Graphics device drivers are the software that allows the laptop and computers to communicate with the graphics card, it sends a set of instructions to the graphics card which allows the computer to turn digital codes into graphics, videos and images.
Driver error code 22 is a Device manager error, it occurs when the graphics driver is disabled in the Device manager.
In this article, we have discussed what are the causes of the Graphics device driver error code 22 and six fixes to resolve the issue.
Also read: Windows error 0x80248007: 4 Fixes
What are the causes of driver error code 22?
The main cause of this error code to occur is that the graphics driver is disabled, and the possible reasons are:
- It was disabled manually or Windows was forced to disable the device due to a lack of system resources.
- Using an outdated graphics device driver.
- Newly installed program messed up with the device manager settings.
How to fix the driver error code 22?
Here are six fixes to resolve the graphics device driver error code 22:
Restart your laptop
There are many errors that are shown because of some temporary problems with the hardware, restarting your laptop might solve those temporary problems and the error caused by them.
Try enabling the device
The error code 22 occurred because the device was manually disabled, so enabling it manually will solve the error.
How to enable the graphics device driver manually through the device manager?
When your graphics device is disabled you will see nothing but a black screen, your laptop will turn on and off and you can navigate through your keyboard as you won’t be able to see anything on the screen and cannot use your mouse. We have mentioned below the steps to enable the device through the device manager by using the keyboard.
- You need to restart the laptop and if you have set a password then wait for a few seconds to load the login screen, then enter your password and press the Enter button.
- Make sure to press Alt+F4 simultaneously two-three times to close any program that opened up on startup.
- Now press the Windows key + R key simultaneously to open the Run box.
- Type devmgmt.msc and then press the Enter button, which will open the device manager.
- Press the Tab button to bring the selection to the devices.
- Now press the D key twice to go to the Display adapters.
- Now press the Right arrow key to expand the display adapter category and then press the Right arrow key again to select the first device under the display adapter category.
- Press the Alt+A key simultaneously to open the action menu.
- Press the Down arrow key once to select the Enable device option and then press the Enter button.
We are doing these steps on a black screen so even one wrong step can make you disable any other device, so if you think you disabled a device press the Enter button again to enable it. You might have to try these steps again and again if you were unable to enable the device in the first go.
Reset the BIOS by removing the CMOS battery
If you were unable to enable the device by the above-mentioned method then you can try this fix which might resolve the issue. You have to open your laptop or PC to remove the CMOS battery so if you are not confident enough that you can open and then place everything back in its place then seek professional help. If you want to do it on your own then below are the simple steps to guide you through the process.
- Shut down your laptop.
- Remove the power chord and the battery of your laptop before removing anything from your laptop.
- Now find the CMOS battery and then remove it and wait for around two to three minutes to let the CMOS reset itself and then place it back.
- Now restart the laptop, because CMOS might have reset the graphics device settings as well.
Update the graphics device driver
You might be using an outdated version of the device driver and it might be a reason for this error to occur, so check for the update of the driver and update it. To know how to update the graphics device driver click here.
Remove or reconfigure the newly installed program
It is possible that the error occurred because you installed a new device or software that messed up the device manager settings and caused this error. Remove the software or device or reinstall it.
Replace the hardware
The problem might be in the hardware itself and that is why the error is occurring, so it is time to replace the old graphic card with the new one.
Also read: Windows error 0x0 0x0: 6 Fixes
