How to fix VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE error in Windows 10

What is VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE error

BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) errors might be the chief problem that has been targetting most Windows users. This time around, we are facing VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE error that pops up due to the system crash. The problem is displayed on a Blue Screen saying that your PC encountered a problem and soon to be rebooted for automatic repair. “VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE” is typically caused by display driver malfunction. However, sometimes it can be related to other problems like file corruption, disk failures, and malware infiltrations. Unfortunately, it is impossible to eradicate all errors, so you have to keep an ear to the ground for further engagements. In this article, we will provide necessary information on how to get rid of this glitch and get back to normal usage.

Automatic Repair

Download Windows Repair Utility

1. Update or rollback display driver

Outdated or bugged drivers can entail multiple problems and lead to system errors. In our case, the error is likely to be caused by a graphic card driver. Thus, you should try to downgrade it to see if anything changes. If this will not help, you should try to update it to a newer version instead. Download IObit Driver Booster to update drivers automatically.

Driver Booster start screen

Driver Booster scan results

Driver Booster tools section

To roll back video driver:

1. Left-click on the Start Menu button and choose Device Manager.
2. Find Display Adapter and expand the window. Right-click on each adapter and choose Properties.
3. Then navigate to Driver and choose Roll back Driver.
4. Following the on-screen instructions to finish the process and restart your PC.

If rolling back did not work, try to update it instead

1. Left-click on the Start Menu button and choose Device Manager.
2. Find Display Adapter and expand the window. Right-click on each adapter and choose Update driver. Sometimes malfunctioned drivers are marked with a yellow rectangle.
3. Let Windows search for new drivers and download them by following the on-screen instructions.

2. Running the System File Checker (SFC) scan

Sometimes BSoD errors can be caused by file corruption. Therefore, we will scan your system for damaged or missing components that could arise the issue. To do so:

1. Open Command Prompt by typing cmd into the searching tab next to the Start Menu button.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
3. Once opened, type the sfc /scannow command and click Enter.
4. When the fixing process is done, restart your computer.

3. Damaged disk fragments

Often, hardware may be damaged by third-parties programs, malware or manual manipulations. Hence, this specific method will require scanning the local disk for potential errors and immediately fix them. For this, we have to launch a console as we did before.

1. Find Command Prompt by typing cmd into the searching box. Then right-click on it and choose Run as administrator.
2. In the black console, you should paste the chkdsk /f /r C: command and press Enter. If necessary, replace “C” with the letter of your hard drive.
3. The system will scan for both configuration and physical errors and automatically repair them.

4. Change the TdrDelay value

Registry keys are set with specific time frames for each segment. In simple words, the TdrDelay value tells your system to check how long does it take for your graphic card to respond. If the graphics card stopped working and did not manage to recover in the allocated period of time, it will result in a crash to prevent damage. Thus, we will try to increase the number of attempts that the computer does to resume the graphic card. To do so:

1. Press Win + R combination and paste regedit into the box. Click OK.
2. In the opened tab, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > GraphicsDrivers on the left pane.
3. Check if you have TdrValue DWORD on the right pane. If not, you have to create it. To do so, right-click on the empty space on the right pane and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Enter TdrDelay as the name.
4. Double click on the TdrDelay DWORD, then set its Value Data to 8, or more.
5. Click OK and close the window.

Now the settings are changed and the graphic card has more chances to prevent the crash. If this did not pay off, go to the next step.

5. Excessive temperatures

Sometimes BSOD errors may be a result of overheating. To prevent hardware damage, Windows initiates an immediate reboot to drop down the temperature significantly. To sustain stable temperatures, you have to regularly clean your pc from dust and other particles. On top of that, you should make sure that your cooling system works properly and is capable of tackling such temperatures. If not, you will probably need to update it. Besides that, overheating can be caused by malware that loads a lot of resources and pressures the system. Thus, you should check if something suspicious runs in the background. If yes, then more likely you are infected with a Potentially Unwanted Program or other malware. To remove it, you can use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for automatic removal. Here is a link to download it.

Malwarebytes main window

Malwarebytes settings

Malwarebytes scan results

Finally, we managed to get rid of the “VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE” error. If you keep facing this error from time to time, then you should try to reinstall Windows. This will ensure that your system is totally clear and settings are set to default.