It’s incredibly frustrating to lose your computer to a blue screen error. Ever since the beginning of Windows, the Blue Screen of Death (also known as a blue screen or BSoD) has caused more issues than we can ever count.
One of these blue screen errors is a Video TRD Failure. This error happens when you try to play a video file, game, or do just about anything else related to the video output on your computer.
Instead of playing properly, your computer returns a blue screen displaying something along the lines of a “VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (atikmpag.sys)” error message.
Afterward, it restarts but the issue never really gets fixed on its own.
Depending on the brand of your graphics card, you might also encounter a different name for the error:
- With an NVIDIA graphics card, the error shows up as nvlddmkm.sys.
- With an Intel graphics card, the error shows up as igdkmd64.sys.
- With an AMD or ATI graphics card, the error shows up as atikmpag.sys.
What is TDR in Windows?
TDR is an abbreviation for Timeout, Detection, and Recovery. It's a windows component. Whenever you receive this error, the Graphics card stops responding and Windows will stop to fix the driver error.
In this article, you can learn how to troubleshoot a Video TRD Failure on Windows 10.
Why does the Video TDR Failure Error Happen?
There can be multiple causes that might trigger a Video TDR Failure:
- Issues with your graphics card or other PC parts.
- Outdated graphics card driver.
- Too many applications running in the background.
- Overclocked components.
- Component compatibility issues.
- System overheating.
Keep in mind that these are only the most likely things to cause the error. Microsoft has yet to address the problem officially or provide a permanent fix.
How to Fix Video TDR Failure Error
It’s important that you immediately start fixing this error as it can throw your computer into a reboot loop. This can make you unable to access your files, making it way harder to troubleshoot.
Solution 1: Update or Reinstall your Graphics Drivers
The first thing to do in this situation is fixing any issues with your drivers. Many users report that by updating or reinstalling their divers, especially the graphics driver, the error goes away.
Follow these steps to learn how to update or reinstall your drivers on Windows 10:
- Press and hold the Windows key on your keyboard, then press R. This will open up the Run application.
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Type in devmgmt.msc and hit OK. This will launch the Device Manager.
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Click on the arrow next to Display adaptors to expand it.
- To update, right-click on your driver and choose Update driver.
- If you want to reinstall instead, first click on the Uninstall device.
- After uninstalling, head over to the manufacturer’s website. A quick Google search of your graphics card should redirect you to the correct page.
- Download and install the latest driver compatible with your graphics card.
For good measure, restart your computer and test if the issue still persists. If so, you can attempt one of our other methods.
Solution 2: Tweak your Power Management Settings
It’s possible that your power settings are causing issues with how your PC or laptop handles your graphics.
You can attempt to fix the Video TDR Failure by disabling PCI Express. Follow these steps:
- Search for Control Panel in your search bar and open the application.
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Change the View mode to Category.
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Go to Hardware and Sound then Power Options.
- Click on Change plan settings next to the plan you’re using.
- Click Change advanced power settings link.
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Expand PCI Express, then turn Link State Power Management off entirely.
- Hit Apply to make the changes.
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Restart your computer and check if the issue still holds up.
Solutipon 3: Clean Your Components
Overheating is one of the possible causes of a Video TDR Failure. This can easily happen due to dirt and residue building up on top of your computer components.
When physically cleaning your computer, you need to pay attention to everything you do.
First time cleaning? We recommend watching this video by GamingScan, who explains step-by-step how to clean all components of your rig.
The things you should be paying most attention to are your cooling fans, RAM sticks, graphics card, and your processor.
Solution 4: Replace atikmpaq.sys ( for ATI or AMD graphics card users)
This solution could only work for those who use an ATI or AMD graphics card.
- Check if your blue error screen displays atikmpag.sys or atikmdag.sys.
- Download the latest drivers for your card from the manufacturer’s page.
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Open your file explorer and navigate to Hard disk (C:), Windows, System 32.
- Open the Drivers folder and find atikmdag.sys or atikmpag.sys.
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Rename the file by adding .old after the current file name.
- It’s very important that you only rename the file which shows up in your blue screen error message. Leave the other file untouched.
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Go to the ATI directory, usually found in C:\ATI, and locate atikmdag.sy_ or atikmpag.sy_. Again, make sure this matches the error message.
- Copy and paste the file to your Desktop.
- Search for Command Prompt and open the app.
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Type in chdir desktop and press Enter.
- Depending on the file you renamed:
- Type in expand.exe atikmdag.sy_ atikmdag.sys and press Enter.
- Or, type in expand -r atikmdag.sy_ atikmdag.sys and press Enter.
- Copy the new atikmdag.sys or atikmpag.sys file from your Desktop into the Drivers folder in System 32.
- Restart your computer.
Solutions 5: for Intel Users
If your system is running with an Intel graphics card, you can try one of the following methods of fixing the Video TRD Failure error.
Method 1: How to Disable Intel HD Graphics Driver
- Press and hold the Windows key on your keyboard, then press R. This will open up the Run application.
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Type in devmgmt.msc and hit OK. This will launch the Device Manager.
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Click on the arrow next to Display adaptors to expand it.
- Right-click on the Intel driver, then click on Disable device.
Method 2: How to Change Intel Graphics Settings
- Launch the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel from your Start menu or system tray.
- Under 3D settings, make the following changes:
- Enable Application Optimal Mode.
- Set Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing to Use Application Settings.
- Turn off Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing.
- Change General Settings to Balanced Mode.
- Under Video settings – Basic make the following changes:
- Change Standard Color Correction to Application Settings.
- Change Input Range to Application Settings.
We hope that one of these solutions helped you fix the Video TDR Failure error. If all else fails, we recommend getting in touch with Microsoft and requesting personal support via the Contact Us page.