NVIDIA Driver Crash Event Id 14 and 153, tried every fix I know, possible hardware failure

Understanding NVIDIA Driver Crashes: Diagnosing Event ID 14 and 153 Errors on Laptop GPUs

If you’re a gamer or a power user experiencing persistent NVIDIA driver crashes, you’re not alone. Many users encounter Event ID 14 and 153 errors related to their GPUs, especially on gaming laptops. This article explores common causes, troubleshooting steps, and potential solutions to help you identify whether hardware failure might be the culprit.

Case Study: NVIDIA Driver Issues on an Acer Nitro 5

Let’s consider a typical scenario. A user with an Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57 (Intel i5-11400H, RTX 3050 Laptop GPU, 16GB RAM) reports frequent crashes during gaming sessions, with errors appearing in Windows’ Event Viewer:

Event ID 14 (nvlddmkm): Indicates a problem with the NVIDIA display driver, often related to hardware or driver stability.
Event ID 153 (nvlddmkm): Suggests a UCodeReset or Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) event, signaling that the GPU did not respond or reset properly.

The user’s symptoms intensify over time, initially experiencing occasional crashes and now facing frequent game terminations. Despite multiple troubleshooting attempts—including driver updates, driver rollbacks, driver reinstallation via Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), changing graphics APIs, hardware testing, and system reinstalls—the crashes persist.

Common Troubleshooting Approaches

Driver Management:
Updating or rolling back NVIDIA drivers.
Manually installing drivers from the manufacturer’s website.
Using DDU for clean driver removal before reinstalling.
Graphics Settings Adjustment:
Switching between different APIs (DirectX 11, 12, Vulkan).
Underclocking or undervolting the GPU using tools like MSI Afterburner.
Hardware Checks:
Reapplying thermal paste (re-pasting CPU and GPU components).
Testing different RAM configurations.
Monitoring temperatures and system stability during stress tests.
System and Software Optimization:
Performing system scans with DISM, SFC, and Windows Memory Diagnostic.
Reinstalling Windows to eliminate OS conflicts.
Limiting background processes, disabling hardware components like NVIDIA HD Audio, RGB software, and registry tweaks like TdrDelay.
Stress Testing & Diagnostics:
Running benchmark tools like Unigine Heaven