Rolling Back the GPU Driver to Resolve Diverse Game Issues
How to Roll Back GPU Driver Updates for Better Gaming Performance
Introduction
To ensure a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience, it is crucial to keep your PC’s drivers up to date. Outdated drivers can lead to poor performance and in-game errors. However, sometimes updating your graphics card driver can cause gaming issues, such as game crashes. In such cases, rolling back the GPU driver update can be a solution. This article will guide you through the process of rolling back your graphics card driver using different methods.
Why can new graphics drivers cause gaming issues?
New graphics drivers can sometimes have bugs that cause stability issues. For example, NVIDIA released a graphics driver in March 2023 that caused high CPU usage, which had to be addressed through a driver hotfix. These unintended side effects can lead to game crashes and other performance issues. For this reason, NVIDIA and AMD often release hotfixes to resolve these issues and ensure better compatibility and stability for gaming.
Method 1: Roll Back Driver Option
First, press the Power User menu’s Windows logo + X hotkey to access the Device Manager. Double-click Display adapters to view the graphics adapters listed. Right-click on the graphics adapter for which you need to roll back the driver and select Properties. In the Properties window, click on the Driver tab and check if the Roll Back Driver button is available. If it is not greyed out, click on it and select the option “Previous version of the driver seemed more reliable.” Confirm the action and restart your computer.
Method 2: Manually Install Older Driver Versions
If the Roll Back Driver option is not available, you can manually install an older version of the graphics driver.
For NVIDIA graphics drivers:
1. Open the NVIDIA graphics driver download page.
2. Click on the Beta and Older Drivers link.
3. Select your graphics card and operating system from the drop-down menus.
4. Press Search to view a list of older drivers.
5. Choose the most recent old graphics driver.
6. Download the driver package and install it following the setup wizard.
For AMD graphics drivers:
1. Open AMD’s download page for drivers.
2. Click on Graphics in the leftmost menu.
3. Choose your exact AMD graphics card model.
4. Press Submit to view driver download options.
5. Click on the Previous Drivers link.
6. Select your platform.
7. Download the most recent old AMD driver.
8. Install the driver from the downloaded package using the setup wizard.
Method 3: Rollback with System Restore
If the previous methods do not work, you can try using System Restore to roll back the GPU driver update.
1. Press the Windows key + R, input rstrui.exe, and click OK to access System Restore.
2. Click Next to see available restore points.
3. Select a restore point that predates the day you installed the latest GPU driver.
4. Click on Scan for affected programs to check if the previous graphics card driver is shown.
5. Review the affected programs and click Close.
6. Finally, click Next > Finish to roll back Windows to the selected date.
Note that System Restore may not be available if you cannot select a restore point that predates the GPU driver update. Additionally, you may need to reinstall programs that were deleted by the restore point.
Conclusion
Keeping your drivers up to date is essential for optimal gaming performance. However, if you experience game crashes or other issues after updating your graphics card driver, rolling back the update can sometimes solve the problem. This article has provided three methods for rolling back GPU driver updates: using the Roll Back Driver option, manually installing older driver versions, and using System Restore. Hopefully, these methods will help you restore a more stable graphics driver and enhance your gaming experience.
