Fix: NVIDIA Kernel Mode Driver Crash

Certain NVIDIA graphics cards users have complained about an issue with the graphics while in excessive use. During use, the the screen blacks out for a while and comes back with a popup which says “Display driver Nvidia Windows Kernel Mode driver, has stopped responding and has successfully recovered”. This goes ahead to cause some instability in other applications.

This issue mainly stems from a faulty driver, though this hasn’t been the case for some others. Other causes of the issue has been from incompatible configurations as well as hardware issues.

We’ll first fix this issue by installing the latest (hotfix) NVIDIA drivers as a clean install, performing a registry fix, setting some configurations right in the NVIDIA control panel, and a possible hardware fix.

Method 1: Reinstall NVIDIA Drivers

A lot of users found out the issue came from the drivers and so updated to the latest one, which didn’t give any new problems. For some other users, they had to roll back to several versions back to get a working version. Follow the steps below to reinstall the drivers.

1. Remove all existing NVIDIA Graphics drivers using the Display Driver Uninstall Utility. It’s recommended to perform this action in the safe mode.
   
2. Visit the NVIDIA Driver page and search for your graphics card drivers under the Option 1: Manually find drivers. You have to provide your graphics card type, OS, and other relevant information and then click the Search After you are provided with the latest driver for your card, download it.
   
3. Go to the download location of the driver and launch the installer. While installing, select Custom Options, and select Clean Install. This will further wipe previous installations and install the latest working version.
   
4. Restart your PC and try to launch any games or video applications to confirm if the error has stopped. If it still persists, go back to the NVIDIA Driver page and download older versions and repeat the process till you find one which works.

Method 2:  Turning off Vertical Sync

Incompatible settings can cause NVIDIA to crash unexpectedly. Turning off the vertical sync option in the NVIDIA settings solved the issue for some people.

1. Open NVIDIA Control Panel by pressing the Start button, typing NVIDIA Control Panel and pressing Enter.
2. In the Control Panel, Click on Manage 3D settings under 3D Settings.
   
3. Under “I would like to use the following 3D settings, scroll down until you see “Vertical sync”.
4. Click on the Vertical sync line and choose Force Off from the drop down menu.
   
5. Try to launch any games or video applications to confirm if the error has stopped.

Method 3: Registry Fix

With this registry fix, you should be able to get this error solved.

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run prompt. Now type regedit and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. If you’re asked to grant access via a UAC prompt, accept it.
   
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > Currentcontrolset > control > graphicsdrivers.
3. Right-click on graphicsdrivers and select New > Dword (32-bit) value and set the value to 8. You can additionally reinstall the drivers by repeating the steps in method.
   
4. Close regedit and reboot your PC. After the PC reboots, try to launch any games or video applications to confirm if the error has stopped.

Method 4: Hardware Fixes

For the rest of the users, you may have to perform some under the hood fixes to enable you use the graphics card run flawlessly. You should consider the following.

1. Underclock your CPU. You can find more of this on your NVIDIA’s website and forums.
2. Make sure cables and connectors are placed well.