Video's crashing the display driver (ATI HD5870)

[Ratmuffin]

Hi! I'm having some trouble with my display driver crashing when video files are played. Sometimes the driver recovers, but other times it ends with a BSOD.

I am running Windows 7 x64, 4gb RAM and a ATI Radeon HD5870 with up-to-date drivers

The driver crashes when
- an embedded video, such as on youtube, attempts to play
- during the Windows Experience Index tests (fails during video processing)
- playback of some video files in Windows Media Player (error message states not enough memory)

The video files in the Windows/Performance/WinSAT folder for example don't all crash.

These all crash in WMP:
Clip_480_5sec_6mbps_h264
Clip_480i_5sec_6mbps_new
Clip_480p_5sec_6mbps_new

This doesn't:
Clip_1080_5sec_10mbps_h264

They ALL play in PowerDVD 8 and Quicktime.

The BSOD log's also point to one particular driver, dxgkrnl.sys

The ATI driver is up-to-date and I've tried updating DirectX as well. Even tried reinstalling the OS over the top of the existing installation.

Any ideas would be great because I'm all out!

 

[BCXtreme]

Welcome to the Seven Forums!

Are you overclocking your video card?

 

[Ratmuffin]

No overclocking! Anyway, the computer is often used most hours of the day for the family to play The Lord of the Rings Online at it's highest setting and that isn't crashing it!

 

[BCXtreme]

Do you have another video card that you can test in the computer, to see if the problem persists?

 

[fishnbanjo]

Roll back to driver 10.3 I find it was the most stable on my XFX HD5870 xxx Edition and mine is OC'd by the software that comes with it and not one issue.

 

[Ratmuffin]

Unfortunately I don't have another graphics card available to swap it with, but because the computer is pretty fresh from the shop I could take the card back if I can't find problems with anything else.

Fishnbanjo, I tried your suggestion but sadly it didn'r help. I've tried 10.3, 10.4 and 10.6 all with similar results now.

I've attached the minidump from the latest BSOD, which was triggered by attempting to play a file in WMP.

 

[CarlTR6]

I took a look at your dump file. It shows what I expected from reading this thread.

STOP 0x00000116: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR

Usual causes: Video driver, overheating, bad video card, ?BIOS, ?Power to card

Here is the dmp analysis; it points to atikmpag.sys.

Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.11.0001.404 X86
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\Temp4_Minidump.zip\070310-26644-01.dmp]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

Symbol search path is: SRV*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
Executable search path is: 
Windows 7 Kernel Version 7600 MP (8 procs) Free x64
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS Personal
Built by: 7600.16539.amd64fre.win7_gdr.100226-1909
Machine Name:
Kernel base = 0xfffff800`03015000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0xfffff800`03252e50
Debug session time: Fri Jul  2 21:06:09.649 2010 (GMT-4)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:02:21.648
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................
................................................................
..........................
Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
....
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 116, {fffffa80058864e0, fffff880042f302c, 0, d}

Unable to load image \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\atikmpag.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for [COLOR=Red]atikmpag.sys[/COLOR]
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for atikmpag.sys
[B]Probably caused by : atikmpag.sys [/B]( atikmpag+602c )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

2: kd> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)
[B]Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.[/B]
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa80058864e0, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff880042f302c, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: 0000000000000000, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: 000000000000000d, Optional internal context dependent data.

