There have been reports from Windows users getting a display Error message such as “Display Driver Failed to start” when Graphics card driver failed to start. The exact error message is usually displayed as “Display driver failed to start: using Microsoft Basic Display Driver instead. Check Windows Update for a newer display driver”. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series, we will talk about the recommended troubleshooting solutions that you can do to fix ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ Error on Windows 10.

Fix ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ Error on Windows 10

One of the reasons why error message occurs is due to a faulty display driver on your computer. Another reason is when the graphics card driver on your computer is outdated. If you are getting display error message ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’, try the following solutions below to fix it.

Solution 1: Run Hardware and Device troubleshooter

To do this:

Another alternative way to run troubleshooter:

1. Press Start or Windows key located at the lower left.
2. Click Settings, an icon that looks like a gear. This will open Windows Settings
3. At Windows settings, click Update and Security.
4. At left pane, click Troubleshoot
5. Click Additional Troubleshooters at right pane.
6. Under Get up and Running, click Hardware and Devices.
7. Click Run the Troubleshooter. Windows will now search for problems. Wait for it to complete.
8. After Hardware and device troubleshooter process is complete and it could not identify any problem, click Close.

Check if error message ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ still occurs.

Solution 2: Install latest Graphics Card Drivers

Another solution that you can try to fix error message is to install the latest graphics card drivers on your computer this is to make sure that the latest drivers are installed to prevent getting graphics card drivers related issues.

To do this:

1. Press Windows key + R on your keyboard to open RUN dialog box.
2. At RUN dialog box, type “devmgmt.msc” and press Enter or click OK. This will open Device Manager window.
3. At Device Manager window, click Display Adapters to expand it.
4. Right click on your graphics card driver and then click Uninstall from the drop down menu. Confirm uninstall process and wait for it to complete.
5. Go to Nvidia website and input data of your graphics card.
6. Click Search tab
7. Click Download tab. Download process will now begin, wait for it to complete.

After latest graphics card driver is already installed, check if error message ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ still occurs.

Solution 3: Disable Visual Effects

There are instances where visual effects enabled on your computers can cause issues and sometimes fails to run and execute causing ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ to occur. To fix this, you may need to disable visual effects on your computer and then check if the issue will be fixed.

To do this:

1. Press Windows key + E on your keyboard to open Windows Explorer.
2. At left pane, right click on This PC and click Properties from the drop down menu.
3. Click Advanced System Settings
4. Click Advanced tab
5. Click Settings under Performance section
6. Click Visual Effects tab.
7. Click to choose Adjust for Best performance.
   8 Click Apply to apply changes made.
8. Click OK to Exit.
9. Exit all Windows

Check if error message ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ still occurs.

Solution 4: Check for and install Windows update

It is recommended to check for and install available Windows update for advanced features and security enhancements. Aside from that, keeping Windows operating system up to date fixes bugs that may be the culprit for the error message to display.

To do this:

1. Press Start or Windows key located at the lower left.
2. Click Settings, an icon that looks like a gear. This will open Windows Settings
3. At Windows settings, click Update and Security.
4. At left pane, click Windows update
5. Click Check for Updates at right pane. Windows will now check for and install available update. Wait for the process to complete.
6. Restart computer.

After computer completely reboots, Check if error message ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ still occurs.

After following the solutions mentioned, you will successfully fix ‘Display Driver Failed to Start’ Error on Windows 10. Visit our TheDroidGuy Youtube Channel for more troubleshooting videos.

Also read:

• How To Fix ‘Nvidia Control Panel Access Denied’ Error on Windows 10