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How to Uninstall a Problematic Driver in Windows 10 Safe Mode

Use Safe Mode and Device Manager to roll back or uninstall a troublesome Windows 10 driver, then restart and consider recovery options if the problem continues.
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If a Windows 10 driver is causing flickering, a blank screen, or startup trouble, open Safe Mode and remove the affected device’s driver from Device Manager. If the problem started immediately after a driver update, try Roll Back Driver first; it is a narrower fix when Windows still has a previous driver available.

Before you remove the driver

Safe Mode starts Windows with a limited set of essential services and drivers. Microsoft says observing Windows in Safe Mode can help narrow down the source of a problem. If the fault disappears there, that is a useful clue, but it does not identify the exact third-party driver by itself. Microsoft’s Windows startup settings guidance also notes that Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025; that lifecycle change does not alter the troubleshooting steps below.

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  • Use an administrator account for driver rollback or removal.
  • Identify the affected device before uninstalling anything. Removing the wrong driver can disable a device or make recovery harder.
  • If this is a work- or school-managed PC, contact IT if the steps do not resolve the issue.

Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode

If Windows can reach its recovery settings, use this route. The way to open Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) varies depending on whether the PC can start normally, so this path will not work in every situation.

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  1. Open Windows Recovery Environment.
  2. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
  3. When the startup choices appear, choose the Safe Mode option.

For other ways to reach Windows RE and the available startup choices, see Microsoft’s Windows startup settings instructions.

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Try rolling back a recent driver update first

If the problem began after a specific driver update, rollback may restore the previous version without removing the device. In Device Manager, locate the affected device, open Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver, then follow the prompts. You need administrator permissions. The button may be unavailable if Windows has no previous driver to restore through this control. Microsoft’s Device Manager guidance and its display-flicker troubleshooting steps describe the rollback option.

Uninstall the driver in Device Manager

For a display driver

  1. Open Device Manager.
  2. Expand Display adapters, then open the affected adapter’s Properties.
  3. Open the Driver tab and select Uninstall Device.
  4. If a checkbox to remove the driver or driver package appears, select it only if you intend to remove that package, then confirm. Microsoft notes that the checkbox in its display-driver workflow may require Safe Mode to appear.
  5. Restart Windows. Windows will attempt to reinstall the driver.

Follow the exact wording shown on your Windows build; the removal checkbox is not guaranteed to appear. See Microsoft’s display-driver instructions.

For another device

  1. In Device Manager, find the device that is having trouble.
  2. Choose Uninstall device and confirm.
  3. Restart Windows so it can attempt to reinstall the driver.

The display-specific checkbox behavior should not be assumed for every type of device. Windows may not reinstall every driver automatically; for example, some printers require manual driver installation. If needed, download the replacement from the device maker’s official support site. Microsoft’s general procedure is in Update drivers through Device Manager in Windows.

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If Windows is still unstable

If removing or rolling back the driver does not restore normal startup, consider broader Windows recovery options such as System Restore. Unlike a device-level driver change, System Restore affects a wider set of system files and settings. Review the consequences and back up important files where possible before using recovery operations that could affect data. Microsoft outlines the choices in Recovery options in Windows and its blue-screen troubleshooting guidance.

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