SOLUTION - The NVIDIA OpenGL driver detected a problem with : Othor Games

» Tue Nov 29, 2011 6:31 am

I was getting this more often than not after upgrading from an CF ATI 4890 to a single Nvidia GTX 570

This is what works for me, not what will solve every issue with this symptom.

The full message is:

The NVIDIA OpenGL driver detected a problem with the display
driver and is unable to continue. The application must close.

Please visit http://www.nvidia.com/page/support.html for help.
Error code: 4 or 8

-------------
Googling around led me here:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=179747

Preface: BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY ETC BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT THIS:

1. Goto registry editor (start -> run -> regedit)
2. Navigate yourself to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetControlGraphicsDriv
ers (make sure GraphicsDrivers is highlighted).
3. Right click -> New -> DWORD (32-bit) value -> Name it: TdrDelay -> double click it -> Set it to A (hexadecimal) or 10 (decimal).

It used to crash about once an hour, since I made that change, it's not crashed like this again (I think the new message was something about it recovering, but not in time for Brink, I'll do a screen cap if it comes up again)

Cheers!

» Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:42 pm

My apologies, before asking you to make a random change in your registry, perhaps I should clarify -why- I'm asking you to do this, and my logic behind why I choose this solution, rather than other easier workarounds.

The TdrDelay is the Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) delay. Timeout Detection and Recovery are incorporated into Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and can detect when the graphics hardware or device driver take longer than expected to complete an operation. When this happens, Windows attempts to preempt the operation, and restore the display system to a usable state by resetting the graphics adapter. This may be set to 0 to disable the feature all together (I haven't tested this, use at your own risk). Other OSes may have TdrLevel as well (Windows 7 does not) or other TDR specific "features" you may tweak.

More information on the architecture can be found here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg487368.aspx

Workaround:
Many users have taken another way out by simply reducing the video settings to work around the issue (Lower video settings = higher FPS = no TDR issue), but I find that is an unacceptable work around as video quality is impacted, and I didn't purchase a GTX 570 to play at 800x600.

I haven't seen that error since I first posted this, and it's been about 20 or so solid hours in game without a hitch (Including the sound bug), as always, back up your registry before you modify, and modify at your own risk, and this may not fix every instance of the driver being reset.

Good Luck!

» Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:00 am

Timeout Detection and Recovery are incorporated into Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

So... does this fix work in Windows XP?

» Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:35 pm

Messing around with registry just to get a game working?

lol no thanks.

Don't get me wrong,it's nice that you wanna help people.

» Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:04 am

It's been 4 days now, Can't play a fully game..... My PC is brand new, I'm starting to think my PC is faulty but its it? Or is it Brink which is faulty and making me get this error?
I'm terribly worried its my PC.
I want to get Battlefield 3 when it releases and i'm worried i migh tget the same error ......!

» Tue Nov 29, 2011 3:48 am

Messing around with registry just to get a game working?

lol no thanks.

Don't get me wrong,it's nice that you wanna help people.

Sirius89, People "mess around" with the registry all the time. Back in the day, the modification of the registry for something as simple as the MTU was commonplace for those that wanted to adjust said value.

As the error itself is not specific to Brink (Google the error, other developers and end users have seen this error), and as I mentioned, this is a "feature" of the OS, I don't see the harm in increasing a timeout. Admittedly this solution isn't for the faint-of-heart, the choice is ultimately yours.

So you (and those experiencing the issue) have four options.

1) Decrease video resolution / settings to reduce the chance of TDR (Likely the choice of most, mostly because they don't know any better or the ease of implementation)

2) Increase the TDR mechanism within the OS as I've outlined.

3) Contact support directly and wait for a patch

4) Get upset and not play Brink (aka RAGE QUIT)

Samzon18: I don't know if this is a straight hardware issue, my personal perspective is that Brink is inadvertently doing something (bad) to trigger the TDR mechanism. Unfortunately I can't debug this more as I've since changed the setting and not seen the error anymore, and really have no desire to turn it back on to debug a video game as there have been no anomalies since changing the setting, I can't really see a downside.

» Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:56 am

So... does this fix work in Windows XP?

Short Answer: No.
Long Answer: Kinda, if your using SP1 it should flip back to the MS provided VGA driver.
Full Answer: Let's ask Microsoft:

"The last ten years have seen major evolutions in the graphics processing units (GPUs) in the graphics-rich Windows? platform. Simultaneously, the increase in graphics horsepower that began after the release of Windows 2000 has been accompanied by increased graphics driver-related crashes, adversely affecting the stability of Windows systems. This increasing stability problem encompasses every GPU vendor’s hardware.
Windows XP introduced a “timeout” during which Windows detected hung GPUs and produced a “bug check 0xEA” crash report. Soon, this crash report became the most widely encountered report in the Microsoft Online Crash anolysis (OCA) data. To curb data loss related to GPU hangs, Windows XP Service Pack 1 introduced a significant design change by reverting to the basic Microsoft-provided video graphics array (VGA) driver when this hang situation occurred. End users were given an opportunity to save their data but were still prompted to reboot as soon as possible to regain a fully functional Windows desktop.
Microsoft OCA data shows that 20 percent of all Windows crashes are due to GPU hardware hangs or instabilities and that the GPU is the largest device category reporting crashes (ahead of categories such as network adapters, hard drives, and USB cameras). Avoiding GPU hangs represents the most significant opportunity to improve the user experience by increasing system stability. This was a key factor in the redesign of the Windows graphics software infrastructure in Windows Vista?."

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/GPUHang_Det-Rec.mspx

» Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:01 am

So you (and those experiencing the issue) have four options.

