“Update the drivers.” We’ve all heard this advice a million times. And generally, it does help resolve whatever the issue is. But what if the updated driver itself is the problem?
Whether it’s due to an unstable update or incompatibility, updating NVIDIA drivers can sometimes lead to a downgrade in performance. And although this is rare, some users have even reported facing BSOD errors like nvlddmkm.sys, and DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.
In cases like these, reverting to the previous stable version is the best option. As such, we’ve detailed how to rollback NVIDIA drivers and other related queries in this article.
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How to Rollback NVIDIA Drivers in Windows 10/11
You can easily roll back NVIDIA Drivers, as well as any other device drivers, via the Device Manager utility. Here are the steps to do so:
- Press Win + R, type
devmgmt.msc, and press Enter. - Expand Display Adapters and double-click the NVIDIA GPU.
- Switch to the Driver Tab and press Roll Back Driver.
- Select a reason for rolling back and press Yes to confirm.
How to Fix if Roll Back NVIDIA Driver Greyed Out?
The Roll Back Driver option can be inaccessible if the driver files for any previous versions are not present on the computer. In such cases, you’ll have to uninstall, then manually install the NVIDIA Driver with the following steps:
- Visit the GeForce Drivers Download page.
- Search for and download the Driver Version you want to install.
- Press Win + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
- In the boot tab, select Safe Boot and press OK.
- Restart the PC, and it’ll boot into safe mode.
- In safe mode, press Win + R, type
devmgmt.msc, and press Enter. - Expand Display Adapters, double-click the NVIDIA GPU and select Uninstall Device.
- Optional: You can also use Display Driver Uninstaller if you want to remove all traces of the previous driver. But keep in mind that while it’s a reputable app, it’s still third-party.
- Right-click the NVIDIA Display Driver Installer file you downloaded in Step 2, select Run as administrator, and accept the prompt.
- In the setup wizard, accept the license agreement and specify the file path. The default path will do just fine as well.
- Select NVIDIA Graphics Driver > Custom (Advanced).
- Enable the Perform a clean installation option and press Next.
- Once the installation is complete, repeat steps 3-4 and disable Safe Boot to boot your PC normally.
You can check the driver version and verify that the rollback was successful via the Device Manager, DirectX Diagnostic Tool, or NVIDIA System Information. You can find the full steps to do this in the NVIDIA GPU Details section below.
How to Install Old NVIDIA Drivers?
You can use the roll-back driver option via Device Manager to revert to the previous version of the driver. If you want to install a specific version, you should uninstall the current driver, download the driver version from Official Drivers | NVIDIA and install it manually.
We’ve listed the steps for both of these methods in the guide above.
How Can I Know Which NVIDIA Driver I Should Install?
First, you can use the Run commands dxdiag or msinfo32. Check the Display/Render and Components > Display sections, respectively, to check your GPU Details, including the NVIDIA Driver Version.
You can also find the Driver Version from the Driver tab in Device Manager. The 5 digits at the end indicate the driver version.
Alternatively, right-click on your Desktop and open the NVIDIA Control Panel. You can also access it via Control Panel (Icon View). In the NVIDIA Control Panel, select Help > System Information.
Now that you know the GPU Model and Driver Version, you can revert to a previous driver version or install a newer one.
Why can’t my GeForce Game Ready Driver Installation Continue?
This issue mainly arises due to problems with the GeForce Experience App, malware, or interference from antivirus. It’s also possible that the driver version isn’t supported.
The best way to fix the GeForce Game Ready Driver issue is to either manually download the GeForce Game Ready driver or clean install it via the GeForce App. In the second scenario, uninstalling and reinstalling the GeForce Experience App first may be helpful.
Also, make sure that all NVIDIA-related processes are running. To do so, use the Run command services.msc, sort by name, and check all processes related to NVIDIA.
Regarding more general fixes, scanning your PC for malware and keeping the system and drivers updated is always a good practice for this error and most others.
Why is my PC saying “This NVIDIA Graphics Driver Is Not Compatible With This Version of Windows” ?
This is an error commonly seen in older systems that haven’t been updated in a while. Updating to the latest Windows version will resolve this issue in most cases.
Additionally, if manually downloading the driver, make sure you select the correct version (32-bit or 64-bit) for your OS, as trying to install the wrong version can also lead to this error.
How to Fix “You Are Not Currently Using a Display Attached to an NVIDIA GPU”?
As the message implies, this error occurs when there’s a connection issue between the display and the NVIDIA GPU.
To resolve the NVIDIA GPU Display error, you should check all the connections and ensure sufficient power is being supplied. Additionally, using a different cable and reseating the RAM, GPU and PSU can also be helpful.
On the software end, you should update your system, and then clean install the latest drivers for your GPU. You can do this either manually or using the GeForce Experience app.
How to Reset NvCpl NVIDIA 3D Settings?
Restoring the 3D Settings to default values can be useful for troubleshooting performance or quality issues. Here are the steps to do so:
- Launch the NVIDIA Control Panel.
- Under 3D Settings, select any option and press Restore Defaults from the top right.
- Accept the confirmation prompt and press Apply.
- Repeat these steps in the remaining two tabs as well.
How Often Should You Update GPU Drivers?
When it comes to graphics card display drivers, the general recommendation is that you should only update the drivers if your GPU is fairly new.
In the case of a new GPU, the developers develop a better understanding of the GPU’s architecture over time, and thus, they’re able to release updates that can improve its performance. So, updating is good to optimize GPU Resource Usage, for instance.
But the same cannot be said for older graphics card models, as most of the updates for them are just related to bug fixes or compatibility, rather than performance upgrades. So, for older GPUs, if the current driver is working fine, it’s recommended to keep using it rather than upgrading unnecessarily.
