Windows 8.1 error: "thread stuck in device driver"

Anonymous
2013-11-20T13:05:26+00:00

After installing the Windows 8.1 update without issue, every time I turn on my computer a screen appears that saying that there was an error when the last session ended, and that the issue pertains to "thread_stuck_in_device_driver". This has occurred every time for the last 6 days, and I have used system restore and Windows Update and the issue still remains. Has anyone found a solution to a similar problem?

Thanks, Jarred

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Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2015-08-25T16:30:23+00:00

The Dell support page offers a few things to check, but says if all else fails, replace the video card.

Maybe replacing the video card is worth it to get rid of all the headaches. 

THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER

This Blue Screen error indicates that a device driver-almost always a video card driver-is stuck waiting for something (usually a hardware operation) to happen. Most of you have probably seennv4_disp.sys associated with this Blue Screen.

  1. Ensure the video drivers are updated to the latest Dell version.
  2. The system BIOS is fully up-to-date.
  3. If both the video driver and the system BIOS are fully up-to-date, check with the manufacturer for recent driver updates.
  4. As a last resort, try exchanging the video card.

Note: Reinstalling Windows is not likely to prevent this error from reoccurring.

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN129813/EN#Error6

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-10-01T04:31:39+00:00

    A common problem i found with AMD ATI cards is that the videocard drivers that havent been updated in years cause the BSOD crashes. I was constantly getting atikmdag.sys errors as well as the thread stuck n device driver errors.  after doing some research i found a solution to at least rectify the first issue, and that is to update the atikmdag.sys driver file manually and since then i havent had a problem Windows and AMD need to get their S*** together and start updating thier hardware to be compatible with OS changes

    here is the guide to manually fix the Atikmdag.sys issue which i think might also be causing the thread stuck problem  but im not 100% sure. of the latter.. it works in both win 7,8 and 8.1 so far

    http://www.computertipsfree.com/fix-43029-atikmdag-sys-blue-screen-bsod-in-windows-7/

    hoping this helps

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-09-07T18:20:02+00:00

    Wow this thread goes back 2 years!  Had my Dell inspiron 17R 5737 for 18 months (W8.1 from the start) & initially impressed; faster than my 7 year old xp tower by some way but has had intermittent annoying problems.  I hit this stuck device driver problem for the 1st time early today. Causing incredibly slow to non existent boot-up. Since today's glitch it has slightly improved boot up but still slow enough for me to doubt if it will get there... I will try the driver path again.

    I also recently had long running infuriating video streaming problems. Completely uninstalling AMD catalyst control centre seemed to cure it. I had previously also updated the drivers (supposedly; given the various posters problems with non-up-to-date or ineffective up-dates!). Along with this, a repeat of last year's strange AMD video error message (I think something like "AMD graphics missing") that previously also took some solving. Not repeated since AMD Cat' Control gone. Having both Intel & AMD set ups conflicting with each other seems to be a ridiculous problem that Dell have not really got to grips with.  

    Glad I've put off the W10 "upgrade" as there seem to be various issues with it...

    I feel like a mechanically inept learner driver who's been sold a formula 1 car & is expected to service it himself.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-25T21:14:21+00:00

    I may have finally solved the problem on my Dell Inspiron 15R SE!

    I tried running this AMD auto detect tool and it installed a different driver and so-far-so-good: http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/auto-detect-tool

    I tried restarting 3 times and no blue screen, laptop is faster, and my software that was messed up before looks fine. 

    Hope this helps!

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-08-25T16:22:13+00:00

    Oh great. I was hoping 10 would resolve the issue. 

    I've been running my laptop on factory settings with updates turned off. In order to get the 10 app I had to wait through 2 days of updating. Now you say it's still an issue.

    Argh!

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