1) Decrease video resolution / settings to reduce the chance of TDR (Likely the choice of most, mostly because they don't know any better or the ease of implementation)

2) Increase the TDR mechanism within the OS as I've outlined.

3) Contact support directly and wait for a patch

4) Get upset and not play Brink (aka RAGE QUIT)

Waiting for the patch seems to be the only option. Tried different resolutions, did the registry hacks and the fourth option is self-fulfilling, since no matter how much I try, I can't play Brink due to it crashing to desktop. And that does make me upset

IMHO you should change the "SOLUTION" in the thread title to "SUGGESTION" since it does not offer a working solution after all.

» Mon Nov 28, 2011 9:29 pm

Waiting for the patch seems to be the only option. Tried different resolutions, did the registry hacks and the fourth option is self-fulfilling, since no matter how much I try, I can't play Brink due to it crashing to desktop. And that does make me upset

IMHO you should change the "SOLUTION" in the thread title to "SUGGESTION" since it does not offer a working solution after all.

Solution is actually a better word because it has in fact solved the issue for me, and I also acknowledge that this will not fix the symptom for everyone in my first post. "This is what works for me, not what will solve every issue with this symptom."

If your still receiving the message after tweaking the registry, you could try setting TDR to 0, which should disable the feature all together, disabling TDR should stop windows from resetting the driver, so either you didn't turn off TDR, or the message has changed since turning off TDR, or disabling of TDR was unsuccessful (I.E. 0 doesn't work) I would need to know which of the previous 3 statements are true.

» Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:05 pm

If your still receiving the message after tweaking the registry, you could try setting TDR to 0, which should disable the feature all together, disabling TDR should stop windows from resetting the driver, so either you didn't turn off TDR, or the message has changed since turning off TDR, or disabling of TDR was unsuccessful (I.E. 0 doesn't work) I would need to know which of the previous 3 statements are true.

0 means 0 seconds, not disabled. Difference is how long the frozen screen appears - 10 meant 10 seconds before the disconnect error popup appears, 0 meant it was instantanious.

» Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:27 pm

0 means 0 seconds, not disabled. Difference is how long the frozen screen appears - 10 meant 10 seconds before the disconnect error popup appears, 0 meant it was instantanious.

TdrLevel: REG_DWORD. The initial level of recovery. The possible values are:

TdrLevelOff (0). – Detection disabled.

TdrLevelBugcheck (1) – Bug check on detected timeout, for example, no recovery.

TdrLevelRecoverVGA (2) – Recover to VGA (not implemented).

TdrLevelRecover(3) – Recover on timeout. This is the default value.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg487368.aspx

You are correct, I was thinking TdrLevelOff, but haven't had the need to fully disable TDR.

Additionally, if tweaking the value doesn't work, you could file a ticket with Nvidia so they can get the debug bits from the driver. There is a chance that even if Bethesda DOES reproduce this and release a patch, it won't fix 100% of the timeouts, so if alert Nvidia of it, it's hopeful that between a new driver and a Brink patch, we can have a much more enjoyable gaming experience. [Well, most of us..

]

This is from a very old post, here: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=31913

NVIDIA statement on TDR Error Messages

Some Windows Vista users have reported that their systems are displaying an error message that says: "Display driver stopped responding, but has successfully recovered." This is called a Timeout Detection and Recovery error message.

Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) is a new feature of Windows Vista that attempts to detect problematic situations and recover to a functional desktop without forcing a reboot. Hangs can occur when the GPU is processing intensive graphics operations, typically during gameplay, and nothing is being updated on the monitor. To the user it appears that the system is frozen with no resolution to the problem; in previous operating systems users generally had to wait a few seconds and then reboot.

The TDR error message "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" lets the user know that the NVIDIA display driver (specifically the "nvlddmkm.sys" file) has been re-initialized and the GPU is reset without requiring a reboot. The only visible artifact from the recovery is a screen flicker, the result of a screen redraw. Note that some older Microsoft DirectX applications may render to a black screen at the end of the TDR, requiring the user to restart these applications.

TDRs are not specific to a single driver problem, and can occur for a variety of reasons. When they occur, diagnostic information is collected in the form of a debug report that is sent to Microsoft through the Online Crash anolysis (OCA) mechanism if the user opts to provide feedback.

NVIDIA encourages users to submit their own bug reports via the NVIDIA Vista Quality Assurance Program, using the keyword "TDR" in the description of the problem. The NVIDIA bug report link is here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/driverqualityassurance.html

We understand that many users have expressed frustration with this issue, and we apologize for the inconvenience. Since the NVIDIA v101.41 beta driver release, NVIDIA has been fixing many TDR issues reported by users. Our software team is currently preparing a new driver which will dramatically reduce the number of TDR errors that users have reported on the forums. Thank you for your patience."

» Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:49 pm

You are correct, I was thinking TdrLevelOff, but haven't had the need to fully disable TDR.

Dunno what to say. Disabled Tdr with TdrLevel 0, no affect gamewise, just completely froze my pc instead of dumping me to desktop.

» Tue Nov 29, 2011 2:49 am

Hello,

I changed the value TdrDelay to hex 0. This fix didn't work for me. I am still getting the disconnected from OpenGL error message. I have not tested for long enough yet to ascertain the frequency of the error. Anyway, the error still makes this game unplayable unfortunately.

I have witten to Bethesda about this and Splash Damage in their blog state that they are working on a patch for this problem.

http://www.splashdamage.com/forums/showthread.php?p=300712#post300712

http://bethblog.com/index.php/2011/05/20/brink-%E2%80%93-an-update-on-updates/

Nevica