Dealing with the infamous “nvlddmkm” error or that pesky Event ID 153 showing up out of nowhere can be super frustrating. It’s like your system suddenly gets sticky and refuses to let your graphics card play nice. Usually, this points to driver hiccups, permission weirdness, or even hardware instability. But don’t worry, fixing this isn’t always a full overhaul. Sometimes, a few tweaks—like taking ownership of files or resetting overclocks—can make a big difference. It’s all about finding what’s blocking the smooth communication between Windows and your GPU. The goal here is to get your system stable, so gaming, editing, or just browsing doesn’t turn into a digital nightmare.
How to Fix the “nvlddmkm” Error and Event ID 153
Take Full Ownership of the Nvlddmkm File
This trick often helps because Windows might be blocking access to that driver file, causing weird errors. When permissions get all tangled, your GPU driver can throw a tantrum and crash or freeze. Taking ownership of the nvlddmkm.sys file resets those permissions, letting Windows and the driver communicate properly. It’s kind of weird, but on some setups, this fixes the issue immediately. You might need to do this if your error logs mention access denied or permission problems.
- Open File Explorer by pressing Win + E.
- Navigate to C:\Windows\System32.
- Find the nvlddmkm.sys file, right-click, and choose Properties.
- Switch to the Security tab, then click Advanced.
- Click Change next to the owner name at the top, type Administrators, then hit Check Names and click OK.
- Back in Advanced Security Settings, check the box for Replace owner on subcontainers and objects, then apply.
- Now, right-click the file again, go to Properties, and under the Security tab, click Edit.
- Add your user account with full control, then confirm everything and close out.
On some machines this failed the first time, then surprisingly worked after a reboot. Windows permission stuff can be unpredictable, so don’t give up if it takes a few tries.
Disable Overclocking to Improve Stability
If you’ve been tinkering with overclocking—be it your GPU, RAM, or CPU—this could be the culprit. Pushing hardware beyond its specs can cause crashes, especially under heavy load like gaming or video editing. Resetting everything to stock speeds restores stability and can make those mysterious errors vanish.
- If using MSI Afterburner or a similar tool, set everything back to default or auto. It’s usually just a click on a Reset button.
- For RAM overclocking, restart the PC, go into your motherboard BIOS, usually by pressing Del or F2 during boot, then find the XMP profile setting—disable it and save.
- Reboot and see if the errors stop showing up. Usually, once the hardware is running at default, your GPU driver is less stressed, and errors tend to disappear.
Because of course, Windows has to make it harder than necessary, but resetting to stock clocks often solves the crashes. It’s not always about faulty hardware either; sometimes it’s just the overclock pushing things too far.
Reinstall or Roll Back Your GPU Driver
This is a classic move: driver bugs or corrupted files can mess up nvlddmkm. Reinstalling is straightforward but can be surprisingly effective. Sometimes, the latest driver has issues with certain hardware models or Windows updates, so going back a version can help—especially if the error started after a driver update.
- Open Device Manager by pressing Win + X and choosing it from the menu.
- Expand Display Adapters, find your Nvidia GPU, right-click, and select Uninstall device.
- Check the box for Delete the driver software for this device if available, then hit Uninstall.
- After uninstalling, reboot your PC. Head over to the Nvidia driver download page or use the GeForce Experience app to fetch the latest or a specific driver version.
- When installing, make sure to select Perform a clean installation. It’s usually a checkbox during setup—do that.
- Reboot again once installed. If the new driver is still problematic, try rolling back to an older one from the Nvidia’s archives or Windows’s driver rollback feature.
Check for Hardware Troubles
If none of the above worked, it might be hardware. Overheating, faulty GPU, or power issues can cause these crashes too. Double-check your temps with tools like MSI Afterburner or HWMonitor. Also, make sure your power supply can handle your GPU’s needs—sometimes, a weak PSU causes weird errors.
When in doubt, it’s really worth taking the GPU out, reseating it, cleaning dust, and testing it in another machine if possible. If errors keep popping up and hardware stress tests fail, it might be time for a repair or replacement. Not sure why it works, but on some setups, hardware issues only surface after deep troubleshooting or hardware swaps.
So, in the end, fixing the nvlddmkm error involves a mix of permissions tweaks, driver management, and hardware checks. Most of the time, one of these methods caches the problem without too much hassle. Just remember, Windows and Nvidia don’t always play nice, so don’t get discouraged if some solutions need a couple of tries or a reboot to really take effect. Fingers crossed this helps, and good luck troubleshooting!
Summary
- Take ownership of the nvlddmkm.sys file to fix permission issues.
- Reset overclocked settings back to default—GPU and RAM.
- Reinstall or rollback Nvidia drivers, preferably with a clean install.
- Check hardware health—temps, power supply, and physical connections.
Wrap-up
This kind of error can be a headache, but with a bit of patience, most of the common causes get sorted out without needing to replace hardware right away. The key is methodical troubleshooting—permissions, driver versions, and hardware status. Hopefully, this saves someone hours of frustration and gets the system stable again. Just something that worked on multiple setups — fingers crossed it helps yours, too.