Intel watchdog timer driver.

[Bad@Gaming]

What on earth is this? I don't remember installing this onto my computer but it's appearing in my control panel. 

 

I did a little research and people are saying it can potentially do something something with overclocks. I've been planning on overclocking, should I uninstall this first?

[jvkeizer]

It appears to be some driver that has been installed by your motherboard. You'll probably just want to leave it as it is.

[Leonard]

What on earth is this? I don't remember installing this onto my computer but it's appearing in my control panel. 

 

I did a little research and people are saying it can potentially do something something with overclocks. I've been planning on overclocking, should I uninstall this first?

This is something with ASUS TurboV. I do not have it in my Control Panel but it is in my Program and Features.

Check this.....http://www.shouldiremoveit.com/Intel-Watchdog-Timer-Driver-Intel-WDT-11568-program.aspx

[ProKoN]

I have seen this before as well. I do believe for me it was loaded via Intel extreme tuning utility or MSI command center. Could not uninstall it..kept coming back after restarts.

 

 

 

Watchdog Timer Objectives
There are many reasons why a computer might cease to operate correctly. A few of the possible
reasons include:
• A software error can cause the Operating System (OS) to stop scheduling tasks.
• A software error may leave certain interrupts disabled or masked, preventing other
software from continuing until an interrupt is completed.
• A hardware error may prevent data from flowing properly within the system.
• A hardware error can halt operation of the CPU.
A key assumption is required: a correctly functioning OS can schedule tasks to be run on a
periodic basis. If a task is not able to be completed within a predetermined bounded time, a
separate monitoring circuit can conclude that the system is malfunctioning. The monitoring
circuit, often called a Watchdog Timer (WDT), must be able to independently track the
completion of a task within its time limit. It must be able to do so independently of the OS’s state,
the CPU’s state or ability to run the OS, or the state of any other hardware device that might lead
to a system malfunction.
Upon determining that its time limit has been reached, the WDT circuit concludes that an error has
occurred and may take a variety of corrective actions. For example, it may attempt to generate a
non-maskable interrupt, reset the platform, or even force the shut-down of the platform. The WDT
may react in different ways depending on the other factors, such as measured activity from the
CPU or reception of interrupts from peripherals.
Working in conjunction with an appropriate BIOS and OS, the WDT enables the platform to
detect and take corrective action from a variety of errors. The function is intended to meet the
following objectives:
• Detect and recover from either hardware or software errors that lock up the platform.
• Allow a programmable amount of time to pass before concluding that the hardware has
malfunctioned.
• Support a programmable response to the lockup, including resetting the platform or
shutting it down.
• Minimize software overhead required to manage the WDT.
• Provide information for recovery software to determine why the platform was reset (i.e.
reset was due to WDT expiration).
Long term, the platform should be able to detect and recover from lockups that occur during the
BIOS to OS handoff. The software mechanisms required to enable this have not been defined as
of this revision of this document. It is anticipated that a future revision may document these
mechanisms.