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[Solved] How to Fix Nvidia Driver Crashing on Windows 10/8/7

Nvidia driver crashing can badly affect your PC gaming experience. If you are facing this terrible issue, here are the solutions. Check the following article and see how to fix Nvidia driver crashing on Windows.

by Jeremy | Mar 02, 2020

We constantly see there are many Windows users complain about Nvidia driver crashing issue. And certainly, imagine this, you are in the final minute of a game or you are immersed in the touching atmosphere of a film, your computer starts to lag or the screen blacks out all of sudden because of Nvidia driver crashing. It must be so annoying. In some cases, computers will go back to normal and work after a while, but many other cases seem to happen every few minutes or hours.

For anyone who is looking for the solutions to Nvidia driver crashing, check the following article and figure out how to easily but completely fix Nvidia driver crashing on Windows in different methods.

Method 1: Enable Nvidia Graphics Card

Nvidia graphics card is disabled might seem unlikely, but it does exist in a massive number. Your Nvidia graphics card could be possibly disabled due to some unknown operations or reasons. So, if you are looking to fix Nvidia drive crashing issue on Windows, remember to first check this point, which could be fixed very easily.

· Launch the Run dialog with Win + R

· Type “devmgmt.msc” and get into the Device Manager

· Expand Display adapters option and find your Nvidia graphics card here

· If it is not enabled, then you can right-click on the option and select “Enabled”

Method 2: Disable Antivirus Software

In fact, antivirus software on your Windows may have chance to cause Nvidia driver crash. Some of the antivirus software change your system settings and prevent some certain processes from running or updating properly. As some news reports, there can have conflicts between Avast and Nvidia graphics driver.

To figure out if it’s the cause, you can temporarily disable antivirus software on your computer and see. If so, you have to uninstall the current antivirus software and consider another one.

Method3: Manage 3D Settings in Nvidia Control Panel

If Nvidia driver keeps crashing on a regular basis after you try method 1 and 2, you may try this method: manage Nvidia control panel 3D settings. Sometimes, few settings on Nvidia control panel can cause Nvidia driver is incompatible with your Windows. In this part, we recommend you set the performance to the maximum and turn off Vertical sync.

· Right click on the desktop and select “NVIDIA Control Panel”, or run dialog with Win and R, type “control” and click OK to open All Control Panel Items, and you’ll find NVIDIA Control Panel here

· Open 3D Settings > Manage 3D Settings

· In Power Management Mode, change the setting to Perfect Maximum Performance

· Turn off Vertical sync

· Click on Apply to save changes

Just in case, we suggest you set Power Options to High Performance as well.

Method 4: Reinstall Nvidia Driver

Most of thetime, Nvidia driver crash problem is caused by a corrupt Nvidia driver on your Windows computer. The best fix method is to uninstall Nvidia driver on Windows completely and reinstall it.

For Win 10 users,

Go to Control Panel > see Programs and choose “Uninstall a program”> locate the Nvidia graphics driver (there may have some other Nvidia drivers listed, so don’t take this wrong) > right-click and uninstall

While if you are using Win 7 or 8 operating system, follow the method 1 steps to get into the Device Manager, find Nvidia driver and right click to uninstall Nvidia driver on Windows.

Just in case, you’d better restart your PC for the changes to take effect. Now, it’s time to re-install Nvidia driver. The most safety way is to download the driver from Nvidia office website, or you can also take advantages of other reliable third-party driver updater tools to reinstall the needed driver with few simple clicks.

Generally, these 4 methods can help you fix Nvidia driver crashing issue.

How To Fix Nvidia Driver Crash On Windows 10?

How To Easily Fix Nvidia Driver Crash On Windows 10

Nvidia (commonly referred to as Nvidia, stylized as NVIDIA, nVIDIA or nVidia) is an American technology company that designs Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for the gaming, cryptocurrency, and professional markets, as well as ‘system on a chip’ units (SoCs) for the mobile computing and automotive market. Its primary GPU product line, labeled «GeForce», is in direct competition with Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) «Radeon» products. Nvidia expanded its presence in the gaming industry with its handheld Shield Portable, Shield Tablet, and Shield Android TV products.

In addition to GPU manufacturing, Nvidia provides parallel processing capabilities to researchers and scientists that allow them to efficiently run high-performance applications. They are deployed in supercomputing sites around the world. More recently, Nvidia has moved into the mobile computing market where it produces Tegra mobile processors for smartphones and tablets as well as vehicle navigation and entertainment systems.

A device driver is software that allows the operating system and other software to interact with certain devices and hardware. A driver is like a translator between software and hardware, allowing them to communicate smoothly, since they are often developed by different manufacturers and companies.

A graphics (video) driver is the software that allows the operating system and programs to use computer graphics hardware. Updated graphics drivers are important and often deliver better performance. Driver updates typically provide bug fixes and compatibility with newer software. Most drivers that come with your computer or Windows (through Windows Update) are good enough, and there is no need to install or update other drivers. There is, however, an exception for graphic drivers. The most common video cards are NVIDIA and AMD. There are sometimes issues with Nvidia drivers, such as Nvidia driver crashes.

In this guide, we present a number of methods to address an Nvidia driver crash, including downloading and installing the latest drivers or older driver versions (paradoxically), adjusting your Power Options settings, disabling Windows services, etc.

Table of Contents:

It is recommended to run a free scan with Combo Cleaner — a tool to detect malware and fix computer errors. You will need to purchase the full version to remove infections and eliminate computer errors. Free trial available.

