Constant crashes Event ID 153, 13, 14 from nvlddmkm in Predator Helios 18 AI

Hello, I've recently bought a new laptop - Acer Predator Helios 18 AI - Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, RTX 5080, 32GB RAM, Windows 11 24H2, Nvidia Drivers 580.97 ( Have tried DDU, rolling back to the ones provided by Acer as well).

I've been having black screens/GPU resets in many games, once or twice even on desktop without doing anything (happens both on internal display and if connected to an external monitor, internal display is set to Nvidia GPU Only in bios). Screen goes black for a few seconds in which I can still hear the game running, GPU resets and comes back on again. Sometimes the game doesn't crash, sometimes it does.

Event viewer constantly throwing Event ID 153, 13, sometimes even 14 but most commonly 153 and TDR resets from nvlddmkm.

Examples:

Event ID 14

\Device\Video3GPU recovery action changed from 0x0 (None) to 0x1 (GPU Reset Required)

\Device\Video3222ad4f6 00002270 00000000 20612c1c 2064bdf2 2064bc78 2064b7c4 20649f26

Event ID 153:

\Device\Video3GpuRcReset TDR occurred on GPUID:5200

Event ID 13:

\Device\Video3Graphics FECS Exception: UCODE Fatal Error

I'm also getting a Warning but checking via device name got me to Realtek R Audio which is not connected to nvlddmkm events:

"A corrected hardware error has occurred.Component: PCI Express EndpointError Source: Advanced Error Reporting (PCI Express)Primary Bus:Device:Function: 0x81:0x0:0x0Secondary Bus:Device:Function: 0x0:0x0:0x0Primary Device Name:PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_272B&SUBSYS_17741A56&REV_1ASecondary Device Name:"

I've tried multiple fixes suggested here and on reddit with no actual success... the latest one I've tried was manually setting the refresh rate to 120Hz (down from 250Hz) as many users reported the black screens were gone after that, but still testing. GPU sometimes doesn't crash but drops usage down to almost 0% for an instant then goes back up.

Things I've tried:

Setting the internal display to Nvidia GPU Only via BIOS (disabling Intel's integrated graphics)
Reinstalling Windows 11 from scratch
Changing Mode in Predator Sense from Balanced to Performance to Turbo
DDU uninstall Nvidia drivers and rollback to older drivers in Safe Mode
Disable/Enable G-sync
Disable Variable Refresh rate in Win 11
Setting "Prefer Maximum Persormace" in Nvidia Control Panel globally
Setting maximum performace in Win 11 Power plan/Energy saver
Disabling PCI Express Link State Power Management
Updating chipset drivers
BIOS update to the latest version 1.09
Changing the RAM from 1x32GB DDR5 to 2x16GB DDR5
Disabling Hard Drive Sleep in power options
OCCT reports no errors whatsoever in all tests Power/3D/CPU/VRAM
3D Mark, Furmark benchmarks pass with no artifacts and no crashes.
I have not tried disabling Hardware Acceleration as it is required for Frame generation.

Main question is, should I send the laptop for RMA/Inspection as it is brand new and under warranty?

Could this be a bad MB or GPU and is there a way to actually test it?

[Edited the thread to add model number to the title]

Accepted answers

All comments

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/728275/constant-crashes-event-id-153-13-14-from-nvlddmkm-in-predator-helios-18-ai

Hi alex4o95,

If you installed the Nvidia GPU driver directly from Nvidia instead of using the version from Acer Support, I recommend a clean removal before reinstalling:

Download DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) from its official site.
Reboot into Safe Mode (not Safe Boot).
Run DDU and select the Nvidia GPU.
Use the Clean and Restart option to remove all Nvidia GPU driver components.
After restart, install the GPU driver provided on the Acer Support page for your model.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-startup-settings-1af6ec8c-4d4a-4b23-adb7-e76eef0b847f

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1352017#Comment_1352017

alex4o95, for a new laptop like the Predator PH18-73 AI all these faults should not be happening, send your laptop to Acer tech Support and get them to fix all these issues for you and/or change the n=mainboard, as there is something definitely wrong and if you allow the 12 months Acer warranty to expire and things go wrong due to a mainboard issue, you will be up for some very high costs to fix this laptop.

