How to roll back NVIDIA driver update in Windows 10: How to revert to a previous driver and uninstall drivers

If you need to revert to an older driver after an update, here's what you can do. Find out everything you need any the Nvidia driver update issues here.

NVIDIA driver update

While it is usually recommended to make sure that all your system software and drivers are fully updated, there are occasions where you may find that the latest updates cause more problems than they fix. If this is the case with your NVIDIA graphics drivers, then knowing how to roll back your update, and use a previous driver, may be helpful. So that's what we're going to run through today. If you are unfortunate enough to be impacted by a bad update, these tips might be what you need…

Why you might need to revert to a previous driver

As we suggested above, occasionally an update, intended to solve one problem, ends up creating others. There are numerous examples out there, of updates that have been more of an issue than what they were trying to fix. Some common problems related to graphics driver updates include:

  • intermittent failures that cause games to crash
  • Slower frame rates, and the issues that then causes with gaming
  • Blue screens instead of being able to see the game you are trying to play

The good news, is that Microsoft have recognised that updates can cause compatibility problems. So if you have updated your drivers, and found that you have run into issues, Microsoft have built-in safeguards to allow you to unwind those updates. Let's take a look.

Read More: NVIDIA Whisper Mode fixes a decades old issue with gaming laptops


How to roll back an NVIDIA driver update

  • Press the Windows key and type Device Manager into the search bar, then open the app
  • Scroll down until you find Display Adapters. Click on the arrow to open a sub-list
  • Select the Nvidia device, and right click
  • On this menu, select Properties
  • In the Properties Window, select the Driver Tab. You will then see a list of options
  • Select Roll Back Driver to revert to the previous driver
  • You will need to choose a reason for why you want to roll back to the previously installed drivers. Choose whatever is most appropriate
  • Click Yes to revert back to previous drivers

This will uninstall the latest drivers, and reinstall the previous version. Once you have done this, you can't then roll back again to an even earlier version. If the roll back option is unavailable, there is a way to uninstall your graphics driver, and install an earlier version.

How to uninstall drivers

  • Open your Control Panel
  • Select Programs and Features
  • Locate the NVIDIA Graphics Driver
  • Click on it and select Uninstall/Change
  • Confirm that you wish to uninstall it
  • Restart your PC after the uninstall process has finished

Once you've uninstalled your driver and rebooted your computer, go to the NVIDIA website and use the Manual Search function to find the drivers you want to install. Download the driver, then double click on the downloaded file to install it. This will then install your chosen version of the drivers, allowing you to get back to playing your games, hopefully glitch free.

Read More: NVIDIA RTX 4000 Series GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 graphics card price, release date, predicted specs and more

Stealth Optional is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more