How to Reset Graphics Card

When your PC suddenly starts acting up, screens flicker, games stutter, or the display won’t turn on, there’s a good chance your graphics card (GPU) is to blame. But before you panic or buy a new one, here’s some good news: you can often fix the problem by simply resetting your graphics card.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about resetting your GPU, from quick keyboard shortcuts and driver reinstalls to full hardware and BIOS resets. Whether you’re using NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel graphics, this guide covers all methods to restore performance and eliminate display issues safely.

Let’s get your visuals back on track.

 

What Does “Resetting a Graphics Card” Actually Mean?

When people say reset your graphics card, they could mean a few different things, and each fixes a different type of issue. Here’s what that means in practical terms:

Reset Type	What It Does	When to Use
Driver Reset (Quick Shortcut)	Restarts your GPU driver in Windows	Fix temporary display freezes or black screens
Driver Reinstall / Factory Reset	Reinstalls your graphics driver from scratch	Solve corrupted driver files, crashes, or poor performance
Hardware Reseat	Physically remove and reinsert your GPU	Fix hardware detection or connection issues
BIOS Reset (GPU/PCIe)	Restores hardware settings to default	Resolve boot or overclocking issues
Factory Reset via Software (AMD/NVIDIA)	Restores all GPU settings to factory defaults	Fix overclock instability or misconfigurations

So, depending on your problem - visual artifacts, black screens, driver crashes, or thermal throttling, you might need one or more of these methods.

 

Common Signs You Need to Reset Your GPU

Here are the top red flags that your graphics card needs a reset:

• Random black screens or flickering displays

• Driver crashes or “Display driver stopped responding” messages

• Games freezing or running at extremely low FPS

• GPU not being detected by Windows or Device Manager

• Overclocking instability or overheating

• Poor performance after updating drivers or changing BIOS settings

If you’re nodding to any of those, it’s time for a reset, and we’ll start with the fastest fix.

 

Quickest Method: Reset Graphics Driver Using Shortcut (Windows)

If your screen freezes or goes black for a few seconds, there’s a hidden Windows shortcut that can instantly restart your GPU driver, no reboot required.

Shortcut:

Press Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B

What happens:

• The screen will go black briefly and you’ll hear a short beep.

• Windows automatically resets the graphics driver.

• Your display should refresh and come back to normal within a few seconds.

This works for NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel graphics drivers on Windows 10 and 11.

Use this for temporary freezes, not long-term driver corruption. If problems keep recurring, move to a full driver reinstall below.

 

Reset Your GPU Drivers (Full Reinstall Method)

Driver corruption is one of the most common causes of display or performance issues. Resetting or reinstalling the GPU driver often resolves them completely.

Here’s how to reset graphics card drivers properly for both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

Step 1: Uninstall Current GPU Drivers

You can do these two ways:

Option A – Using Device Manager

1. Press Windows + X → Select Device Manager.
2. Expand Display Adapters.
3. Right-click your GPU (e.g., NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 / AMD Radeon RX 7900).
4. Click Uninstall Device → Check Delete the driver software for this device.
5. Restart your computer.

Option B – Using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) (Recommended)

For a truly clean reset:

1. Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) from Guru3D.
2. Boot into Safe Mode (press Shift while restarting → Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings).
3. Run DDU and select Clean and Restart.
4. DDU removes all driver traces, registry entries, and profiles.

After reboot, your PC will revert to basic display mode, don’t worry, that’s normal.

Step 2: Reinstall the Latest Drivers

Now reinstall the latest official drivers:

• For NVIDIA: NVIDIA Drivers Download

• For AMD: AMD Drivers & Support

• For Intel: Intel Graphics Drivers

1. Download your GPU driver.
2. Run the installer.
3. Choose Custom / Advanced Installation → check Perform a clean installation (NVIDIA) or Factory Reset (AMD).
4. Restart your PC.

Your drivers are now fully reset and rebuilt from scratch.

 

Factory Reset GPU Settings (NVIDIA, AMD & Intel)

If your games are crashing after you tweaked settings like overclocking, fan curves, or power limits - don’t uninstall anything yet. Both NVIDIA and AMD let you reset all your GPU settings back to factory defaults.

