RTX 4090 - DPC_WATCHDOG VIOLATION BSODs & nvlddmkm.sys crashes when gaming

1. Enabled & Disabled XMP in BIOS (issue persists) ;
2. Disabled & Enabled Hyperthreading, Turbo Settings regarding CPU (issue persists, no difference) ;
3. Used DDU to uninstall the driver in safe boot mode and installed an older version [537.58] (made the BSODS frequency lower, but nvlddmkm.sys crashes remained)
4. Changed permissions for nvlddmkm.sys file to Full Control for Users (issue remains) ;
5. Turned on Debug Mode in Nvidia Control Panel
6. Switched to "Prefer Maximum Performance" in Nvidia Control Panel (no difference) ;
7. Disabled Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows settings (This caused no BSODs but the crashes remain)
8. Used MSI Afterburner to undervolt the GPU core & memory clocks for around -52 MHz (no difference) ;
9. Changed PCIe Gen Mode in BIOS to both 4.0 and 3.0 (no difference) ;
10. Uninstalled programs like G-Hub and Wallpaper Engine, switched HAGS off for the other programs that supported it (no difference);
11. Disabled Integrated GPU in Device Manager (issue still persists);
12. Uninstalled NVIDIA HD Audio in Device Manager (yet again no difference);
13. Disabled High Precision Event Timer (others said it was the only workaround it, no difference whatsoever);
14. Reinstalled Windows 11 24H2 with the latest Nvidia drivers and tested games with no other programs (BSODs remain, crashes remain);
15. Changed the Virtual Memory Page file to 32GB RAM (no difference but made the BSODs and crashes delay by a little bit);
16. Finally, I ran stability tests using OCCT: CPU, RAM, 3D Adaptive (GPU, I assume), PSU had absolutely no problems or crashes, what made the system crash into the DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION crash was VRAM.

cheksajile38 said:

Hello there, I am really sorry for this wall of text. I have been running into this issue for about a month now. I got a new build around a month and a half ago. For the first 2-3 weeks, everything was working flawlessly: gaming at ultra settings, no stutter, no lag, and most importantly, no crashes or BSODs. Out of the blue on about a few days later after that, I got hit with a DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION BSOD while being 5 minutes in a game. To this day, I can't be for more than 5 minutes into GPU-demanding games as they will either cause the BSOD or crash with a black screen. These crashes are related to nvlddmkm.sys in Event Viewer, especially Event ID 153.

The system specs are as listed below:

CPU: Intel Core i9-14900k
GPU: ZOTAC RTX 4090 AMP Extreme Airo 24GB
RAM: 64 GB RAM kit (2x32 GB DDR5-4800, Kingston KF552C40-32)
SSD: Crucial P5 Plus CT2000P5PSSD8, 1863.02 GB
Liquid Freezer III 280 A-RGB — All-in-One Cooler for the CPU
PSU: bequiet! Pure Power 12M 1000W
Motherboard: MSI PRO B760M-P
OS: Windows 11, 24H2
Monitor: Dell S2419HGF, 1920x1080, 144 Hz

I have noticed the same issue being reported many times, especially for the 4090. Here is what I have done so far:

1. Enabled & Disabled XMP in BIOS (issue persists) ;
2. Disabled & Enabled Hyperthreading, Turbo Settings regarding CPU (issue persists, no difference) ;
3. Used DDU to uninstall the driver in safe boot mode and installed an older version [537.58] (made the BSODS frequency lower, but nvlddmkm.sys crashes remained)
4. Changed permissions for nvlddmkm.sys file to Full Control for Users (issue remains) ;
5. Turned on Debug Mode in Nvidia Control Panel
6. Switched to "Prefer Maximum Performance" in Nvidia Control Panel (no difference) ;
7. Disabled Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows settings (This caused no BSODs but the crashes remain)
8. Used MSI Afterburner to undervolt the GPU core & memory clocks for around -52 MHz (no difference) ;
9. Changed PCIe Gen Mode in BIOS to both 4.0 and 3.0 (no difference) ;
10. Uninstalled programs like G-Hub and Wallpaper Engine, switched HAGS off for the other programs that supported it (no difference);
11. Disabled Integrated GPU in Device Manager (issue still persists);
12. Uninstalled NVIDIA HD Audio in Device Manager (yet again no difference);
13. Disabled High Precision Event Timer (others said it was the only workaround it, no difference whatsoever);
14. Reinstalled Windows 11 24H2 with the latest Nvidia drivers and tested games with no other programs (BSODs remain, crashes remain);
15. Changed the Virtual Memory Page file to 32GB RAM (no difference but made the BSODs and crashes delay by a little bit);
16. Finally, I ran stability tests using OCCT: CPU, RAM, 3D Adaptive (GPU, I assume), PSU had absolutely no problems or crashes, what made the system crash into the DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION crash was VRAM.

As for the Event ID 153 crash, the log is specifically related to nvlddmkm.sys and with this error code:

\Device\Video3
Error occurred on GPUID: 100

I ran Log Collecter V2, and files regarding the crashes are attached here: DESKTOP-(2025-08-02_17-33-34).zip

Let me know if anyone else has been running into this issue, and if anyone does have any sort of solution for this, any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

Click to expand...

Bug Check 0x133: DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION​

Bug Check 0x117: VIDEO_TDR_TIMEOUT_DETECTED​

Bug Check 0x141: VIDEO_ENGINE_TIMEOUT_DETECTED​

Bug Check 0x193: VIDEO_DXGKRNL_LIVEDUMP​

Bug Check 0x1A8: VIDEO_DXGKRNL_BLACK_SCREEN_LIVEDUMP​

Name    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
PNP Device ID    PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_2684&SUBSYS_467519DA&REV_A1\4&25928FD4&0&0008
Adapter Type    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, NVIDIA compatible
Adapter Description    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
Adapter RAM    (1,048,576) bytes
Installed Drivers    C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_fe5f369669db2f36\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_fe5f369669db2f36\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_fe5f369669db2f36\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_fe5f369669db2f36\nvldumdx.dll
Driver Version    32.0.15.8088
INF File    oem7.inf (Section072 section)
Driver    C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERSTORE\FILEREPOSITORY\NV_DISPI.INF_AMD64_FE5F369669DB2F36\NVLDDMKM.SYS (32.0.15.8088, 105.33 MB (110,445,800 bytes), 8/1/2025 01:13)

nvlddmkm.sys Sun Jul 27 02:15:07 2025 (6885D1FB)

nvlddmkm.sys Mon Jul 14 16:25:51 2025 (687575DF)

nvlddmkm.sys Thu Jul  3 15:06:54 2025 (6866E2DE)

cheksajile38 said:

Obviously I'd want to make both BSOD and crashes disappear without compromising any performance, but testing these things still makes me wonder where the actual problem lies. I am going to try to switch the GPU and RAM and see if that does make any difference. Thanks for the replies though, I appreciate it.

Click to expand...