12 Solutions To Fix Video TDR Failure (atikmpag.sys)

The Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) is one of Windows OS computers’ most annoying errors. All of us have seen these on our computer screen, at least once while using it. Seeing this suddenly pop up at you without a warning, can be alarming while working.

There are quite some reasons the BSoD appears on your screen. These issues are usually caused by driver failures or third-party applications on your computer. One such component failure that can cause your monitor to show you a BSoD is the Video TDR failure.

This article has exclusively curated content related to resolving the Video TDR failure error on your Windows computer.

What does TDR mean in Windows?

Time Detection and Recovery (TDR) is a Windows feature that troubleshoots your system’s Graphics Processing Unit’s (GPU) functioning driver if the Operating System (OS) does not receive any response from it within a certain duration of time.

If there are no responses within the allotted time, the computer is returned to a normal and operative state of functioning without restarting the computer. 

What does a Video TDR Failure mean?

Generally, when the system’s graphics card driver software runs into trouble and gets into a spot where it cannot respond to the OS, the TDR locates the issue and solves it. When the TDR fails to fix it when the graphics card stops responding, it causes the system to crash and shows the BSoD. 

This issue is known to show up when the computer’s video card is pushed to its maximum extent for a while, meaning Windows users are most likely to see the Video TDR failure Blue Screen of Death when they are playing high-specification games, medium or large-scale 3D rendering, prolonged video editing or even run a video file.  

What Causes the Video TDR Failure Error?

These are the reasons you face the Video TDR failure on your system:

1. Damaged graphics card
2. More running applications than the system can handle
3. Out of date video driver
4. Over-heated PC parts
5. Overclocking components
6. Incompatible components

Why you should Fix Video TDR Failure Error BSOD

This blue screen error must be fixed at the first sign of a Video TDR failure. Multiple experiences of the blue screen can cause damage to the display card drivers and cause the performance of the GPU drivers to drop. 

Methods to Fix Video TDR Failure BSoD

1. Update Video driver
2. Roll your Video Card back
3. Uninstall and Reinstall the Video Driver
4. Make your computer dust-free
5. Replace the needed Sys files
6. Disable the Intel Graphics and Changing the Intel Graphics Settings
7. Perform a CHKDSK scan
8. Run an SFC scan
9. Run the Startup repair tool
10. Take a look at the minidump file
11. Modify the PCIe Power Management Settings
12. Launch Windows in Safe mode

Methods to get rid of the Video TDR Failure Blue Screen Error

Method 1: Update Video Driver

You can get the latest driver, compatible, with the help of a dedicated Graphics driver interface or manually, through the Windows Device Manager on your computer.

Because it takes only one press of a button to update the Graphics driver with dedicated applications like GeForce Experience and Radeon Adrenaline, we will discuss the steps to update the video card driver, alternatively:

1. Search for Device Manager and open the best match among the results.

You can also enter devmgmt.msc in the Run tool, which can be opened through the Start menu or by pressing the Windows and R keys together.

2. Expand Display Adapters.

3. You may see more than one display driver, depending on the number of graphics cards that are connected to your computer. Right-click on the primary driver which has to be updated and click on the Update Driver option.

4. Wait for the update to finish and then, restart your computer.

Method 2: Roll your Video Card Driver back

Rolling back means going back to the previous version of the driver’s software. This can help fix Video TDR failure.

1. Open Device Manager, with the steps stated above.
2. Locate your Graphics card driver under the Display Adapter sub-heading.
3. Double-click the driver, which needs to be rolled back. 
4. In the Driver properties dialog box, go to the Driver tab.
5. Press the Roll Back Driver button and do as instructed.

This will give you the previous version of the driver software. 

Method 3: Uninstall and Reinstall the Video Driver

1. Open the Device Manager.
2. Locate the driver that you want to uninstall, and right-click on it.
3. From the small menu that opens, select Uninstall Device.

4. Once the uninstallation is complete, you can download them back from the official GPU driver software developers’ websites. 

Every company that produces Graphics card drivers have them available for download on their sites. The most popular ones being used by gamers and professionals today are Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.

Method 4: Make your computer dust-free

It is important to keep the computer components of the computer clean and without dust. Dust accumulation inside the cracks and corners of the computer parts can not only cause problems like driver issues and system crashes, but it can also chip away at the hardware life. 

It is recommended that you use compressed air or a piece of clean anti-static fabric to remove dust from complicated parts like the motherboard and graphics card. If you know your way around hardware, you can use distilled water.

Method 5: Replace the needed Sys file

There are several chances that system files, responsible for the functioning of the graphics cards have failed on your computer. 

You can replace them with fresh system files with these steps:

Open the File Explorer and go to this directory

C:\windows\drivers\

This is where you will find the system file for your graphics card. The name of the file depends on the third-party graphics card driver developer. 