Debugging Details:
------------------


FAULTING_IP: 
atikmpag+602c
fffff880`042f302c 4883ec28        sub     rsp,28h

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  GRAPHICS_DRIVER_TDR_FAULT

CUSTOMER_CRASH_COUNT:  1

BUGCHECK_STR:  0x116

PROCESS_NAME:  System

CURRENT_IRQL:  0

STACK_TEXT:  
fffff880`065ec308 fffff880`04f64ef8 : 00000000`00000116 fffffa80`058864e0 fffff880`042f302c 00000000`00000000 : nt!KeBugCheckEx
fffff880`065ec310 fffff880`04f64c7f : fffff880`042f302c fffffa80`058864e0 fffffa80`04681d50 fffffa80`049be410 : dxgkrnl!TdrBugcheckOnTimeout+0xec
fffff880`065ec350 fffff880`0480ff07 : fffffa80`058864e0 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`04681d50 fffffa80`049be410 : dxgkrnl!TdrIsRecoveryRequired+0x21f
fffff880`065ec380 fffff880`0483dd7e : fffffa80`ffffffff 00000000`000022d9 fffff880`065ec4d0 00000000`00000002 : dxgmms1!VidSchiReportHwHang+0x40b
fffff880`065ec460 fffff880`04823bb1 : fffffa80`05dc3000 ffffffff`feced300 00000000`00000002 fffff880`065ec7d8 : dxgmms1!VidSchWaitForCompletionEvent+0x196
fffff880`065ec4a0 fffff880`04826aaf : 00000000`0000017d 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`06904b20 fffff8a0`042b4e50 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_GLOBAL::xWaitForAllEngines+0x1e9
fffff880`065ec5a0 fffff880`048251a0 : fffff8a0`042b4e50 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`05dc3000 fffff880`0475a800 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_GLOBAL::SetupForBuildPagingBuffer+0xd7
fffff880`065ec5e0 fffff880`048250f6 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000001 fffffa80`05dc3000 fffff880`04823a1e : dxgmms1!VIDMM_GLOBAL::UnmapVideoApertureSegmentInternal+0x34
fffff880`065ec770 fffff880`0482e642 : fffffa80`05a48a80 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000000 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_GLOBAL::UnmapVideoApertureSegment+0x13e
fffff880`065ec7e0 fffff880`0482e3eb : fffff8a0`042b4e50 00000000`00001000 fffffa80`05a48a80 fffff8a0`042b4e50 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_APERTURE_SEGMENT::UnmapApertureRange+0x7a
fffff880`065ec830 fffff880`0482dd8f : fffff8a0`042b4e50 fffffa80`05dc3c80 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`05dc3c80 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_APERTURE_SEGMENT::UnmapTemporaryResource+0x9b
fffff880`065ec890 fffff880`0482176c : fffffa80`05dc3000 fffffa80`05dc3000 fffffa80`05dc3c80 fffffa80`05dc3000 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_APERTURE_SEGMENT::ReleaseTemporaryResource+0xcf
fffff880`065ec8d0 fffff880`0481e133 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000008 fffffa80`05dc3000 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_GLOBAL::EvictTemporaryAllocations+0xbc
fffff880`065ec910 fffff880`0483865d : 00000000`00000000 fffff8a0`0418e340 fffffa80`00000002 fffffa80`04504d40 : dxgmms1!VIDMM_GLOBAL::PrepareDmaBuffer+0x69f
fffff880`065ecae0 fffff880`04838398 : fffff880`009ed040 fffff880`04837d00 fffffa80`00000000 fffffa80`00000000 : dxgmms1!VidSchiSubmitRenderCommand+0x241
fffff880`065eccd0 fffff880`04837e96 : 00000000`00000000 fffffa80`04681d50 00000000`00000080 fffffa80`049be410 : dxgmms1!VidSchiSubmitQueueCommand+0x50
fffff880`065ecd00 fffff800`0332aa86 : 00000000`fffffc32 fffffa80`05a47b60 fffffa80`036cd040 fffffa80`05a47b60 : dxgmms1!VidSchiWorkerThread+0xd6
fffff880`065ecd40 fffff800`03063b06 : fffff880`009e8180 fffffa80`05a47b60 fffff880`009f30c0 00000000`00000000 : nt!PspSystemThreadStartup+0x5a
fffff880`065ecd80 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : nt!KxStartSystemThread+0x16


STACK_COMMAND:  .bugcheck ; kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
atikmpag+602c
fffff880`042f302c 4883ec28        sub     rsp,28h

SYMBOL_NAME:  atikmpag+602c

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: atikmpag

IMAGE_NAME:  atikmpag.sys

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  4b8dd275

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x116_IMAGE_[COLOR=Red]atikmpag.sys[/COLOR]

BUCKET_ID:  X64_0x116_IMAGE_atikmpag.sys

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

It is a graphics card problem. It could be the drivers. Is the card overheating? Is anything on your system overclocked?

