nvlddmkm has stopped responding and has recovered.....

[^187]

nvlddmkm has stopped responding and has recovered.....

Yes, this age old problem has raised it head for me and Im at a bit of a loose end as how to fix it. There is tons of information on the net regarding this but I cant find a definate solution, or any that make much sense to me. It seems this is a well know problem as well. :|

Im running;

Vista 32bit
Nvidea 8800 GTX
3GB Ram

Im currently running Acronis True Image and backing the system up to an External HD (6 hours remaining!) before I start messing around and trying a few things, which may well be a fresh install which for me is a last resort but may well be the best way to sort this out, although I have read that after a fresh install this error can raise its butt ugly head again.

I was just wondering if anyone can shed any light on this problem and the best way to go about getting to the bottom of it. Ive reinstalled new and old drivers, disabled Aero & UAC as recommended by various sites but to no avail so any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

C.

 

[Rezident]

Same as, I got it again last night too. Had installed the whql 185 drivers the night before, might go back to the 182s. I'm getting really sick of nvidia's "whql" drivers crashing on vista so often.

 

[ViRuS2k]

to fix this issue do what i have done and meny others aswell to fix it.

reduce your core and memory overclocks by 20mhz.

then try again.

 

[^187]

to fix this issue do what i have done and meny others aswell to fix it.

reduce your core and memory overclocks by 20mhz.

then try again.

Ya Ive read bits about that, by that do you mean reduce any overclocking thats been done (none) or reduce the default speed?

C.

 

[mmj_uk]

Is any of your computer overclocked? if a driver stops responding it isn't necessarily a problem with the graphics card or drivers, at the end of the day the NVidia drivers are software that run on the processor and in main memory so any weakness in those areas could cause the driver to crash (ie. stop responding).

 

[^187]

Nope Im not overclocked in any shape or form, which is why Id sooner not fiddle with such things due to lack of knowledge in these areas. Like I said in my original post Ive found various so called solutions to the problem, does the following text make logical sense to try out baring in mind much of it I dont fully understand whats going on? Once Ive done backing up my itunes and lightroom photos and catalog etc. I might give it a whirl.

I was having the same problem, after scouring the web I located this which worked for me.



While using Windows Vista, I came across the following error:

nvlddmkm.sys has stopped responding and has recovered or something similar

Its a software issue and not a driver issue.

Method

Note: I am just explaining it as simply as I can. U can modify the solution so it is more precise, if you wish. I just wanted to fix the problem with the minimum of trouble.

1. Turn UAC off. If you like it, then you can keep it running.
2. Uninstall any Nvidia drivers, and delete the remaining files from Program Files (the ones windows lets you delete)
3. Restart the PC into safe mode - (F8 at boot)
4. Find any remaining NVidia driver files (normally start with nv) and delete them.
5. Reboot into normal mode Vista
6. Using Explorer or open My Computer and browse C:\Windows\
7. Right-Click on System32 folder and click ‘search’
8. Enter NV*.sys
9. This will show you all the Nvidia system files in the folder. The ones we are interested in is the ‘nvlddmkm.sys’ and how many copies we have.
10. If you tried multiple install/uninstall you will a few copies of it. I had 19 copies. If you look at the location, they were all in the ‘FileRepository’ folder under different subfolder. Something like nv_as***, nv_io***, etc
11. Note down the name of the sub folders where the file is located, nv_as***
12. So we now know that we have X copies of the nvlddmkm.sys file and what folders they are located in under the FileRep folder. There might be one under the main system32 folder as well. Note it down.
13. Vista has a totally awesome function. ACLs for network geeks…Access-Control Lists or Access-Lists or whatever you want to call them
14. Browse to Accessories from the Start menu (win icon>all programs)
15. Right-Click on command and click ‘Run as Admin’
16. OK so in our Admin CMD window we type the following commands in sequence
17. takeown /f C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\*.*
18. The command above will give you ownership of all the files under the FileRep folder
19. cacls C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\*.* /G Username:F
20. Replace username with your windows account name or login name
21. Like magic we are done. Oh and if your wondering…u cant do the above via GUI. Windows will give you permission but you would still not be able to delete anything ?
22. Earlier we did the search for the nvlddmkm.sys under the system32 folder. Do that again. In the search results, select all the instances of the nvlddmkm.sys file and delete them. OK, next is a totally optional step but I did it to make 100% sure it was all gone.
23. We noted down all the nv_as**, etc folder which had the nvlddmkm.sys file in it, delete the folders and empty your RecBin
24. Fire up your ForceWare drivers for the install. Disabled your Aero Vista before hand, it does make a difference.
25. Restart, login, set your resolution and enjoy the whole error-free nvlddmkm.sys effect.
26. Few notes. Make sure u can see the file extensions and system files are not hidden (blasphemous behaviour for techGeeks).

The whole procedure might sound like a really long way to get the problem sorted out buts its not. When u actually do it u will see that in totally in takes around 10 mins tops to get the whole thing sorted out.

Piece of advice, I don’t recommend u apply the ACL commands to your whole storage systems. I usually enter it for the FileRep folder and ALL my HDDs that used for only data storage, like avi’s, etc.

Cheers.

 

[Rezident]

cheers indeed, I'll try that.