Drivers can go bad and cause major issues for your PC. But when the ones in question are GPU drivers, the problems can be quite jarring, like your computer having a low-resolution display or random screen flickering. To solve these issues, you’ll need to uninstall your old, faulty drivers and install fresh, new, and updated ones. It's also good practice to uninstall old GPU drivers before installing your brand new GPU, regardless of whether your new GPU is by Nvidia, AMD, or Intel. In this guide, we’ll focus specifically how to uninstall your AMD drivers with a few methods.

How to uninstall drivers using Display Driver Uninstaller

If you want a hassle-free way to remove your GPU drivers, third-party software can save the day. In this case, we're using Display Driver Uninstaller by Wagnardsoft. There might be a few ads and requests for donations since it's free to use, but other than that, this handy app does what its name says. It can also help you remove GPU drivers for Nvidia and Intel, along with audio drivers for Realtek and Soundblaster if you need it.

1. Download and open the latest version of DDU from Wagnardsoft's official website. You can go for the portable version or the standard installer. For this example, we’ll go with the Portable version.
2. The Portable version will self-extract itself. Just pick where you want it to go and press Extract.
3. Go to the location where you extracted DDU and open the folder.
4. Double-click on the application to open it. Click Yes if an administrator prompt opens up.
5. You’ll be given a prompt telling you about the risks of the application. Click OK, and an Options menu will open. Select the options you want turned on and then press Close.

   You can uncheck Create a restore point, as it could take up unnecessary space on your PC, along with Show offers from our partners for a cleaner look.

6. Another prompt will open, notifying you that you're not in safe mode. Again, it’s recommended that you boot into safe mode so that things go smoothly, especially if you’re dealing with stubborn, corrupted drivers. Press OK, and the prompt will close.
7. In the DDU application, select GPU and then AMD from the dropdown menus in the top right.
8. If you’re planning to install a new GPU, then go for the third option: Clean and Shutdown. If you still plan on using the current GPU and will install new drivers later on, then go with the first option: Clean and Restart.
9. Let the application run, and it will remove any drivers you have on your PC for the selected GPU manufacturer.

Your PC should now be free from older, broken drivers. If you are installing a new GPU, do so once your PC restarts after the drivers are removed.

How to uninstall drivers from the Control Panel

The simplest method with the least amount of steps involves going into the Control Panel to uninstall your AMD drivers. These instructions work for both Windows 10 and 11 users.

1. Open the Start Menu and search for Control Panel. Then open it.
2. Under the Programs section, click on Uninstall a program.
3. In the list of programs, look for AMD Software, select it, and then click on the Uninstall button. AMD Software should be somewhere at the top if your programs are organized alphabetically. If not, click on the Name ribbon on the top of the program list until the small arrow points upwards, and the programs should be organized alphabetically.

   Don’t remove the AMD Chipset Software if it shows in your programs. That software is for your Ryzen processor.

4. If an administrator prompt opens up, click Yes.
5. AMD Software will automatically detect the driver version currently installed on your PC. Click on Uninstall to remove these drivers.
6. Once the drivers are uninstalled, you can close the application or restart your PC. To complete the uninstallation process, it is recommended that you click the Restart Now button.

If everything goes smoothly, your PC should be rid of old AMD GPU drivers and ready for new ones. But that’s not always the case, and sometimes corrupted drivers might not get detected automatically by the AMD software, or even if they do, some error might prevent them from getting removed. For such situations, we’ll need discrete software to uninstall these stubborn drivers.

How to uninstall drivers using the AMD Cleanup Utility tool

This handy tool by AMD is a viable option if you experience any problems with the previous methods. The best thing about this tool is that it’s portable; you won’t have to go through the process of installing it and then uninstalling it once you’ve removed the drivers.

1. Download the AMD Cleanup Utility tool and open it from the folder you saved it to. Click Yes if an administrator prompt opens up.
2. The utility tool will ask you to reboot in Safe Mode. Click Yes to reboot. You can also proceed with the uninstallation process if you press No and choose not to boot into safe mode.

   It’s highly recommended to do this to ensure that the drivers are removed correctly.

3. If you rebooted your PC, open the AMD Cleanup Utility tool again from your downloads folder and repeat the previous steps.
4. The second prompt will inform you of all the things it will remove. Press OK.
5. The removal process will begin. Your screen might flicker during this.
6. After the uninstallation is complete, you will be informed if the process was successful or not, and it will ask you to reboot your computer. Click Yes to reboot your PC again and complete the uninstallation.

You can keep the AMD Cleanup Utility tool around in case you need it in the future, or you can go ahead and delete it after you’re done removing the drivers if you like your PC to stay neat and clean.

Installing new drivers

You’ll need new drivers if you plan to play games on your PC. Since you’ve removed your old drivers, you can’t just update your drivers to the newer version. You’ll have to look online for the latest drivers for the GPU you plan to use, whether it’s new or not.

In case your current GPU is also causing you issues, here are the best gaming GPUs that you can upgrade to and the best gaming monitors to pair them with to translate the higher graphical power into hertz and pixels.