For NVIDIA Users (via Control Panel or GeForce Experience)

Option 1: NVIDIA Control Panel

1. Right-click desktop → NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Go to Manage 3D Settings.
3. Click Restore Defaults (bottom right).
4. Confirm and restart your PC.

Option 2: GeForce Experience

1. Open GeForce Experience → Settings (gear icon).
2. Under General, disable any performance tweaks or overclock profiles.
3. Click Restore Defaults under any adjusted games.

For AMD Users (via Radeon Software)

1. Right-click desktop → AMD Radeon Software.
2. Go to Settings (gear icon) → System.
3. Scroll down → click Factory Reset.
4. Choose Keep my user data or Remove all settings.
5. Restart your PC.

These clears overclock settings, fan curves, and custom profiles.

For Intel Arc / Integrated Graphics

1. Right-click desktop → Intel Graphics Command Center.
2. Navigate to Preferences → click Restore Defaults.

This brings Intel’s integrated GPU settings back to default, fixing display colour or scaling bugs.

 

Hardware Reset: Reseating the GPU

If your PC fails to boot or your GPU isn’t detected at all, the issue may be physical — not software. Dust, loose connections, or static discharge can cause detection errors.

Here’s how to safely perform a hardware reset:

Step-by-Step:

1. Shut down your PC completely.
2. Unplug the power cable and hold the power button for 5 seconds to discharge.
3. Open your PC case (use a screwdriver if needed).
4. Locate your GPU on the motherboard (usually the big PCIe slot).
5. Unscrew and gently remove the card by pressing the PCIe latch.
6. Clean the contacts with compressed air or an anti-static cloth.
7. Reinsert the GPU firmly into the slot until you hear a click.
8. Reconnect power cables and tighten screws.
9. Boot your PC and reinstall drivers if necessary.

Ground yourself before touching internal components to avoid static damage.

If reseating fixes the detection issue, your graphics card just needs a physical reset - no software fix required.

 

Reset BIOS or CMOS (for GPU Hardware Conflicts)

Sometimes, your graphics card isn’t the problem - your motherboard is. BIOS settings can interfere with GPU initialization, especially after overclocking or firmware updates.

To reset BIOS (also called clearing the CMOS):

Option 1 – Using BIOS Menu

1. Reboot your PC → repeatedly press DEL / F2 to enter BIOS.
2. Find Restore Defaults or Load Optimized Defaults.
3. Save and exit.

Option 2 – Manually Clear CMOS

1. Power off and unplug your PC.
2. Locate the CMOS battery (small silver coin cell on motherboard).
3. Remove it for 30 seconds, then reinsert.
4. Power on your PC.

This resets all motherboard settings to default, ensuring your GPU initializes cleanly.

 

Reset GPU Overclock Settings (MSI Afterburner, EVGA Precision X1, etc.)

If you’ve been experimenting with overclocking tools and suddenly your system becomes unstable, don’t worry. It’s easy to revert back.

For MSI Afterburner:

1. Open MSI Afterburner.
2. Click the Reset (↩) icon to revert clocks, voltage, and fan settings.
3. Save and reboot.

For EVGA Precision X1:

1. Open the app.
2. Click Default → confirm reset.

For ASUS GPU Tweak or Gigabyte AORUS Engine:

Use the Reset or Default option to restore base frequencies.

Overclock instability can mimic hardware failure, resetting your profiles is often all you need to restore stability.

 

Reset Windows Graphics Settings

If the issue seems system-wide (e.g., weird colour profiles, DPI scaling errors, or games rendering incorrectly), reset your Windows display settings:

1. Right-click desktop → Display Settings.
2. Scroll → click Advanced Display Settings.
3. Under Display adapter properties, click Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver or Update Driver.
4. For colour or HDR issues, click Graphics Settings → Default Graphics Settings → Reset.

This helps if the issue lies in Windows’ handling of the GPU rather than the driver itself.

 

Resetting Graphics Card on a Laptop

Laptop GPUs (integrated or discrete) can also be reset - though you can’t physically remove them.

Here’s how to do it safely:

1. Use the Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B shortcut to refresh drivers.
2. Uninstall and reinstall GPU drivers using Device Manager or DDU.
3. Enter BIOS → Load Defaults → Save.
4. For gaming laptops, open the OEM control center (e.g., Lenovo Vantage, ASUS Armoury Crate) and reset graphics settings to default.
5. Restart the system.

