My best guess is your gpu crashed, somehow missing its driver, windows wanted to give generic driver stuff, but windows cant
My experience says your GPU is dying , because my 6800xt did just like that, at first very randomly then all game just like that* finger crossed

What happened usually in these cases are:

1. The GPU timeout and the driver didn't recover, Windows was not able to get the GPU to respond. Almost always linked to a bad driver , or if you OCed your GPU it can be an issue, esp. if you OC VRAM. Some factory OCs are also an issue.

2. The GPU became inaccessible for other reasons, usually linked to incompatibility with hardware either between it or between the operating system (BIOS update needed / vBIOS update needed)

3. An invalid or bad instruction was used by an application with low level access that caused the operation to lock without resolving. The instruction is a low level instruction that cannot be terminated by the automatic timeout in Windows because it is returning a valid value.

4. Linked to an overall bad overclock on the system * see below

Thing is, when you use an overlay or recording software in Windows, all graphics become rendered through the overlay as it is active. When the overlay is closed, then graphics are no longer rendered through it.

This causes a task switch to happen where one task (overlay) first takes control of rendering, then returns the render operation back to the desktop composition manager (dwm.exe).

When that happens, if for ANY reason the operation cannot be returned then three things will happen:

A. If it's detected, then the Desktop Composition Manager should reset the adapter and your screen will flash black. The ongoing render operations may be exited (closed games).

B. The computer will blue screen if it detects a situation where the GPU does not respond at all or a situation where the control or flags register issues a HALT signal. This can be called by many different components on your motherboard or BIOS. The graphics card vBIOS can also call this.

C. Black screen: means the GPU is responding, but it is not interfaced with Windows anymore. This can happen if the GPU failed to reset properly, but it can also indicate a BAD OVERCLOCK on memory where the framebuffer resides (bad RAM overclock, bad VRAM overclock).

--> suggestion

First, in your case you should simply check if there is a BIOS update because the current edition of Windows 11 needs a recent BIOS version. They should have all been pushed out for supported boards by now

If you installed your GPU driver from anywhere other than Nvidia's website (like using Windows Update) then get the driver from Nvidia. Windows Update can update your driver without your permission or any notification unless you have completely disabled it from doing so

You can also check with your graphics card manufacturer if there is a VBIOS update that improves compatability and stability. These are issued sometimes.

Verify that you do have the latest vBIOS for your card.

Then after doing that, try to trigger it again

Originally posted by ˢᵈˣ FatCat:

My best guess is your gpu crashed, somehow missing its driver, windows wanted to give generic driver stuff, but windows cant
My experience says your GPU is dying , because my 6800xt did just like that, at first very randomly then all game just like that* finger crossed

Yep, now that it's done it twice, I think the GPU may be dying. It's a bit annoying since like I said, it's still pretty new. Granted, I use it a lot, but the temps are always within acceptable limits, even in demanding games.

Originally posted by Euphytose:

Originally posted by ˢᵈˣ FatCat:

My best guess is your gpu crashed, somehow missing its driver, windows wanted to give generic driver stuff, but windows cant
My experience says your GPU is dying , because my 6800xt did just like that, at first very randomly then all game just like that* finger crossed

Yep, now that it's done it twice, I think the GPU may be dying. It's a bit annoying since like I said, it's still pretty new. Granted, I use it a lot, but the temps are always within acceptable limits, even in demanding games.

BUT if it just happes on that game still could be bad code / engine, happened to me while playing the forest 2 after certain update, there still hope

Originally posted by AmaiAmai:

What happened usually in these cases are:

1. The GPU timeout and the driver didn't recover, Windows was not able to get the GPU to respond. Almost always linked to a bad driver , or if you OCed your GPU it can be an issue, esp. if you OC VRAM. Some factory OCs are also an issue.

2. The GPU became inaccessible for other reasons, usually linked to incompatibility with hardware either between it or between the operating system (BIOS update needed / vBIOS update needed)

3. An invalid or bad instruction was used by an application with low level access that caused the operation to lock without resolving. The instruction is a low level instruction that cannot be terminated by the automatic timeout in Windows because it is returning a valid value.

4. Linked to an overall bad overclock on the system * see below

Thing is, when you use an overlay or recording software in Windows, all graphics become rendered through the overlay as it is active. When the overlay is closed, then graphics are no longer rendered through it.

This causes a task switch to happen where one task (overlay) first takes control of rendering, then returns the render operation back to the desktop composition manager (dwm.exe).

When that happens, if for ANY reason the operation cannot be returned then three things will happen:

A. If it's detected, then the Desktop Composition Manager should reset the adapter and your screen will flash black. The ongoing render operations may be exited (closed games).

