Monitor Switches Off For A Second During Gaming

I'm tempted to just change the timeout detection and recovery value to a few seconds more and see if that prevents the issue. But as another member said, it's probably a last resort. 
 
Surely thats just a 'hard fix' though and isn't actually fixing what is causing the timeouts :S 

 

Yeah effectively changing the TDR will just allow the graphics card more time to complete the requests before being considered as frozen or unable to complete the task/request, the TDRDelay seems to be timeout threshold (which is 2 seconds by default)
Even if you increased it up to 5 seconds (in 1 second increments) and the issue went you would only be hiding the fault.
 
So just to group up what has been tried/checked so far (if I've got all of them from previous posts).
Drivers checked (Latest driver and previous WHQL driver)
Temps checked - which were ok.
Different monitors/tv tried no improvement.
PSU changed (some improvement).
I would firstly suggest trying some drivers further back, as I still feel something is fishy with them, same process as before with Driver Sweeper.
 
301.xx WHQL driver - http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/win7-winvista-64bit-301.42-whql-driver-uk.html
296.xx WHQL driver - http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/win7-winvista-64bit-296.10-whql-driver-uk.html
 
Since your motherboard has 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots try placing the graphics card in the other slot as well, if neither of the drivers above or the slot change don't work, if possible could the graphics card be tried in another known working computer (another of yours or friends?).
 
Also with GPU-Z could you confirm the graphics card manufacturer, clock speeds and voltages (you might need to run <strike>Speccy </strike>  EDIT: Not Speccy, CPUID Hardware Monitor in the background while using a game to get the load voltage, should be something around/just over 1.0v under load and about 0.95v idle) - http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2181/TechPowerUp_GPU-Z_v0.6.6.html
 
And lastly what BIOS does your motherboard have?
It should be listed somewhere in the BIOS screen and according to the Gigabyte website the latest is F6 - http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4122#bios
I would try updating to the F6 BIOS if you haven't or the motherboard isn't updated to this BIOS version.

 

 
You are correct with all the things we have tried which didn't work.
 
I installed the 301.xxx driver while the GPU was inserted into my PCI-E x4 slot and I'm still getting the crashes. I really don't think it's a driver issue now given the different drivers I've tried.
 
I checked the voltages in GPU-Z and they seem fine.
 
The BIOS was the first thing I checked after your post because I hadn't checked this at all since buying the motherboard. Turns out I had version F3, so I upgraded to F6 (first time flashing BIOS - was pooping myself aha). Flashing the BIOS to F6 did not fix my problem.
 
Tomorrow I am going round a friend's house with my graphics card to test it inside his machine. I'm guessing if the same thing happens on his machine then there must be a problem with the GPU itself. If the GPU works perfectly on my friends machine, I think I will re-install Windows. 
 
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One thing I did try was insert my old graphics card in to test that (GT220). While I didn't get a crash from using this GPU, I didn't really test it for that long. 
 
Another thing I've tried was following this guide: http://www.computertipsfree.com/display-driver-stopped-responding-and-has-successfully-recovered-nvlddmkm-nvidia-atikmdag-ati-windows-7-vista-xp/
I tried some of the potential fixes (mainly the simple ones), but again, none of them worked. 
 
I am going to be quite surprised if it is a GPU hardware failure, as I used it in my old computer with no problems at all. I did read online that sometimes you can get random compatibility issues between different hardware, maybe it's just one of those...? 
 
Thanks everyone for your continued support, in particular Woodyblade. I hope I get this fixed soon... 

 

They made BIOS flashes a bit easier than in the past, I never needed to update them till the last few years (which have all been the .exe installers when I've updated the BIOS), so never had the misfortune of installing via floppy disks and the lot 
 
I'd say it's down to three issues (of which you've mentioned above) based on whats been tested, faulty graphics card, OS problem and a possibility of either the motherboard being faulty or incompatible.
 
As you are going to check your graphics card in your friends machine you should be able to rule out the graphics card being faulty (assuming it works), before re-installing Windows I'd try your other graphics card for 2-3 hours if that doesn't cause crashes at least you can rule out hardware issues and narrow it down to an OS problem or compatibility problem.
 
I can't speak for everyone but I rarely see hardware compatibility issues, they always seem few and far between in my experience especially with today's technology, so maybe an OS problem....
 
It should hopefully be ok soon, as there isn't much more to suggest as a possible fix you've tried nearly everything now

 

So I took my GPU round a friends and we played Resi5 (which crashes on my machine) for 2 hours without a crash. It usually crashes within an hour on mine. So I think we can rule out the GPU maybe? 
 