Change Your Screen Resolution

Screen resolution refers to the clarity of the text and images displayed on your screen. At higher resolutions (such as 1600 x 1200), items appear sharper. They also appear smaller, so more items can fit on the screen. At lower resolutions (such as 800 x 600), the reverse case is true: fewer items fit on the screen, but they appear larger.

Some users have reported that simply changing (decreasing) the screen resolution fixes the Nvidia driver crash issue. To decrease the screen resolution, simply right-click the background and select «Display settings» from the contextual menu.

Now, click the arrow next to your screen resolution and select a lower resolution than the current setting. See if this solves the issue with the Nvidia driver.

Reinstall Nvidia Drivers

This method includes uninstalling current Nvidia drivers and installing the latest ones. To uninstall current Nvidia drivers, first go to Control Panel. Type «control panel» in Search and select the «Control Panel» result.

Now click «Uninstall a program» under Programs. If you do not see the Control Panel menu as shown in the image below, select «Category» in the «View by:» drop-down menu. You can find it in the top-right corner of the Control Panel window.

Locate the «NVIDIA Graphics Driver», right-click it and select «Uninstall» from the drop-down menu. You can click the «Uninstall» button positioned above the list to uninstall the driver.

Go to the Nvidia website and download the latest drivers for the graphics card.

If you are not sure which drivers to download for the Nvidia graphics card, use third-party software such as Snappy Driver Installer. You will need a computer with a working internet connection in order to download it. Snappy Driver Installer (SDI) is a powerful free driver updater tool for Windows that can store its entire collection of drivers offline. Having offline drivers gives Snappy Driver Installer the ability to have access to fast driver updates, even if there is no active internet connection. Snappy Driver works with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Drivers are downloaded through Snappy Driver Installer in what are called driverpacks, which are just collections (packs) of drivers for various hardware like sound devices, video cards, network adapters etc. It can also show duplicate drivers and invalid drivers and it separates the updates that require you to restart your computer so it would be easier to distinguish them from the rest. You can download Snappy Driver Installer from here.

Download Drivers From Your Laptop Manufacturer

This method applies only to laptop owners. If you are not using a laptop computer, skip this step.

Uninstall current drivers, applying the steps mentioned in the previous solution, and then go to the laptop manufacturer’s web page and download the latest graphics drivers. Some users have reported that this solution helped them to fix issues with crashing Nvidia graphics drivers.

Stop Automatic Driver Updates

This method includes stopping automatic driver updates and downloading older versions of Nvidia drivers. The latest drivers are usually recommended, however, in some cases, older drivers work better and provide a solution. Before installing older drivers, you first need to stop automatic driver updates. Do this by typing «system» in Search and select the «System» result.

Locate «Advanced system settings» on the left pane and click it.

In the System Properties window, select the «Hardware» tab and click «Device Installation Settings».

In the Device installation settings window, select «No (your device might not work as expected)» and click «Save changes».

Now that you have disabled automatic driver updates, remove the current Nvidia graphics drivers and install older versions. We described the uninstall process in the first solution above. You can find ‘beta’ and older drivers for Nvidia products here.

Disable iGPU

A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobile phones, personal computers, workstations, and game consoles

iGPU is Integrated Graphics Processing Unit (or integrated GPU). This is a GPU made by the CPU (Central Processing Unit) manufacturer of the computer. There is another term, ‘dGPU’, which is a discrete GPU, a separate chip.

Now that we know the terminology, we will describe a solution that includes disabling the iGPU by accessing BIOS settings. BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is software stored in a small memory chip on the motherboard. You might need to access the BIOS to change how the device works, or to assist in troubleshooting a problem. In this case, we need the BIOS to disable the iGPU. To access BIOS, press and hold the Del or F2 keys when starting the computer (or when it boots up). In the BIOS settings, locate the iGPU (or integrated graphic card) option and disable it. Save the changes and restart your computer. See if this helps to fix the issue with the Nvidia graphics driver.

Manage 3D Settings In Nvidia Control Panel

First, open the Nvidia Control Panel. Usually, you can access it by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting the «NVIDIA Control Panel». In the Nvidia Control Panel window, find «Manage 3D settings» on the left pane and select it. Select «Power Management Mode» and set it to «Prefer Maximum Performance» and turn off the V-Sync (Vertical Synchronization) option. Click «Apply» to save changes and see if this fixes the problem with the Nvidia graphic driver.

NOTE: The Nvidia Control Panel settings might vary depending on the version on your computer, but generally, they should be similar to those described.

We also recommend that you set Power Options to High Performance by typing «power» in Search and select the «Power & sleep» result.

Click «Additional power settings» on the right pane.

Now, click «Show additional plans» and select «High performance» option.

Disable Your Antivirus

It is also possible that antivirus software is causing Nvidia driver crashes. Temporarily disable the antivirus software to determine if the driver still crashes, and is thus causing the problem. If so, we suggest you consider using different antivirus software (and uninstall the current software). Some users have reported that Avast antivirus software, specifically, was causing Nvidia driver crashes, and that removing this software solved the problem.

Clean Your Graphic Card

It is possible that the graphic card is overheating due to dust, in which case it requires cleaning. Open the computer case and remove the graphic card. Carefully clean and replace it. See if this solves the issue with driver crashes.

NOTE: By removing your graphic card you may invalidate your computer and/or graphic card warranty.

We hope that one of the solutions above helps you to solve the issue Nvidia drivers and you are able to use your computer without any Nvidia-related problems.

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