A video card is one of the most important components of any computer, because it is responsible for displaying images on the screen. But this device will not work stably and at full capacity if the system does not have an up-to-date driver. Moreover, in rare cases, it is a software update that causes all sorts of problems - errors, failures and simply incorrect functioning of the graphics adapter. The only solution in this case is to roll back the driver, and in this article we will tell you how to do this for a green product.
Usually everything works like this - the developer releases a driver update, which should improve the performance of the video adapter, eliminate shortcomings of previous versions, and eliminate possible errors. However, sometimes this well-established scheme fails - for example, artifacts appear on the screen, games crash, video slows down, and graphics-intensive programs stop coping with the tasks assigned to them. If problems in displaying visual content appeared after updating the driver, it should be rolled back to the previous (stable) version. How to do this, read below.
Note: The instructions for rolling back a video card driver are universal; they apply not only to NVIDIA products, but also to competitive AMD, as well as integrated adapters from Intel. Moreover, in exactly the same way you can roll back the driver of any hardware component of a computer or laptop.
Method 1: "Device Manager"
"Device Manager" is a standard component of the operating system, the name of which speaks for itself. All devices installed on the computer and connected to it are displayed here, and general information about them is provided. Among the capabilities of this section of the OS are updating, installing and rolling back the driver we need.
This is how you can easily roll back your NVIDIA video card driver. Now you can use your PC as reliably as before the update. Most likely, the problem that arose with this version will be fixed by the developer with the next update, so do not forget to install it in a timely manner.
Method 2: “Add or Remove Programs”
As mentioned above, the ability to roll back a graphics adapter driver is not always available in its properties. Thankfully, in addition to "Device Manager", there is another section of the system that will help us in solving the problem. Below we will talk about "Installing and removing programs"(not to be confused with "Programs and Features") available in Windows 10.
Note: This method will not work for earlier versions of the operating system.
This method, compared to the previous one, is good in that it requires a little less action from the user. True, both options have the same drawback - in some cases, the much-needed rollback option is simply not available.
There are times when, after updating drivers for a video card, laptop or computer, they do not behave normally (the error “The video driver has stopped responding...” appears or computer games crash). In this case, you can restore the operating system. However, if system recovery cannot be performed because this feature is disabled, what should you do? Can roll back the driver for the video card, thereby returning the computer to working condition. Let's get on with this.
This method is universal, since it can be used for any device installed on the computer. We will focus specifically on such a device as a video card.
Here's an example: You were playing on a laptop and had no troubles, but then a friend comes and advises you to update the drivers for your video card from the manufacturer's website, justifying this by the fact that the computer will work even better. Indeed, you need to update drivers to the latest versions. You decided to install the driver, and it ended up worse than before. Despite all this, system recovery does not work for you, since it is turned off.
To fix this, you can go to the website of the manufacturer of this video card, download the old version driver and install it over the latest buggy driver. However, such an installation may well end in error.
The easiest way to get out of the above situation is roll back video card drivers. So, let's look at how to do this.
Open the device manager
Go to Video adapters and right-click on your video card and select its properties
As you can see below, the driver version of my video card is 9.18.13.3165
Now we install new drivers for the video card, the version of which is 9.18.13.3165 and after that the computer starts to become “stupid”. You need to roll back the drivers to the previous version so that the system works as it did before installing the new drivers. To do this, select the Driver tab and just below we find the Roll Back button.
Click Yes here
You will find the answer to the question of how to roll back device drivers in the Windows operating system in this instruction. Windows OS, regardless of which version is installed on the PC at a given time, automatically installs general device drivers to ensure the functionality of your system. Sometimes they are updated during an OS update, and in other cases you can always do this manually or using specialized utilities on your computer.
Auto-updates are usually a normal process and mean that your hardware manufacturer is still actively supporting it. Hardware that continues to receive fixes and improvements will last longer. Unfortunately, it also happens that the updates you receive do not always work well with the latest version of the operating system or other hardware components.
You may find that the latest auto-update broke something, rather than improving its performance. In this case, you should roll back the driver file to its previous working version.
HOW TO ROLL AWAY DRIVERS
The process itself is not complicated, but for this you need administrative rights. If you have multiple accounts on your Windows computer, it is best to sign in with an administrator account if possible. Otherwise, nothing will work.