I also re-installed the OS and while I thought this solved the problem (didn't crash on anything for 3-4 hours of gaming), it has started to crash again, this time on a game called Test Drive Unlimited 2. When this game crashes, it does re-initialise so I can continue playing. But the longer I played it, the "rest time" inbetween each crash became much shorter. At one point (before I gave up), it started crashing every 10 minutes. 
 
So I think all I need to do now is test my GT220 in my machine for a few hours to see if that crashes. If it does crash then I'm guessing it's possibly the motherboard that is causing the crashes. If games don't crash on the GT220 then I have no idea what to think.
 
By the way, I don't know whether it matters but my GTX560 is made by a company called Sparkle. Probably should have posted that in the original post but I figured it wouldn't make much difference what make it is.
 
P.S - My new PSU makes static noises every now and then even though I thought they were supposed to be pretty much silent? Surely I haven't bought a faulty PSU 

 

Has doing a memory test been covered in this thread?  If not you should do one.  If memory serves this option is included in the 'Repair' section of the Windows 7 install disk.

 

Good point Jay, main things that have been covered are graphical hardware (as well as PCI slots, PSU) and OS/Software.
 
I'm not sure in computer terms how an OpenGL error can be caused by RAM as I thought OpenGL tasks were completed mainly on the GPU?
But stranger things have happened so definitely worth a try.

 

Faulty memory can affect any and all hardware.  Even with a GPU that has dedicated memory there are still aspects that use system memory.

 

 
If by memory you mean RAM, then yes I have tested this via the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. It came back with no errors. I also looked for the option on my Windows 7 installation disk to check it again but had no luck in finding it.
 
Just had a thought, would it be beneficial to do any stress testing of my hardware? I've never done any before so if it could be beneficial, then I'd be up for doing some of that. 

((Haven't tested my old GPU yet by the way))

 

Sigh, stress testing...  When I build a system I will put it under heavy load as a test but to actually do what I understand of stress testing is like a glass blower taking his work and throwing it against a wall.  You are intentionally trying to break the thing.
 
The next step that I would do is to try the old graphics card...  Actually no, it is not what I would do next.  Radeon cards have a dedicated control center called Catalyst.  I'm sure that NVidia has something along those lines.  LOL!  Can you tell that I use a lot more Radeon cards?   Anyway, I would uninstall any such control center for the video card.  If that does not help then I would try the old card.  The steps go in line as you would uninstall the current graphics card's software before trying another card anyway.

 

Sigh, stress testing...  When I build a system I will put it under heavy load as a test but to actually do what I understand of stress testing is like a glass blower taking his work and throwing it against a wall.  You are intentionally trying to break the thing.
 
The next step that I would do is to try the old graphics card...  Actually no, it is not what I would do next.  Radeon cards have a dedicated control center called Catalyst.  I'm sure that NVidia has something along those lines.  LOL!  Can you tell that I use a lot more Radeon cards?   Anyway, I would uninstall any such control center for the video card.  If that does not help then I would try the old card.  The steps go in line as you would uninstall the current graphics card's software before trying another card anyway.
 
Oops, sorry for the duplicate post.  Could a mod please remove?

 

How long was the memory diagnostic ran for?
Probably needs a minimum 2-3 hour run to be sure.
 
Just had a look on my laptops Nvidia Control Panel, unlike AMD Catalyst I don't think it's possible to remove the Control panel without removing the GPU Driver as the removable programs are Graphics Driver, Physx Driver and Nvidia Update (auto update for drivers).
So might have to skip straight to the old GPU, unless there is some sort of different between the desktop and laptop drivers (can't check, AMD card in desktop).

 

Oh, Lordy!  If NVidia Update is on the system get rid of it!!!!!  I can't say for fact with the one put out by NVidia but ALL such updaters that I have seen are extreme resource hogs and will kill a system.  In my opinion one does not want automatic driver updates anyway.  The only time to update a driver is when it addresses an issue that you experience.  Any other such update is just fixing something that isn't broken, never a great idea.

 

Didn't describe it too well, it checks for driver updates and informs you of them but doesn't install them (it directs to the Nvidia Download site), still have to go download and install.

 

 
The Windows Memory Diagnostic test is done automatically by WIndows and I have no input on how long the test runs for. It's not really a stress test which you seem to be describing, it was a check to see if they were faulty I believe.
 
