220-1102 Software Troubleshooting Practice Question
A user reports that their Windows 10 workstation's screen intermittently goes black for a few seconds and then recovers. The event log shows 'Display driver stopped responding and has recovered.' Which component is most likely causing this issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse the symptom of a black screen with a monitor failure (Option A), overlooking the specific event log message that directly points to a GPU or driver timeout recovery process.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Graphics processing unit (GPU) or driver
The event log message 'Display driver stopped responding and has recovered' is a classic indicator of a Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) event in Windows. This occurs when the operating system's graphics subsystem detects that the GPU has not responded to a command within the allotted time (typically 2 seconds), often due to a faulty driver, an unstable GPU, or overheating. The GPU or its driver is the component directly responsible for rendering the display, making it the most likely cause of the intermittent black screen.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Monitor
Why it's wrong here
A faulty monitor would typically exhibit persistent symptoms such as LCD panel distortions, backlight flicker, stuck pixels, or a complete loss of video signal with no automatic recovery. The described intermittent screen blanking that resolves on its own is characteristic of a Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) event, which is initiated by the Windows Display Driver Model and involves resetting the GPU, not the display panel. Because the screen recovers without user intervention and the system remains fully operational, the root cause lies upstream in the graphics pipeline rather than the monitor itself.
- ✓
Graphics processing unit (GPU) or driver
Why this is correct
This symptom is a textbook TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) event, where the Windows graphics stack detects that the GPU or its driver has not responded within a preset timeout period (typically 2 seconds) and forcibly resets the graphics hardware to recover. The screen typically goes black or freezes briefly, then the desktop reappears with an Event ID 4101 logged: "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered." Common triggers include outdated or buggy drivers, GPU overheating, unstable overclocks, or excessive GPU load, all of which point directly to the graphics processing unit or its driver as the failing component.
- ✗
RAM
Why it's wrong here
Faulty RAM degrades system stability globally, often causing blue screen errors (e.g., MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL), application crashes, or corrupted data because memory errors affect all CPU operations. A TDR event, however, is isolated to the graphics subsystem and is triggered by the GPU driver failing to respond, not by general memory corruption. While severe RAM issues could theoretically interfere with driver execution, they would manifest as broader system faults, not as a display-only recovery event with no other instability.
- ✗
Hard drive
Why it's wrong here
Hard drive failures usually present as disk I/O errors (Event IDs 7, 51, or 153), slow or unresponsive file access, file corruption, or a failure to boot, because storage problems prevent the OS from reading critical data and paging files. The intermittent screen recovery described is generated by the graphics stack's TDR mechanism, which is completely independent of storage subsystem health. Therefore, a failing hard drive would not cause only the display to momentarily go black and then recover; such an event is tied exclusively to GPU/driver hangs.
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Key term
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft that combines the familiarity of Windows 7 with the modern features of Windows 8, designed to run on a wide range of devices from desktops to tablets.
Key term
Windows
Windows is a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft that manages computer hardware and software, providing a graphical user interface for users to interact with their devices.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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