How to Reset Your GPU: 5 Methods, Fastest to Deepest

Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B right now. Your screen will flicker for a second, you might hear a short beep, and then everything comes back. That keyboard shortcut restarts your GPU driver without touching your open apps, and it fixes the majority of screen freezes, flickers, and black-screen moments on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

If that one keystroke solves it, great. If not, or if the problem keeps returning, there are four more methods below, each going a layer deeper. Work through them in order and you will almost certainly sort it without buying anything new.

What does resetting a GPU actually do?

Resetting a GPU means forcing the graphics system back to a clean, working state. What that looks like in practice depends on how deep the problem goes.

A driver restart (the keyboard shortcut or Device Manager toggle) reloads the software that sits between Windows and the graphics card. It clears temporary glitches, crashes, and memory hiccups, the same way closing and reopening an app fixes it when it gets stuck.

A settings reset (done inside NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel’s software) wipes any custom 3D, refresh rate, or color changes you or a game made to the driver config, restoring them to factory defaults.

A clean driver reinstall strips the driver files completely and puts fresh ones back. This is the fix for corrupted drivers, which cause recurring crashes rather than one-off glitches.

A physical reseat (removing and re-inserting the card) solves connection problems that no amount of software can fix: a loose PCIe slot, oxidized contacts, or a bent power connector.

Method 1: The keyboard shortcut (Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B)

This is always the right starting point. It works on Windows 10 and 11 with NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel graphics, takes about three seconds, and leaves every program running.

Quick tip: run this shortcut the moment your screen goes weird. You do not need to wait for things to get worse.

How to do it:

• Hold down Windows, Ctrl, Shift, and B at the same time.
• The screen will go black for one to two seconds.
• You may hear a beep from your PC speaker.
• The display comes back and Windows reloads the driver.

Your apps stay open, though games and rendering programs sometimes crash because they lose their direct connection to the GPU for a moment.

If the screen does not come back within about five seconds, do a normal restart. If it helps temporarily but the problem returns within minutes or hours, move to Method 4 (clean reinstall) rather than keep pressing the shortcut.

Method 2: Disable and re-enable via Device Manager

This does the same thing as the shortcut but gives you more control, useful if you have both an integrated GPU and a dedicated graphics card and you want to target a specific one.\

• Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
• Expand Display adapters.
• Right-click your graphics card (for example, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 7600) and choose Disable device. Click Yes to confirm.
• Wait 5 to 10 seconds. Your screen may flicker or drop to a lower resolution while the driver unloads.
• Right-click the same entry again and select Enable device.

Windows reloads the driver for that specific card. This is the method to use when the keyboard shortcut does nothing, or when you need to reset only your discrete GPU while keeping integrated graphics running.

Method 3: Restore factory defaults in your GPU software

If your display problems started after you (or a game launcher) changed settings like resolution, refresh rate, color depth, or 3D rendering options, this method clears all of that without touching the driver itself.

This is also the right move after you install a new game that tweaks GPU settings automatically, or after experimenting with overclocking tools like MSI Afterburner. If Afterburner is installed and running at startup, close it first, because it overrides whatever your GPU software sets.

Method 4: Clean driver reinstall with DDU

If the problem is recurring, driver crashes are logged in Windows Event Viewer, or the shortcut and Device Manager fixes only last a few minutes, you need to remove the driver completely and start fresh. A standard Windows uninstall leaves registry entries and leftover files that the new installation will inherit, which often reproduces the same problem.

The tool for a genuinely clean removal is Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), hosted by Guru3D. It removes every trace: driver files, registry keys, services, and configuration data.

Steps:

• Download DDU and save it to your desktop. Disconnect from the internet so Windows does not automatically push a new driver mid-removal.
• Boot into Safe Mode: hold Shift, click Restart, then choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart, and press 4 when the options appear.
• Open DDU. Close the options window that pops up. Set device type to GPU and select your GPU manufacturer.
• Click Clean and restart. DDU strips the driver, then Windows reboots normally.
• Reconnect to the internet. Download the latest driver directly from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel’s site and install it fresh.

