Pertaining to graphics card drivers, what does the WHQL designation mean ?
 
Thanks.

WHQL

Thanks, everyone, for taking of your time to explain it to me.
 
I just downloaded the most recent WHQL driver and am going to give this troublesome brand-new card one last chance to perform without constantly causing my screen to black-out, and often my programs to crash.
 
I never had this trouble with the O.E.M. integrated graphics.
 
I guess there is a way for me to check whether the last several drivers I have tried are WHQL compliant; hopefully, this WHQL driver will cure my problem. 
 

Thanks for the indepth explanation.
 
Computer is Dell Optiplex 780m mini-tower with the 3.33ghz processor and 305-watt PS, 8GB RAM, new 500GB hard-drive, with a very recent clean install of Windows 7 Pro. (June 2016) 
 
Yes, I have been using DDU and I have been doing minimal custom and clean install.
 
If by OC software you mean overclocking software, I am unaware of any OC being installed.
 
I have been doing the DDU in safe mode; do you feel that is really necessary?
 
 

If by GPU you mean the graphics card, it is EVGA GEForce GT 730 2GB GDDR5
 
CPU is Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo CPU E8600 @ 3.33GHz
 
Current nvidia driver 368.39
nvidia HD audio driver 1.3.34.14
 
I was told that the integrated graphics driver would not interfere; is this true or should it be uninstalled ?
In "programs" I see Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver 8.15.10.2869; I am assuming this is the integrated graphics driver; is that correct ?
 
I really appreciate your help.

64-bit Windows 7 Pro
 
Other than general use of PC such as searching informational forums like this one, the majority of use is in photographic image editing programs.
As some of our programs were overwhelming the integrated graphics, it was recommended to me to get this graphics card.
Since installing the card, the programs do respond much better/quicker.
 
However, several times each day, and it will happen regardless of whether I am doing something intensive or just reading a web-page, my screen will go black for several seconds and, when the screen returns, a message appears "nvidia graphics driver .........................has quit responding and has recovered"
At first, these black-out occurrences were of only a split-second duration and would occur maybe once a day; lately, the occurrences are much more frequent and of much longer duration, sometimes eight or ten seconds or longer.
 
We are not into "gaming" and it is a seldom occasion that we would stream a movie.
 
I have had this card since early July and the screen black-outs have been happening since the first day of use.
 
One other thing I wonder about, in reviews I read of how noisy the fans were on these cards; I have never heard a sound coming from my computer and can not for certain say whether the fan ever runs or not.
Is the fan supposed to run at all times, or is it thermostatically controlled and only run when needed ? 

Not sure what happened to the text in my above post #3 but to BuckSkin 12B a 62B over here.
Worked with a lot of 12B and 12C when I was in.
rjohnson11 posted about the Beta stuff I posted.
 
 
Note:
Construction Equipment Repairer (62B) in the New Army this MOS is now a Field Surgeon 62B

BuckSkin
Yes; that is the one I have.

 
Which one of the three video out ports are you using ?

BuckSkin
My monitor, HP 2159m, will accept any of the three; however, the only cable I have on hand is VGA, so VGA it is.
 
In the area I live in, there is no such thing as picking up such things in town; if it were not for Amazon and ebay we would never have anything.

My only local choices are Walmart or 40+ miles round trip to Best Buy - I feel your pain
 
Might want to add Newegg.com to your list - during sales you can get a deal & lots of reviews to read
 
Are your Win 7, "power options" set to "high performance" ?
 
Is your PC set to go to "Sleep" or "Hibernate" ?
 
Is HD (hard drive) - Indexing turned off ?
 
 From earlier post you asked - In "programs" I see Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver 8.15.10.2869; I am assuming this is the integrated graphics driver; is that correct ?        YES, you got it. 
 
Side Note: 
Install a SSD as your boot drive, you will see & feel a big improvement in how your PC operates.  I happen to really like the Samsung units - they have been reliable.

BuckSkin
Power options was on "balanced"; I just now changed it to "high performance"
PC has always been set on "Never Sleep"
 
I do not understand "Is HD - indexing turned off"; where do I find this; and, when I find it, should it be ON or OFF for best results ?
 
I will look into the Samsung SSD boot drive; I read somewhere that a lesser GB-capacity SSD was quicker to respond than a higher GB-capacity; is there any truth to that ?  
 

 
No need to brake the bank a 256 GB is plenty and a 128 GB will work- if you move the Windows user "library files" to the mechanical HD, the SSD will not fill up fast.
 
Drive "indexing" is Windows way or being ready for searches.  Think index cards in a library
 
Speed is not an issue for your PC when it comes to a SSD.  They require SATA 3 port (usually white), on the MB (motherboard) - for max speed
 
You probably only have a SATA 2 port on your older MB
 
You MUST set the port on your MB to AHCI in the BIOS, --BEFORE- loading the OS
 
Attachments are not available: Download requirements not met
 
LAST box is Not checked to turn "indexing" off --- If it was indexed, it takes some time for Windows to undo it - No idea why. 
 
It is a resource HOG

BuckSkin
When I unchecked the box and clicked apply, I got a box with two choices, "apply to (C:) only" and "apply to (C:) and all subfiles and subfolders"; which choice do I make ?
 
Thanks ever so much for taking of your time to assist me.
 
 

 
Happy to help

(C:) and all subfiles and subfolders
 
Then go get dinner or a coffee, it take a while to run.  Ignore the warning about search that will popup
 
Search will work - old version.  Besides how often do you search your HD for a file ?

BuckSkin
If it is going to take that long, maybe I will wait until I am done for the night and do it last thing.
I am assuming that I won't be able to do any image editing while it is doing it's thing.

Yes, it will thrash the drive -- lots of access
 
Has your video gone black tonight ?

BuckSkin
Amazingly, it hasn't gone black all evening, but I am sure it will make up for it before I am finished.
 
It did go black a couple times this morning and last night probably five times.

So the changes we have made - might have helped ?
 
Time will tell

BuckSkin
Maybe so; I have the new WHQL drivers ready to install and will maybe do that tomorrow or I might wait a couple days so I can better judge the changes of today.
 
An old mechanic once told me to not fix but one thing at a time, else I wouldn't know what helped and what hindered. 

True- measured steps are best for:  Cause & effect
 
I'll give you another bit of sage advise for troubleshooting 
 
If you do not know what it is (wrong); find out what its not 
 
That has severed me well; when trying to diagnose issues in factory automation.

Try modifying the tdr timeout period to see if it helps stop the blackouts...
 

• Exit all Windows based programs.
• Press Windows Key+R, type regedit in the Search box, and hit enter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

 
Browse to and then click the following registry subkey: 

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\GraphicsDrivers

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\GraphicsDrivers
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers 

 
On the Edit menu, click New, and then select the following registry value from the drop-down menu specific to your version of Windows (32 bit, or 64 bit): 

For 32 bit Windows:

1. Select DWORD (32-bit) value.
2. Type TdrDelay as the Name and click Enter.
3. Double-click TdrDelay and input "A" without the quotes for the Value data and click OK.
4. Close the registry editor and then restart your computer for the changes to take affect

For 64 bit Windows:

1. Select QWORD (64-bit) value.
2. Type TdrDelay as the Name and click Enter.
3. Double-click TdrDelay and input "A" without the quotes for the Value data and click OK.
4. Close the registry editor and then restart your computer for the changes to take affect