certain games no longer launch after a crash

Question

certain games no longer launch after a crash

lame 0

a few days ago my computer randomly crashed while i was playing a game, before it shut off i got a black screen that said something about my graphics card/driver, although i dont remember the exact phrase. once i restarted my computer, everything has been considerably laggier and multiple of my games dont launch when i try opening them. ive been quite thorough with the fixes ive tried and ive come to the conclusion that whatever is going on must be a problem with my system as a whole, not just with these specific programs. i'd very much appreciate any help i can get on this, thanks.

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Answer 1

David-M 110.6K Independent Advisor

Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

Based on your description, the crash may have occurred due to the graphics card driver or something it depends on. This crash may have corrupted the driver itself or system files, which would explain the sudden loss of performance and the games not launching. I need to investigate further.

Please see if your computer created minidump files.

These files are in C:\Windows\Minidump.

(If you don't have a Minidump folder, check if it is in the plural Minidumps.)

Copy any files you have to your desktop and store them in a ZIP file. Then, upload the ZIP file to the cloud (OneDrive), choose to share it, and get the link.

Then, post the link to the ZIP file here so I can have a look.

Looking forward to your reply.

lame 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T13:47:14.71+00:00

im not particularly tech savvy, but how do i know that sharing those files wont in some way compromise my personal information
lame 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T13:52:00.4933333+00:00

also im not sure how relevant this is, but theres only one dump file in that folder and it says it was most recently modified last year, long before these issues started
David-M 110.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-06T13:56:24.1466667+00:00
Thanks for the clarification.

how do i know that sharing those files wont in some way compromise my personal information

Your concern is valid. Minidump files do not contain personal information. It is perfectly safe to share them. By the way, minidump files are frequently shared here in the Microsoft Q&A.

However, since the only minidump you have is old, it may not be relevant in this case. Perhaps the system is failing to create new minidumps, or it's due to the type of crash that is occurring.

In this case, please export and share the log for analysis:

(There is no personal information in the logs either.)

Press Windows + X and select Event Viewer;

Expand Windows Logs and select System;

In the Actions panel on the right, select Filter Current Log;

In Event level, check the boxes Critical, Warning, and Error and click on Ok;

Again, in the Actions panel, select Save Filtered Log File As and save in an easily accessible place.

Then, upload the file to the cloud (OneDrive), choose to share it, and get the link.

Post the link to the file here so I can have a look.

Looking forward to your reply.
lame 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T14:13:57.22+00:00

alright, i really hope this isnt a mistake. i filtered the logs from the last 7 days, and there are around 730 of them. im not sure if thats a normal amount. https://1drv.ms/u/c/b151f45071517423/IQC3-8MWXw69S6YqgrS0gJTSAROAeszIxubUXPQzLdV8OYg?e=nsomu0
David-M 110.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-06T14:24:50.79+00:00
Thanks.

i filtered the logs from the last 7 days, and there are around 730 of them. im not sure if thats a normal amount.

It's not uncommon. My PC has logged around 600 in the last 7 days and is running stably. Having many errors and warnings in the logs doesn't necessarily mean serious problems.

I analyzed the logs, and it was what I suspected. I found an entry indicating that there was an error creating the dump file. This is likely due to the type of crash that occurred.

In this case, I suggest you use the Driver Verifier utility. This utility is used to force the system to show the driver causing the problem.

Before turning on Driver Verifier, I like to create a restore point just in case. I suggest doing the same.

https://support.microsoft.com/windows/system-protection-e9126e6e-fa64-4f5f-874d-9db90e57645a

Turn on Driver Verifier, let the system crash 3 times, then turn off Driver Verifier. Share the minidumps that the crashes created.

Press Win + R, type verifier, and press Enter;

Select Create custom settings (for code developers) and click Next;

Check these options:

Pool Tracking

I/O Verification

Deadlock Detection

DMA Checking

Security Checks

Force pending I/O requests

IRP Logging

Miscellaneous Checks

DDI compliance checking

Select Select driver names from a list;

Sort by Provider and choose all non-Microsoft drivers;

Click Finish and restart your computer. Driver Verifier will now monitor the selected drivers.

(Pay attention to the blue screen that is displayed. Sometimes, it may contain useful information.)

After the system crashes at least 3 times, follow the procedure below to disable the Driver Verifier.

Open Start and type cmd, right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

Run the following commands at the Command Prompt one at a time:

verifier /reset verifier /bootmode resetonbootfail

Then, restart the PC.

If the system no longer starts due to the instability caused by the Driver Verifier, start it in Safe Mode and perform the above procedure to disable Driver Verifier.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-startup-settings-1af6ec8c-4d4a-4b23-adb7-e76eef0b847f

Looking forward to your reply.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
lame 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T14:42:40.4+00:00

ive done everything except restarting my computer so far, the only question i have before i do that is what you mean by "after it crashes at least 3 times" ive never used driver verifier before, so i dont exactly know what you're referring to by that
lame 0 Reputation points

2026-05-06T15:33:31.8866667+00:00

ive now done the restart, its been about 20 minutes and so far still no crashes. if you could elaborate on what you meant by that i'd greatly appreciate it

Answer 2

The crash and black screen mentioning the graphics card/driver strongly indicate a GPU/driver failure, often related to Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR). After such a failure, symptoms like games not launching, black screens, and general lag are commonly tied to:

Damaged or unstable graphics driver
Out-of-date DirectX or GPU runtime components
Background apps or utilities interfering with the GPU
Possible hardware/thermal issues on the GPU

Use the following steps in order:

Check for graphics-related errors

Open Event Viewer (right-click Start > Event Viewer).
Go to Windows Logs > System.
Look for errors or warnings around the time of the crash, especially entries mentioning “Display”, “LiveKernelEvent”, or VIDEO_TDR-related issues.

Update or reinstall the GPU driver

Install the latest display driver from Windows Update or the GPU vendor.
If a driver is identified in a bug check or event log, update or disable that driver and check with the manufacturer for a newer version.
After updating, test the games again.

Verify DirectX and graphics components

Ensure DirectX and other graphics-related software are up to date. If games rely on Direct3D/DirectDraw and those components are missing or damaged, games may fail to launch or show black screens.
For older titles, if DirectDraw/Direct3D options are unavailable or 3D acceleration is disabled, update DirectX runtimes and the video driver.

Reduce background load and conflicts

Perform a clean startup so only essential services and drivers load. This helps identify whether background programs (antivirus, GPU utilities, overclocking tools) are interfering with games.
Close unnecessary background apps before launching games.

Check for TDR-related stability issues

If the system previously froze or showed a black screen while the cursor or audio continued, it may have hit a TDR condition (VIDEO_TDR_TIMEOUT_DETECTED or VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE).
Make sure:
- The latest GPU driver is installed and supports TDR properly.
- Visual effects and background programs are minimized so the GPU can respond in time.

Inspect hardware health (if issues persist)

Check GPU temperatures using a monitoring tool; sustained high temperatures can cause black screens, fan ramp-up, and crashes.
Ensure the system has adequate cooling and power.
If freezes continue, run hardware diagnostics from the system or GPU manufacturer and consider checking memory and GPU hardware.

If, after updating the GPU driver, DirectX components, and performing a clean startup, games still refuse to launch and the system remains laggy, further investigation of crash dumps (bug checks like 0x116/0x117) and hardware diagnostics is recommended.

References:

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certain games no longer launch after a crash

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