If you’re having persistent crashes, black screens, frame rate drops, or other issues, learning how to reset a graphics driver should be your first step. Even the best graphics cards can sometimes run into driver issues, and resetting a graphics driver can often do the trick with minimal effort or troubleshooting.
I’ve been building PCs for years, and I’ve reset my fair share of GPU drivers, so I’m here to help you out with a full step-by-step guide for the reset graphics driver process to help you get your PC back into tip-top shape, regardless of whether you’re resetting a laptop GPU driver, a desktop graphics card driver, or the driver for your integrated graphics.
TOOLS & REQUIREMENTS
- PC or laptop
- An internet connection
Quick steps for how to reset graphics driver
- If resetting a discrete graphics card driver, Download the latest driver from AMD, Nvidia, or Intel’s websites, depending on your graphics card, before doing anything else.
- Uninstall your current driver
- Open the Device Manager
- Find your graphics driver under Display adapters.
- Right-click the display adapter driver
- Choose Uninstall Device
- Restart your PC
- For integrated graphics
- Windows will automatically update your graphics driver when you start your PC.
- For discrete graphics
- Once Windows loads, run the downloaded driver installer and follow the instructions provided.
Step-by-step guide
1. Download driver installation files if resetting a discrete GPU driver
Whether you use a GPU from Nvidia, AMD, or Intel, each manufacturer has its own software.
Download the right package for your GPU to reinstall your driver:
● Nvidia Geforce driver support
● AMD Radeon driver support
● Intel DSA driver support
2. Open Windows Device Manager
(Image: © Microsoft)
You can find the Device Manager in multiple ways:
In Windows Search, type in Device Manager. Left-click to launch it.
Right-click the Windows icon on your Taskbar. A menu will pop up. Click on Device Manager to launch it.
Use a keyboard shortcut. Press Windows + X simultaneously, then let go and press M.
3. Find Display adapters
(Image: © Microsoft)
Once you’re in the Device Manager, scan the list of components until you find Display adapters. Click on the arrow next to it to reveal your graphics devices.
4. Uninstall graphics driver
(Image: © Microsoft)
The first option will usually be either AMD Radeon Graphics or Intel HD Graphics. If you’re resetting your intergrated graphics driver, right-click on this option.
If you have discrete graphics and you want to reset this driver, there should be a second driver underneath the first for your discrete graphics driver, and this is the one you should right-click.
Once the context menu opens up, select ‘Uninstall Device’ and confirm the uninstall operation when necessary.
Your display may flicker during this process, but will eventually finish.
5. Restart your PC
Restart your computer for the changes to take full effect.
6. Reinstall graphics driver
(Image: © Nvidia)
If resetting your integrated graphics driver, Windows will automatically update the driver once Windows restarts.
If resetting your discrete graphics driver, run the graphics driver installer package you downloaded, or run the appropriate app from AMD, Intel, or Nvidia for your GPU.
Follow the prompts from your tool of choice and reinstall the driver. Your screen will flicker and go black at times.
Restart your PC to finish the process.
Final thoughts
Resetting your graphics driver is a common solution to a whole bunch of graphics card issues, so it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with this process.
Generally, you don’t need to reset your graphics driver if your system is running smoothly. But if you do ever run into issues, this is one of the first things you should do to resolve the problem, making knowing how to reset graphics drivers very useful knowledge for gamers and casual users alike.
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monicajwrites@gmail.com (Monica J. White)
