Hey all :)
 
It's been about 3 months I have been using my EVGA GTX 1080 FTW2.
And the last 12 days I been getting strange symptoms since Forceware 385.69 WHQL and later other drivers I tested were 388.10 & 388.13 WHQL.
 
The problem is that when in Windows Desktop mode I get a black screen that displays around 2 to3 seconds and ththen amessage saying the driver has crashed and successfully reset it's self.
 
In games all is fine; games like the following:
Wolfenstein The New Order (id-tech5 OpenGL 4.4)
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (id-tech6 Vulkan API)
Beasts of Bermuda (Unreal Engine 4)
Descent Underground (Unreal Engine 4)
Primal Carnage Extinction 1.9.2. (Unreal Development Kit with Unreal Engine 3.5)
 
Other than that it happens in a very random time pattern, I don't even get artifacts in my games the temps of my GPU, VRAM & VRM's are below average.
A always use silent mode and so far not one time my GPU passed the 60C :)
 
So yeah is this a well known driver issue as I think it would seem?
 
My setup is the following:
 
Dual 12 Core AMD OpteronMP 6180 SE D1 24 Cores @ 2.5Ghz
48 GB Octo Channel DDR3-1600 ECC Reg HP Server Ram @ 1333Mhz
Supermicro H8DG6-F
EVGA GTX 1080 FTW2
Auzentech X-Fi Bravura 7.1
 
Windows 7 Pro x64 UK + SP1
Forceware 388.13WHQL and the latest EVGA Precision XOC
 
I have no overclocked my card in any ways necessary, since it's factory overclocked that was for me enough for my needs :)
Here a screenshot from XOC showing it's idle temps and they seem very healthy :)

 
Here my global settings since I also run old games I have always used the settings when I used GeForce Graphics Cards:

 

Well I had the same issue with 385.69, as well as 388.10 & 388.13
384.94 WHQL was the latest stable driver I used that did not have these issues
 
Deep down this does seem like a driver issue, since if it was a hardware issue I would of seen artifacts in my games and more recent crashes and that is really not the case.
 
After a friend helped me fnd out more details of my issues,I went to Windows Event Viewer an checked the logs.
 
Since October 06, 2017 I have had over 642 events...
 
Log Name: System
Source: nvlddmkm
Date: 10/06/2017 12:45:12 PM
Event ID: 13
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: ***
Description:
 
The description for Event ID 13 from source nvlddmkm cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.
If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.
The following information was included with the event:

\Device\Video7
Graphics Exception: ESR 0x504224=0x80000000 0x504228=0x0 0x50422c=0x0 0x504234=0x0

The message resource is present but the message is not found in the string/message table. 
 
The latest one is yesterday on November 10, 2017:
 
Log Name: System
Source: nvlddmkm
Date: 11/10/2017 10:28:46 PM
Event ID: 13
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: ***
Description:
 
The description for Event ID 13 from source nvlddmkm cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.
If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.
The following information was included with the event:

\Device\Video7
Variable String too Large

The message resource is present but the message is not found in the string/message table.
 
Here a printscreen I took of how it's like, 642 is quite a lot, just trying to find out what is causing this...

Gold Leader
Well I sloved this nasty issue by rolling back to Forceware 384.94 WHQL for Win74 x64, which is this driver package:
http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/120909/en-us
 
Just for those that may have had the same issues as I have, for Win10- x64 users grab this one:
http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/120907/en-us
 
What I did was the following:
 
Went to Configuration Panel --> Uinstall a program
 
And Uninstalled the NV drivers in the order:
NVIDIA 3D Vision Controller Driver
NVIDIA 3D Vision Driver
NVIDIA GeForce Experience (never used this ever again...)
NVIDIA Physx System Software
NVIDIA HD Audio Driver
 
Reboot
 
NVIDIA Graphics Driver
 
Reboot to Safe Mode
F8 --> Safe Mode with Networking
 
Display Driver Uninstaller, Cleanup + Rebooth (Recommended)
 
Install ForceWare 384.94 WHQL Clean Install reboot and done.
 

@ Sajin
 
Hah thanks man also cool to see you made it to moderator buddy, I haven't been here in ages, but as always this place is worth gold for solving problems or seeking help
 

squall-leonhart
String too large is usually accompanied with a GPC Tex exception / Page Fault.
 
