Game crashes and system lock ups related to nvlddmkm, with Event ID 153

Question

My system:

-CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X*;

-GPU: MSI Ventus 2X 3060 Ti OC*;

-PSU: Corsair CX750M;

-Motherboard: B450 Aorus M;

-RAM: 4x8GB 3200MHz Vengence RGB Pro's.

-SSD (Bootable Drive): WD Green SN350

*CPU and GPU are undervolted.

Here's the issue, my computer has been suffering from game crashes on Unreal and Unity games (Palworld, Cities Skylines II, Slime Rancher 2, etc.). Games have been crashing at seemingly random times, sometimes taking 1 minute and others taking a whole hour. Crash reports say "LowLevelFatalError", for Unreal, and games close by themselves or lock up, for Unity.

Also, at times, some background programs such as Discord and ICUE stop working together with the game. And, in some rare cases, the computer cannot recover and locks up completely, requiring a hard reset, displaying the error on Event Viewer: Kernel-Power, Event ID 41, Task Category (63).

I have observed that the Event Viewer displays errors related to nvlddmkm, with Event ID 153, at the same time as the game crashes, with the following description:

"The description for Event ID 153 from source nvlddmkm cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

\Device\Video3

Error occurred on GPUID: 700

The message resource is present but the message was not found in the message table"

There are some variations on "\Device\Video3", including: "Resetting TDR occurred on GPUID:700", "Reset TDR occurred on GPUID:700" and "Restarting TDR occurred on GPUID:700"

I've been having these problems for what feels like forever, and whatever I do, nothing seems to matter. I've tested everything, from RAM, CPU, GPU, SSD. Both physically and non-physically, and everything seems to be perfect.

In addition to that, I have tried many different fixes for these issues, but again, nothing gives. For example, the usage of a DDU to reset graphics drivers, reinstall the games, disabling Hyper-V, editing the registry. The only thing I haven't done is resetting Windows, which I'm avoiding since that's a big sacrifice.

What I want to know is:

-Is there any way I could fix this?

-Could this be a hardware or software issue?

-Are these issues related to only the games?

-What does GPUID:700 mean, and why is it failing?

-Would my only hope be resetting Windows?

Answer 1

Hello

Let’s break down your questions and see if we can find some solutions:

1. Is there any way I could fix this?

There are several potential fixes you can try:

Check for Overheating: Monitor your GPU and CPU temperatures to ensure they aren’t overheating. Overheating can cause crashes.

Adjust TDR Settings: Modify the TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) settings in the registry. This can sometimes help with GPU-related crashes.

Disable Overclocking: If you have overclocked your GPU or CPU, try setting them back to their default speeds.

2. Could this be a hardware or software issue?

It could be either. Given that you’ve tested your hardware and it seems fine, the issue might be software-related. However, intermittent hardware issues can be tricky to diagnose.

3. Are these issues related to only the games?

The fact that background programs like Discord and ICUE also stop working suggests a broader system issue, possibly related to your GPU or power supply.

4. What does GPUID:700 mean, and why is it failing?

The GPUID:700 error indicates an issue with your GPU, often related to illegal memory access or driver problems. This can be caused by driver corruption, compatibility issues, or hardware failure.

5. Would my only hope be resetting Windows?

Resetting Windows can be a last resort if all other solutions fail.

Additional Steps:

Check Power Supply: Ensure your power supply is adequate for your system and isn’t failing.

BIOS Update: Ensure your motherboard BIOS is up to date.

Collect user-mode dumps: More in-depth analysis of why games crash and system lockups occur.

Collecting User-Mode Dumps - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn