How to Fix BSOD VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (0x00000116)

By ErrorFix · Updated October 16, 2026 · 9 min read

What error 0x00000116 means

Every frame your screen shows is the graphics card answering requests from Windows. To stop a hung GPU from freezing the whole PC, Windows runs a watchdog called Timeout Detection and Recovery. If the GPU does not finish its current task within two seconds, TDR resets the graphics driver. Most of the time you just see a flicker and a "display driver stopped responding" balloon. VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (stop code 0x00000116) is what happens when the recovery itself fails — the GPU stayed silent, Windows had no safe way back, and the kernel halted the system with the blue screen.

The classic pattern is crashing under load: games, video editing, 3D apps, or right after the screen flickers and recovers once or twice. The most common cause is the graphics driver — a buggy update, a corrupted install, or leftover files from an older version. But the driver is only the suspect most of the time, not all of it. An overheating card throttles and stalls past the two-second deadline. A factory or user overclock that is not quite stable does the same. A dying GPU or an overloaded power supply can also go silent mid-frame. The fixes below start with the driver, because it is the cause in most cases, and work toward heat and hardware.

Common causes

• Bad or corrupted graphics driver: the number-one cause — a buggy update, a partial install, or files left behind by an older driver make the GPU stop responding.
• Unstable GPU overclock: factory or manual overclocks on the core or memory can make the card stall under load and miss the two-second deadline.
• Overheating graphics card: dust-clogged fans, dried thermal paste, or poor case airflow let the GPU cook until it throttles or hangs.
• Dying GPU or weak power delivery: a failing card or a PSU that cannot hold steady power under load produces random TDR timeouts.
• Corrupted Windows system files: damaged core graphics components can break the recovery process even when the card itself is fine.

How to fix error 0x00000116 — step by step

Work through these fixes in order. The driver reinstall in step 2 solves most cases; the later steps cover the heat and hardware causes that survive it.

1. Confirm the pattern before changing anything. Note exactly when the blue screen hits. VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE is a load problem: it strikes during gaming, video rendering, or heavy multitasking, almost never while the PC idles at the desktop. If the crashes only happen in one game, lower that game's graphics settings one notch — an overly aggressive setting can push a marginal GPU over the edge. Write down the last few crash times and what the PC was doing; the pattern decides which steps matter. If it crashes while idling, the driver or a failing card is more likely than heat.
2. Clean-install the graphics driver with DDU. Driver files left behind by updates are the most common trigger, so a regular update is often not enough. Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) and the newest driver for your card from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel — save the installer where you can find it, then disconnect from the internet so Windows cannot reinstall a driver mid-process. Boot into Safe Mode, run DDU, choose Clean and restart. Back in normal Windows, install the fresh driver you downloaded and restart once more. A clean slate fixes VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE in a large share of cases.
3. Roll back the driver if the crashes started after an update. If the blue screens began right after a driver update, the new driver is the prime suspect. Press Win + X, open Device Manager, expand Display adapters, right-click your GPU, open Properties, and use Roll Back Driver on the Driver tab. If Roll Back is grayed out, install the version before last from the manufacturer's driver archive instead. Test under the load that used to crash — a game session or a graphics benchmark — for at least an hour before calling it fixed.
4. Remove any GPU overclock and revert to stock. Overclocks are the second-most common cause after the driver. Open your tuning software — MSI Afterburner, the AMD Adrenalin performance tab, or the vendor tool — and reset the GPU to stock clocks and stock voltage, then apply and close the tool. If the card shipped with a factory overclock, use the vendor's software to switch to the silent or reference profile. Also undo any CPU overclock for the test period, since an unstable CPU can stall the graphics pipeline too. Run the same heavy workload again; if the crashes stop, the overclock was not stable.
5. Give the GPU more time with the TdrDelay registry tweak. Windows waits only two seconds before declaring the GPU dead. On systems where the card is just slow to respond — heavy scenes, multi-monitor setups, older cards — raising that limit stops the blue screen. Press Win + R, type regedit, and open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers. Right-click the right pane, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it TdrDelay. Double-click it, set the value to 8 (8 seconds), and click OK. Add a second DWORD named TdrDdiDelay with the same value of 8. Close the editor and restart. This is the classic, well-documented fix for stubborn VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE crashes that survive a driver reinstall.
6. Cool the card down and check power settings. Heat makes GPUs stall. With the PC off, open the case and look: dust-clogged GPU fans and blocked intake filters are the usual story. Clean them with compressed air (hold the fans still so they do not spin up). Check that the card's fans actually spin under load — a dead fan hides behind case noise. In software, open Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics > Default graphics settings and turn off Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling to test. In the NVIDIA Control Panel under Manage 3D settings, set Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance; in AMD Adrenalin use a stable preset. Also disable PCI Express Link State Power Management in the Windows power plan, since aggressive power saving can starve the card mid-frame. Re-test under load.
7. Reseat the card and rule out the power supply. If software steps did not help, the card or its power may be the problem. Power off, unplug the PC, and press the power button to drain residual charge. Remove the GPU, blow out the PCIe slot, and firmly reseat the card until the retention clip clicks. Make sure every power cable to the card is fully seated — a loose 6- or 8-pin connector drops voltage under load and mimics a dying card. If your PSU has spare PCIe cables or a second rail, try those. If the crashes continue across two clean drivers and reseating, test the card in another PC if you can — a card that crashes everywhere is failing hardware and needs a warranty claim or replacement.

Did this fix it? Quick checklist

• Clean driver install with DDU completed, PC stable for an hour under load
• No GPU or CPU overclock active
• TdrDelay and TdrDdiDelay set to 8 in the registry
• GPU fans clean and spinning, no loose power cables

If the blue screen persists after all seven steps, run a graphics benchmark such as FurMark or the built-in benchmark of a demanding game and watch the GPU temperature — sustained temperatures above 85 to 90 C on an older card point to dried thermal paste, which a repair shop can replace. A card that still crashes at stock clocks, clean drivers, good temperatures, and a known-good power supply is most likely dying. Back up anything important before the card degrades further, and check the manufacturer's warranty — most cards carry at least two years.