Display Driver stopped responding and has successfully recovered

Right for a while i've been suffering from a problem where whilst playing certain PC games (i.e. Empire Total War, Battlefield Bad Company 2 & even Spore) the game begins showing black screens followed by a complete crash of the game, me having to ctrl+alt+delete it and be given this message at the bottom right of my PC ("Display Driver nvidia Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 301.42 stopped responding and has successfully recovered").

I've been to many forums to look for a way to remedy this problem to no avail. Then I thought HANG ON! this isn't my fault it's Nvidia's, It's been like this since I got the computer.

I've e-mailed them and the responses I get will be featured on here to help all of you who are also having this problem, I just wish this forum stays open to give anyone at any time the answer to this problem.

Here is the message I sent to Nvidia.

When playing certain Video Games (i.e.) Spore, Empire Total War, Battlefield Bad Company 2, The game randomly display black screens before shutting off completley and displaying this message at the bottom of my screen "Display Driver nvidia Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 301.42 stopped responding and has successfully recovered"

I have tried downgrading to a younger Driver Version, Placing all Settings under graphics within the game to Low or Lowest, Emphasize my Graphics card usage through the Nvidia control panel to Performance, Patching the games listed, reinstalling the games listed, Updating all hardware in the computer to the newest versions (including Bios). And I am still experiencing this problem.

I am close to returning the computer back to the store but would like some advice on fixing this problem and hopefully avoiding that. Can you help?

Thankyou
Adam (Stacy) Winson.

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Followed by a DxDiag report

I have received my first reply from them, here it is.

Response Via Email (Rajath)09/04/2012 05:21 PM Hello Adam,

Thank you for contacting NVIDIA Customer Care.

This is Rajath, assisting you with the issue that you are experiencing.

I understand from your email that you are experiencing issues with display drivers and getting an error stating "Display Driver nvidia Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 301.42 stopped responding and has successfully recovered"

There are several factors that can contribute to system instability. Since the graphic card is always drawing to your screen, Windows will often report the graphics card or its drivers as the problematic device after a system error. In most cases, the problem is caused by another device or component in your system such as the motherboard, system memory, power supply or hard drive.

1. Corrupted drivers
2. Issue could due to the OS Or, issue could be due to the other hardware components like motherboard, processor or system memory.
3. Application specific issue.
4. Defective graphics card.

Bad system memory or CPU can cause the error as well. So I would recommend you to please try the memory test and CPU test first.

Incompatible system memory or bad system memory can also lead to system instability. Please verify that your system memory has been tested and is compatible with your motherboard make and model. There are 3rd party utilities which allow you to test the integrity of your system memory. One such program is Memtest86 which is available as a free download from the following URL:

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic

Just as important is your CPU. If it is malfunctioning, it will cause system instability. There are 3rd party utilities to test your CPU. One such utility is Prime95 which features a burn in test which reports to you any errors generated by the CPU. This utility may be downloaded from:

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

Therefore, to analyze the issue better and to determine the cause for the problem, I will need additional information:

1. Have you made any changes to the Operating system?
2. Have you tried installing different drivers for troubleshooting purpose?

I will look forward to your reply to assist you better.

Best regards,
Rajath
NVIDIA Customer Care
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I will do the above and report back my findings after sending them the second E-mail.

i have the excact same problem when i try to download gw2, only that when my power supply isnt plugged in nothing is wrong, but as soon as i plug it in, at the excact same moment this problem occurs..anyone who can help?

well i did start my own thread, but there has been no answers..

This problem has been happening with eveyrone for a long time....
This is what I did:
When windows boots, repeatedly press F12 until the boot option menu appears and select PSA+ (PreBoot assessment)
Wait for the menu to load, DO NOT PRESS ANTYHING.
When menu shows, select Express Scan.
Wait for Express Scan to finish.
If any error codes (Example: Error Code – 0F00:133C Message Disk – No suitable disk media is present) appear, record them and continue the test, DO NOT RETRY.

Next

Reboot the computer, repeatedly press F8 to access Advanced Boot Options. Select Safe Mode.
When Safe Mode has loaded, Start > QuickSearch “Device Manager” or Start > Control Panel > View by: Large Icons > Device Manager.
On Device Manager - Display Adapters > [select onboard GPU](This should be something like "NVIDIA GTX 580" or "AMD RADEON 6850") – right click > Uninstall. Do not select the option Delete the driver software for this device.
Uninstall the GPU, and reboot the computer normally.
On Windows, wait for the card to reinstall. When the card is reinstalled, you should receive the message “Device [GPU Name] has been successfully installed ”. When this notification appears, close it and install the new 301.42 driver.
Reboot the computer ONCE MORE and the problem should be fixed.