After that, open Device Manager. It doesn’t matter which way you do this, through search or through the Start button menu. The fastest option is to open the system utility with the Win + R key combination and enter the following file name:
Devmgmt.msc
then click the “OK” button.
In the Manager window, locate the hardware component that you want to roll back. Double-click on it to open “Properties”. Go to the “Driver” tab, find and click on the “Roll Back” button, provided that it is not greyed out.
YOU CANNOT ROLL AWAY THE DRIVER
If the button is greyed out, it means that there is no version of the file that the OS can revert to. In this case, there are two ways out. The first is the selected component and updating the hardware configuration with the corresponding button on the Toolbar. The OS itself will reinstall the necessary files and this may work.
The second is downloading from the official website of the developer the version that worked before the failure. Then, on the same tab, click the “Update” button and in the step-by-step wizard window, select the “Search on your computer” section and indicate the folder into which the downloaded files were uploaded using the “Browse” button. You may need to reboot your system for the changes to take effect.
Software developers for specific equipment are constantly improving it so that the component parts can work as efficiently as possible, as a result of which either update packages or completely new products appear that should replace the old ones. However, such an effect may not always be achieved, as a result of which it leads to the opposite result and applications may crash on the computer, unplanned reboots occur, etc. Let's figure it out how to roll back the driver for a video card to a version in which the equipment worked stably and without failures.
In the situation with the graphics adapter, if the version of the new special software is unstable in operation and there are certain bugs in it, then in this case games will constantly crash, an error will be displayed on the screen that the video driver has stopped responding, the screen resolution will be reset and other troubles. That is why actions aimed at returning the previous version of the driver are relevant.
Remember that to correct the current situation it is not at all necessary to use the system restore function, although this step can indeed solve this problem. All you need to do is re-install older versions and everything will be restored. In this case, it is absolutely not necessary to search and download earlier packages with installation files on official and other resources; this issue can be resolved directly using the built-in tools of the operating system.
Procedure for rolling back a video card driver to a previous version
So, to return to using the old version of the video driver, you need to:
At this point, the driver rollback process is considered completed, after which the system should work stably and without failures.
It is worth noting that for other devices everything is done by analogy, if necessary. To do this, you just need to find the required component part in the list presented in the Device Manager window and repeat the above steps.
It is also worth remembering that a video card is a physical device that can break down and software here will not be the reason for poor computer performance. This problem cannot be solved at home and the user will have to disconnect this component and contact a service center to have it repaired or purchase a new graphics adapter.
Have you installed a new driver for your video card, but your computer or laptop has only gotten worse? Games started crashing, and perhaps even the “ ” error appears? The easiest way is to start your PC and return everything as it was. But if this function is disabled, then there is only one option left - rolling back the video card driver. Perhaps this method is even preferable, since it is very simple and can be completed in literally 2-3 minutes.
How to return drivers in Windows 7?
The same method is performed identically in Windows 10 and 8.
So, to return the old drivers to the video card, you need to do the following:
Please note: its version and release date are indicated here. After you make a rollback, they will change downward. This is exactly what is needed.
So, to return the old version of the driver, you need to click the “Roll Back” button in this window.
You will then be warned that rolling back may reduce functionality. But since there are already problems in your case, you agree and click “Yes”.
Wait for the procedure to complete (1-2 minutes), then check the version and release date again to make sure the rollback was successful.
What to do if the “Roll Back” button is not active? This means that a rollback will not be possible. Therefore, in this case, you can only delete it (and then install a new one).
This is done in a similar way for AMD Radeon or Nvidia in Windows 10 and 8. Just go to the “Device Manager”, and then follow the instructions described above.
On Windows XP:
- Go to: Start - Control Panel - System.
- In the “System Properties” window, select the “Hardware” tab.
- Click on the “Device Manager” button.
Instead of a conclusion
By the way, in the same way you can roll back the necessary drivers for sound, mouse, USB, network (on the Internet), etc. Only in this case, you need to select not “Video adapters”, but “Sound devices”, “Mice”, “USB controllers” or “Network adapters”, respectively.
In general, just go by the name.
