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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

58 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2013-03-17T09:51:00+00:00

    So, as quick as this problem arrived on my machine, it has gone as quick. First, IE explorer started getting more stable, down to 2-3 crashes a day, and then Chrome. which was crashing every 20 minutes became more stable. All that has happened , was that both of these were updated , some standard MS Security patches were applied by Windows Update, and I re-installed Java from Oracle using the latest release., and I ticked the IE option to use Software rendering instead of GPU rendering, but this had nothing to do with Chrome becoming more stable.

    My machine has been stable for 5 days. All I can say is, update your Java and Browsers, and ensure all Windows patches are up to date. Hope this works for you.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2013-03-17T04:15:35+00:00

    i keep having this problem none of the suggested solutions work, tried many different drivers and my pciexpress power saving setting is set to off.

    this is annoying, is it a bad card? i had this for a year and it's only been happening since last week. if so I should RMA it. i installed an app called speedfan and it detects my GPU temp to be at the 45-55 Celsius range. which i think is normal.

    this problem happens most often when im on IE and Google Chrome. weirdly it doens't crash when im playing a game like Tomb Raider on high setting with 1920x1080

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2013-03-12T19:35:23+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.

    I fixed my problem by going to

    Control Panel/Power Options/

    Choose when to turn off the display

    Change advanced power settings

    PCI EXPRESS : set it to OFF, probably was on MAXIMUM power saving... such a fail from Windows

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2013-03-11T16:41:00+00:00

    Ive found the solution!

    Turns out to be a rootkit called iehighutil.exe

    Delete the folder c:\temporary and you'll need to edit the reg

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

    And delete it from there!

    I do not have this on my machine, My machine is clean.

    That registry key does not have an entry for that malware.

    That .exe is no where to be found on my system.

    I still have the problem.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments