VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (0x116): Fix the Graphics Driver Crash

What the 2-second timer does before the crash

Windows has a watchdog for the graphics card called Timeout Detection and Recovery, or TDR. The GPU scheduler inside Dxgkrnl.sys asks the card to give up a task it is working on. If the card cannot finish or hand back that task within 2 seconds, Windows decides the GPU is frozen.

Most of the time that is harmless. Windows resets the driver, the screen flickers, and a message says "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered." The blue screen appears only when the recovery itself fails.

Microsoft's bug check page gives two ways to reach 0x116. In the first, threads inside the driver do not leave it within the timeout while Windows is resetting the card. In the second, the card hangs again and again in a short time.

Five hangs in a minute is the line Windows draws

By default, Windows allows 5 recoveries within 60 seconds. The sixth hang inside that window ends in a bug check. The registry names behind this are TdrLimitCount (default 5) and TdrLimitTime (default 60 seconds), under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers.

Microsoft marks these keys as being for driver developers and says end users should not change them. Treat the keys as a way to understand the crash, not as a fix.

A worked example: how six flickers become one blue screen

Suppose a game freezes the GPU at 0 s, 12 s, 25 s, 38 s and 51 s. Each time the screen flickers and Windows recovers, so you see five "has recovered" messages. At 58 s the card hangs a sixth time. That is more than 5 hangs inside 60 seconds, so Windows stops with 0x116 instead of recovering again.

If the same game freezes only once every 10 minutes, the counter never fills and you keep seeing the flicker message. That pattern still points at the driver, but it is not yet a crash. Microsoft's first troubleshooting step is to read the System log in Event Viewer for related errors.

Read the file name: nvlddmkm.sys, atikmpag.sys and Intel

Parameter 2 of the bug check points into the driver that was responsible, and the analysis shows it as MODULE_NAME and IMAGE_NAME. Microsoft's own examples show nvlddmkm.sys, the NVIDIA kernel driver, and atikmpag.sys, an AMD display miniport driver.

If your screen names an Intel graphics driver, Microsoft's guidance is the same: update the display driver from the vendor, then look at hardware.

Update the driver the way each vendor ships it

Microsoft's first resolution is to install the latest display driver so it supports the TDR process properly. Where you get it depends on the card.

Download from the vendor and pick the version that matches your card.

• NVIDIA: the driver page offers Game Ready and Studio drivers, both WHQL-certified. NVIDIA says most users pick the Production Branch for stability. The New Feature Branch adds features sooner and has shorter support.
• Intel: install through Intel Driver & Support Assistant or the Download Center, then check Device Manager > Display adapters > the Intel device > Driver tab to confirm the version matches. Intel's page has no clean-install procedure.
• Laptops: Intel's page also lists installing the latest graphics driver from your computer manufacturer.
• AMD: the vendor page timed out in my reading on 2026-11-01, so this page gives no AMD-specific steps. Use AMD's own download page.

Hardware causes Microsoft lists, in plain words

The 0x116 page lists five hardware causes: overclocked components such as the motherboard, wrong memory configuration and timings, not enough cooling, not enough power, and defective parts such as memory modules. It also names visual effects and too many background programs as a way to slow the card until it misses the 2-second limit.

Undo any overclock first, because that is free and quick. Then check that fans spin and that the power supply is rated for the card. Microsoft gives no wattage numbers, so use the card maker's stated requirement.

Memory test and Safe Mode, step by step

Microsoft suggests the Windows Memory Diagnostic for this stop code. Type Memory in the Control Panel search box and open "Diagnose your computer's memory problems". After the restart and test, open Event Viewer, go to the System log, and look for the MemoryDiagnostics-Results entry.

If you cannot reach the desktop, use Safe Mode. Open Settings > Recovery > Advanced startup, then Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart, and press 4, 5 or 6. Safe Mode loads only the minimum drivers, so if the crash stops there, the full graphics driver is the suspect.

You can also check the manufacturer's hardware diagnostics, which Microsoft lists as a step.

Do not mix up 0x116 with 0x117, 0x141, 0x142 and 0x119

Four near neighbours show up in searches. 0x117 (VIDEO_TDR_TIMEOUT_DETECTED), 0x141 (VIDEO_ENGINE_TIMEOUT_DETECTED) and 0x142 (VIDEO_TDR_APPLICATION_BLOCKED) are live dump codes. Microsoft says they are never used for a real bug check; they label crash reports collected while Windows keeps running. A 0x141 engine timeout does not count toward the five-hang limit, and a process that keeps causing them is blocked from the GPU (0x142) so it does not crash the system.

0x119 (VIDEO_SCHEDULER_INTERNAL_ERROR) is a real blue screen with its own causes. Its first parameter runs from 0x1 to 0x13 for driver faults, for example 0xC for a fatal page fault. If your screen says 0x119, this page is only partly relevant, though the same advice to update the video driver applies.

Common mistakes with GPU timeout crashes

Changing TdrDelay in the registry is the most common one, and Microsoft advises against it. Another is updating the driver, then leaving a fresh overclock in place. A third is blaming Windows: 70% of crashes in its analysis trace to third-party driver code, with 10% hardware, 5% Microsoft code and 15% unknown.

Keep 10-15 percent of the system disk free and keep BIOS and firmware current, as Microsoft's stop-code page recommends.

If you are looking at the blue screen right now and are unsure which file name matters, Crade can read the screen and explain it.

Who this fix suits

These steps suit a home PC or laptop with a discrete or integrated GPU where the crash comes during games, video or heavy browser work. They do not suit a work PC managed by IT, where the driver version may be locked and you should send IT the file name and the time. A PC that crashes at idle, with no GPU load, is more likely a memory or power fault than a driver one.