Fix: NVIDIA Display Settings are Not Available

Kevin ArrowsUpdated on March 10, 2023
Kevin is a certified Network Engineer

The error message “NVIDIA display settings are not available” usually occurs when the computer prompts you that you are not currently using a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU. If you are not using the display of the GPU, you will not be able to access the NVIDIA display settings.

This error is very widespread and happens due to several different reasons. Either you may have the display connected to a wrong port or this might be a driver problem. We will go through the workarounds one by one starting with the easiest and work our way down.

Note: Before you start with any of the solutions down below, navigate to the device manager (Windows + R and “devmgmt.msc”) and disable your GPU. After disabling it, enable it again. The problem was solved for the majority of the cases using this workaround.

Solution 1: Checking display connection 

The first and foremost thing which 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 of the people get confused.

The port which is integrated with the motherboard is the display which is outputted by Intel HD graphics. The display which you see downwards is the display that is connected with your graphics hardware.

Make sure that the connection to your monitor is plugged into the graphics port (also known as a 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 trying 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. Either this or you can change the form of output directly, for example, using a Display port instead of HDMI or VGA. Do some combinations on your own and see if this does the trick.

Solution 3: Checking 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 is basically a middleware between your NVIDIA hardware and your operating system. There are cases where this service is stopped and because of this, the computer fails to detect your NVIDIA hardware.

  1. Press Windows + R, type “services.msc” in the dialogue box and press Enter.
  2. Navigate through all the services until you find NVIDIA Display Driver Service. Right-click it and select Properties.

  1. Set the Startup type as If the Start button doesn’t highlight for clicking, press Apply and it will.

  1. 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. Furthermore, we will also use an application named as Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU). This will ensure that all remnants of the old display driver are removed so they don’t make problems for us in the future.

Furthermore, if updating the drivers don’t work for you, you should consider rolling back the drivers to a previous build. There are many cases where the newer driver isn’t stable with your device and causes problems.

  1. Install the utility Display Driver Uninstaller. You can continue without this step but this ensures that there are no remnants of the drivers.
  2. After installing Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), launch your computer in safe mode. You can learn how to boot your computer into safe mode by reading our article on it.
  3. After booting your computer into safe mode, launch the display driver uninstaller.
  4. After launching the application, select the first option “Clean and restart”. The application will then automatically uninstall the installed drivers and restart your computer accordingly.

  1. Boot your computer back into safe mode, press Windows + R, type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialogue box and press Enter. In most cases, the default drivers will be installed against the hardware. If not, right-click on any empty space and select “Scan for hardware changes”.

  1. 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 manually) or you can let Windows install the latest version itself (search 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.

  1. Restart your computer after installing the drivers and see if the error message “NVIDIA Display settings are not available” still persists.

 

 

Kevin ArrowsUpdated on March 10, 2023
Kevin is a certified Network Engineer
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Kevin Arrows


Kevin Arrows is a highly experienced and knowledgeable technology specialist with over a decade of industry experience. He holds a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification and has a deep passion for staying up-to-date on the latest tech developments. Kevin has written extensively on a wide range of tech-related topics, showcasing his expertise and knowledge in areas such as software development, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. His contributions to the tech field have been widely recognized and respected by his peers, and he is highly regarded for his ability to explain complex technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.