What VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE means

Windows can reset a graphics driver that stops responding, a feature called timeout detection and recovery. This stop means the reset did not succeed. The screen usually freezes or flickers first. A driver bug, heat, an unstable overclock, power delivery or a failing GPU can each be behind it.

Common causes

  • A graphics driver bug or a corrupted installation
  • GPU overheating, dust or a failing fan
  • An unstable GPU overclock or undervolt, or a power supply that struggles under GPU load
  • A failing GPU or a poor PCIe or power-cable connection

How to fix VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE

Work through these in order and test after each one. Stopping as soon as the crashes stop tells you which change mattered.

  1. Reinstall the graphics driver cleanly. Download the latest driver for your exact GPU from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel (or the laptop maker for notebooks), then install it using the vendor's clean-install option. If the newest driver is the one that started the crashes, install the previous release instead.
  2. Return the PC to stock settings. Reset the BIOS to defaults, then leave XMP or EXPO, CPU or GPU overclocks and undervolts (including per-core offsets such as Curve Optimizer) switched off while you test. If the crashes stop, re-enable one setting at a time to find the unstable one.
  3. Watch temperatures under load. Use a monitoring tool to log CPU, GPU and drive temperatures while you reproduce the problem. Sustained high readings, loud fans or thermal throttling point to dust, failed fans or poor airflow rather than a software fault.
  4. Check GPU power connections. With the PC off and unplugged, reseat the PCIe power cables on both the GPU and the power supply, and use one cable per connector rather than a daisy-chained pigtail where possible.
  5. Note when it happens. Crashes only in demanding games point toward heat or power. Crashes while idle or watching video point more toward the driver or the GPU hardware.
When to stop and protect your data

If clean drivers, stock settings, good temperatures and secure power cables do not help, test the GPU in another PC or borrow a known-good card to separate a failing GPU from the rest of the system.

Not sure this is your code?

The stop code appears as text on the blue screen. If the PC restarted before you could read it, open Event Viewer, then Windows Logs, then System, and look for a BugCheck event with ID 1001. You can also search all stop codes.

Related guides

Other graphics and display errors