AMD Graphics Card – atikmpag.sys

The atikmpag.sys is the file for the AMD graphics driver. If your system is powered by AMD graphics, you should be able to find it in the Drivers folder. Delete it or rename it to something you can remember it by (Like atikmpag.sys.old).

Go on a different computer with an ATI directory (C:\ATI). You should be able to find a file named atikmdag.sy or atikmpag.sy. Copy this to your desktop and launch the command prompt window. 

Enter the following command:

chdir desktop
expand -r atikmdag.sy_ atikmdag.sys

Run this command and move your new atikmdag.sys to the Drivers folder on your system.

Nvidia Graphics Card (Nvidia Driver) – Nvlddmkm.sys

Nvlddmkm.sys is the system file for Nvidia graphics cards. The steps to replace this file are the same as those used to replace the AMD system file.

Intel (ATI)Graphics Card – Igdkmg64.sys

For Intel users with the Intel HD graphics driver (Intel Graphics Card), you just have to uninstall it and then reinstall the driver through the Device Manager or the Intel Website.

Method 6: Disabling the Intel Driver and Changing the Intel Graphics settings

You can even try to disable the Intel GPU driver or modify graphics drivers settings. 

Open your device manager, find your Intel Primary driver, right-click on it, and then select Disable device. Once it is disabled, right-click on it again and click Enable device again.

Then, open the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel, which you can find in the system tray.

In the 3D settings section, 

1. Enable Application Optimal Mode
2. Change Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing to Use Application Settings
3. Set General Settings to the Balanced Mode
4. Disable Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing

In the Basic Video settings, set Input Range and Standard Color Correction into Application Settings.

Method 7: Perform a CHKDSK scan

A Check Disk scan tests the integrity of the files that are present on your system. This is used to locate and fix damaged files on Windows computers. We can use this to fix Video TDR failure on your system. 

Here are the steps to run the CHKDSK scan:

1. Open the Command Prompt as an administrator and type in this command:

chkdsk ‘disk letter’: /f /r /x

2. Press Enter and you’ll be asked whether you want to schedule a scan the next time you restart the system. Type Y and hit Enter. 
3. Restart the computer and it will be scanned for corrupt files and software.

Method 8: Run an SFC scan

The System Files Utility Checker or SFC is one of the built-in Windows features that locate and fix damaged system files. 

The following are the directions to perform an SFC scan on your Windows computer:

1. Open the Command Prompt as the administrator. Type in cmd in the search bar on your taskbar, and then choose Run as Administrator.
2. In the script window, type in sfc /scannow and press Enter.

This process will take some time to finish. Once it is done, reboot your computer and see if the video TDR failure comes up in the future.

Method 9: Run the Startup Repair tool

The Startup Repair tool can be used to address this issue. This is because there is a rare chance that you see the Video TDR failure blue screen errors because of corrupt startup programs.  

Here are the steps to launch the startup repair:

1. Click on the Start menu and click on the Settings gear icon on the left.
2. Open the Update & Security settings and, choose Recovery from the list of options on the left.
3. In the Advanced Startup tab, press the Restart now button.
4. After the rebooting process, the Startup menu will appear, select Troubleshoot, and select Advanced Options from this.
5. Click on Startup Repair. It takes a while for the OS to find and repair all the dysfunctional programs.

Method 10: Take a look at the minidump file

A Mini dump file is a crash report that is generated after the crash occurs. You can analyze dump file for details about the Video TDR error and see what went wrong. 

1. Press the Windows and R key, simultaneously to launch the Run utility.
2. Type sysdm.cpl and click Ok or press Enter.

3. The System Properties window opens. Open the Advanced tab and then, in the Startup & Recovery category, go into Settings.

4. Open the Write Debugging Information drop-down menu. From this, choose Small Memory Dump (256kb) and choose Ok.

5. After these steps are done, you will be able to find your dump file in this directory:

C:\Windows\Minidump

Method 11: Modify the PCI Express Power Management settings 

1. Launch the Run tool (Windows key + R key), enter powercfg.cpl, and run it. This takes you to the Power Options in the Control Panel.

2. Press the Change Plan settings link.

3. Next, click on Change Advanced Power Settings.

4. In the dialog box that opens, expand PCI Express and click on Link State Power Management.
5. Turn the On Battery and Plugged In options off. Save these changes.

6. Finally, Restart the computer for the changes to be applied.

Method 12: Launch Windows in Safe Mode

Performing a boot-up in safe mode can help narrow down where the problem arises from and help fix it more efficiently than the normal mode. Check out our article, written specifically for everyone who needs help on How to start Windows 10 in Safe Mode.

These are the possible methods that can help you fix the Video TDR failure error message. It is recommended that you keep trying each method until the conflict is resolved.