 
 
 
So I figured I'd create a summary of what I've tried so far to make things a little easier to read, all of which didn't work;
 
Re-installed the operating system (Windows 64 bit)
Installed different Nvidia driver versions (three I think)
Updated my BIOS to F6 (Latest version)
Monitored the temperatures multiple times, which seem to be perfectly safe
Installed a new PSU - also checked the new voltages which are ok
Tested a second TV
Changed power managment mode to "Prefer Maximum Performance" in Nvidia Control Panel
Completed all the potential fixes on this guide: http://www.computertipsfree.com/display-driver-stopped-responding-and-has-successfully-recovered-nvlddmkm-nvidia-atikmdag-ati-windows-7-vista-xp/
 
Hardware Tests;
 
Tested my GPU inside a friends computer which didn't appear to cause any problems
Ran Windows Memory Diagnostic for the RAM (Passed)
Checked the PSU cables were all connected correctly
 
 
Next Step;
Test the GT220 inside the machine
 
The only things I think could be causing this problem now is either a compatibility issue or a piece of my hardware is faulty and only causes the crashes under high demand from gaming.
 
Just noticed something based on the guide (www.computertipsfree.com/display-driver-stopped-responding-and-has-successfully-recovered-nvlddmkm-nvidia-atikmdag-ati-windows-7-vista-xp/). This tries to fix the "nvlddxxxx" which stops responding. In my case it's the Kernel Mode Driver that stops responding. Could this be a hint to the problem, or is Kernel just another name for the entire driver?

 

Ah right I've not used the windows memory diagnostic for a while, if I've ever needed a memory test I used Memtest86 which does passes over the RAM it can be left to run for hours.
 
A kernel allows the OS to communicate with the hardware in a computer, as the Nvidia driver allows communication between the OS and graphics card it gets classed as a kernel mode driver.
 
After testing your other graphics card for a while we'll see where to suggest going from there.

 

Just had a few more ideas...
 
I have only installed the drivers for my motherboard that came on disc (therefore, I think they're not the latest drivers).
After doing a bit more research the fault (Kernel Driver) is sometimes caused by factory overclocked GPU's (which my Sparkle card IS!).
Dust can sometimes cause these crashes
Manually turning up the GPU's fan can sometimes fix the problem
 
Just thought I'd post these ideas from what I've just found when googling about the Kernel driver not responding. Would be great to get your ideas on these 
 
EDIT: Also found this which I could try;
 
 
 

 

If you go to the motherboard support link in post 22, and change the download type to drivers and set your OS you'll get the latest motherboard drivers from there.
 
As for the overclocked bit I asked about clock speeds in post 22, some manufacturers don't raise the voltage levels adequately to cover all manufacturing variations of the GPU chips (or even how well each motherboard can maintain the voltages to the hardware), each batch of chips can be unique and require different voltage increases to allow the same overclock.
Maybe your friends motherboard is able to hold a better/stable voltage for the graphics card, I won't suggest increasing the voltages (you can if you wish to keep the overclock), but I would try the stock speeds for the card (listed on Nvidia site, I would post it but I'm on my tablet) after testing your previous graphics card.
 
Getting a can of compressed air wouldn't hurt to clean a bit of dust out, but if I remember your card isn't that old didn't you get it less than a year ago? 
So I wouldn't expect all that much dust to have built up.
 
I'm not sure turning up the fans would do anything as you aren't suffering from a overheating issue, they would kick in themselves quite well when they need to dissipate any heat.
 
As for the system/OS appearance settings, again can't see it hurting to try, you'll just be getting a free trip back to the late 90's 

 

I would like to try checking the voltages and underclocking the card first back to gtx 560 default settings but I've never under or over clocked anything before.

So far I've downloaded MSI Afterburner where I can see Core Voltage, Power Limit, Core Clock and Memory Clock. 
 
I'm not sure where to find the default voltage level though, I've found this specification: http://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-560/specifications, but it doesn't tell me about core voltage (that I can see).
 
A few tips on how to do this would be great

 

Once your in MSI Afterburner select "Settings" and tick Voltage Control and Voltage Monitoring if you haven't already (also tick Start with Windows & Start Minimized), you should now be able to see the voltage, the voltage should be 1.05v (1050mV as shown in the software) for that card, if I gather right from other peoples issues yours might be set to 1.0v/1000mV?
 
Assuming this is your card? http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sparkle-gtx560-2gb-oc-edition-review/
In reality it isn't much of an overclock looking at the recommended Nvidia speeds, 810-950mhz Core vs 822mhz Core on the card and an extra 20mhz or so on the processor clock, it should be able to handle that if set with the right voltage, so I'd just leave the clock speeds and confirm the voltage is correct, as you don't need to alter the power limit either.