CTD: nvlddmkm

User Support Hub Crashes (CTDs)
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Dear community,

my flightsim has rather big issues! On basically every flight it CTDs with the nvlddmkm error message, according to the event viewer.
It cannot recall this happening before this week more than once (when rolling back to an older driver fixed the issue), and “usually” happens when panning around the view, after a short screen freeze.
CTDs happened on both the previously installed graphics driver and the most current one (516.94).
System info: GT1650, i5-9300H, 16 GB RAM, installed on HDD, Windows 11.
What can I do to fix this?
Thank you!

Best,
Underbird

PS:
I have just done the tdrdelay thing mentioned in two other threats and will report back. However, to my understanding this does not fix the issue, but the symptom.

PPS:
With tdrdelay set to 4 no CTDs happened during my most recent 90 min flight. I shall try the fixes provides by you tomorrow - thank you!

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It’s a driver crash. Had this in the past with the 3080.

Flash the card BIOS, reinstall the driver. It helped me.

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I will - thank you!

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Remove the driver, completely, restart, download an older Nvidia Driver (I’m using Junes one) Perform a clean install and uncheck GeForce Experience, Audio Driver and Physx. Restart.
Nvidia software is horrific.
I’ve found the studio driver to be more reliable.

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Thank you!

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This might be obvious, but remove any GPU overclock you may have. This type of CTD is a driver-level CTD caused by the GPU. An unstable overclock can be the culprit, even if that overclock works fine with other games.

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Thank you!
As a matter of fact, that’s the answer I feared, given I have not overclocked my CPU, and this is a laptop.
My GPU dying a slow death may be the answer, albeit the most expensive one…

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That could be one explanation, but usually a GPU on its way out will start artifacting - thise random blocky pixels appearing, even while on desktop.

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That’s a good point, I saw no such behaviour so far. Fingers crossed…

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you can lower the load on gpu in general with setting a max fps in nvidia control panel… in special laptops are not made to fly hours and hours and so the gpu runs the whole time in full load ( specialy for non gaming-laptops which have often better cooling system ).

Of course, driver stuff is also possible… its allways hard to find.

And… do we speak about Stable or Beta ?

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Thank you, that’s something else I will have to try. Although I didn’t experience this issues in the two years before yesterday.
Stable version.

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you can also check for some kind of updates on your system. The stable version of msfs was not changed in last days.

Also: I have seen in my life many laptops which looks like a “thing of dust , surrounded with some electronic components” :rofl: … if heat is an issue, you can check whether the air can free flow, vents are clean.

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Thanks, I clean my laptop in regular intervals for that very reason, and keep my system updated (I’ll check for recent changes).

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Scanning through the NVIDIA support forum, this error has been happening for years with various Windows versions and NVIDIA drivers. Windows says it it a problem with NVIDIA and NVIDIA says it is a problem with Windows. And the finger-pointing continues.

Basically nvlddmkm is a timer in Windows that checks the GPU and driver for timely responses. If the timer expires, then Windows assumes either the GPU or the driver has failed and then attempts to reset driver killing all graphics programs like MSFS in the process.

The timer parameters are in th e Registry for vendors to test new hardware. They aren’t there to “fix” the problem. Ignoring Windows advice, I tried changing the time to see what happens. Setting it lower causes crashes all the time even for non-MSFS programs because the GPU doesn’t respond fast enough. Setting the time higher, waiting longer for a response, doesn’t work. MSFS just pauses waiting for the GPU and eventually some ugly graphics were displayed followed by a BSOD. This timer is best left alone!

There may be earlier drivers that are “more stable”. The NVIDIA forum should have postings from users that have found drivers that work. I’m waiting for a Windows update or NVIDIA driver that will fix this and also I am considering AMD for my next GPU upgrade just in case this never gets fixed.

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If you overclock and then turn on HAGs you have a problem, vice versa slightly better and either one or the other even better than that. If you then still struggle turn both off.

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Thank you. It seems I have gotten rather lucky in the past then. Interestingly enough, with a higher time parameter I don’t get any pauses in MSFS, it runs just fine.

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Thank you, although my GPU is not overclocked I’ll try MSFS with HAG turned off.

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That’s what everyone says when often it clearly reads (OC) on the box :wink:

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I’ll check for any “hidden” options.

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UPDATE:
A complete clean reinstall of my video drivers (without any attached NVidia software) seemed to have solved the problem. However, I already experienced one CTD with the same error code yesterday after landing and when panning my view.

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