How to Reinstall Your Graphics Driver Cleanly in Windows 11

Your display is glitching — artifacts, flickering, a black screen, or a GPU showing “Windows has stopped this device… (Code 43)” under Display adapters.

Why: A corrupted or mismatched graphics driver is a common cause. Reinstalling it gives Windows a fresh copy. Microsoft’s primary fix is to uninstall the display driver and let Windows reinstall it on the next hardware scan.

Fix 1: Uninstall and reinstall the display driver

This is Microsoft’s recommended first step for graphics problems, including Code 43.

1. Right-click the Start button → Device Manager (or press Win + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter).
2. Expand Display adapters and find your graphics device (often with a yellow exclamation mark).
3. Right-click it → Uninstall → OK. Your screen may flicker or drop to a basic resolution — that’s expected.
4. At the top of the device list, right-click the name of your PC → Scan for hardware changes.
5. Windows reinstalls the display driver. On the device’s General tab, confirm Device status reads “This device is working properly.”

A reboot after this often finishes settling the new driver.

Fix 2: Update the driver

If reinstalling the existing driver didn’t clear the problem, get a newer one.

1. In Device Manager, right-click the graphics device → Driver tab → Update Driver → Search automatically for updated driver software.
2. If Windows finds nothing, run Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates, then check Advanced options → Optional updates → Driver updates.
3. Still no luck? Download the latest driver straight from your graphics card manufacturer’s website and run their installer — Microsoft points you to the manufacturer when Windows Update has no driver.

Fix 3: Roll back if a recent driver caused it

If the trouble started right after a graphics driver update, revert to the previous version.

1. Right-click the graphics device → Properties → Driver tab.
2. Click Roll Back Driver (greyed out if no previous version is stored).
3. Choose a reason, click Yes, and restart.

FAQ

Do I need a third-party “clean install” tool? Microsoft’s supported clean reinstall is the uninstall + Scan for hardware changes flow in Fix 1, plus the manufacturer’s installer for the latest driver. Use that path first.

Does Code 43 on the GPU mean the card is dead? Not necessarily — it usually clears after a driver reinstall. If it persists across reinstalls, updates, and reboots, the hardware may be failing.

My screen dropped to a low resolution after uninstalling. That’s normal — Windows fell back to a basic display driver. Completing Fix 1 (the hardware scan) restores the full driver.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Fix graphics device problems with error code 43, Microsoft Support — Update drivers through Device Manager in Windows