How to Fix Graphics Card Issues in Windows 10?

Graphics card is one of the most important components of your computer hardware that enables the rendering of every pixel you see on the display. It allows quality display when you navigate through the computer, running applications and playing games. In this article, we will explain how to fix various graphics card issues in Windows 10 computer.

Common Graphics Card Issues

If the graphics card is not working properly, you may experience a range of problems including:

Lagging when running graphics intensive apps or playing games
Black or blue screen
Distorted or stretched display

If you are experiencing problems with the graphics card in Windows 10, you can try the following solutions to resolve the issue.

Method 1: Resolving Graphic Card Driver Problems

Driver issues including corrupt, outdated or incompatible drivers could be the cause of Graphics card issues. Thus, fixing the driver issue will restore the device to its working condition.

#1: Updating Graphics Card Drivers

Right click the Windows Start button or press “Win + X” on the keyboard.
Select “Device Manager” from the resulting menu to access the installed drivers.

Look for the “Display Adapters” and click the arrow to expand the option.
Right click the specific graphics card drivers and click on “Properties”.

Go to the “Driver” tab and click the “Update Driver” button on the pop-up window.

Select the option to search for updated drivers automatically or select the manual update option if you have the drivers downloaded and saved on your computer storage.

Windows will search and install the updated drivers. Click the “Close” button and restart the computer.

#2: Check and Enable Device

Sometimes the graphics card may fail because it has been disabled in the Device Manager.

Right click on the display adapter drivers and check if the device is disabled.
Click the “Enable device” option to enable the graphics card.
If you find “Disable device” on the menu, it means that the device is already enabled.

#3: Roll Back the Drivers to a previous stable version

If you experience graphics card issues after updating drivers, rolling back the drivers to a previous version may resolve the problem.

Right click the display adapter drivers and select “Properties”.
On the “Driver” tab, click the “Roll Back Driver” button to restore the device to its previous working state.

#4: Updating Graphics Card Drivers through Windows 10 Updates

Windows updates can solve a number of issues including Graphics card drivers.

Press the “Win + I” keys to open the Windows 10 Settings and click the “Update & Security” option.

Under the “Windows Update”, click the “Check for updates” button on the center pane.

Once Windows finds and displays available updates, choose the option to download and install options. This will update all Windows features including device drivers.

#5: Uninstall Recent Windows Update

If the graphics card stopped working after installing Windows update, uninstalling the update may help to resolve the problem.

Under “Windows update” settings, select “view update history”.

Click the “Uninstall updates” link on the resulting window.

From the list of updates, select the recent update that could have led to the problem and click the “Uninstall” button.

Restart your computer and check if the problem disappears.

Method 2: Adjusting Display Settings

Changing some display settings in Windows 10 may resolve some of the graphics card related issues.

#1: Adjusting Graphics Settings

You can try to adjust the graphics settings especially if you experience display problems when running a specific application or game.

Press the “Win + I” keys to access the settings window and then select “System” settings.
Scroll down the options under “Display” and click the “Graphic settings” link at the bottom.

Choose the app that causes the display issue and click the add button.
Once added, click the app and select “Options” to expand the graphic preferences.
On the resulting pop-up window, check your preferred settings and click the “Save” button.

#2: Changing the Display Settings

Under the “Display” settings, click the “Advanced display settings” link at the bottom of the list.

Click the “Display adapter properties for Display” link at the bottom of the resulting window.

On the pop-up window that appears, under the “Adapter” tab, click “List All Modes”.

From the resulting list, select the option that matches your screen resolution and then click the “Ok” button.

#3: Using Cmd to Enable GPU in BIOS

Search for “Cmd” on the Windows search bar and select the option to “Run as administrator”.

Type “bcdedit /set pciexpress forcedisable” on the command Prompt window and press the “Enter” key on keyboard.

You will get a confirmation once the operation has been executed successfully.

Method 3: Basic Troubleshooting

Graphics card problems can result from several issues that can be fixed with simple troubleshooting.

#1: Check and Fix Graphics Card Connections

Check whether the graphics card is seated correctly in its PCI slot and if not slot the card into the PCI and screw it firmly.
Ensure that any power connectors are clipped into the unit.
Power on the computer and check if the issue has been fixed.

#2: Confirm that the monitor is working properly

Some display issues may not be connected to the graphics card but a problem with the monitor.
Ensure that the monitor is properly connected and fix any loose connections.
You can test with a different monitor, and if the problem disappears, you may need to replace your monitor.

#3: Replace the Graphics Card

If your graphic card is worn out or damaged beyond repair, none of the above solutions will work.
Visit a computer store and purchase a modern graphics card for your PC.
Replace the old graphic card and install the drivers for the new hardware.

Wrapping Up

Graphics card is an essential part of your computer that delivers the best display especially if you need rendering of 3D space, play video games as well as running graphic intensive applications in Windows 10. A Malfunctioning graphics card can be frustrating as it may lead to problems like freezing, black or blue screen, lagging apps or games among other display issues. If you encounter graphics card issues in Windows 10, you can try the above solutions to resolve the issue. If none of the fixes works, it is advisable to purchase and reinstall a new graphics card for your computer.

How to Fix Graphics Card Issues in Windows 10?

Common Graphics Card Issues