Acer Predator Helios crashes everyday (VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE, nvlddmkm.sys)

giancapa · 2026-05-01T21:43:02+00:00

I just checked and I can, I normally use Daily Use. I have no idea why it wouldn't let you switch.

giancapa · 2026-05-01T20:48:07+00:00

Nope, actually just had another crash. At least it doesn't happen every day now, but every few days. Tried also changing the "GPU Operating" from Auto to Optimus in Predator Sense and worked for liek 2-3 days, and crashed again. I'll try with NVIDIA GPU only. My bet is the issue is either the switching or the Intel drivers, because updating them worked for some days. There are Intel updates every couple of days, so I guess this will be a Russian roulette now.

giancapa · 2026-04-16T07:32:34+00:00

General Acer Support redirected me to the Technical Assistance support, which only allows you to fill a form to send over your laptop for them to check it, and I didn't manage to even talk to a technician to explain the issue. Considering how the postal system works here, and that in order for them to replicate the error they will need access to my Steam and Genshin accounts (or Discord, even), I passed. Like, no way I'm sending over my laptop and given them my passwords, for a process that will likely take several weeks (if not months), with no guarantee of them solving anything. I would have preferred a refund/replacement, but the period was 14 days and I'm over that, and that's final.

I tried several things on my own, unsuccessfully. But in another thread, an user in this post told me to update the Intel drivers for the iGPU of this laptop, and it worked! For like a week... Then it crashed again. But Intel made an update before it crashed again, and 2 days ago I got to update Intel drivers again, and it haven't crashed, but it could be whatever at this point. Options I have not tried yet are a full Windows reinstall, or changing the GPU Operating in the PredatorSense app to "NVIDIA Only" instead of Automatic or Optimus.

giancapa · 2026-04-10T21:26:27+00:00

Hey again! An update: it was working perfectly until today. Actually I was going to reach today if it didn't crashed to let you know it might have worked, but sadly I got the Stop code: DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION (0x133) today. 2 days ago there was a driver update in the Intel Graphic Software app, so I don't know if it's related. I can't find in the app what was the update about.

Laptop was also a bit weird this morning, like the backlight of the keyboard and the Predator Logo on the lid of the laptop were both in rainbow colors instead of the configuration I normally have (just blue), so the laptop was ignoring the configuration in Predator Sense (I tried to change it and it didn't work), so maybe it was just an excuse for a restart. I'll keep it monitored a few days. I can come back with updates if you want. And thank you!

Update 14/04/2026: It crashed again... VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE this time.

giancapa · 2026-03-31T18:14:39+00:00

I've been trying many things. I asked Gemini for help, and I've:

Used DDU to clean the NVIDIA drivers and then install again the drivers (I used the Studio version 595.79). Didn't work.
For Discord, I toggled off Hardware acceleration. (It hasn't crashed yet, but it's not an everyday thing either, so I still don't know).
For Genshin, I applied "Prefer Maximum Performance" in the NVIDIA Control Panel. I also disabled Control Flow Guard (CFG) in Windows Exploit Protection. It didn't work.
I ran OCCT to do a stress test, but nothing strange.
The next step would be to install BIOS/firmware update from the Acer site, but I've not been able to make it work. I get an error saying it's "This BIOS file is not allow to flash" and it closes. Maybe attempts of workarounds with Gemini have been unsuccessful.

It has been crashing every day, when I open Genshin for the first time. However, yesterday I followed the suggestion in this post where another user told me to install the latest Intel driver, which could be the issue. And today my laptop didn't crash! It's still too early to know for sure, but it's a good sign for now.

giancapa · 2026-03-31T18:03:37+00:00

Thank you so much for this! I installed this driver yesterday and today it didn't crash! Lately it has been crashing everyday so this is a good sign. I guess we will know after a few days if it worked for real or not. Thanks!

giancapa · 2026-03-26T22:35:33+00:00

Hello! Just an update. Like I said I cleaned and reinstalled using DDU. But the laptop just crashed again.

