Help Me, Laptop: How Do I Find My Driver?

A single button click is all it takes to accidentally uninstall something vital on your computer, and finding that file afterward may be a little tricky. This week on the Tom's Guide forums, one user asked for help in figuring out how to reinstall an Nvidia GPU driver.

Sujay The amazing gamer writes, "I accidentally uninstalled my Nvidia GPU. Now how [do I] reinstall it? Please help."

We've got your back, Sujay. Simply head over to the Nvidia site through this link. From there, fill in the search parameters for your GPU and select the most recent driver available. If you don't know the exact model of your GPU, then go to the Device Manager on your computer and click the drop-down menu for Display Adapters. That should provide you with all the information you need.

MORE: Which GPU is Right For You?

Or, if you're on Internet Explorer (which you shouldn't be at this point), you can click the option to automatically detect your drivers. Make sure to have the latest version of Java installed as well. On the flip side, if you're having AMD GPU trouble, you can find the company's drivers here and go through a similar process. And if you're having any issues with Intel drivers, you can find those on this page.

All the driver problems

If you happen to have trouble with your GPU driver, or any driver for that matter, you can easily update it by going back to the Device Manager. Right click on the device that's giving you issues, and select Update Driver. Then click "Search automatically for updated driver software," which will scour your computer and the internet for any updates.

Sometimes, this search won't come up with anything. In that case, you may have to hunt down the drivers and reinstall them on your own. The simplest way to find what you're looking for is to type, "(company name) drivers," into your search engine, or you can go directly to the manufacturer site. Most have their own dedicated download pages for drivers. From there, fill in the blanks, and you should get what you need.

Additionally, you can try restoring your PC from a recent backup, which should still have the driver and should restore your PC to working order.

Credit: Nvidia

Rami Tabari
Editor

Rami Tabari is an Editor for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well as all sorts of cool tech. You can find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his way out to civilization, you can catch him watching really bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He’s the best at every game and he just doesn’t lose. That’s why you’ll occasionally catch his byline attached to the latest Souls-like challenge.