B. The computer will blue screen if it detects a situation where the GPU does not respond at all or a situation where the control or flags register issues a HALT signal. This can be called by many different components on your motherboard or BIOS. The graphics card vBIOS can also call this.

C. Black screen: means the GPU is responding, but it is not interfaced with Windows anymore. This can happen if the GPU failed to reset properly, but it can also indicate a BAD OVERCLOCK on memory where the framebuffer resides (bad RAM overclock, bad VRAM overclock).

--> suggestion

First, in your case you should simply check if there is a BIOS update because the current edition of Windows 11 needs a recent BIOS version. They should have all been pushed out for supported boards by now

If you installed your GPU driver from anywhere other than Nvidia's website (like using Windows Update) then get the driver from Nvidia. Windows Update can update your driver without your permission or any notification unless you have completely disabled it from doing so

You can also check with your graphics card manufacturer if there is a VBIOS update that improves compatability and stability. These are issued sometimes.

Verify that you do have the latest vBIOS for your card.

Then after doing that, try to trigger it again

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Unfortunately I'm not competent enough to update my BIOS. I can change a few settings in it but that's about it. I don't want to make things even worse than they already are.

I played this morning just fine, then this afternoon it started happening.

I haven't overclocked anything. The card did come with a stock OC though, but so far it's been very stable. I've never had trouble running all games except a few with known performance issues.

But thanks again for the very in depth answer!

Originally posted by ˢᵈˣ FatCat:

Originally posted by Euphytose:

Yep, now that it's done it twice, I think the GPU may be dying. It's a bit annoying since like I said, it's still pretty new. Granted, I use it a lot, but the temps are always within acceptable limits, even in demanding games.

BUT if it just happes on that game still could be bad code / engine, happened to me while playing the forest 2 after certain update, there still hope

I'll try other games and report back.

If it happens in other games, I think it's over lol.

Edit: It's important to note that BOTH times, the crash happened as I closed the overlay.

I hope it's just an overlay + game issue and not my GPU failing.

Originally posted by Euphytose:

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Unfortunately I'm not competent enough to update my BIOS. I can change a few settings in it but that's about it. I don't want to make things even worse than they already are.

I played this morning just fine, then this afternoon it started happening.

I haven't overclocked anything. The card did come with a stock OC though, but so far it's been very stable. I've never had trouble running all games except a few with known performance issues.

But thanks again for the very in depth answer!

Your board does have an update. This one was released in May :

https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-z790-a-wifi/helpdesk_bios?model2Name=PRIME-Z790-A-WIFI

Supposed tutorial that can help you :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDAP7DQOSgU

NOTE: before any BIOS update always back up data in case something goes wrong and make sure the power won't go out. Probability of something going wrong is usually remote these days and most boards have flashback.

In case something does go wrong refer here and BIOS flashback:

https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1044348/

-- GPU --

vBIOS, if it isn't the version listed or later, it could be an older version without this update depending on when you bought the card and its serial number:

https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-components/graphics-cards/tuf-gaming/tuf-rtx4070ti-o12g-gaming/helpdesk_bios?model2Name=TUF-RTX4070TI-O12G-GAMING

Version V1
11.56 MB
2023/03/01

Update VBIOS to improve the compatibility

Checksum:
Name: RTX4070TI_V1.exe
Size: 12123024 bytes (11 MiB)
SHA256: AFC252706681471087367C4F816FC3A0D2984918FCD13821FAB7C0AF495B0399

Ok, I tested in the game The Finals.

Everything was fine, but after I closed the overlay a few times, it did it again.

It happens exactly as I close it. The game was running super smooth on max settings and the temps were, once again, just fine.

I'm really wondering what the hell is happening here lol.

It's happening EVERY TIME on overlay closing, nothing else.

Surely it's not a coincidence yeah?

Edit: Also thanks again for the links but I won't attempt to update that myself, I'm not tech savvy enough.

I will update my GPU driver using the official Nvidia website and try again.

But it's looking really bleak here I'm afraid.

I’m no help on this but through three games and also basic topics, I’ve seen an extreme increase in windows issues recently since the first of the month.

Originally posted by Euphytose:

Ok, I tested in the game The Finals.

Everything was fine, but after I closed the overlay a few times, it did it again.

It happens exactly as I close it. The game was running super smooth on max settings and the temps were, once again, just fine.

I'm really wondering what the hell is happening here lol.

It's happening EVERY TIME on overlay closing, nothing else.

Surely it's not a coincidence yeah?

Edit: Also thanks again for the links but I won't attempt to update that myself, I'm not tech savvy enough.

