When you find an unresponsive or frozen display on your Windows, it might be due to an error on the graphics card. The graphics card is also known as a video card, VGA card, or display card, and its purpose is to permit the computers to display the CPU processed images on your Windows. An error on the video card is fixable; Undoubtedly, you can reset the graphics driver with this guide’s help. Windows 10 & 11 are more prone to this issue and you can use the following methods to reset graphics driver quickly.
What Happens When The Graphics Driver On Your System Dysfunctions
Any error on the graphics card could cause the glitch on the Windows screen; for instance, you will see screen distortion. Below are the possible issues that occurs with the error on the graphics driver
- Due to visual bugs, you may see half screen or discoloration on your Windows. Clicking on the icons will become a typical task after the visual error on your Windows.
- Graphics-oriented apps might suffer a lot with the graphic card errors. In particular, games on your Windows PC will not run properly and face errors while running.
- When you are not able to visualise anything clearly other than a black screen, then it may be due to the graphic card error.
Reset Graphics Driver: Pros
The main objective of reset is to wipe out the errors & enhance the device’s performance. It is necessary especially when you’re spending most of the time on your Windows 10 PC. To fix the visual dysfunction, reset the graphics driver on your system. This reset won’t affect any other configurations on your Windows.
Why Do You Reset Graphics Driver
Windows itself clears the minor issues on your graphics card and it automatically reset the graphics driver to fix an error. Sometimes, Windows fails to rectify the problem in the graphic module, so the issue persists on your system. In this case, you need to do a manual reset on that driver. Here is how to reset graphics driver manually.
How To Reset Graphics Driver – Manual Methods
Use the keyboard shortcut keys “Win + Ctrl + Shift + B” to reset graphics driver on your Windows 10 or 11 laptop. While resetting, your laptop screen flickers & later gets back to its working condition. If not, go through the following effective methods to fix the corrupted graphic driver.
#1: Make Use Of Powershell
Powershell is an interface through which you can make your commands into actions. Likewise, reset graphics driver is possible via Powershell, and use the below steps to launch PowerShell on your Windows
- Click “Win + X” keys to launch quick options
- Open “Windows Powershell (Admin)”
- Type the following command: “pnputil /enum-devices /class Display”
- Then hit “Enter” button to see about graphics driver
- Use mouse to select the “Instance ID” & copy using “Ctrl + C” configuration.
- Next, type the command: “pnputil /restart-device” and then press “Ctrl + V” to paste Instance ID (for eg: pnputil /restart-device “PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_3EA0&SUBSYS_14311043&REV_00\3&11583659&1&10”)
- Hit “Enter” key to reset the graphics driver
To verify this method’s success rate on the reset graphics driver, check whether the screen is working fine on your Windows PC.
#2: Launch Task Manager To Reset Graphics Driver Windows 10
If you quit the currently running task of the graphics card it also means that you are resetting your graphics driver Windows 10. For this, you must launch a task manager on your Windows to find the graphics card status on your device. Here is how to end the program of currently running graphics processors
- Press “shift + Ctrl + Esc” to launch “Task Manager”
- Select the “Processes” tab (usually on the first of the list)
- Find & click “Background Processes” (You can see it secondly after “Apps”)
- Select the processes that runs by your graphics drivers (either AMD or Nvidia)
- Now, left-click on the “End Task” button to quit those processes
After completing these steps, your Windows starts flickering which indicates the reset of the graphics driver. If there is no response, try to disable & enable intermittently to fix the errors on the graphics card.
#3: Disable & Enable – Graphics Driver
Launch the device manager on your Windows to disable the graphics driver and try enabling it again. Anyhow, this method is subject to reset graphics driver & fixes the VGA card error on your Windows. Make use of the steps which shows how to disable & enable display adapters
- Tap “Win + X” keys to open quick options
- Go for “Device Manager” option
- Search for the Display adapters & click the “>” icon before it to expand
- Next, right-click on your graphics driver
- Click “Disable device” from the list of options
Now, your laptop screen starts to blink, or your device restarts automatically. In case if your computer is compatible with more than one graphics card, disabling any one of those might not affect Windows. Restart your device, and then follow the steps below to complete this method
- Open “Device Manager” again
- Click on “Display adapter” to expand it
- Then, right-click on your graphics card & tap the “Enable device” option
This method will reset graphics driver, and you can rerun your favourite games on your Windows.
#4: Uninstall & Reinstall – Graphics Driver
Is your graphics card still not fixed? Uninstall the device drivers & reinstall it again in order to reset graphics driver Windows 10. On the other hand, updating your device software may restore the graphic card issue seamlessly. Now, see how to uninstall & reinstall the graphics driver quickly
- Click the “Windows” and “X” keys simultaneously to launch the quick menu
- Tap on the “Device Manager” option
- Click the “>” sign before the “Display adapters” to expand it
- Use the mouse to right-click on your graphics driver to open its options
- Click on “Uninstall device” from the list
- Check the “Delete the driver software for this device” option & click “Uninstall” in the confirmation tab
Once you’ve completed these steps, Windows restarts by itself when there is only one graphics card in your system. However, Windows 10 PCs have more than one graphics card that needs to be restarted manually after the reset. The graphics driver will install automatically on Windows after your system gets restored. Those drivers when installed on your device might be a different version so you can avail one from the manufacturer’s site. To know which driver update suits your graphics card, use the model & production date of your system and graphics card to figure it out.
