PC not detecting GPU [Technician Fix]
- Is your PC not detecting GPU? You don't need us to tell you how disastrous this can be for the visuals especially if you're into gaming or video editing.
- The first thing you can do is check if your graphics card is properly connected but in some cases, it can be a bit trickier than that.
- A motherboard not detecting GPU can just as well be triggered by incompatible or outdated drivers.
- You may even have to tweak your BIOS a bit but worry not as we will guide you every step of the way.
At times, your computer may refuse to recognize the GPU. It can happen if you have freshly installed a new graphics card or updated your Windows OS to a newer version.
One user described the problem on Microsoft’s official forum.
After I updated my laptop recently, my 980M graphics card seems to “disappear.” It is not in the device manager (only shows my intel 530) and Nvidia software can not detect my graphics card either. Please help!
As troublesome as it may seem, this is not actually an uncommon situation. So, if you’re stuck with a PC not detecting GPU, fix the problem with the solutions below.
How do I get my computer to recognize my GPU?
1. Install Graphic Card Driver
This is an obvious but common mistake. After installing the graphics card, Windows will automatically install the required graphics card driver that came pre-built into the graphics card.
However, most of the time, you need to update the drivers and download additional files to make it run properly.
You can download the latest version of the graphics driver from the GPU manufacturer’s website.
Alternatively, you can use an automated tool that will handle this task for you. DriverFix is just what you need.
To make sure that everything goes smoothly and avoid any kind of GPU driver errors, be sure to use a complete driver update assistant that will solve your problems with just a couple of clicks, and we strongly recommend DriverFix. Follow these easy steps to safely update your drivers:
- Download and install DriverFix.
- Launch the software.
- Wait for DriverFix to detect all your faulty drivers.
- The application will now show you all the drivers that have issues, and you just need to select the ones you’d liked fixed.
- Wait for the app to download and install the newest drivers.
- Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.
DriverFix
Keep you GPU on the peaks of their performance without worrying about its drivers.
Disclaimer: this program needs to be upgraded from the free version in order to perform some specific actions.
2. Check if the Graphic Card is disabled
- Press Windows Key + R to open Run.
- Type devmgmt.msc and press OK to open the Device Manager.
- In the Device Manager, go to Display Adapter and expand it.
- Check if your graphics card is listed. Right-click on the Graphics card and select Properties.
- Go to the Driver tab and check if the Enable button is available. If the Graphic card driver is enabled, you should see a Disable button. If not, click on the Enable button.
- Reboot the system and check for any improvements.
Second GPU not detected on the computer? Here’s how to fix it.
3. Enable the Discrete GPU in BIOS
- Boot into BIOS after shutdown. To boot into BIOS, you need to keep pressing F2 or Del button on your keyboard after pressing the power button to boot the computer.
- In the BIOS, go to Chipset > GPU Configuration. find GPU function and set it to enabled.
- This option is also called switchable graphics at times, so the terms may vary.
If your PC has both Intel integrated and dedicated GPU, you may need to enable the dedicated graphics card from the BIOS. At times, Windows OS may not be able to detect the GPU without manual intervention.
Several users have reported that enabling GPU in BIOS has completely fixed the issue and the computer was able to detect the graphics card after the restart.
4. Enable NVIDIA Graphic Card using Command Prompt
Note: This is recommended for the NVIDIA graphic cards only.
- Type cmd in the search bar.
- Right-click on Command Prompt from the search result and select Run as Administrator.
- In the command prompt window, type the following command press enter:
bcdedit /set pciexpress forcedisable - Once the command is executed without any errors, close the command prompt.
- Now try to install the graphics card driver again and check for any improvements.
There you go, you should be able to fix your PC not detecting graphics card issues with one of these solutions. Do let us know if you used other workarounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Open the BIOS menu and go to the Advanced tab – Video Configuration – PCI-Express Graphics. If you’re unable to access BIOS, here’s a quick guide to help you out.
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You can verify the GPU status from the Device Manager. Check out how to set the GPU on enabled/disabled and more handy solutions to fix an undetected graphics card.
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You will most likely get faulty visuals if your GPU is not detected. Should you deal with an Nvidia graphics card not detected on Windows 10, here’s a quick guide to fix it.