 

[TVeblen]

What you are dealing with is a Windows Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) event. Many times if it is not a problem with the drivers, it is a hardware issue. Yours may well be a defective video card, but it is a good idea to check the other causes before you go through the effort of the RMA process.

Take a read of my checklist below and see if you can diagnose your particular problem.

I hope it helps

********
"Display driver xxxxx stopped responding and was recovered"

Timeout Detection & Recovery (TDR) = "Display Driver Stopped Responding and was Recovered" is a useful feature that started in Vista and is also in W7 that allows the OS to try and recover from a video timeout so that the system does not crash to a bluescreen. Symptoms included a screen flash with the TDR message appearing one or more times or the screen blinking out to black. If the system cannot recover it will crash (Stop Error 116 typical). The issue is that the video card is not responding as expected. The solution is in the: why?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to TDR errors. But the problem is usually found in the local environment (your computer). Finding the cause is a matter of checking every possible cause and uncovering the culprit through a simple process of elimination. By methodically running down a checklist of diagnostic procedures you should be able to find the cause and can correct it.

There are numerous reports of hardware solutions to TDR's. The most common are:

• Poor Cooling
• Problems with the power supply
• Overclocking Issues
• Bad System memory or incorrect memory timings
• Defective PC Components

The order you do the diagnostics is not all that important. My personal strategy is to do the cheap & easy stuff first, the cheap & harder stuff next, and then the stuff that costs last. But whatever order you do it in you need to check or confirm the following:

SOFTWARE
Poorly written software and games will cause TDRs. But if this were the case it would affect lots of people, not just a few. Check the game's website & forums for patches and tips.
See if other people in the forums are having the same problem and if they were able to solve it and how.
You could also be asking too much of your video card. Check to see if your video card is tested and recommended for the game/program. Test the game at reduced settings.

WHAT ACTIONS CAUSE THE PROBLEM
It helps if you can isolate the actions that trigger the TDR. Most often it will be an application using 3D graphics. But if the incidents occur constantly it would point more towards defective hardware. If it happens more specifically (just when running Game X) it points towards overheating, settings, software, or driver issues.

GENERAL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
You need to eliminate the possibility that your computer has a global problem. You can use a program like Prime95 to stress test your system. http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
You can run the "Stress Test" for a few hours or overnight. This will not tell you what the problem is, but it is helpful to uncover any issues your system has with instability and cooling.

OVERHEATING
Running a video intensive game for hours can generate some serious heat and overheating will cause video errors. You can check your temps by looking at your BIOS readings or use a free program like Speedfan SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer .
A real easy test is to just pull the side panel(s) off your case (You can also blow a house fan directly into the open case) and see if the problem goes away or gets better. If it does then the issue is definitely overheating. If you are overheating you need to look at installing some cooling upgrades. You want to look at ventilating the case (more or bigger fans), Upgrade your case to a larger gaming case (lots of fans, water-cooling), etc.
There are free utilities like BurninTest PassMark BurnInTest software - PC Reliability and Load Testing that you can use to test your system's cooling capability. Caution is recommended using these types of programs.

VIDEO DRIVERS
Bad drivers happen and they can get corrupted. Before installing or reinstalling any video drivers first completely uninstall all video software and the drivers. (Some people say to run a cleaner program from safe mode, some say this is unnecessary). Never rely on the driver package to overwrite the old drivers. Also: Delete the video driver folder (ex: C:\NVIDIA) in Windows Explorer (or windows may install the same drivers again!).
After uninstalling the old drivers and rebooting Windows 7 will install it's own WDDM 1.1 driver. Check for the video problem while using the generic Windows driver.
You can then install the latest drivers for your card (or try older drivers).
See This Tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43216-installing-updating-drivers-7-a.html#post414637

DEVICE MANAGER
Look in Device Manager and make sure there are no problem devices (yellow ! icon). Correct these by loading the correct drivers or disable the problem device and see if the video problem goes away.

POOR CONNECTIONS
Reseat video card and memory modules. Make sure the contacts are clean. Check all the electrical connections.

