Troubleshooting Laptop GPU Issues: A Technical Dilemma

As an IT professional, it’s often thought that resolving technology issues is second nature, but sometimes, even the most seasoned experts encounter perplexing challenges. Recently, I faced a particularly frustrating problem with a used laptop I acquired from my workplace, equipped with a reliable Nvidia 3060 GPU. For the first two weeks, everything functioned seamlessly, but suddenly, the graphics card seems to have vanished into thin air.

After this unexpected failure, I set out to troubleshoot the issue systematically. My attempts included reinstalling the latest drivers and updating the BIOS to the current version. I also explored reverting both BIOS and Windows updates to previous versions that had proven stable in the past. No stone was left unturned; I removed the existing drivers completely, installed older iterations, and even performed a full reinstallation of Windows, reverting back to a prior version that I hoped would restore functionality.

Despite these efforts, device manager still detects the GPU without any problem, but other applications and programs fail to recognize it, rendering it effectively useless for any tasks requiring graphics processing. This led me to wonder whether anyone in the community has faced similar predicaments or if there are other troubleshooting tactics that might provide a solution.

If you’ve experienced this issue or have insights into potential fixes, your advice would be greatly appreciated. Sometimes, a fresh perspective can lead to the breakthrough needed to resolve even the most stubborn tech troubles.