Troubleshooting a Faulty Nvidia 3060 GPU: A Techie’s Dilemma

As an IT professional, encountering technical challenges is part of the job. However, sometimes we face issues that leave us scratching our heads. This post captures a recent dilemma I faced with a used laptop I purchased from my company, equipped with an Nvidia 3060 notebook GPU.

Initially, everything was running smoothly. For two weeks, the GPU performed flawlessly, but recently, it inexplicably ceased functioning. Frustrated and determined to find a solution, I embarked on a series of troubleshooting steps.

Here’s a brief overview of what I attempted:

1. Driver Reinstallation: I began by reinstalling the graphics drivers, hoping to resolve any Software conflicts that might be causing the issue.

2. BIOS Updates: Next, I updated the BIOS, as outdated firmware can sometimes lead to hardware compatibility issues.

3. Rolling Back Updates: I also experimented with reverting both BIOS and Windows updates to see if a recent change had triggered the problem.

4. Uninstalling and Reverting Drivers: In addition to the above, I uninstalled the GPU drivers altogether and tried rolling back to older driver versions to assess whether a newer driver might be incompatible.

5. Fresh Windows Installation: As a last resort, I decided to reinstall Windows entirely, even reverting to an earlier version in hopes of clearing any residual Software conflicts.

Despite these extensive efforts, the GPU remains present and visible in the Device Manager, yet no other programs recognize it. It’s a puzzling situation, and I’m reaching out to see if anyone else has faced a similar challenge or has any insights that could assist me in diagnosing this issue.

If you’ve encountered a similar problem or have advice on what steps I might take next, please share your thoughts in the comments. Any help would be greatly appreciated!