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Why it is CRITICAL to keep your device’s display drivers up-to-date, and what to do if they get knocked out.

Overview

Every once in a while, something like this may happen to you:

This is a simulation of what happened to me, but you get the idea.

And when it does, it can be nerve-wracking, especially if you’re on a deadline.

Today, I am go to share with you why it is CRITICAL to keep your device’s display drivers up-to-date, and what to do if they get knocked out.

What display drivers are

The idea behind display drivers are relatively straightforward:

Display drivers tell your computer how to properly talk with your monitors.

Think of your display drivers as translators. They translate the data coming out of both your CPU (central processing unit) and your GPU (graphics processing unit) into workable signal that your monitor can display for you.

Simple enough, yeah? Open and shut, why do we care as designers?

Oh I’ll tell you why.

What happens when they fail

Every once in a while an automatic update will go sideways and act like it installed totally fine, when it in fact did NOT.

You will know that this happened almost immediately as there will be telltale signs that something’s not right with your displays.

Suppose you’ve got a project due in a few hours. Everything is buttoned-up, looking good, no problems.

Then this happens:

Generator credit to https://photomosh.com/, incredible tool for simulating digital glitch

You’re panic-stricken, you have no idea what’s going on, and for most people calling IT means calling yourself.

If you’re getting:

• Weird visual distortion
• Rending artifact
• Color aberration
• Pixel misplacement
• Other strange, weird optical phenomenon that isn’t resolved by clearing your cache or restarting your computer

Your display drivers have probably gotten knocked out. Here’s what to do if this happens to you.

How to update and/or fix your display drivers

1. Don’t panic.
2. Unplug and replug your monitors, both electrical and display connections, see if that fixes it.
3. Restart your computer, see if that fixes it.
4. Clear your browser and icon cache, see if that fixes it.

Only if after trying ALL OF THE ABOVE, if none of that worked, if you’re on Windows, watch this video here:

And if you’re on a Mac, watch this video here:

IF NONE OF THAT WORKS

1. Your GPU could be shot. That does happen every once in a blue moon, but if you’re still seeing stuff on your screen, that’s not what I would immediately think.
2. Your computer could be under-powered and that could be affecting your display’s ability to work properly (I believe this problem almost always occurs on laptops which are running on battery power).

If your GPU is shot, you’ll need to take your computer down to shop and get it fixed, or if you have integrated graphics, you may need a new CPU as well. If you have a standalone graphic card, you may be able to just order a new one and slap it in.

Whatever the case, I sincerely hope that this NEVER EVER happens to you, and if it does, feel free to reach out to me anytime, and I will do everything in my power to help you as, designer to designer, this can be super scary and having some help never hurts.