Troubleshooting a Malfunctioning Nvidia 3060 GPU: Seeking Solutions

As an IT professional, I often pride myself on my ability to solve technical issues. However, I recently found myself in a perplexing situation that has left me scratching my head. I purchased a used laptop from my previous employer, which is equipped with an Nvidia 3060 notebook GPU. It operated smoothly for the first two weeks, but then suddenly ceased to function.

In an effort to resolve the issue, I have undertaken several troubleshooting steps:

1. Driver Management: I attempted to reinstall the GPU drivers multiple times. After finding no improvement, I reverted to older driver versions in hopes of restoring functionality.

2. BIOS Updates: I updated the BIOS, but when that did not yield any results, I also explored the option of reverting to an earlier BIOS version.

3. Windows Configurations: I explored various Windows updates, both by installing the latest version and rolling back to a previous iteration of the operating system, but none of these efforts provided a solution.

Interestingly, the graphics card is recognized in the Device Manager, suggesting it is indeed present in the system. However, it seems to be invisible to any other applications that rely on it.

I’m reaching out to the community for advice—has anyone else encountered a similar situation with their Nvidia GPU or have any recommendations for additional steps I could take to resolve this problem? Your insights would be greatly appreciated as I navigate this frustrating technical challenge.