DaVinci Resolve 20 Random Crashes – Unstable Since v19

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out because DaVinci Resolve 20 has become increasingly unstable on my system. The program crashes—either a few seconds after launching, or right after I try to import a video file.

Unfortunately, this instability isn’t new. Even with version 19, Resolve was inconsistent. Sometimes it runs fine for a short while, but other times one crash seems to trigger a chain of subsequent crashes with no clear cause. One day it worked perfectly, the next day it would crash repeatedly—especially during exports. The crashes occurred at seemingly random times and weren’t tied to complex transitions or heavy effects.

I truly love Resolve and have been using it for years, but recently it's become extremely frustrating to use. I’d really appreciate any help or suggestions.

I've attached the latest log files from a recent crash session. From what I can tell, there’s nothing obviously wrong in the logs—but perhaps someone more experienced can spot something I’ve missed.

Here’s my system spec:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (no overclock)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000 MHz, 2x32 GB (64 GB total)

GPU: Gigabyte RTX 5080 AERO (NVIDIA drivers up to date)

Motherboard: MSI Project Zero B650

PSU: Corsair 1000W

Storage: All M.2 drives (no SATA SSD or HDD)

OS: Windows 11 Home

Any advice, troubleshooting steps, or confirmations from users with similar issues would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

As for troubleshooting, I’ve tried everything I could think of:

The system was clean-installed twice

I’ve changed the audio interface

I’ve disconnected any unusual peripherals (mice, keyboards, USB hubs)

BIOS is up to date

I’ve eliminated every possible external factor I could think of.

https://we.tl/t-ScPyD1ne28 < - there is ZIP from Resolve 20 crash.

Best regards,

Your logs shows this:

[0x00001254] | GPUDetect | INFO | 2025-05-01 14:24:00,247 | - NVIDIA GPU Driver: 576.28, supports CUDA 12.9
[0x00001254] | GPUDetect | INFO | 2025-05-01 14:24:00,247 | - AMD GPU Driver: 24.20.33.01-241127a-413716C
[0x00001254] | GPUDetect | INFO | 2025-05-01 14:24:00,247 | - AMD GPU Crimson Driver: 24.12.1

Don't mix different GPU vendors. Remove AMD GPU drivers.

For your Nvidia GPU - you seem to have installed the Game Ready Driver branch. Use the Studio Driver branch 576.02

Your RTX 5080 isn't fully supported in Resolve 19, only Resolve 20b1 or later does fully support it.
(Release notes of 20b1: Support for Nvidia Blackwell GPUs with CUDA 12.8.)

Also current Nvidia drivers seem to be quite buggy - so many crashes with black screen got fixed:

3.1 Fixed Issues in Version 576.02 WHQL
Stability issues when using Windows 11 24H2 [5160948]
> Bugcheck w/ PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA (50) when playing games with DLSS 4
multi-frame generation [5144337]
> [RTX 50 series] GPUs crashes with black screen/underflow [5160845]
> [RTX 50 series] Random Black Screen issues [5090505]
> General system stability issues [4921925]
> [RTX 50 series] System hard hang with 572.16 driver loaded [5107271]
> Compute Shader related tests are failing due to "error" [4894179]
> [HWBU][DT GB202/203][LG 27GN950 Specific]: Display blacked out when applying
120Hz refresh rate [5044229]
> PC display will not wake after extended sleep time [5131052]
> Two DP output of the RTX5090 will blue screen when trying to watch protected videos
[5167145]
> Black screen issue when testing 3D mark with driver 572.02 and 572.16 [5095825]
> GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs crashes with black screen when playing graphically
demanding games [5098914]
> RTX 50 series displays blank screens on LG 5k2k 45GX950A-B when running in
DisplayPort 2.1 mode w/ HDR [5192671]
> Black screen on installing drivers and booting into Windows [5153642]
> DP2.1 - UHBR10/13.5 link rates are unstable on LGE 27GX790A-B [5080789]
> Multiple users reporting black screen issue when disable the "FCH Spread Spectrum"
settings [5204493]
> [RTX 50 series] Slightly higher DPC latency may be observed on some system
configuration [5168553]
> [Control] Flickering corruption in multiple areas [5118876]
> Stutter when using VSYNC [5202703][5202474]

3.1 Fixed Issues in Version 572.83 WHQL
> [GeForce RTX 5080/5090] Graphics cards may not run at full speeds on system reboot
when overclocked [5088034]
> [GeForce RTX 50 series] GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs crashes with black screen
[5120886]
> Some NVIDIA Control Panel / NVIDIA App settings changes immediately get reset or
give error [5160516]
> PC may bugcheck IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL 0xa during gameplay with HDR enabled
[5091576]
> PC may boot to a black screen when connected via DisplayPort with certain monitors
[5131002]

Having just made the switch back to PC world, you and I have very similar machines BUT, you're not experiencing a hardware issue.

I just tried installing BETA 20b2 and it wouldn't even load. But 19 did and worked fine. I've re-learned a very tricky thing about Windows that Mac's didn't suffer from (much):

For a high-end software package like DR you NEED to have a clean install environment for things to go smoothly. That's why the initial tryout of v.20b2 wouldn't even finish the install because there were remnants of the previous v19 still mucking about in hidden areas.

Quick and simple fix: Download and run REVO Unintaller Pro (free 30-day trial) and run it's uninstaller - and make sure you opt for having it scan for leftovers after the uninstall. That's what got me fixed up and 100% stable.

In fact I tested this routine 5 times to make sure the leftover code was the cause, by just running the built-in Windows uninstaller and trying to re-install, vs using REVO to completely wipe out all traces.

I'm tellin' ya, get a clean software foundation BEFORE doing an install of DR and you'll be right as rain.

I was having the same problems with crashing, after the update from a very stable version 19. After trying to change and update my Nvidea drivers and having no luck, I found Changing the GPU configuration to CUDA, in the memory and GPU box in Resolves preferences tab, solved my issues. It's obviously a simple potential fix, which may be worth a try