 11.4.402 to eliminate severe problems when watching video in fullscreen.

System Info;

**Operating System:**Windows 8 Pro with Media Center 64-bit, Build 9200

CPU: AMD FX-8150 Eight physical cores

GPU: ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 TI

Primary hard disk: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB

Hope it helps

Edit: Still no crashes, 02/11/12, 4 days

Further edit;

If you still receive the error message, try the following steps;

A. Try performing a clean install of the driver.

Download the latest drivers for your graphics card. Run the downloaded file and select 'Custom Installation'. On the next screen you'll see a tick box or similar labelled 'Clean Install'.

You can do this by visiting nVidia Driver Downloads (www.nvidia.com/Drivers). Either automatically detect the correct driver or download using the form. The best way in my opinion is to use GeForce Experience, which will do everything for you with two clicks and a restart.

B. Close all other programs

It's possible that the error was caused by too many programs needing to use the resources provided by the graphics card/chip. It is also possible that a certain program caused a conflict which crashed the drivers.

You can either try closing some currently open programs one by one and see if the error persists or reboot your system with startup programs disabled and enable them one by one to find the culprit. If the error is too persistent to do the above, an easier option would be to boot into safe mode.

More information can be found below

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2665946/en-us

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-02-02T18:27:09+00:00

    Blackouts now more frequent.

    Im having this issue too, bsod appears and says VIDEO_TDR_ERROR

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-18T21:53:13+00:00

    works like a charm i was crashing while i was gaming all the time it would hang for every then come back video all choppy lol fans not working so thanks alot

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-11-26T00:29:59+00:00

    Actually i have had this problem for 2 years with Windows7, So sorry thats not the problem, you just lucked out.  my other system at home works fine with Windows 8 no problems, and My system at work with Windows 7 Pro works fine no problem. Its not the video card or drivers either, i have tried  my old 9800gt, and my new 650Ti same issue.

    here is the fix.

    I havent tried it yet but Micro$oft says its the "Time out Detection", this was added as of Windows 7.

    Ill try tonight, wish me luck.

    here is the link to the fix.

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2665946/en-us

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-11-25T21:16:53+00:00

    My solution was pretty simple ... 

    Uninstall windows 8.

    Fixed it perfectly ... windows 7 still runs like a dream on all versions of the drivers.

    No swapping out hardware or not running other apps or reinstalling drivers all day ... simply remove the cause of the problem ... Windows 8.

    Shame really ... i was kinda warming up to it.

    That said I am looking at a shiney new GeForce 780 Ti soon so might have to retry windows 8 with that.

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