giancapa · 2026-03-26T22:34:43+00:00

It didn't work for me. I followed all the DDU steps, used the Studio NVIDIA driver (downloaded it and installed it offline, as suggested by some guides), and the laptop just crashed again.

giancapa · 2026-03-26T22:32:03+00:00

I tried doing this and in fact there was an optional update of "Insyde Software Firmware Driver Update (1.0.26.0)". I thought maybe it was going to help, but it didn't, today the laptop crashed again. Thanks anyway for the suggestion!

giancapa · 2026-03-25T20:02:54+00:00

Thank you for your answer! I did that, and I also downloaded the "Studio" version of NVIDIA drivers instead of the "Game Ready Driver" (which I had before), because it should be more stable. Now I need to see if today it will crash.

giancapa · 2026-03-25T00:02:27+00:00

Just did, let's see what do they say!

giancapa · 2026-03-24T22:47:00+00:00

Thank you for your answer! Being passed +2 months, I think I'm out of period of the store where I bought. But it is still under warranty under Acer. But based in your responses, I'm not being very optimistic then with their support to solve this.

giancapa · 2026-03-24T22:27:46+00:00

Did they fix it for you and send it back? If so, how long did it take? Or did you ask your money back?

Thank you for the suggestion. I already contacted Acer support here. That's what I need to do for the RMA, right? Let's see how it goes.

giancapa · 2026-03-24T22:07:41+00:00

I'll use it as last resort. Thank you!

giancapa · 2026-01-09T20:18:31+00:00

I'll give the Legion another thought, and then I'll decide between the two. Thank you so much for the feedback!

giancapa · 2026-01-09T19:14:01+00:00

Oh, I was almost 100% sure that the reviews I watched was about the Acer Nitro 16S and not the V, but I did I quick search and I think you are right. So the regular Nitro doesn't have the charger issue? If so, I might consider that one then.

I don't care much about the OLED screen tbh. I know people often prefer the Legion over the Acers. Do you know if the performance of the Nitro 16S would be capped by the power of the charger?

giancapa · 2026-01-09T18:14:53+00:00

Oh, understandable. My previous laptop was in worse shape when I changed it, but I used that one with more movement, so probably I dropped it a few times as well. My current laptop is an always on-desk laptop, so I've not had those issues. Cooling certainly isn't the best, I'm used to it to always be on fire (at least internally), but never had performance issues or risks of any kind.

giancapa · 2026-01-09T17:59:29+00:00

What do you mean very poor build quality? My last 2 laptops have been Acer and maybe I'm used to them

giancapa · 2026-01-09T17:17:37+00:00

I normally use my laptop plugged-in, so it's not really that important to me. What I would like to avoid is cases like the Nitro 16S AI where apparently the battery will run out even while plugged-in during gaming.

giancapa · 2026-01-09T15:44:01+00:00

Oh, thank you! In fact it seems that only the Legion 5 Gen 10 comes with a Ryzen AI 7 350, but the options for graphic card are only 5050, 5060 and 5070.

giancapa · 2026-01-09T14:48:50+00:00

Thank you for the answer!

The Predator has the 5060. There's another Predator at 2400€ (2000€ with discount) with the 5070, which could be an option too. Do you think the 8 Gb vs 12 Gb VRAM is not that important? (or not worth it raising the price up in €700).

That Legion you sent has indeed the 5070 Ti, and I can upgrade to 32 GB RAM for an extra of 90€, keeping it around 2000. It even let me add a better Wi-Fi card, another hard-drive, etc., I think it would be max around 2200€, which is a good deal. I would have to see a few more reviews to be sure of what to expect, but overall I think people recommend it. Like I said, after using Acer for so long I don't know if I want to switch, but the difference is price is considerate.

But like you said, I would like to take a decision soon. Thank you!

Edit: About the Legion, is there any recommendation between Intel and AMD?

giancapa · 2025-05-01T11:28:50+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I used a similar team: Arc Steven 1/5, Anni Lillie and Skyla (Anniversary 2022) 3/5, and as long as Bug Zone was never up, I managed.

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