How to Restart Drivers in Windows 11: A Step-by-Step Guide

By / October 3, 2025

Have you ever faced issues like your screen suddenly going black, your keyboard or mouse not responding, or your sound cutting out? Many times, the culprit is a misbehaving driver.

Instead of rebooting your entire PC, you can often restart the driver in Windows 11 to fix the issue quickly. This saves time and gets your system back to normal without losing your work.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover what drivers are, why you might need to restart them, and multiple step-by-step methods—from restarting graphics and audio drivers to network and USB drivers.

📌 Quick Summary (Key Takeaways)

  • Drivers are software components that let Windows 11 communicate with hardware (GPU, audio, network, etc.).

  • Restarting drivers can fix crashes, glitches, and hardware malfunctions without rebooting your PC.

  • You can restart drivers using keyboard shortcuts, Device Manager, Command Prompt, or PowerShell.

  • Graphics drivers have a special shortcut (Win + Ctrl + Shift + B) for quick resets.

What Are Drivers in Windows 11?

Drivers act as the “middlemen” between your operating system and hardware.

  • GPU driver → Handles graphics rendering.

  • Audio driver → Manages sound input/output.

  • Network driver → Controls Wi-Fi and Ethernet.

  • USB driver → Manages external devices like mice and keyboards.

👉 When drivers crash or become unresponsive, restarting them often fixes the issue instantly.

When Should You Restart a Driver?

Here are some scenarios where restarting drivers in Windows 11 helps:

  • Your screen flickers, freezes, or goes black.

  • Sound suddenly stops working.

  • Network connectivity fails, even though Wi-Fi is on.

  • A USB device isn’t detected.

  • Your mouse/keyboard stops responding.

  • Apps crash due to driver conflicts.

Instead of rebooting your PC, a quick driver restart can save the day.

Methods to Restart Drivers in Windows 11

Let’s go through each method step by step.

1. Restart Graphics Driver with Shortcut (Fastest Way)

Windows has a built-in shortcut to restart your graphics driver instantly.

Steps:

  1. Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B together.

  2. Your screen will flash black for a second.

  3. You’ll hear a short beep.

✅ That’s it—the graphics driver has been restarted.
👉 This works for NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel GPUs.

2. Restart Drivers Using Device Manager

Device Manager lets you manually restart any hardware driver.

Steps:

  1. Press Windows + X and select Device Manager.

  2. Expand the category (e.g., Display adapters, Sound, video and game controllers, Network adapters).

  3. Right-click your device (e.g., Intel UHD Graphics, Realtek Audio, Wi-Fi adapter).

  4. Select Disable device.

  5. Wait a few seconds, then right-click again and choose Enable device.

✅ This effectively restarts the driver.

3. Restart Drivers via Command Prompt

You can use the sc command to restart drivers and services.

Steps (for a specific driver/service):

  1. Press Windows + S, type cmd, right-click, and select Run as administrator.

  2. Type the following command (replace drivername with the actual service/driver name):

    sc stop drivername
    sc start drivername

  3. Press Enter after each line.

Example for audio service:

sc stop audiosrv
sc start audiosrv

👉 Use this method only if you know the correct driver/service name.

4. Restart Drivers with PowerShell

PowerShell provides more flexibility for restarting drivers.

Steps:

  1. Press Windows + X and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).

  2. Use this command to restart a service:

    Restart-Service -Name "audiosrv"

  3. Replace "audiosrv" with the service name you want to restart (e.g., wuauserv for Windows Update, netprofm for network).

5. Restart Audio Drivers (Fix No Sound Issue)

If sound stops working:

Steps:

  1. Press Windows + X > Device Manager.

  2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.

  3. Right-click your audio device (e.g., Realtek, Intel, or NVIDIA High Definition Audio).

  4. Select Disable device.

  5. Re-enable it after 5 seconds.

✅ Your sound driver will restart.

6. Restart Network Drivers (Fix Internet Issues)

For Wi-Fi/Ethernet issues:

Steps:

  1. Press Windows + R, type ncpa.cpl, and hit Enter.

  2. Right-click your Wi-Fi/Ethernet adapter and choose Disable.

  3. Right-click again and select Enable.

Or via Device Manager (under Network adapters).

7. Restart USB Drivers (Fix Mouse/Keyboard Issues)

If your USB devices stop responding:

Steps:

  1. Open Device Manager.

  2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

  3. Right-click each USB driver and select Disable device.

  4. Re-enable them after a few seconds.

✅ Useful for fixing unresponsive USB peripherals.

Extra Tip: Restart All Drivers by Restarting Windows Explorer

If you’re unsure which driver is causing issues, restarting Windows Explorer can refresh many processes.

Steps:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

  2. Find Windows Explorer under Processes.

  3. Right-click it and select Restart.

Pros and Cons of Restarting Drivers Instead of Rebooting

Pros Cons
Saves time compared to a full reboot May not fix deeper driver conflicts
Fixes temporary glitches instantly Some drivers require full reboot to reload
Prevents data loss from unsaved work Can be tricky for beginners if using Command Prompt/PowerShell

Conclusion

Restarting drivers in Windows 11 is a powerful troubleshooting step. Instead of rebooting your entire PC, you can:

  • Use Win + Ctrl + Shift + B to restart graphics drivers.

  • Restart drivers manually via Device Manager.

  • Use Command Prompt or PowerShell for advanced control.

  • Restart audio, network, and USB drivers individually when specific issues arise.

👉 Next time your screen flickers, sound cuts out, or Wi-Fi drops, try restarting the driver first—it could save you a full reboot.

FAQs About Restarting Drivers in Windows 11

1. What is the shortcut to restart graphics drivers in Windows 11?
Press Win + Ctrl + Shift + B.

2. Can I restart all drivers at once?
Not directly—but restarting Windows Explorer or rebooting your PC reloads all drivers.

3. Is it safe to restart drivers?
Yes. Restarting a driver is safer than uninstalling/reinstalling and helps fix temporary issues.

4. Why do my drivers keep crashing?
Causes include outdated drivers, corrupted files, hardware conflicts, or Windows updates.

5. How do I prevent driver issues in the future?
Keep Windows updated, install the latest drivers from your hardware manufacturer, and avoid conflicting third-party tools.

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