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Quick fixes to resolve video card issues:
- Restart your system and connect the monitor cable again.
- Check if the problem is related to BIOS; this may indicate a GPU issue.
- Verify if the graphics card is outdated or damaged.
- Make sure GPU is not overheating.
Video card problems don’t always arise because of a failing GPU. Black screen during gaming, colored lines across the screen, flickering displays, and no display during system startup are common when a system’s video card is damaged. Identifying if it’s actually a GPU failure, driver failure, or monitor failure helps in resolving the video card issue more efficiently.
In this blog, we explain how to identify which component is causing the problem, the common symptoms and the reasons behind video card failure. We also cover the most effective ways to fix video card corruption according to different situations.
GPU vs Driver vs Monitor: Which one is causing video card problems?
| Error | Why is it happening? |
|---|---|
| Artifacts appear before Windows starts | GPU hardware issue |
| Artifacts appear after Windows starts | Either graphic driver or software issue |
| Black screen issue during gaming | GPU is overheating |
| Problem is on one monitor only | Monitor specific issue |
| Several monitors lose display at once | Issue with system’s motherboard or GPU |
| ‘Display driver stopped responding’ error | Driver instability issues |
How to identify video card problems? Common Symptoms to know
If you suspect there are some video card issues, your device will give several signs. Common signs include, loud fan sounds, computer crashes, etc. Other significant symptoms of video card problems are:
- No Display: One of the most common symptoms of a video card failure is no display on the monitor. The screen may be completely black, or there may be distortion or flickering on the screen.
- Error Messages: If you see error messages related to your video card, such as “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered”, it may be a sign of video card failure.
- Artifacts: If you see distorted images, unusual patterns, lines, or colors on your screen, it may be due to a problem with your graphics card.
- Performance issue: If you notice that your computer is running slower or experiencing lag or other performance issues when running graphic-intensive applications, it may be due to a problem with your video card.
Causes of video card failure issue
There are several potential causes of video card failure issue. Here are some most common causes:
- Overheating: Video cards generate a lot of heat when they are in use, and if they don’t have adequate cooling, this can cause damage to the card over time. Sometimes, dust and debris can also accumulate on the card and in the fan, blocking airflow and causing overheating.
- Power issues: If the power supply to the video cards is unstable or insufficient, this can cause problems with the card’s performance or even lead to complete failure.
- Physical damage: Video cards can be damaged due to physical trauma, such as dropping the computer or accidentally hitting the video card.
- Outdated or corrupted drivers: Drivers are essential software components that allow the operating system to communicate with the video card. If the drivers are corrupted or outdated, the video card may not work correctly.
How to fix video card issues?
If you are experiencing video card failure, here are some methods you can take to fix it. Follow each method as explained in order for resolution:
Method 1. Check the physical connection
The first step to fix video card damage is to check if properly inserted into its slot, and whether all the power cables are connected correctly. Sometimes the video card can become loose due to vibration or movement, and this can cause it to fail. Check the connections and restart the video card if necessary.
Note: Restart your video card driver in Windows by pressing Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B on your keyboard. The system screen will turn black for a second then return to normal after a short beep.
Method 2. Update your video card driver
Outdated or corrupted drivers can cause an issue with the video card. Check for the latest updates for your video card and install them. The latest updates will help you to fix video flickering issues.
Follow these steps given below to update drivers on your computer:
- Press Windows + R button together to open the run command.
- Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter. The device manager tab will open.
- Now, double-click on Display adapters, right-click on the graphic card, and select Properties.
- In the Graphics Properties window, navigate to the Driver tab, and click the Update Driver option.
- Now, click the Search automatically for updated driver software and follow the onscreen prompts to update your video card drivers.
Method 3. Uninstall and reinstall the video card
You can also try reinstalling the video card. First uninstall the video card drivers, power down the computer, remove the video card, and then reinstall it. This can fix most of the video card issues and also improve video quality. To do so, follow the below steps:
- Press Windows + R button together to open the run command.
- Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter. The device manager tab will open.
- Now, double-click on Display adapters, right-click on the graphic card, and click Uninstall.
- Next, reboot your computer and reinstall the video card.
Note: After the Windows update, Windows will automatically install the video card drivers.
Method 4. Disable/enable the video card
To solve issues like no display and video playing in slow motion on a video card, you can follow this method.
To disable video card:
- Press Windows + R button together to open the Run window.
- Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter. The device manager tab will open.
- Now, double-click on Display adapters, right-click on the graphic card, and click Disable.
- Next, reboot your computer.
To enable video card:
- Open the device manager on your computer.
- Now, double-click on Display adapters, right-click on the graphic card, and select Properties.
- In the Graphics Properties window, navigate to the Driver tab, and click on Enable option.
Method 5. Check the temperature
Overheating can often lead to video card failure. So quickly check the temperature of your video card, if anything looks concerning. If the temperature is too high, you may need to improve the cooling system in your computer. It can be done by installing a better CPU cooler or liquid cooling.
Note: A liquid cooling system in PCs is used to replace traditional cooling fans and prevent overheating. This system circulates a coolant throughout the system to bring down the temperature of CPU and GPU and avoid video card issues.
Method 6. Replace the video card
If the video card is still not working correctly after trying all the above steps. The video card may be faulty and needs to be replaced. Before replacing the video card, ensure that it’s the source of the problem. You can do this by testing the video card on another computer or testing another video card on your computer. Make sure to research and purchase a compatible video card for your system.
Conclusion
The video card failure issue can be highly frustrating for users who love playing games and doing graphic work. The blog highlighted some methods that you can use to fix your video card. Corruption in video card can corrupt the videos stored on the system. Video card issues can also cause problems during recording, rendering, exporting, and video playback. In such a situation, it’s wise to take the help of a Video Repair software. Kernel Video Repair effectively repairs damaged, corrupt, and unplayable video files from various formats such as MP4, WMV, FLV, etc. On a final note, the methods given in this blog are enough to fix all common video errors. Apply them carefully and get your video fixed in no time.