#5: Restore Default Settings On Intel Graphics Drivers
If you’re still confused on how to reset your graphics driver, restore the Intel graphics drivers to make it happen.
- Press “Windows + S” keys to open “Startup” menu
- Then type “Intel” in the search tab & press “Enter” key
- Click “3D” option (you can see the graphical cube) from the “Intel Control Panel” tab
- Tap the “Restore Defaults” button(usually on the bottom of the tab)
- Click “Apply” button in the prompted tab to restore Intel Graphics Drivers on your Windows
At last, restarting your computer could help finish this method. You can do this by clicking the “Standby” icon on the “Start” menu.
#6: Nvidia Graphics Driver – Restoring To Its Default Settings
When your system has the AMD processors, then the Nvidia graphics driver is remarkable. And to graphics driver reset, head to the Control Panel (Nvidia) & follow the steps below
- Right-click on your mouse & open “Nvidia Control Panel” tab
(Or)
- Left-click the “Windows” icon & type “Nvidia Control Panel” in the search tab and then hit “Enter button”
- Select “Manage 3D settings” at the left panel
- Then, tap on the “Restore” button (you can see the bottom of the tab)
Doing these steps will restore your graphics driver to its default settings. Restart your computer to make this method more effective on Nvidia graphics driver reset.
#7: Restoring Default Settings On AMD Graphics Drivers
If your computer has an AMD Radeon graphics card, use this method to reset graphics driver. Fixing an error on an AMD Radeon VGA card is less similar to the Nvidia graphics card. So, follow the specific steps for AMD graphics driver reset
- Right-click on your mouse to open a list of menu
- Select the “AMD Radeon Settings” tab from the list
- Tap on “Preferences” button (usually on the bottom of the AMD Settings tab)
- Click the “Restore Factory Defaults” option in the “Preferences” tab
After finishing these steps, your AMD graphics driver restores to its default configurations. Run any media or game on your PC to check whether the errors on the graphics card are fixed.
#8: How To Reset Graphics Driver on Mac
Mac uses PRAM or NVRAM to store temporary memories to fasten processors, and they also play the role of graphics or VGA cards. If you find any discoloration on the Mac screen, reset your Mac’s PRAM or NVRAM to fix it. However, a reset of those short memories on your Mac is different from resetting graphics drivers in Windows 10. Below are the easiest steps to reset Macbook random access memories
Before getting into this method, try to restart your Mac and check if the graphics driver is working well. Here is how to restart your Mac
- Press “Apple” icon on your keyboard (this button is on the top-left corner)
- Tap on the “Restart” option
- Again, press “Restart” in the re-confirmation tab to initiate it
Now, go through the steps below to reset PRAM or NVRAM
- Open “Apple” menu on your Macbook to shut down
- Press the power button
- Once Mac displays, tap & hold the “Command + Control + P + R” keys simultaneously
- Hold the buttons until the Mac sounds twice the “Startup” tone or Apple logo blinks twice
The above step denotes that the PRAM or NVRAM on your Mac has been reset successfully. You can open any graphics-oriented app to check for visual errors on your Mac.
#9: Linux – Graphics Driver Reset
Like “Command Prompt” on Windows, Linux uses “Terminal,” a tool that works for the commands given. A shell program belongs to the Terminal tool to do actions on your PC. If you find a flickering Linux PC screen, here is how to run “Terminal” to reset graphics driver
- Click the “Ctrl + Alt + T” to launch “Terminal”
- In the “Terminal” box, type “sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bk” command
- Then click the “Enter” key to create backup of your settings
- Now, type the command “sudo apt-get update” & hit “Enter” button to update the software repository on your Linux PC
- Provide the command as, “apt-cache pkgnames [graphics card]”
- Put the name of your graphics card in the place of “[graphics card]” in the above command & click the “Enter” key to list out graphics packages
- Type “sudo apt install [graphics package]” command in the “Terminal” window to reinstall your graphics package (put the package name that you need to reinstall in “[graphics package]” section)
ProTips
- Ensure that you’re not following the practice of reset graphics driver frequently.
- It is unavoidable to replace your graphics driver when there is no way to fix it.
Conclusion
First, this article comprises the consequences you face for the graphic card errors on your Windows 10. It also shows the advantages of doing manual methods to reset the graphics driver. Later, you will come across the answer for why you want to reset graphics driver. Then, you can try restoring the graphics driver’s default settings. You can see the specific methods in this article, for resetting graphic drivers if you have Windows, Mac, or Linux.