NVIDIA, AMD, Realtek drivers won't install on Windows 11/10

Sometimes, drivers like NVIDIA, AMD, and Realtek install themselves and appear on the list but don’t respond. At other times, they just refuse to install on Windows 11/10. What’s one supposed to do under such a situation? Many advise reinstalling the drivers; however, this trick seldom helps. Here’s a method that might help you if NVIDIA, AMD, or Realtek drivers won’t install on your Windows 11/10 computer.

NVIDIA, AMD, Realtek drivers won’t install

Sometimes, the drivers just refuse to install as there are traces of earlier versions left behind or incomplete installation which creates a conflict. Display Driver Uninstaller or DDU is a driver removal utility that completely uninstalls AMD/Intel/NVIDIA graphics card drivers and packages from your system. It does not leave anything behind. Follow the method described in this article NVIDIA, AMD, or Realtek drivers won’t install on your Windows 11/10 computer.

Use Display Driver Uninstaller to uninstall NVIDIA & AMD drivers

Before you proceed, we recommend you create a system restore point. This will allow you to restore your system to the previous working state if any problem occurs.

Now, to download NVIDIA drivers, go to the NVIDIA website, find the ‘Drivers’ tab, search for your NVIDIA driver, and download it. Also, save it to your Desktop. This step will make things easier for us later on.

Now, download & install Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU). It is a free tool that allows you to completely remove the graphics card driver from your system. Before you run this utility, make sure that you have downloaded the right compatible graphics card driver on your system from the official manufacturer’s website.

Once the installation is complete, open the tool and look for ‘Select Graphic Driver’ description. Just adjacent to it, you will find a drop-down arrow. Click it and select NVIDIA from the list of options displayed.

Next, hit the ‘Clean and restart (Highly Recommended)’ to clean the driver. This will restart your PC.

Try installing the driver once again.

Similarly, using this tool, you can uninstall AMD drivers. AMD users can also use the AMD Clean Uninstall Utility.

The problem should be resolved.

Use dedicated software developed by the manufacturer

Manufacturers also have developed a dedicated utility that helps you install all the latest updates of the graphics card drivers released by the manufacturer. If you do not want to use the DDU utility to remove your display driver completely, you can install the dedicated software and see if it works.

In the case of the graphics card drivers, you can install the following software on your system, based on the manufacturer of your graphics card:

You can download these tools from the official website of the manufacturer. If these software do not work or fail to update your graphics card driver, then the last resort is to use the DDU utility.

Uninstall Realtek and Microsoft UAA Drivers

Installation errors often associated with the Realtek HD audio drivers are usually a result of either an error in overwriting the files within the default Windows driver or a conflict with the Microsoft Universal Audio Architecture. So, you’ll need to uninstall existing Realtek and Microsoft UAA Drivers and then reinstall the Realtek driver. Do the following,

Boot Windows in Safe Mode.

Now, load Windows Device Manager. Find and click ‘System Devices’.

When the System Devices menu expands, right-click ‘Microsoft UAA Bus Driver for High Definition Audio’ and select ‘Disable’. Restart the computer.

Again, go back to Windows Devices Manager and look for ‘Sound, Video and Game Controllers’ entry. When seen, double-click it to expand its menu.

Here, right-click the Realtek audio device and select ‘Uninstall’ option. Click ‘OK’ to confirm.

Again, double-click ‘System Devices’. When its menu expands, right-click the disabled ‘Microsoft UAA Bus Driver for High Definition Audio’ device and select ‘Uninstall’. Close the Device Manager.

Assuming you have a new copy of the Realtek driver downloaded, double-click the “Realtek” driver installation and proceed to install the driver.

Boot the computer into Normal Mode and restart the computer.

I hope this works for you.

How do I fix Realtek in Windows 11?

You may receive different errors while installing the Realtek Audio driver on Windows 11, such as Realtek HD Audio Driver Failure error 0101, No driver supported in this package, Realtek HD Audio Driver Failure error -0001, etc. Different errors require a different way to troubleshoot and fix. To fix these errors, check for Windows Updates. Sometimes, errors occur due to the corrupted installer file. Download the driver again from the official website and install it.

Is it necessary to install Realtek audio driver?

Driver is software that establishes a communication link between a hardware device and the operating system. When you connect a hardware device, Windows automatically installs its driver. A Realtek audio driver is required for the audio device on your system to work properly. If you uninstall it and not reinstall it, the audio device on your system will not work.