How to reset graphics driver with these simple methods?

Posted on May 9, 2024

Graphics driver, or display driver is an integral part of your computer which supplies essential operating instructions to your graphics card. Without these instructions, your computer will not be able to convert digital code into pictures, videos, and graphics. Let’s go through some effective methods on how to reset graphics driver.

Malfunctioning of graphics drivers is quite a common issue. This can present several problems, such as flickering, artifacting, freezing, application crashes, poor performance, and more. To resolve these issues, resetting your graphics driver is very important. Given below are 6 easy methods that you can follow for resetting your graphics driver.

Table of Contents

Here’s how to reset graphics driver

Image credits: Microsoft Community

Resetting the graphics driver is a very simple task that will boost the performance of your graphics card. It will clear the cache, junk files, faulty settings, and bugs that might be present on the driver. The different methods that can be used to reset your graphics driver are listed below.

1. Reset Graphics Driver with Keyboard Shortcut

Image credits: OurTechRoom

If your graphics driver is malfunctioning, then you can reset it using the keyboard shortcut “Win+Ctrl+Shift+B”.
After using this keyboard shortcut, you will see black screen for a few seconds. Following that, the screen will reappear again, and will function properly.

2. How to reset graphics driver by Downloading the Updates?

Image credits: CPUTemper

After pressing the “Windows” key on your keyboard, go to “Device Manager”.
Locate “Display adapters” and then, right-click on the graphics card.
Click on “Properties”, and then go to the option “Drivers”. Then, choose the option “Update driver”.
Let the system search for updated driver software, and wait for a few seconds till it detects one.
Then go to the option “Next” to proceed with the installation of the latest drivers. Once you are done, restart your system to update the graphics driver changes.

3. Use PowerShell to Reset the Graphics Card Driver

Image credits: wikiHow

Click on the “Start” button, and locate “PowerShell”. Following that, click on the option “Run as administrator”.
Then, you have to correctly enter the command “pnputil /enum-devices /class Display”. Following that, press the “Enter” key to find the details of the display adapters.
Once you see the details of the display adapters on your screen, copy the instance ID. Then, use the command “pnputil /restart-device (Instance ID)”.

4. Reset Graphics Driver using Graphics Card Settings Window

This process will vary depending upon the Graphics Card owned by you.

i. Intel Graphics Card

Image credits: MiniTool Software

Choose “Graphics Settings” after right clicking on your desktop. From here, access Intel’s control panel.
Select the “3D” option, and go to “Restore Defaults”. Then, activate the new settings by restarting your device.

ii. Nvidia Graphics Card

Image credits: LO4D.com

Choose the Nvidia Graphics Card after right-clicking on your desktop. Then, proceed to the option “Manage 3D Settings”, and click on “Global settings”.
Go to the right-side of the screen, where you will get the “Restore” option under the tab “Global Settings”. After that, restart your system to activate the preferences.

iii. AMD Graphics Card

Image credits: Get Droid Tips

Right click on your desktop to open the “AMD Radeon Settings”. Then, locate the cog icon present at the panel’s top right corner.
Choose the “System” tab, and go to the option “Perform Reset”. Following that, restart your system to activate the modifications.

5. How to reset graphics driver Using Task Manager?

Image credits: Super User

Press the keys CTRL+ALT+DEL simultaneously.
Now, go to the “Processes” section, and select your graphics card.
After right-clicking on the graphics card, select the option “End task”.
If there are multiple processes, select all of them before clicking on “End task”.

6. Use Device Manager to Reset your Graphics Driver

Image credits: wikiHow

Press Win+R from your keyboard, and then type the command “devmgmt.msc”.
Following that, right-click on the graphics card driver, and choose the option “Disable device”. Then, click on “Yes” to confirm the settings.
Finally, right-click on the driver, and choose the option “Enable” to complete the process.

FAQ’s

Q1. What is the function of the graphics driver?

The function of the graphics driver is to give operating instructions to the graphics card. This in turn enables our computer to display images, videos, and graphical content correctly.

Q2. What happens when a graphics driver malfunctions?

Malfunctioning of your graphics driver can lead to a number of problems, such as flickering, freezing, artifacting, app crashes, and poor performance.

Q3. What are the other names of Graphics Card?

Graphics Card is also known by the names display card, video card, video adapter, graphics adapter, display adapter, and VGA card/VGA.

Q4. List the different types of Graphics Cards.

The different types of Graphics Cards include Integrated and Dedicated Graphics Cards.

Q5. What are some of the best Graphics Cards that you can use?

Some of the best graphics cards that you can use include AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090, and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

Conclusion

Here, we have enumerated 6 simple and effective methods on how to reset graphics driver. If you ever face issues, such as app crashes, poor performance, freezing, or flickering, then your graphics driver might be the culprit. Resolve these problems by using the methods covered in this blog, and thereby ensure the smooth functioning of your graphics card!