My RTX 2070 Super was working normally until Blood of Dawnwalker froze and the computer suddenly shut down. Since restarting, the card won't run games. The NVIDIA App reports that no drivers are installed, and reinstalling the latest driver hasn't helped. Device Manager still detects the GPU, but it has a yellow warning icon and reports: "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)."
I removed the GPU from Device Manager and scanned for hardware changes. The screen briefly went black, the card reappeared, and the same Code 43 error remained. When I try installing the correct NVIDIA driver manually, the installer instead says, "No NVIDIA GPU is detected on your system."
Could this simply be corrupted drivers that a clean DDU removal would fix, or does the crash followed by Code 43 point to a failing GPU? What hardware checks should I try before replacing the card?
3 Answers
It’s worth running Display Driver Uninstaller in Safe Mode and then installing the driver fresh, but Code 43 is more commonly associated with a hardware fault than ordinary driver corruption. Since the problem started immediately after a system crash, a failed memory chip or another fault on the card is unfortunately possible.
A soldering iron and multimeter probably won’t be enough for a graphics-card memory repair. Diagnosing the exact failed component usually requires board-level testing, and replacing a VRAM chip needs hot-air or rework equipment, proper donor parts, and experience with multilayer GPU boards. I’d first try DDU, reseating the card and cables, another PCIe slot, and another PC; if Code 43 follows the card, replacement or a professional board repair is more realistic.
Start with the simple hardware checks: power the PC down, reseat the GPU, and reconnect its power cables. If the power supply is modular, reseat the cables at the PSU too. You can also try another PCIe slot, if available, to rule out a damaged motherboard slot. Testing the 2070 Super in another computer would be the strongest way to confirm whether the card itself is failing.
I have a soldering iron and multimeter. If it turns out to be a bad memory chip, is this something I could realistically repair myself?