This article will guide you on how to fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the display driver.
Photoshop is the most popular desktop application from Adobe. It is the most used photo editing program available out there. Of course, there are reasons why it has gained such popularity. But, Sometimes, Users may encounter problems with it. One of the most commonly faced error is “Photoshop has encountered a problem with the display driver.” You probably have encountered this issue and that’s why you are here.
When this problem appears, users usually see the following error message-
Photoshop has encountered a problem with the display driver, and has temporarily disabled enhancements which use the graphics hardware.
There might be many reasons. But, Mainly, Misconfiguration, display driver issue or the problematic graphics card can cause this problem. Whatever the reason is, there are always ways to resolve the problem.
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How to Fix Photoshop has Encountered a Problem with the Display Driver
Now, It’s time to troubleshoot this photoshop error. If you are one of the users who have encountered this problem, you can easily get rid of it. To fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the video driver, follow these methods.
1. Update Graphics Card Driver
One of the most common reasons behind this problem is the incompatible graphics driver. Many users don’t update drivers regularly. A few users don’t update it at all. As a result, over time, it becomes outdated. So, There may be many incompatibility issues with modern software that utilize the graphics card. That’s why To fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the display driver, I suggest you to update the driver. It may work.
There is some software like Driver Booster or Driver Easy which can update GPU driver automatically. It doesn’t require you to know technical methods. These tools can do it by a single click.
However, If you want to update the video driver manually, you can follow these steps.
- At first, Download the appropriate graphics card driver from the following links.
- After downloading, Install it.
- For Intel UHD/HD driver, read: How to Update Drivers
After updating the graphics driver, restart your computer. Now, Launch Adobe Photoshop. You should not encounter the video driver error again.
2. Disable Snipper.exe
It is one of the most used methods to fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the video driver. In fact, the snipper.exe is a small module of Photoshop that detects the GPU driver information and passes it to Photoshop. If it gets corrupted or it is buggy, users may encounter GPU related errors on Photoshop. So, To fix your problem, I suggest you disable it. Here are the procedures.
- At first, Go to the photoshop installation directory. It should be like this: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2020.
- Now, Find the sniffer.exe.
- Rename it to something like sniffer.exe.old. Or you can move this file to the outside of Photoshop directory.
- Now, launch Photoshop.
You should no longer encounter the video driver related problem.
3. Disable One GPU In Case You have Two GPUs
Modern laptops may have two GPUs. One is onboard and one is dedicated. If your computer has two GPUs, you may face Photoshop has encountered a problem with video driver error. In this case, You will have to disable the onboard graphics. It will fix your problem. Here are the steps.
- At first, Open the start menu, type devmgmt.msc and hit enter. It will open the Windows Device Manager.
- Now, Expand the Display adapter.
- Then, Right-click on the built-in graphics driver and choose Disable device.
- At last, Restart your computer.
4. Install Photoshop to the System Drive
Another widely used method to fix this problem is installing Photoshop on the system drive. For many reasons, the users may install it on a different drive. If you haven’t installed on local disk C, I suggest you do it. Hopefully, It will fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the video driver.
5. Update Photoshop
If the problem still keeps appearing, I suggest you to update Adobe Photoshop. Sometimes, This problem may appear due to a known bug. Updating can fix it entirely. So, You won’t have to go through further technical methods.
6. Use Old Photoshop
To fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the video driver, it can be another method you can try. If you start encountering this error after updating Photoshop, you should uninstall it and install the older version. Then see if it solves the actual issue or not.
7. Stop Using Graphics Processor
I’m not sure if it will solve the actual problem for you or not. But, You can try it too. Disabling usage of GPU in Photoshop may prevent the error message from appearing every time you launch it. However, If you don’t know the procedure, I suggest you follow these steps.
- At first, Launch Adobe Photoshop.
- Then Ignore the video driver error message.’
- Then, From the menu, Navigate to Edit > Preferences > Performance.
- Now, Uncheck Use Graphic Processor and save the settings.
- At last, Relaunch Photoshop.
8. Upgrade to New GPU
If your graphics card is extremely old, this might be a reason you are facing this problem. In this case, You will have to buy a modern GPU and replace the older one. It will fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the video driver.
These are basically the most useful ways to troubleshoot this problem. However, You may know any other effective way to fix Photoshop has encountered a problem with the video driver. If yes, you can share it in the comment box. It may help others.
