Your Windows system will not be able to detect the NVIDIA graphics card if the graphics driver is corrupt or installed incorrectly because Graphic cards rely on these drivers to efficiently provide it’s functionalities. Without the driver, you will not be able to utilize your graphics card’s full potential. In this guide, we will walk you through the troubleshooting methods to try if this happens on your computer. Proceed with the method that fits your situation the best.
Before You Begin
You will need to know hardware ID of your device to proceed with some of the steps listed below. In case you are not sure which GPU your computer has, here is a quick guide for you to find it: Once you have found the hardware ID, look for its compatible driver on the web.
1. Check the Device Manager
The first thing that we recommend doing is checking if the graphics card is listed in the Device Manager. You might notice a yellow exclamation mark on it, which will indicate that the driver is either outdated or corrupt. Here is how you can check the Device Manager: If it is and has any symbols associated with it, proceed with the next method below.
2. Reinstall the Driver
As we mentioned earlier, it is possible that the system cannot detect the graphics card because the driver is corrupt or outdated. A corrupted driver may have occurred during an update, installation, or as a result of malware, resulting in Windows not being able to detect it. An outdated graphics driver can also cause similar issues. Whenever a new version of Windows is released, the graphics driver may need to be updated to be compatible. The best way to proceed in this case is by uninstalling the current driver and then downloading and installing the latest version from the manufacturer’s website. It is important to first uninstall your current driver before installing the new one to prevent any conflicts between the old and the new driver. Here is all that you need to do:
3. Remove the Conflicting Software
Another reason why the system may not be able to recognize the graphics driver can be because of conflicting software. It can occur when another program interferes with the driver, causing it to malfunction. The easiest way to check if this is the case is by booting the computer in Safe Mode. The Safe Mode feature starts Windows without any drivers or services, which can help identify if a third-party program is causing the problem. Follow these steps to boot the PC in Safe Mode: During Safe Mode, if the graphics driver is recognized and the problem is resolved, it’s likely that conflicting software is the cause of the problem. If this happens, you can try to identify the conflicting software and remove it from the system. You can either use the system restore utility to revert to an older functioning state or you can manually uninstall the recently installed software. Here is how you can do the latter:
4. Update Windows
Installing the most recent Windows updates can also help resolve the issue of the graphics driver not being recognized by the computer. Software and device drivers can be updated as part of Windows updates, so if you haven’t installed the latest updates in a while, now might be a good time to do so. Here is how you can do that:
5. Check the Connection Of Your Graphics Card to Motherboard
It is also important to ensure that the graphics card is securely plugged into the motherboard. Having a graphics card that isn’t properly connected to the motherboard can cause issues with the graphics driver. It is possible that the driver will not properly communicate with the card if the card is not connected properly, leading to the issue at hand. Here are the general steps to check the connection of the graphics card to the motherboard and ensure it’s securely plugged in:
