NVIDIA is an American company that manufactures some of the best graphics cards for computers. Most of the high end gaming computer setups will usually have the latest NVIDIA graphics hardware installed. While the company makes solid products there are instances when certain issues can occur. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the NVIDIA graphics driver not detected in windows 10 issue.
What to do when Nvidia graphics card can’t be detected by computer
Before performing any of the recommended troubleshooting steps listed below it’s best to restart your computer first. This action refreshes the operating system and remove any corrupt temporary data that could be causing the problem.
Check if the card is disabled
The first thing you will want to do in this case is to make sure that the card is not disabled from the device manager.
- Right click on the Start button
- Click on Device Manager
- Locate your graphic card and double click it to see its Properties.
- Go to the Driver tab and click the Enable button. If the button is not available then it means that your graphics card is enabled.
Try to check if the Nvidia graphics card not working issue still occurs.
Update the Nvidia drivers manually
One factor that can cause this problem is a corrupted display driver. To find out if this is the culprit, you will have to reinstall the graphics drivers.
- Press Win+R (Windows logo key and R key) at the same time to invoke the Run box.
- Type msconfig and click OK. Then the System Configurations will open.
- When System Configuration opens, click the Boot tab. Under Boot options, check Safe boot then click OK.
- When you’re prompted to restart your computer to apply these changes, click Restart then you will boot into Safe Mode.
- Go to your local hard disk by clicking on This PC then Local Disk C. You should be able to see the NVIDIA folder right there. Right-click on it and choose Delete.
- Click Start and type Run. Select Run, the Run dialog box will appear.
- Type “devmgmt.msc” in the run box and click the OK button which should open the Device Manager Window.
- Expand the “Display Adapters” field. This will list all network adapters that the machine has installed. Right click on the Nvidia adapter you want to uninstall and select “Uninstall”.
- Click “OK” when prompted to uninstall the device. This will remove the adapter from the list and uninstall the driver.
- Press Win+R (Windows logo key and R key) at the same time to invoke the Run box.
- Type msconfig and click OK. Then the System Configurations will open.
- When System Configuration opens, click the Boot tab. Under Boot options, uncheck Safe boot then click OK.
- When you’re prompted to restart your computer to apply these changes, click Restart.
- Download the latest NVIDIA driver for your computer from here https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx.
- Run the setup file and follow the instructions which appear on screen. Choose the Custom installation option and check all the boxes in the custom install options windows. Also check the box which states “perform clean install”.
- Restart your computer
Try checking if the Nvidia video card not detected issue still occurs.
Enable discrete GPU in BIOS
If your computer has an integrated GPU and a discrete GPU then you will need to make sure that the discrete GPU setting is enabled in your computer BIOS. There are several methods to access the BIOS of your computer based on the motherboard manufacturer. Usually, all you need to do is to restart your computer and once the computer is in the process of booting up just press on F2 or the Delete button.When you enter BIOS you need to find dGPU feature and set it to Enabled.
You should also try to disable the on-board graphics.
- Restart your computer. While the computer is running the POST look for a message indicating a key to press to access the “Setup” or “BIOS.” On most computers, the key to access the BIOS will either be “ESC,” “F1,” “F2,” “F10” or “DEL.”
- Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate your BIOS and use any instructions to change values. Find the menu item that closely matches “Integrated Peripherals” or “On-Board Devices.” The setting to disable the on-board graphics card may also be under the “Advanced” option. Highlight the appropriate menu item and press “Enter.”
- Highlight the option that controls the on-board graphics card and press “Enter,” then press the appropriate key to select “Disable.” If your option allows you to enable an external video card, set that option to “Yes” or “Enable.” If your options for the video card are “PCI-Express” or “Integrated,” choose the type of slot in which you have installed your new video card. Press “Enter.”
- Press “Esc” until you have backed out of all menus and are at the main BIOS screen. Select the option or press the appropriate function key to “Save and Exit.” Press “Enter” to confirm.
Check the graphics card installation
If you just installed the Nvidia graphics card on your desktop computer and it is not recognized then you need to make sure that it is connected properly to the PCI slot.
- Turn off the computer. Make sure to unplug the power supply from the power source
- Open the Computer case
- Remove the graphics card from the PCI slot. Reinsert the graphics card to the PCI-Express x16 slot carefully.
- If the card requires additional power then connect it to the power supply cable.
- Turn ON the computer
Try to check if the Nvidia graphics card not detected issue still occurs.
Uninstall recent updates
Sometimes certain Windows updates can cause a conflict with the Nvidia drivers which will result in this problem. If the issue occurred right after an update then you should try to uninstall this update.
- Open the Settings app and go to Update & Security section.
- Click on View installed update history.
- Select Uninstall updates
- A list of installed updates will appear. Just double click an update to remove it.
Try to check if the Nvidia graphics card isn’t detected issue still occurs.