CHECK YOUR MOTHERBOARD VOLTAGES
In BIOS, check the listed voltages against the manufacturer recommended specs. Reset the voltages to factory defaults and see if the video problems disappear.

MEMORY
Memory errors can cause video problems. Run a program like Memtest86+ for at least 3 passes to see if there are any memory errors. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool .
You can also test for a bad memory module by installing one stick and testing, and then switch it out for the next stick, etc.

OVERCLOCKING
Overclocking can be a trial and error process. The clocks and/or multipliers you set or change for CPU, Memory, or GPU could be unstable. Eliminate this as a possibility by resetting these to their defaults to see if that clears the video problems. The simplest way to do this is to "Restore Bios Defaults", or Clear CMOS.

UNDERCLOCKING
Some people have reported that by going into the video cards control panel and "down-clocking" the cards performance settings they were able to clear up the TDRs. Since W7 does not seem to tolerate any hiccups in the GPU, this would allow you to run a poor perforning card in the W7 enviroment.
So for instance, you could set the GPU clock from a 777 MHz factory setting to 750MHz, and the ram clock from a 1126MHz factory setting to 1050Mhz, or similar small change for your particular card.

BIOS
Check for and install an updated BIOS, particularly if it says the newer BIOS corrects memory errors or bug fixes. You could also try loading the BIOS defaults.
While you are there, check the motherboard manufacturers forums to see if others are having issues with the same board.

WINDOWS POWER MANAGEMENT
Eliminate Power Management settings as a possible cause, especially if you are working with a laptop. These settings could be particularly important if the issue is in playing games.
Go to Control Panel > Hardware & Sound > Power Options. Under "Select a Power Plan" you will find that "Balanced" is the default setting.
At the bottom you will see a Down arrow next to "Show Additional Plans". Click that and select "High Performance". See if the TDR issue is affected.
Alternately, you can click "Change Plan Settings" next to the "Balanced" plan and change the setting to "Never" put the computer to sleep (This is the default on a desktop) and/or change when the display is turned off as a test.

POWER SUPPLY
You need to know that your power supply is delivering sufficient power. Power supply problems are the most common cause of video problems, especially using high end cards.
Check the power supply's amperage ratings. Be sure it has the ample amperage for your video card and the rest of the system.
Test the supply with multimeter to measure for a steady 12v to the card's power connectors. (The only true way to test a power supply would be to use the very expensive diagnostic equipment used in labs). But for us regular folks: I tested my power supply by hooking up my multimeter to the PCI-E connectors that I was using to power my video card (I used a spare pair from the power supply to run the card while I was testing). I then observed the meter while I used the computer, first watching the voltage, then the amps, to see if there was any drop-off or erratic behavior while booting or using the computer. My readings were rock solid. So I declared my power supply good.
Otherwise you need to replace the supply to eliminate this possibility. Or borrow one from another computer.

VIDEO CARD
I suspect that a video card must perform flawlessly to operate in a Windows 7 environment and run the most recent games. If you tried all the above diagnostics and no problems were found then that leaves you with only one possibility: a defective video card. Some brands have the problem more consistently than others. You could check their forums for clues.
You could try your card in another computer running W7 to see if the problem goes along with the card.
You could try a different card in your computer. I bought an inexpensive card to use. My TDR's disappeared using a "lesser" card. Or borrow a card from another computer.
Otherwise RMA or replace the card.

TDR complaints have come from PC owners running virtually every PC configuration. They occur regardless of which video engine, manufacturer, driver, or system used. They are too numerous to write off as a random problem, but at the same time if people are getting their systems to run correctly using the same hardware and software that you are then it follows that your problem must be solvable.

More Info Here:
Timeout Detection and Recovery of GPUs through WDDM
NVIDIA Statement on TDR Errors - NVIDIA Forums
27116: ATIKMDAG has stopped responding error message

 

[fishnbanjo]

Unfortunately I don't have another graphics card available to swap it with, but because the computer is pretty fresh from the shop I could take the card back if I can't find problems with anything else.

