If the shortcut doesn’t help, move to DDU and reinstall. For most users, the keyboard shortcut resolves temporary glitches instantly, while DDU fixes deeper driver corruption.
Right-click your graphics card (e.g., NVIDIA GeForce RTX, AMD Radeon, Intel UHD). how to reset video drivers
Click Options and choose High performance or Power saving to force the correct GPU. If the shortcut doesn’t help, move to DDU and reinstall
Open Device Manager → Display adapters . Click Options and choose High performance or Power
Your screen will momentarily turn black or flash, and you will likely hear a short beep. This command forces Windows to reload the display driver stack and clear the video memory (VRAM) without touching your open files or custom settings. 2. Resetting Software Settings to Factory Defaults
This strips every trace of the driver from your system. When Windows loads back up, it will be running on basic video drivers, allowing you to install a fresh copy of the latest driver from a blank slate.
. YouTube +3 3. macOS: Resetting NVRAM/SMC macOS doesn't have a direct "driver restart" shortcut like Windows, but you can reset the hardware controllers that manage the display. Medium +1 For Intel-based Macs: Shut down your Mac, then hold Option + Command + P + R immediately after turning it back on until you hear the startup sound a second time. For Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): These Macs perform a similar check automatically every time they restart; a simple restart is usually enough. SMC Reset (Power Management): If your display isn't waking up properly, an SMC reset can help. On most laptops, hold Shift + Control + Option + Power for 10 seconds while the Mac is off. Apple Support Community +4 4. Linux: Restarting the Desktop Environment In Linux, the driver is often tied to the "compositor" or the X server/Wayland session. Reddit Common Shortcut: Alt + F2 , then type r and hit Enter (specifically for GNOME users) to restart the shell without losing apps. The TTY Method: If the GUI is frozen, press Ctrl + Alt + F2 (or F3–F6) to switch to a terminal session, log in, and restart your display manager (e.g.,