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GPU Hang Detection and Recovery

Updated: July 15, 2007

File name: GPUHang_Det-Rec.doc
170 KB
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About This Download

This paper provides background information about how Windows Vista detects GPU hangs and works to recover the desktop.

If graphics hardware causes system hangs, Windows Vista attempts to ameliorate the end-user experience by resetting the GPU and restoring the desktop to the state it was in when the hang occurred. The goals are that non-graphics-related applications do not lose data and that well-behaved graphics applications continue to function after the recovery. Microsoft OCA data reveals that Windows Vista successfully restores the desktop in 93 percent of cases of timeout detection.

Included in this white paper:

  • Background

  • Improvements in Windows Vista

  • Running Benchmarks

  • Windows Vista and OCA Data

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