On Windows 10, you can always use the manufacturer uninstaller and Device Manager to uninstall graphics drivers. However, sometimes the process won’t complete successfully, or it’ll remove the packages, leaving behind leftovers that may cause problems when installing new drivers, and this is when “Display Driver Uninstaller” (DDU) comes in handy.
“Display Driver Uninstaller” is a tool that uninstalls AMD and Nvidia graphics drivers completely without leaving behind any registry keys, files, folders, or driver store when the uninstall fails, or you need to delete the graphics card driver completely.
In this guide, you will learn the steps to use the Display Driver Uninstaller tool to delete Nvidia and AMD graphics drivers from Windows 10.
Uninstall Nvidia and AMD graphics with Display Driver Uninstaller
To use the Display Driver Uninstaller to completely remove the graphics driver on Windows 10, use these steps:
-
Open the guru3d website.
-
Under the “Download Locations” section, click the Display Driver Uninstaller download link nearest to your location to save the file.
-
Double-click the zip folder.
-
Click the Extract all button from the “Compressed Folder Tools” ribbon.
-
Click the Extract button.
-
Double-click the DDUvxx.x.x.x.exe file.
-
Click the Extract button.
-
Save your work and close any running applications.
-
Open Start.
-
Press and hold the Shift key, click the Power button, and select the Restart option to launch the Advanced startup experience to access Safe mode.
-
Click the Troubleshoot button.
-
Click on Advanced Options.
-
Click on Startup Settings.
-
Click the Restart button.
-
Select the Enable Safe Mode option (F4).
-
Open the “DDU vxx.x.x.x.exe” folder with the extracted files.
-
Double-click the Display Driver Uninstaller.exe file.
-
Select the settings to use to remove Nvidia or AMD drivers on Windows 10. (The default settings should work in most cases unless you know what you’re doing.)
-
Select the Nvidia or AMD graphics card using the drop-down menu on the right side.
-
Click the Clean and restart button.
Once you complete the steps, the tool will thoroughly delete the current Nvidia or AMD driver, and the computer will restart automatically. After the restart, you can reinstall the new graphic driver on Windows 10.
While these instructions will help you to completely remove the graphics driver from your device, according to the author of the software, you should only use this tool when having a problem uninstalling or installing a driver or when switching GPU brands. And you shouldn’t use it every time you need to update the driver.
If you’re having issues with the Display Driver Uninstaller software, you should check the guru3d website for more details and help.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].