Fishnbanjo, I tried your suggestion but sadly it didn'r help. I've tried 10.3, 10.4 and 10.6 all with similar results now.

I've attached the minidump from the latest BSOD, which was triggered by attempting to play a file in WMP.

Sorry no joy rolling back, good move on your part posting the mini.dmp carl and tv got the problem nailed for you now!

 

[De Swaffelaar]

Same problem

I got exactly the same problem. The whole system works fine but when I want to play a youtube movie I get the BSOD with the atikmdag.sys error.
Everything used to work fine. I've removed the ati drivers en did driver sweep, after rebooting I can watch the youtube movies without a problem. After installing the Ati drivers (with or without the CCC) it crashes again.
The only thing that changed in my setup is that I bought the Xbox360 Slim en configured MCE on my pc (I did Install Shark007 a half year ago). Could the MCE have anything to do with it?
I've got a Intel 2 Core Quad Q9450 and a HD 5870 on W7 Home Premium 64bit.

 

[Ratmuffin]

Hi! We ended up sending the card back to be tested, but it came back with the all-clear. Apparently, it is an incompatibility between the driver software and our particular motherboard. The computer shop updated the BIOS and now youtube video's will play, but not certain .wmv and .mp4's still. Not really sure what else I can do to help, as I won't have access to that particular computer for a couple of months

 

[Neverhavemoney]

Hey Rat,
Just got home, and the scan turned up a false positive. So I went to flash, because after i watch certain videos in youtube, my graphics card crashes also. Regardless of the quality. So i went into the ATI Catalyst Control Window, and on the right side, click options, then preferences, then restore to factory default. It worked for me, as i can now watch the same exact videos that used to crash on me with absolutly no problem. Its worth a shot.

Let us know,
Ben

 

[Cerielle]

Hey,

I've had exactly the same problem on a factory-new 5870, as well as a lot of other random crashes. After extensive research, I have came to the conclusion that it is simply the ATI card being a piece of crap.

After returning the card and getting another straight from factory, the video BSOD problems disappeared completely. So you can rule out your computer, or drivers, it is the card itself.

However, with a new card I got a lot of other problems instead, that I didn't have before, such as the infamous ATI "green/grey screens". While other people have no problems at all. New ATI HD cards are simply of completely random quality!

Catalyst driver patches 10.3 to 10.7 solves -nothing-. Here is a link describing the randomness in detail:
Radeon 5xxx Owners Report Grey Screens/Hangs

Since ATI haven't solved this in 1 year since the release of 5870, they won't solve it at all. As different cards are of random quality, and as changing drivers solve nothing, it would seem that the hardware design itself is flawed.

If you have the option, demand a refund and stay clear of ATI HD cards.

 

[De Swaffelaar]

Hi there after weeks I can watch youtube again without crashing. What I did is flashing my videocard bios of my gigabyte HD 5870 and it seems to work !

 

[Valarauko]

Bump, I had this problem somewhat recently but to confirm, yes, reflashing the BIOS did solve my problem. I burned a Windows ME boot CD with the BIOS files on the CD then proceeded to flash successfully. XFX was willing to send me a new card and everything but I'd stumbled upon the solution as I was in the midst of communication with them. So yeah, reflash your Video Card's BIOS and that should solve the desktop / gaming crash problem.

 

[TVeblen]

For anyone reading this thread for ideas:

They are talking about flashing the Video Card's BIOS (firmware).

They are not talking about flashing your motherboard's BIOS!

 

[Solarstarshines]

What you are dealing with is a Windows Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) event. Many times if it is not a problem with the drivers, it is a hardware issue. Yours may well be a defective video card, but it is a good idea to check the other causes before you go through the effort of the RMA process.

Take a read of my checklist below and see if you can diagnose your particular problem.