I will update my GPU driver using the official Nvidia website and try again.

But it's looking really bleak here I'm afraid.

Well one thing you can do is turn off hardware acceleration in Steam / Discord other apps. Nvidia and Chrome-based applications (like Steam, Discord, Chrome, Edge, etc.) have been known to have issues, but the issues happen for everyone if a game is coded bad.

IF you have more than one overlay, that is besides your driver based overlay (AMD, Nvidia) then it can also cause issues if they all request hardware acceleration in addition to games. Overlays have priority over games because they "take over" rendering when in use even if you don't see them. This is not usually an issue for driver-based overlays like AMD/Nvidia but it is an issue when you use 3rd party ones that are accelerated with some games*

Most of those apps allow you to turn off Hardware Acceleration. For Steam:

https://thegeekpage.com/how-to-enable-disable-gpu-accelerated-rendering-in-steam/

Discord:

https://www.howtogeek.com/713913/how-to-enable-or-disable-hardware-acceleration-on-discord/

^ after doing that then try again

Originally posted by om namo:

I’m no help on this but through three games and also basic topics, I’ve seen an extreme increase in windows issues recently since the first of the month.

Could it be related to the update to the Steam Overlay?

I'm using the new performance overlay.

Today when I booted the PC I noticed that I got a Steam update, fairly small I think.

This morning I played about 2 hours (Minion Masters) just fine.

This afternoon I tried again and boom, the problem started happening.

It's just very weird.

Originally posted by AmaiAmai:

Originally posted by Euphytose:

Ok, I tested in the game The Finals.

Everything was fine, but after I closed the overlay a few times, it did it again.

It happens exactly as I close it. The game was running super smooth on max settings and the temps were, once again, just fine.

I'm really wondering what the hell is happening here lol.

It's happening EVERY TIME on overlay closing, nothing else.

Surely it's not a coincidence yeah?

Edit: Also thanks again for the links but I won't attempt to update that myself, I'm not tech savvy enough.

I will update my GPU driver using the official Nvidia website and try again.

But it's looking really bleak here I'm afraid.

Well one thing you can do is turn off hardware acceleration in Steam / Discord other apps. Nvidia and Chrome-based applications (like Steam, Discord, Chrome, Edge, etc.) have been known to have issues, but the issues happen for everyone if a game is coded bad.

IF you have more than one overlay, that is besides your driver based overlay (AMD, Nvidia) then it can also cause issues if they all request hardware acceleration in addition to games. Overlays have priority over games because they "take over" rendering when in use even if you don't see them. This is not usually an issue for driver-based overlays like AMD/Nvidia but it is an issue when you use 3rd party ones that are accelerated with some games*

Most of those apps allow you to turn off Hardware Acceleration. For Steam:

https://thegeekpage.com/how-to-enable-disable-gpu-accelerated-rendering-in-steam/

Discord:

https://www.howtogeek.com/713913/how-to-enable-or-disable-hardware-acceleration-on-discord/

^ after doing that then try again

Thanks again, the Steam Overlay is the only one I use unfortunately. I turned everything off.

I'm in the process of updating my GPU driver to the latest version and see if that changes anything.

Don't think it will but it never hurts to try.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/discussions/forum/1/601905151053177514/ i hope the link is right, but thete is a discussion about this exact problem, maybe you get some insight there, well clearly it's not GPU problem, lucky you :D

Originally posted by Euphytose:

Originally posted by om namo:

I’m no help on this but through three games and also basic topics, I’ve seen an extreme increase in windows issues recently since the first of the month.

Could it be related to the update to the Steam Overlay?

I'm using the new performance overlay.

Today when I booted the PC I noticed that I got a Steam update, fairly small I think.

This morning I played about 2 hours (Minion Masters) just fine.

This afternoon I tried again and boom, the problem started happening.

It's just very weird.

I don’t use any overlays and I’m always gutting windows because of how many different background tasks there are. If you were me in this problem, stress test your components in environments you know are no sweat. Particularly getting a baseline of stability and slowly increasing something somewhere maybe it’s browser tabs or maybe it’s instances in a game.

But if your issue is garunteed repeatable, windows makes like a dump file you can copy//paste or magnet link us here for the ultimate spec sheet of help.

Originally posted by ˢᵈˣ FatCat:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/discussions/forum/1/601905151053177514/ i hope the link is right, but thete is a discussion about this exact problem, maybe you get some insight there, well clearly it's not GPU problem, lucky you :D

You're a life saver man, thank you so much.

I just updated my driver, but seeing this thread gives me hope, a lot of it.

Edit: I just disabled hardware acceleration for Steam, will report back again after testing more.