This resets your GPU configuration without any physical adjustments.

 

Resetting GPU Power and Performance Profiles

Modern GPUs have dynamic power and fan profiles. Corrupted power states can cause inconsistent performance or throttling.

To fix that:

NVIDIA:

• Open NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → Power Management Mode → Optimal Power.

AMD:

• Open Radeon Software → Performance → Tuning → Reset.

This reverts your power states, fan curves, and performance limits to safe defaults.

 

What to Do After Resetting Your GPU

Once you’ve reset your graphics card, here’s how to get everything back to peak performance:

1. Install the latest driver updates from NVIDIA/AMD/Intel.
2. Update DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables (important for gaming).
3. Run a benchmark (like 3DMark or Unigine Heaven) to confirm stability.
4. Monitor temps using HWMonitor or GPU-Z.
5. Ideal idle temp: 30–45°C
6. Ideal load temp: 65–85°C
7. Back up your stable configuration so you can restore it later if needed.

 

If Resetting Doesn’t Fix the Problem

Sometimes, a reset isn’t enough. Here’s what else to try:

• Update BIOS/UEFI firmware on your motherboard.

• Check PSU wattage - underpowered systems can cause GPU errors.

• Test GPU in another PC to isolate the issue.

• Check monitor cables and ports - sometimes HDMI/DP issues mimic GPU faults.

• Run GPU diagnostics using tools like OCCT, FurMark, or GPU-Z to spot instability.

If your card still fails after all resets, you may be dealing with a hardware defect or overheating issue. Contact the GPU manufacturer’s support team for warranty or RMA options.

 

Prevent GPU Issues in the Future

A properly maintained GPU rarely needs a reset. Here’s how to keep it that way:

• Keep drivers updated but avoid beta releases unless necessary.

• Clean your PC regularly to prevent dust buildup.

• Maintain stable power supply - no cheap PSUs!

• Avoid aggressive overclocking if you’re not monitoring temps.

• Keep ambient temps under 30°C for better thermal performance.

• Back up your stable driver version before updating.

With these habits, you’ll rarely face display crashes or instability again.

 

Quick Summary Table: Ways to Reset Your GPU

Method	Tools Needed	Fixes	Difficulty
Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B	Keyboard	Temporary freezes	★☆☆☆☆
Driver Reinstall (DDU)	Software	Corrupted drivers, crashes	★★☆☆☆
Factory Reset (AMD/NVIDIA)	GPU Software	Bad settings, overclocking	★☆☆☆☆
Reseat GPU Hardware	Screwdriver, air duster	No display or detection issues	★★★☆☆
BIOS / CMOS Reset	Motherboard access	Boot or compatibility issues	★★★☆☆
Reset via OEM App (Laptop)	Laptop control app	Power, fan, or hybrid GPU bugs	★☆☆☆☆

 

 

FAQs About Resetting Graphics Cards

Does resetting a graphics card delete my games or files?
No, it only affects GPU drivers and settings. Your games and files remain safe.

Will resetting improve my FPS?
If performance drops were caused by driver corruption, yes - a reset often restores normal FPS levels.

Can I reset my GPU without uninstalling drivers?
Yes. Use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B) or the Restore Defaults option in your GPU software.

Is it safe to reset GPU drivers with DDU?
Yes - DDU is the industry-standard tool for clean driver removal. Just follow the on-screen steps and restart when prompted.

What happens if resetting doesn’t fix my GPU?
Then your issue may be hardware-related - overheating, power delivery, or physical damage. Test the GPU in another system or contact support for replacement.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Resetting your graphics card can feel intimidating, but as you’ve seen, it’s just a process of bringing things back to default. Whether you use a quick keyboard shortcut, a clean driver reinstalls, or a full hardware reseat, each reset method helps restore GPU stability and display performance.

If your games crash, your screen flickers, or your GPU feels sluggish, don’t jump straight to buying new hardware, try resetting first. It’s fast, free, and often all you need to bring your system back to life.

So next time your PC’s visuals go rogue, you’ll know exactly how to reset your graphics card like a pro and get back to gaming, designing, or editing without a hitch.

 

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