The full process takes about 20 to 45 minutes. It is the most reliable software fix available for persistent driver problems. Note that as of late 2025, a Windows bug can occasionally cause the keyboard and mouse to stop responding in the Startup Settings screen; if that happens, check DDU’s documentation for a workaround before you begin.

Method 5: Physically reseat the graphics card

No software fix can solve a loose connection. If you moved your PC, bumped it, or recently installed new components, the graphics card may have shifted slightly in its PCIe slot. Even a few millimeters of play can cause display artifacts, no video output, or random crashes under load.

How to reseat the card:

• Shut down completely and unplug the power cable from the wall.
• Open the case. Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface.
• Unscrew the bracket holding the card to the case.
• Press the retention clip on the PCIe slot to release the card and pull it straight out.
• Unplug and reconnect the PCIe power cables from the PSU.
• Line the card up with the slot and push it firmly until the retention clip clicks.
• Screw the bracket back in, reconnect everything, and power on.

While the case is open, blow out any dust from the heatsink fins and fans with a can of compressed air. Heavy dust buildup causes thermal throttling, which shows up as frame-rate drops and stuttering under load.

What to try if the problem keeps coming back

If you have worked through all five methods and issues persist, the problem is likely one of three things: temperatures, power, or failing hardware.

Check GPU temperature.

Install a monitoring tool such as GPU-Z or HWiNFO64 and watch the GPU temperature while the problem happens. Sustained temperatures above 85°C under gaming load typically mean inadequate cooling; above 95°C the card starts to throttle hard or shut down.

Check your power supply.

Modern high-end cards can draw 300 to 450 watts at peak. If the card’s peak draw exceeds what the PSU can reliably deliver on the 12V rail, you will see crashes and black screens specifically under load, not at idle. Underpowered systems rarely give a clear error message; they just crash.

Test in another PC or with another card.

The quickest way to isolate the issue is to put the suspect card in a different machine. If it behaves the same way, the card itself is the problem. If everything works fine, the issue is in the original system (power supply, motherboard PCIe slot, or something else).

Persistent visual artifacts (colored dots, geometry tearing, scrambled textures) across multiple clean driver installs usually point to failing VRAM. That is a hardware problem, and if the card is under warranty, the right move is to document the symptoms and request a replacement. 

Frequently asked questions

Will resetting my GPU delete games or files?

No. A driver reset or reinstall only affects the software that controls your graphics card. Games, documents, and personal files are completely untouched, even after a clean reinstall with DDU.

Does resetting the GPU fix low FPS?

Sometimes. If the driver has developed a conflict or your settings were misconfigured, a reset can restore normal performance. However, low FPS more often comes from high temperatures, an underpowered system, or settings that are simply too demanding for the hardware.

What is the difference between restarting the driver and reinstalling it?

Restarting the driver (the keyboard shortcut or Device Manager method) reloads the existing driver in memory, taking a few seconds. Reinstalling removes the driver files from the system entirely and installs a fresh copy, which fixes corruption that a simple restart cannot reach.

How do I reset GPU settings on a laptop?

The same methods apply. Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B for a quick driver restart, or open your manufacturer’s software (NVIDIA Control Panel, AMD Adrenalin) to restore defaults. DDU works on laptops too; just make sure to run it in Safe Mode and reinstall the driver your laptop manufacturer provides, not necessarily the latest generic one from NVIDIA or AMD.

My screen is black and I cannot see anything. What do I do?

First, try the keyboard shortcut blind: press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B and wait five seconds. If that does not restore the display, connect your monitor to a different port on the GPU or the motherboard’s onboard video output, then boot into Safe Mode and uninstall the driver from Device Manager.

Conclusion

Start with the keyboard shortcut (Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B): it fixes most one-off GPU problems in three seconds. If the issue comes back or was never solved by that, restore factory settings in your GPU software, then do a clean driver reinstall with DDU. For display problems after moving the PC or installing hardware, reseat the card. Work through the methods in order, and you will cover every software and connection cause before ever needing to consider a hardware replacement.

Recommended Articles:

Why iCUE Crashes Your GPU (and How to Fix It)

CPU and GPU Temp: What’s Normal, What’s Too Hot, and How to Check

Best GPU for Games Like Overwatch 2 and Minecraft (2026 Guide)