Try these fixes for these event ID faults

Event ID 153 indicates a data corruption of a disk error in Windows. It typically shows a message in the Event Viewer stating that the IO operation at a specific logical block address was retried. This event is logged when the Storport miniport driver times out a request, which is similar to Event ID 129. To resolve this issue, it is recommended to run the Windows built-in Disk Error-checking tool, run Chkdsk.

Event ID 14 typically indicates a failure related to the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) in Windows systems, often signaling issues with the TPM device or its driver.

Event ID 13 can refer to different contexts, primarily related to registry modifications in Sysmon or display driver errors in Windows systems.

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Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/728275/constant-crashes-event-id-153-13-14-from-nvlddmkm-in-predator-helios-18-ai

Hi alex4o95,

On the Predator PH18‑73 AI, Event IDs 153, 13, and 14 logged under nvlddmkm are all GPU driver stack–level faults — not motherboard hardware defects.

They typically occur when NVIDIA’s driver layer conflicts with the model‑specific EC firmware, power state transitions, or display‑handoff logic. That’s why a clean, OEM‑only driver baseline should be established before suspecting any physical component.

Why these events are driver‑related, not board‑related:

Event ID 153 — “TDR occurred” here is a GPU Timeout Detection and Recovery trigger; unrelated to SATA/NVMe or chipset trace faults in this context.
Event ID 14 — marks that the NVIDIA kernel mode driver required a GPU reset.
Event ID 13 — FECS exception comes from the GPU’s microcode layer.

Recommended clean‑slate test path:

Download DDU from https://www.wagnardsoft.com/
Boot into Safe Mode.
Use DDU’s Clean and Restart on the NVIDIA GPU.
On reboot, either: • Let Windows Update install the OEM‑customized NVIDIA package, or • Install it manually from Acer Support: https://www.acer.com/us-en/support

Only after reproducing the crashes on this exact Acer‑validated firmware/driver pairing should RMA be pursued — that way service has a clear baseline showing the fault is not caused by a generic or mismatched driver.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/728275/constant-crashes-event-id-153-13-14-from-nvlddmkm-in-predator-helios-18-ai

alex4o95, the best thing for you to do is to send your Predator PH18-73 AI to Acer Tech Support in your county and get them to fix all these issues for you and/or change the mainboard, as there is something definitely wrong with the board DO NOT allow the 12 months Acer warranty to expire before you get all these issues fixed, as if you don't, you will be up for some very high costs to fix this laptop, as just a new mainboard (if you can get one) is like USD$4750.00, so be very careful and don't let your warranty expire on this laptop.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

alex4o95

Hi @Puraw

Thank you for your answers. I've already tries the DDU method, DDU drivers in Safe Mode and installing the ones provided by Acer's Drivers page. Will try again however. As I mentioned the last thing I did was set a custom refresh rate od 120Hz (users recommend 60-120 max to fix their black screens). The interesting thing is I'm not getting BSODs like many users who have had to RMA GPU/MB..

@StevenGen I'm still not getting it to Support as It's only been a month and there is still a lot of time for the warranty. Just need to try everything possible before considering a HW error/fault as no BSODs have been recorded in my case, just driver related GPU resets.

alex4o95

To add up to the things mentioned, many PC users have reported the problem fixed when switching from PCI Express Gen5 to Gen4 from BIOS however as I have no way of testing this on a laptop... bump.. I can't seem to access the Advanced BIOS options (hidden bios) by any means others have been able to...

alex4o95

Also forgot to mention, when I tried the RAM swap I noticed an RMA Sticker on the stock 32GB stick that came with the laptop... I have no idea if this is of consequence as it did crash again with working 2x16GB from my other Acer Predator laptop.