How To Fix Graphics Card Not Detected Issue

A graphics card is a computer component that handles the graphical data computation and displays this on the monitor. Most of the high end graphics card can render high definition images at an extremely fast rate making then an ideal choice for gamers. Although it is quite easy to install a graphics card on a desktop computer, there are instances when certain issues can occur. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the graphics card not detected issue.

How To Fix Graphics Card Not Detected Issue

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.

There are several factors that can cause this particular problem ranging from a faulty driver to a BIOS setting issue. Listed below are the recommended troubleshooting steps you need to do to fix this problem.

Check  the graphics card installation

The first thing that you should do is to make sure that the graphics card is connected properly to the motherboard 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

Check if the graphics card not detected issue still occurs.

Check the BIOS setting

If your computer has an onboard graphics then you should try to disable this from BIOS. There are different ways to do this depending on the motherboard manufacturer but the steps listed below are generally what you will have to do.

  • 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 if the graphics card not detected issue still occurs.

Reinstall the graphics drivers

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.

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card then follow the steps listed below.

  • 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

If you have an AMD graphics card then follow the steps listed below.

  • Download the AMD Cleanup Utility from here https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-601.
  • Locate the file where it was saved and double-click on the “AMDCleanupUtility.exe’ file.
  • A dialogue box should appear stating AMD Cleanup Utility has detected the system is not in safe mode and provide an option to reboot the system to run the Utility in safe mode:
  • Click “Yes” the system will be rebooted and AMD Cleanup Utility will run in safe mode.
  • The next dialogue box provides a warning message stating that the AMD Cleanup Utility will remove all AMD driver and application components.
  • Click “OK” to continue
  • After clicking “OK” the Utility will be minimized to the notification area (system tray) and the progress will be displayed as a tool tip.
  • The cleanup process will continue to run in the background.  To check the progress, hover the mouse over the AMD icon in the notification area.
  • Once the cleanup process is finished, a message is displayed stating it has successfully completed. Click “View Report” to see the list of components that were uninstalled, otherwise click “Finish” to exit the Utility.
  • Reboot your computer.

Once the drivers have been uninstalled it’s time to install the latest driver update. You can do this with the help of the AMD Driver Auto-detect tool  which you can download from https://www.amd.com/en/support.

  • Visit the AMD Driver and Support page and see section Auto-Detect and Install Radeon Graphics Drivers for Windows.
  • Click the DOWNLOAD NOW button to begin downloading the executable file for the tool.
  • Once download is complete, run the file to launch the Installer.
  • Click Install to extract the needed files.
  • After file extraction is complete the tool should automatically launch.
  • Review the End User License Agreement and information about the User Experience Improvement Program.
  • Click Accept and Install to continue or close the window to exit the AMD Driver Auto-detect tool.
  • After clicking Accept and Install, the tool will attempt to detect the installed AMD graphics product and operating system.
  • Upon successful detection of your system configuration, the tool will display the latest Recommended and Optional driver packages that are compatible with your graphics product, as well as the currently installed driver version
  • Select the desired version and choose Express installation.
  • After the driver package has been downloaded, installation should begin automatically.
  • Restart your computer

Check if the graphics card not detected issue still occurs.

Set your graphics card as the default

This step applies to NVIDIA graphics cards.

  • Open Nvidia control panel. You can simply right click on your Desktop and select Nvidia Control Panel
  • Click 3D Settings
  • Select Manage 3D Settings from the left pane. It should be under 3D Settings
  • Select Program Settings tab
  • Select a program that you want to select your graphics card for. You can select the program from the drop down list in Select a program to customize section
  • Select High performance Nvidia processor from the drop down list in Select the preferred graphics processor for this program section
  • close the panel and try to run the program that has the Nvidia graphics card as the default device.

Check if the graphics card not detected issue still occurs.

Check the power supply

There are times when the problem is caused by the power supply not providing the correct amount of power. If you have a powerful graphics card and are using a low wattage power supply then this problem is most likely to occur. Try to use a different power supply, I recommend getting an 80+ true rated power supply from reputable brands such as EVGA, Seasonic, or Corsair just to name a few.

Update the motherboard BIOS

If you are using a new graphics card then this might not be compatible with your motherboard yet, especially if you are using an older generation motherboard. One quick way to fix this is to make sure that your motherboard BIOS is updated.

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