4 mins
If your screen freezes or goes black for a few seconds while a video plays, and it started right after a graphics driver update, you're not imagining it. NVIDIA has confirmed a bug in its GeForce Game Ready 621.01 driver, released on October 21, that can freeze or black out the display during video playback. The Japanese site GAZLOG first gathered the reports from NVIDIA's official forums, and VideoCardz, IT Home and Windows Digitals followed. NVIDIA did respond: a company representative on the GeForce forums said the problem has been filed as a bug.
What is the NVIDIA 621.01 video freeze bug?
According to user reports, the picture freezes or the screen goes dark for a few seconds while a video plays in Chrome, Edge or VLC, then comes back on its own without a restart. Some users say it happens every time they launch a game while a browser video is still playing.
That short blackout is Windows' Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) at work. When the GPU stops responding for about two seconds, Windows restarts the display driver to bring the picture back.
How do I know if my PC is affected?
Open Event Viewer and go to Windows Logs, then System. Affected PCs log an error with Event ID 153 from the source nvlddmkm, which is NVIDIA's kernel display driver. One user also reported LiveKernelEvent 141 and 117 errors, which point to GPU timeouts and recoveries. Check the Source column: an Event ID 153 from "disk" is a different problem, tied to a storage drive.
Which GeForce cards have the problem?
Most reports that name a GPU involve the GeForce RTX 5080, and GAZLOG notes that some of those PCs run two or three monitors. VideoCardz adds that an RTX 4090 owner described similar behavior, so it may not be limited to one card. NVIDIA hasn't published a list of affected models.
Users say the problem never showed up on the previous Game Ready driver, 617.42, released on October 6, and that going back to it stops the freezes. That points to a change in 621.01, the first driver from NVIDIA's newer R620 branch, but NVIDIA hasn't confirmed the exact cause.
What did NVIDIA say, and when is the fix coming?
An NVIDIA representative replied on the forums on October 23 that the bug had been registered, and asked affected users for watchdog crash dumps to help the investigation. NVIDIA hasn't announced a hotfix or a date. For context, GAZLOG recalls that when a similar display issue hit driver 616.56, NVIDIA was already testing a fix on September 1 and shipped Hotfix 616.86 on September 4. This time the bug is only at the registered stage, so the fix may take longer.
How do you fix it until NVIDIA releases a patch?
The fix most users report is going back to driver 617.42:
- Open Device Manager, expand Display adapters, right-click your NVIDIA card and choose Properties.
- In the Driver tab, click Roll Back Driver, then restart your PC.
- If that button is grayed out, download 617.42 for your card from NVIDIA's drivers page, choose Custom (Advanced) in the installer and check Perform a clean installation.
GAZLOG suggests an even cleaner route: remove 621.01 completely with Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), then install 617.42. Keep in mind that the NVIDIA app and Windows Update may offer 621.01 again, so skip it until a newer driver lists the fix.
If you'd rather stay on 621.01, Windows Digitals suggests turning off hardware (graphics) acceleration in your browser. Nobody has confirmed that it solves this bug, so treat it as something to try, not a sure fix.
What do you lose by rolling back?
Not much for most players. GAZLOG notes that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 was already optimized in 617.42. You do lose Advanced Shader Delivery on RTX cards, which arrived with 621.01 (see our Advanced Shader Delivery explainer), and the Game Ready profiles for Phantom Blade Zero (October 28) and Crimson Desert Enhanced (October 29).
Are there other 621.01 issues?
GAZLOG lists two more reports. On 480 Hz monitors with G-SYNC enabled, some users see the screen go black every 10 to 15 seconds, and dropping to 360 Hz makes it stable. Separately, some RTX 40 and RTX 50 owners say their monitor shows no picture at boot or after sleep. That one has been reported since driver 616.56 and also happens on 617.42; users say going back to 610.88, from July 28, avoids it.
Should you upgrade your GPU or wait?
Wait. This is a software bug, not a hardware failure, and in the reports the display recovers on its own. Don't replace a working RTX card because of it: roll back to 617.42 and watch for NVIDIA's next driver. If black screens continue on 617.42 and outside of video playback, the cause may be something else and is worth testing further.
If you were already planning an upgrade, browse our graphics cards, check our ready-to-play gaming PCs, or save with one of our refurbished PCs.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 621.01 bug damage my graphics card?
Nothing in the reports points to damage. The freeze is Windows resetting the driver, and the picture comes back after a few seconds.
Is NVIDIA aware of the problem?
Yes. An NVIDIA representative said on the GeForce forums that it was filed as a bug, and the company is collecting crash dumps.
Which driver should I use for now?
Users report that 617.42, released on October 6, doesn't have the video freeze. Install it cleanly, then update once NVIDIA confirms a fix.
Do I need 621.01 for new games?
Only for the Game Ready profiles added in 621.01, like Phantom Blade Zero and Crimson Desert Enhanced, and for Advanced Shader Delivery. Modern Warfare 4 was already optimized in 617.42.
