How to roll back Nvidia graphics drivers?

Looking for a way to switch back to an older Nvidia graphics driver? The process can be as easy as interacting with a button, provided you don't tamper with older versions.

With Nvidia providing regular driver updates to offer the best in-game experience, users may frequently run into incompatibility issues that affect the operating system. In such cases, rolling back the graphics driver may help.

This article will guide readers who are looking to roll back drive updates on their system to an older version.

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Detailed steps to roll back Nvidia graphics driver updates

Keeping your system and related drivers up-to-date may quickly turn sour when the latest update malfunctions and wrecks havoc on your system. You may run into extensive issues that may interrupt the normal functioning of the system and applications, especially while gaming.

In such cases, rolling back a driver may help restore an affected system to a previously-known functional state (restore point). This may apply to all kinds of Windows drivers, including those for graphics, audio, and more.

There are two methods to roll back Nvidia graphics drivers in your system:

1. Use the Device Manager app's Roll Back Driver option.
2. Uninstall the malfunctioning driver and reinstall a desired older version.

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1) Use the Roll Back Driver option via Control Panel

Follow these steps:

1. On your Start search bar, type Device Manager and open the application that shows up.
2. Look for the Display Adapters option and expand it.
3. Double-click on the Nvidia GPU and navigate to the Driver tab.
4. Click on the Roll Back Driver option.

Note that the Roll Back Driver option will appear deactivated (grayed out) if an older version is not present in the system. This may happen if you haven't updated the graphics drivers since you got the machine. In this case, try updating to the latest versions to see if it fixes the main issue.

The Roll Back Driver option may also be grayed out in the absence of old driver files. If you uninstalled the old version before installing the new one, you will not be able to roll back with this method.

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2) Download and install old Nvidia graphics drivers from the manufacturer's website

First, uninstall the current (malfunctioning) driver from your system. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On your Start search bar, type Device Manager and open the application that shows up.
2. Look for the Display Adapters option and expand it.
3. Double-click on the Nvidia GPU and navigate to the Driver tab.
4. Click on the Uninstall Device option.
5. Restart your system after uninstalling the driver to get rid of the files' residues.
6. Next, search for the old driver via Nvidia's advanced driver search [nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx].
7. Once located, download and install it. Restart the system and the roll back process should be complete.
8. Check if the issue that existed before the driver rollback still persists.

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If rolling back the version doesn't help, you can always switch back to the latest Nvidia graphics driver using the Geforce Experience app or the official driver search website.