Deleying the TDR timeout doesn't work

Question

Ok so I had the awful TDR problem for a while and I finally got a solution to it which was delaying the timeout in Regedit.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-gaming/tdr-fix-here-it-actually-works/520396f9-f196-4e2b-a97a-94aae2102cd0

^^^^ That was a thread I made a few months ago.

I delayed the timeout to 60 seconds because why not and then I started playing some games. This worked for about a month however now instead of immediately crashing and restarting the screen simply goes black for 60 seconds then it restarts. When the screen goes black my video cards fan stops spinning which probably means the whole card isn't functioning.

I just don't get it. When I reinstall windows I can play games for a couple of weeks no problem, then the TDR error returns. Then I delay the timeout and start playing games no problem then after a month this starts happening. What is going on here and why is there always a short period where things start working normally then start crashing.

Answer 1

We would have better continuity to the topic if you just stuck to one thread on the topic

instead of starting three threads*"I delayed the timeout to 60 seconds because why not ...* "

Because, as Zig-zag mentioned, you could cause damage.

Throwing caution to the wind is never a good idea, and a counter productive

troubleshooting method.

While MS has started recommending 8 sec ( I can't find that particular page again) , some earlier

suggestions around the either were for 10 sec, but even 5 sec should be adequate. 10 sec is a long lag.

"fan stops spinning which probably means the whole card isn't functioning"

The fan should run even with no drivers installed, and once it stops heat from the gpu will

build quickly, so you'd want to hope it has stopped functioning.

One option in this regard could be a faulty PCI-e slot, or related motherboard function.

"why is there always a short period where things start working normally then start crashing."

Assuming none of the hardware is faulting -

Do you keep installing the same software with each reinstall of Windows ?

What else may you be doing  consistently (system or gpu settings ?) that may lead to

a repeat  of the TDR issue ?

btw - Small consolation, but MS has finally changed the way TDR works, but only in Win8.

The Win7 people will have to continue suffering this flawed attempt at system protection

(assuming the Win8 TDR is not as big a problem for many gamers as it was in Vista and Win7) -

*http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/jj676805%28v=vs.85%29.aspx*

.

Answer 2

Ned

First changing the TDR timeout is a really bad idea, especially if heat is the issue.  Your change may allow heat to fry something.

"It's not a true crash, in the sense that the crash was initiated only because the combination of video driver and video hardware was being unresponsive, and not because of any synchronous processing exception".

Since Vista, the "Timeout Detection and Recovery" (TDR) components of the OS video subsystem have been capable of doing some truly impressive things to try to recover from issues which would have caused earlier OS's like XP to crash.

As a last resort, the TDR subsystem sends the video driver a "please restart yourself now!" command and waits a few seconds.If there's no response, the OS concludes that the video driver/hardware combo has truly collapsed in a heap, and it fires off that stop 0x116 BSOD.

If playing with video driver versions hasn't helped, make sure the box is not overheating. Try removing a side panel and aiming a big mains fan straight at the motherboard and GPU. Run it like that for a few hours or days - long enough to ascertain whether cooler temperatures make a difference.

If so, it might be as simple as dust buildup and subsequently inadequate cooling.

I would download cpu-z and gpu-z (both free) and keep an eye on the video temps

For more information please read this blog  http://captaindbg.com/bug-check-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting-tips/

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/ff557263%28v=vs.85%29.aspx