Nvidia Graphics Card – Fix Code 43 Error in Windows 10

driversgraphics cardnvidia-graphics-cardresolutionwindows 10

Currently, when I boot into Windows, one monitor stays black (undetected), and the other can only display 800×600 resolution.

When I look at Device Manager > Display Adapters > NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 > General > Device Status, it says "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)".

Details > Problem Code says "00002b". Details > Status says:

01802400
DN_HAS_PROBLEM
DN_DISABLEABLE
DN_NT_ENUMERATOR
DN_NT_DRIVER

When I then click into the Events tab, it says "Device PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_13C2&SUBSYS_29763842&REV_A1\4&25438c51&0&0008 requires further installation."

I have a EVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card with the latest drivers (376.19 from 12/1/2016).

My Windows 10 Pro has the latest updates and is at Version 1607, OS Build 14393.576.

My ASRock Z170 Pro4 motherboard BIOS is also updated to the latest version (7.00 from 10/4/2016).

I have dual Acer monitors with 1920×1080 resolution.

I downloaded Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS onto a bootable USB drive and booted into the Ubuntu operating system instead of Windows. Both monitors immediately worked at full 1920×1080 resolution. So the hardware seems functional! My remaining challenge is to figure out why my video card has stopped working within Windows.

What I Have Tried

  • I've tried using Display Driver Uninstaller from Guru3d in Safe Mode to delete all drivers and try to install fresh.
  • I've tried many different versions of the driver dating back more than 12 months.
  • I've tried reseating the card.
  • I've tried moving the card to a different slot.
  • EVGA's phone support told me to reinstall windows (Windows > Reset this PC > Keep my files). Unfortunately, I followed their advice (and now don't have any of my programs), and I still get Code 43 with the EVGA Nvidia card.

What I Have NOT Tried

  • I would love to try installing this card onto a different Windows 10 computer to see what happens, but I don't have access to any other computers. If you live northeast of Atlanta, let me know. 😉

I'd appreciate any other ideas you have!.

Best Answer

I have searched the Web for solutions to the problem of "Event ID 14 from source nvlddmkm", and it seems to be a problem of the Nvidia driver. It also happens for you with the Windows generic driver, because that driver also comes from Nvidia, although normally behind the one found on the Nvidia website.

The only people who reported success were ones who uninstalled all Nvidia software (see the utility Display Driver Uninstaller) and installed an older version of the driver. As they only changed the Nvidia driver, this is definitely a driver problem, born out by the fact that it does not happen on Ubuntu.

Solution 1

Since this used to work, but doesn't any more, probably Windows has updated the driver. As first try, you could roll the driver back :

  1. Open Control Panel -> Device Manager, or enter Device Manager in WIN+X
  2. Locate the device
  3. Right-click and choose Properties
  4. Click the Driver tab
  5. Click Roll Back Driver
  6. Click Yes and then Close
  7. Your computer will automatically restart

Solution 2

If this does not work for you, you will have the time-consuming task of finding a driver version that works. Your current driver version is 376.33 from 2016.12.14. Here are some driver versions that were reported as working:

  • 353.06 from 2015.5.31, reported as working here, but later retracted here.
  • 347.88 from 2015.3.17, reported as working here together with the procedure used

Prevent Windows Update from reinstalling the bad driver

Once you find a driver version that works for you, you will have the problem of preventing Windows from automatically updating it again. See this answer of mine for how to block these updates.

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