More information about nvlddmkm stopped responding and has recovered error.

A little information about this error. The main culprit for me was the Fusion HDTV 5 TV tuner which had a “Power Up” cable that I plugged into the motherboard. After installing that TV tuner, I’ve started receiving errors while watching movies, but never during games. Once I pulled the “Power Up” cable out, everything was back to normal. Most people get the error while playing WoW (World of Warcraft) or other heavy graphical games. It’s obviously something different that’s causing the problem. My point I’m trying to make is that the nvlddmkm error isn’t a specific error or unique error. Instead it is a generic error message that applies to most display problems. It’s basically saying that something caused your video card to crash… whether it’s ram issues, overheating issues, or simply a bad video card…There isn’t a single permanent fix, just many fixes for many different causes. Also, it isn’t just a nVidia problem, ATI receives the same error in the form “atikmdag stopped responding and has recovered.” Some people have reported that switching over to ATI seemed to have worked for them. From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t matter if you have ATI or nVidia. It worked for them mainly because they had a bad video card and got a new one. Suggestion: get your video card RMA'ed
Also, you might be asking: When I install XP, everything is fine, but in Vista, I get this error. This is a sign that the problem most likely doesn’t lie in the hardware, but the software. Your first step is to increase the timeout in the registry for the error and then disable nVidia’s PowerMizer setting in control panel (read my solutions below for more information).
Hopefully that explains a lot.

Method 12: Disable Dreamscene

I’ve thought I posted this already, but I haven’t. Anyways people have reported that disabling Dreamscene (playing video in the background) will fix the problem. Disabling Dreamscene: Go to appearance and personalization in Control Panel, select Personalization select Desktop Background, select any thing other than Windows Dreamscene Content. Select a background and click Ok.

Method 11: Disabling Powermizer

Thanks to skym0903 for this tip. Disabling nVidia’s Powermizer feature may help move this error. He says that whenever he gets this error, he notices that the core clock changes. The reason for this is that the Powermizer feature down clocks your video card to save energy. Perhaps changing clocks in the middle of the game might be causing the nvlddmkm error so disabling the Powermizer feature will remove the problem. To turn this off in Windows Vista follow this link.

Method 10: Remove unnecessary power from motherboard.

In my previous solution (method 9) I’ve suggested to remove PCI cards (mainly TV Tuner cards). The problm was not the pci card itself but the external power it needed. There was a connector that I plugged in from my PCI card to the motherboard. When I removed the PCI cards, the power connector was removed. Now I’ve re-added the TV tuner cards without plugging the external power and everything is fine. Check your power plugs and remove any unwanted power!

Method 9: Remove PCI cards

I’ve been trying things with my computer since this error won’t go away. I have a FusionHDTV 5 PCI HDTV tuner and a Pinnacle PCI HDTV tuner. I’ve removed both and the error has stopped so far. So try removing all of your PCI cards and see if the error stops. Then add the PCI cards one by one back. If the error comes back, then you’ll know which PCI card is bad. For me, the FusionHDTV 5 was the bad card.

Method 8: Uninstall KB952287

Thanks Cartire for this one. control panel -> Programs and Features -> Uninstall KB952287. Post your experience in a comment below!

Method 7: Hotfixes

There’s a couple of hotfixes available. Give it shot and post your findings.

Method 6: Use default windows drivers for the video card.

Basically goto your “Programs and Features” and uninstall the nvidia driver. Then on next reboot, Windows should automatically install the windows default nvidia drivers for your card. Or if you freshly formatted, just don't update your drivers.

Method 5: FOR nForce users only: Rollback driver changes of the network controller

1. Start -> Windows Update -> View Update History
2. Check to see if there is “Update for NVIDIA nforce networking controller” listed. If so, proceed with the following steps. If not, this solution does not apply to you.
3. Goto device manager (Control Panel -> Device Manager)
4. Goto your nForce networking controller (network adapter)
5. Right click properties -> driver tab -> roll back driver to an earlier version.
6. Reboot twice. Important since it will install a new driver next reboot and needs another reboot.
   

Method 4: Random fixes

1. Try a different set of ram in your computer.
2. Down clock your video clock speeds and/or ram speeds.
3. Run memory tests overnight (search for memtest). I’ve found Prime95 to be quick in finding any bad memory sticks you may have.
4. Install better cooling solutions to your video card/case.
5. Turn off Aero theme (control panel -> Personalize -> Theme -> Windows Classic
6. Administrative tools > Task Scheduler > Scroll down till you see TMM. Double click ‘TMM’. Right click it and select disable.
7. Use compatibility in your applications. Right click a shortcut to whatever game you are running -> properties -> compatibility mode -> set it for Windows XP. Then run the game.

Method 3: Update windows.

Now if you aren’t running Windows Vista SP1 and refuse to install it, run this patch. Several users have reported that this patch fixes the issue. This patch is already included the SP1 update however.

Method 2: Setting the time delay before display driver recovery.

This method is a bit more risky since it involves editing your registry so be warned!
1. Goto registry editor (start -> run -> regedit)
2. Navigate yourself to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers (make sure GraphicsDrivers is highlighted).
3. Right click -> New -> DWORD (32-bit) value -> Name it: TdrDelay -> double click it -> Set it to A (hexadecimal) or 10 (decimal).

UPDATE: Try turning off the timeout detection:

1. Regedit.
2. Navigate to: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers
3. Add the following DWORD: TdrLevel and set the value to 0.
4. Reboot.

See this Microsoft support page for more information.

Method 1: Update your nvlddmkm.sys.

Navigate to your C:\Windows\System32\drivers (assuming Windows is installed in C: with default path). Look for nvlddmkm.sys and hover your mouse over it. If this driver version number is different from the latest driver version (check www.nvidia.com), it needs to replaced. To do this:

1. Download the latest driver version (from www.nvidia.com) and extract the contents of the .exe file (this should happen when you double click on the .exe, if not, use 7zip to extract it).
2. Goto C:\Windows\System32\drivers, rename your current nvlddmkm.sys file to nvlddmkm.sys.old.
3. Look for nvlddmkm.sy_ in the folder where you extracted the latest drivers.
4. Copy nvlddmkm.sy_ to C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder.
5. Open command prompt in Administrator mode (start menu->programs->accessories->right click command prompt->Run as Administrator) if you have UAC enabled. If UAC is disabled just run command prompt.
6. Navigate to your C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder. (example cd C:\Windows\System32\drivers)
7. Type expand nvlddmkm.sy_ nvlddmkm.sys
8. Reboot computer.