Graphics Card / Driver failure

Question

Graphics card / driver busted?

Recently rebuilt my pc and I have started getting black screens when loading into games.

I used DUU and rolled back my graphics driver to 537.58 (nvidia) and it worked but then froze and went black but left some aspects of the screen visible. Here’s a picture of what was left of discord on my second monitor:(https://imgur.com/a/CTyq0DQ)

Is this a physical fault or a driver error?

It will reboot into windows fine although will sometimes get stuck on the bios logo.

Event viewer is not out of the ordinary.

Windows is fully up to date.

SFC found files and repaired them but this was before the attached photo so is likely unrelated.

My GPU passed OCCT hour-long test a few days ago.

There is potential that the physical connection with the motherboard is dodgy as it took some DIY work on the case to get it to sit correctly. However I don’t think any of the symptoms are indicative of the GPU not being connected as it will reboot fine and work outside of games.

Specs:

• 3060ti
• i5-10600K
• ASRock B560M Steel Legend (mobo)
• Kingston SKC3000D/2048G
• Corsair CM4X8GD3000C16K4D 2x8GB
• Windows 11 Pro

Answer 1

Sorry for the double reply but I believe I misunderstood your previous message.

Are you suggesting I switch out my NVidia driver for Microsoft Basic Display Driver?

This seems like a weird thing to do. Is there a way I can test my current drivers?

Answer 2

I will install the generic drivers for the devices you mentioned. I also rolled back my Nvidia drivers a week or so ago. Do you recommend I reinstall the newest one?

I can see how a game is a different environment to a stress test. Do you recommend a specific one that covers more test objects?

In terms of memory, I was of the understanding that you test with both stick installed and then retest each one if there is an error. My current configuration is 2x8GB in the slots A1 and B1, which I believe is the standard.

My BIOS is on default settings and no overclocking or XMP is enabled.

When I say "rebuilt" I am referring to replacing my motherboard, drive and CPU, which involved completely dismantling and rebuilding the computer from scratch. I also put a fresh install of Windows on the machine, although it is still registered under the verification key of the previous build.

Answer 3

Hi SamTurner4,

Thank you for getting back to us.

Testing of drivers should focus on the main components that may be needed for the game, such as graphics drivers (Microsoft Basic Display Adapter), processor drivers, audio drivers, and network adapter drivers.

Stress tests may not cover a wide enough range of test objects compared to game scenarios.

The resource requirements of the game may have a higher degree of randomness.

Tests of memory sticks may consider the number and choice of slots.

Tests of power behavior can prioritize checking any configuration in the BIOS that may be performance/power related, such as XMP applied to memory, or voltage of other components.

Disclaimer:  Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and  is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party  linked sites or any support related to technology.  <br><br>If you are going to modify BIOS Settings, please  back up all your personal files first to ensure you do not lose data.

In addition, by "rebuilt" you originally mentioned, did you mean a clean install of Windows?

Or is it just a re-plugging of components?

Best Regards,

Kyo.Y - MSFT | Microsoft Community Technical Support

Answer 4

Hello Kyo.Y,

Thank you for the response.

My OS build is: 22631.3527

Version: 23H2

I can test in safemode, however the results will almost certainly be the same.

In terms of drivers, I am unsure of what you would like me to do. I have probably over 100 drivers and there are multiple options for a lot of them when selecting "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer".

I could manually change all of them to this, however it would be a dice roll on the ones with multiple options and I also have installed all of the optional drivers that Windows offers you in the update menu.

Is there a better way to test my drivers? I have not had any luck with the built in driver verifier in the past.

I do not know enough to diagnose anything myself however I have ruled out a couple of things that might help us to narrow down the issue.

• I have very recently replaced my motherboard, CPU and SSD as I was having a lot of problems beforehand and so it is least likely to be a hardware failure with those components
• My graphics card will easily pass all benchmark and stress tests without a freeze or blackscreen; it only happens in games. I am unsure what conclusion there is to draw from here but this could mean that a physical fault with the graphics card could be ruled out
• I have run Windows' memory diagnostic and there were no errors. I have run Memtest in the past with no errors also and since I have had this problem or a similar one for a long time, it seems unlikely to be the memory

My only current thought is the PSU as I am unable to test it as I do not own a multimeter or similar. It is a budget component and is the most likely to fail. The only thing that I'm wondering is why it would fail only in games and not in stress tests or other applications?

Regardless, I am happy to pursue drivers as it is the only solution that doesn't involve dropping £120+ on a new component. Please let me know if you think I should manually reinstall all of my drivers with the generic Windows ones. They are all currently the ones from my motherboard's website or got installed on Windows setup.

Answer 5

Hi SamTurner4,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

The original description seems to indicate a higher likelihood of driver anomalies.

If possible, would you mind sharing more information about this issue with us?

• Which version of Windows are you running(including OS Build information)? Which version of Windows operating system am I running? - Microsoft Support
• Is the situation the same when you observe it in a relatively clean environment (for example, safe mode)? Start your PC in safe mode in Windows - Microsoft Support
• Is the situation the same if you replace the drivers for some of the components with generic drivers? Example of using a generic driver

If I misunderstand your situation, feel free to correct me and share the information.

Best Regards,

Kyo.Y - MSFT | Microsoft Community Technical Support