I hope it helps

********
"Display driver xxxxx stopped responding and was recovered"

Timeout Detection & Recovery (TDR) = "Display Driver Stopped Responding and was Recovered" is a useful feature that started in Vista and is also in W7 that allows the OS to try and recover from a video timeout so that the system does not crash to a bluescreen. Symptoms included a screen flash with the TDR message appearing one or more times or the screen blinking out to black. If the system cannot recover it will crash (Stop Error 116 typical). The issue is that the video card is not responding as expected. The solution is in the: why?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to TDR errors. But the problem is usually found in the local environment (your computer). Finding the cause is a matter of checking every possible cause and uncovering the culprit through a simple process of elimination. By methodically running down a checklist of diagnostic procedures you should be able to find the cause and can correct it.

There are numerous reports of hardware solutions to TDR's. The most common are:

• Poor Cooling
• Problems with the power supply
• Overclocking Issues
• Bad System memory or incorrect memory timings
• Defective PC Components

The order you do the diagnostics is not all that important. My personal strategy is to do the cheap & easy stuff first, the cheap & harder stuff next, and then the stuff that costs last. But whatever order you do it in you need to check or confirm the following:

SOFTWARE
Poorly written software and games will cause TDRs. But if this were the case it would affect lots of people, not just a few. Check the game's website & forums for patches and tips.
See if other people in the forums are having the same problem and if they were able to solve it and how.
You could also be asking too much of your video card. Check to see if your video card is tested and recommended for the game/program. Test the game at reduced settings.

WHAT ACTIONS CAUSE THE PROBLEM
It helps if you can isolate the actions that trigger the TDR. Most often it will be an application using 3D graphics. But if the incidents occur constantly it would point more towards defective hardware. If it happens more specifically (just when running Game X) it points towards overheating, settings, software, or driver issues.

GENERAL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
You need to eliminate the possibility that your computer has a global problem. You can use a program like Prime95 to stress test your system. Free Software - GIMPS
You can run the "Stress Test" for a few hours or overnight. This will not tell you what the problem is, but it is helpful to uncover any issues your system has with instability and cooling.

OVERHEATING
Running a video intensive game for hours can generate some serious heat and overheating will cause video errors. You can check your temps by looking at your BIOS readings or use a free program like Speedfan SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer .
A real easy test is to just pull the side panel(s) off your case (You can also blow a house fan directly into the open case) and see if the problem goes away or gets better. If it does then the issue is definitely overheating. If you are overheating you need to look at installing some cooling upgrades. You want to look at ventilating the case (more or bigger fans), Upgrade your case to a larger gaming case (lots of fans, water-cooling), etc.
There are free utilities like BurninTest PassMark BurnInTest software - PC Reliability and Load Testing that you can use to test your system's cooling capability. Caution is recommended using these types of programs.

VIDEO DRIVERS
Bad drivers happen and they can get corrupted. Before installing or reinstalling any video drivers first completely uninstall all video software and the drivers. (Some people say to run a cleaner program from safe mode, some say this is unnecessary). Never rely on the driver package to overwrite the old drivers. Also: Delete the video driver folder (ex: C:\NVIDIA) in Windows Explorer (or windows may install the same drivers again!).
After uninstalling the old drivers and rebooting Windows 7 will install it's own WDDM 1.1 driver. Check for the video problem while using the generic Windows driver.
You can then install the latest drivers for your card (or try older drivers).
See This Tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43216-installing-updating-drivers-7-a.html#post414637

DEVICE MANAGER
Look in Device Manager and make sure there are no problem devices (yellow ! icon). Correct these by loading the correct drivers or disable the problem device and see if the video problem goes away.

POOR CONNECTIONS
Reseat video card and memory modules. Make sure the contacts are clean. Check all the electrical connections.

CHECK YOUR MOTHERBOARD VOLTAGES
In BIOS, check the listed voltages against the manufacturer recommended specs. Reset the voltages to factory defaults and see if the video problems disappear.

MEMORY
Memory errors can cause video problems. Run a program like Memtest86+ for at least 3 passes to see if there are any memory errors. Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool .
You can also test for a bad memory module by installing one stick and testing, and then switch it out for the next stick, etc.

OVERCLOCKING
Overclocking can be a trial and error process. The clocks and/or multipliers you set or change for CPU, Memory, or GPU could be unstable. Eliminate this as a possibility by resetting these to their defaults to see if that clears the video problems. The simplest way to do this is to "Restore Bios Defaults", or Clear CMOS.

