Fix: NVIDIA Display Settings are Not Available
Common causes include incorrect port connections, outdated or corrupted drivers, improper GPU installation, or incorrect BIOS settings. To resolve this, ensure the display is correctly connected to the GPU, update or reinstall the GPU drivers, and check that the GPU is properly seated in its slot.
Note: Before you start with any of the solutions below, navigate to the device manager (Windows + R and type “devmgmt.msc”) and disable your GPU. After disabling it, enable it again. The problem was resolved for the majority of cases using this workaround.
Solution 1: Checking Display Connection
The first and foremost thing you should check is the port where your display is connected. There are usually two ports where you can attach your display cable. Either you can connect the display to your Intel integrated graphics or to your NVIDIA graphics hardware. This is where most people get confused.
The port integrated with the motherboard is the display output by Intel HD graphics. The display port located downwards is the one connected with your NVIDIA graphics hardware.
Make sure that the connection to your monitor is plugged into the graphics port (also known as the discrete port as shown above) present in your system. Restart your computer after making the change and see if this fixes the error message under discussion.
Solution 2: Changing the Adapter Output
If you have correctly connected the display cable to your graphics card and the error message still persists, it is worth a shot to try either a converter or changing the form of output from the graphics hardware.
You can either try using a VGA to HDMI Converter and use the HDMI port on your graphics card. Alternatively, you can change the form of output directly — for instance, using a DisplayPort instead of HDMI or VGA. Experiment with some combinations on your own and see if this does the trick.
Solution 3: Checking the NVIDIA Display Driver Service
NVIDIA has a service running on your computer, which manages the display driver. It provides support to your operating system and acts as a middleware between your NVIDIA hardware and your operating system. There are cases where this service stops, causing the computer to fail to detect your NVIDIA hardware.
- Press Windows + R, type “services.msc” in the dialog box, and press Enter.
- Navigate through all the services until you find NVIDIA Display Driver Service. Right-click it and select Properties.
- Set the Startup type as Automatic. If the Start button doesn’t highlight for clicking, press Apply and it will.
- Once you have made sure the service is up and running, check if the error message still persists.
Solution 4: Updating/Rolling Back Graphics Drivers
We will try updating your NVIDIA hardware either manually or automatically. Additionally, we will use an application named Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU). This ensures that all remnants of the old display driver are removed to prevent future issues.
Furthermore, if updating the drivers doesn’t work for you, consider rolling back the drivers to a previous build. There are many cases where the newer driver is not stable with your device and causes problems.
- Install the utility Display Driver Uninstaller. While you can proceed without this step, it ensures there are no remnants of the drivers.
- After installing Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), launch your computer in safe mode. Learn how to boot your computer into safe mode by reading our article on it.
- Once your computer is in safe mode, launch the display driver uninstaller.
- After launching the application, select the first option, “Clean and restart”. The application will automatically uninstall the installed drivers and restart your computer accordingly.
- Boot your computer back into safe mode, press Windows + R, type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialog box, and press Enter. In most cases, the default drivers will be installed for the hardware. If not, right-click on any empty space and select “Scan for hardware changes”.
- Now there are two options. Either you can search online for the latest driver available for your hardware from the NVIDIA’s official website and install it manually, or you can let Windows install the latest version itself by searching for updates automatically.
First, you should try updating the hardware automatically. Right-click on your hardware and select “Update driver”. Select the first option, “Search automatically for updated driver software”. Choose the second option if you are updating manually and select “Browse for driver” and navigate to the location where you downloaded it.
- Restart your computer after installing the drivers and see if the error message “NVIDIA display settings are not available” still persists.