Started to see those after moving to r388, and only when scrolling a webpage.
The driver is mishandling memory somehow.

Omg that is exactly what I had I was browsing Facebook everything was super laggy as well then I killed the web browser and I got a black screen for 2 to3 seconds then that error popped up that the driver had recovered from a crash and that it was related to nvlddmkm.dll. 
 
NVIDIA really needs to fix this... every driver after 394.94 gave me these issues, so I am gonna sit here for a while until it's proven reliable to update my drivers.
Also games should not force people to update their drivers that too can be quite the PITA, since that too can get you a bad driver back and you are back at square zero.

Gold Leader
@ Sajin
 
Hah thanks man also cool to see you made it to moderator buddy, I haven't been here in ages, but as always this place is worth gold for solving problems or seeking help

No problem. Yep, I've been a mod since the 1st of October of last year. Yes, the evga forums are a great place to seek advice. 

Even after posting at the NVIDIA forums I got no reply and it was if they don't even see me posting, I really hope this issue gets fixed, for now I am still stuck at using 384.94 WHQL for Win7 x64.
So I guess it's just a matter of time.

Must be a windows 7 issue.

Make sure you report the issue to nvidia. http://surveys.nvidia.com...02641fa8f07694a40f8ac6

Please submit feedback with livekernelevent\watchdog dumps to https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/ask (Login required)
 
Dumps can be found in c:\Windows\LiveKernelReports\WATCHDOG\
 
Reference #171218-000117 so that issues can be tracked.
 
Check if you have KB2670838 installed,
This platform update enables some things such as html5/mpeg4 resolutions higher than 1080p on youtube and other services, which might be a factor in the crashes, it is not installed on systems that have chosen not to install ie11 for example.
Some users also uninstall it as it introduces issues in some D3D10 games, such as Just Cause 2.
 
if you have time can you remove KB 2670838 and try reproducing this with the latest drivers?

if its not got a star next to it, its not a required field.

Still reproduces under 390.65, and with waterfox 56.x
 
more people are coming forward, and the affected range begins at 385.69 where several "fixes" were introduced.

Gold Leader
After all the reports I sent to NVIDIA I am back at square 0 it still happens even with the latest NVIDIA Drivers & versions of Firefox, yet it is less frequent, again it's still a random happening.
My AMD Radeons don't have this as I tested them and all good, NVIDIA has been camping with this issue for some time now, still I want to find out what causes it, only then a fix can be made.
 
In games there are no issues, it's basically when you are using Waterfox or just internet it's self I have Win7 Pro x64 UK + SP1, and no I don't want Win10 Pro not even for a million, that OS is too problematic for certain programs I run. I might sell the GTX 1080 FTW2 if this can't be fixed and get a Radeon Vega FE instead, Radeons have always been the better for me anyways.

It's a good thing we rarely if ever need nvidia driver updates, 385.41 is still a good driver so long as you aren't compiling 9000 opengl shaders.

squall-leonhart
Update:
 

I am going to put this incident into research mode.  Right now we are not getting consistent enough repro for our dev team to root cause.  I'll keep you updated of any new developments.  Sorry that it is taking a while. 

Best Regards,
Manuel
NVIDIA Customer Care
NVIDIA Knowledge Base - http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/list
NVIDIA GeForce Community Forums - https://forums.geforce.com
NVIDIA Find Us Online - http://www.nvidia.com/object/nv_fuo.html

We shall see what this does so far no luck yet I keep getting these Black Screens and driver crash messages.
Not selling my GTX 1080 FTW2 yet, it's definitely not broken since it runs fine with games, it only takes place in 2D mode under Windows no matter what web browser I use Waterfox, Firefox Chrome or even IE it happens at very random times sometimes it's 5 times a day  or once per week or even a week without issues.
I can't seem to find it's real cause but it's something with maybe Windows and web Browsers I have friends that use Win7, 8.1 like 10 that have this same issues some of them have to reboot the system as the screen remains black as where others it goes black 2 to 3 seconds then that crash message appears that the driver has recovered from a serious crash.
 
It all comes down to the same thing, yes still it remains, 384.94 WHQL works without issues everything later tends to be toxic in many ways.
So yeah I am gonna see what NVIDIA will do about this it's a serious matter that needs fixing.