Frequently Asked Questions about Intel® Graphics Drivers

A driver is software written for a specific operating system (OS). The OS uses the driver to communicate with a specific hardware device. Intel develops graphics drivers so that Windows* operating systems can communicate with specific Intel® graphics devices.

Intel has generic versions of the Intel® Graphics Drivers available but recommends using drivers from your computer manufacturer. The computer manufacturer can offer customized versions of the Intel Graphics Drivers for your particular computer model.

Intel Graphics Drivers support specific Intel® Processor graphics or integrated graphics. To check whether your computer is using Intel graphics, use the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant.

See How do I identify my graphics driver version?

See Understanding the Intel Graphics Driver version numbering.

Graphics Profiles are configuration settings the user can make for Display Profiles and Video Profiles. See How To Use Intel Graphics Profiles.

• Display Profiles control monitor configuration, resolution, and refresh rate
• Video Profiles control coloration, image scaling, and gamut mapping

In older versions of the Intel Graphics Drivers, there's a more primitive function to manipulate display settings known as Graphics Schemes.

To see if your computer is using the latest driver, use the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant. This utility detects the graphics product, identifies the current installed driver version, and advises if a newer driver is available for download.

You don't need to update your graphics driver if you're not experiencing a graphics-related problem with your computer.

Reasons for updating your graphics driver:

• To resolve graphics-related problems. Examples: visual corruption when playing a new game, Windows gives a graphics driver error.
• Your computer manufacturer recommends a graphics update.
• As advised by an Intel customer support agent.

Use one of the following methods:

• Use the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant.
  This online utility detects the graphics product of your computer, identifies the current installed driver version, and advises if a newer driver is available.

To get the latest graphics driver, use the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant. This online utility detects the graphics product of your computer, identifies the current installed driver version, and advises if a newer driver is available for download. If this utility detects a customized computer manufacturer graphics driver, check for more customized computer information.

If you downloaded the .exe version of the Intel Graphics Driver, double-click the .exe file to start the driver installation.

If you downloaded the .zip version, extract the .zip file and then double-click the SETUP.EXE file to start the driver installation. An alternate method is to follow the instructions in the readme text file of the driver for a manual Have-Disk installation.

If the driver you installed doesn't work properly, or you simply want to go back to a previous driver, perform the following steps:

1. Open Device Manager, click Start > Control Panel > Device Manager.
2. Expand Display Adapters.
3. Double-click on your Intel display device.
4. Select the Driver tab.
5. Click Roll Back Driver.

Your driver is now restored to the version it was previously using.

See the Intel Graphics support site or use the search feature on the Intel website.

The next step in finding a solution or workaround for your question or issue is to use the Search box located on the Intel website.