UNDERCLOCKING
Some people have reported that by going into the video cards control panel and "down-clocking" the cards performance settings they were able to clear up the TDRs. Since W7 does not seem to tolerate any hiccups in the GPU, this would allow you to run a poor perforning card in the W7 enviroment.
So for instance, you could set the GPU clock from a 777 MHz factory setting to 750MHz, and the ram clock from a 1126MHz factory setting to 1050Mhz, or similar small change for your particular card.

BIOS
Check for and install an updated BIOS, particularly if it says the newer BIOS corrects memory errors or bug fixes. You could also try loading the BIOS defaults.
While you are there, check the motherboard manufacturers forums to see if others are having issues with the same board.

WINDOWS POWER MANAGEMENT
Eliminate Power Management settings as a possible cause, especially if you are working with a laptop. These settings could be particularly important if the issue is in playing games.
Go to Control Panel > Hardware & Sound > Power Options. Under "Select a Power Plan" you will find that "Balanced" is the default setting.
At the bottom you will see a Down arrow next to "Show Additional Plans". Click that and select "High Performance". See if the TDR issue is affected.
Alternately, you can click "Change Plan Settings" next to the "Balanced" plan and change the setting to "Never" put the computer to sleep (This is the default on a desktop) and/or change when the display is turned off as a test.

POWER SUPPLY
You need to know that your power supply is delivering sufficient power. Power supply problems are the most common cause of video problems, especially using high end cards.
Check the power supply's amperage ratings. Be sure it has the ample amperage for your video card and the rest of the system.
Test the supply with multimeter to measure for a steady 12v to the card's power connectors. (The only true way to test a power supply would be to use the very expensive diagnostic equipment used in labs). But for us regular folks: I tested my power supply by hooking up my multimeter to the PCI-E connectors that I was using to power my video card (I used a spare pair from the power supply to run the card while I was testing). I then observed the meter while I used the computer, first watching the voltage, then the amps, to see if there was any drop-off or erratic behavior while booting or using the computer. My readings were rock solid. So I declared my power supply good.
Otherwise you need to replace the supply to eliminate this possibility. Or borrow one from another computer.

VIDEO CARD
I suspect that a video card must perform flawlessly to operate in a Windows 7 environment and run the most recent games. If you tried all the above diagnostics and no problems were found then that leaves you with only one possibility: a defective video card. Some brands have the problem more consistently than others. You could check their forums for clues.
You could try your card in another computer running W7 to see if the problem goes along with the card.
You could try a different card in your computer. I bought an inexpensive card to use. My TDR's disappeared using a "lesser" card. Or borrow a card from another computer.
Otherwise RMA or replace the card.

TDR complaints have come from PC owners running virtually every PC configuration. They occur regardless of which video engine, manufacturer, driver, or system used. They are too numerous to write off as a random problem, but at the same time if people are getting their systems to run correctly using the same hardware and software that you are then it follows that your problem must be solvable.

More Info Here:
Timeout Detection and Recovery of GPUs through WDDM
NVIDIA Statement on TDR Errors - NVIDIA Forums
27116: ATIKMDAG has stopped responding error message

Thank you for posting this i been asking for help with this issue for about 2 weeks now and you basicly told me the steps i should take ,I should have asked you earlier cause it seems everyone was dumbfounded thanks again bro for the smart read on this issue of mine

 

[TVeblen]

I hope it helps you track it down.

Now I wonder if I should add "Update your video cards firmware" to my list?

 

[Solarstarshines]

well i followed all the above my card is done ....

I am now in the market for a 6900 series we'll see how that goes

Diamond gave me a bad vibe when i contacted them for a RMA pretty much i think they will just send me back the same card with no real fix so i am just going to roll with something better and different brand

what do you guys think about this one i can grab it saturday http://www.frys.com/product/6559683?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

 

[TVeblen]

Don't be too quick to turn down a replacement. EVGA sent me a replacement of my card and it has been performing flawlessly ever since.

Even if you just want the new card, I'd get the replacement and keep it for a spare, or sell it to recoup some money.

2 cents.