Starting from the Windows 10 Fall Creator Update in October 2017, it became possible to monitor GPU usage in the performance tab on task manager, but for a few users, the GPU still won’t show up in Task Manager. What could be the reason?
Your GPU will only show up in the task manager if your PC meets the following requirements:
- Your GPU driver is WDDM 2.0 or above
- You installed the Windows Fall Creators Update (1709) or a more recent version of Windows
If unsure whether your PC meets the following requirements, I’ve written how you can do that later in this article.
If you are already sure your PC meets the minimum requirements, but your GPU still doesn’t show on task manager, read the following section to learn how to enable your GPU in Task Manager.
Update (May 2022): How to Enable GPU in the Task Manager
Starting from June 2022, GPU is no longer showing on the task manager, even if your GPU driver is WDDM 2.0 or above. To enable GPU data in the Task Manager again, follow the steps below:
- Enter Windows PowerShell in Windows Search, then click on Run as Administrator:
You can also use Windows Terminal or the Command Prompt, but make sure to run it as administrator. - On PowerShell, run the following command:
lodctr /R
(If you see an error when running this command, check my article on how to fix “the requested operation requires elevation” on PowerShell.)
If this doesn’t work, update your GPU (Display Adapter) driver to the latest version. You can do it on the device manager, the manufacturer’s website, or a driver updater.
If you have fresh installed Windows 10, update Windows to the latest version, as this feature is only available since Windows 10 version 1709.
Since updating Windows is relatively straightforward, I will focus here on how to update your GPU driver to the latest version.
How to Fix GPU Not Showing Up in Task Manager by Updating your GPU Driver
The quickest way to update your GPU driver (and to ensure the good functioning of your PC) is to update all your drivers at once with a driver updater program.
Other ways to update your GPU driver include Windows Device Manager and the manufacturer’s website. Since the device manager is only sometimes reliable, we recommend you download the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website.
The best practice here is first to uninstall your old driver, then install the latest driver like in the process below:
- Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) and install it on your PC.
Download: Display Driver Uninstaller - Run it to uninstall your current GPU driver completely.
- Reboot your PC.
- Now go to the device manufacturer’s driver download page and search for the appropriate driver.
NVIDIA driver page, AMD driver page - Download the right driver and install it on your PC.
- Reboot your PC again.
How to Check WDDM 2.0 Driver
WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) is a display driver architecture, and you can check your WDDM version quickly by using the DirectX Diagnostic Tool on Windows:
- Press Win + R to open the Run command box, then type Dxdiag and press Enter:
- If you see a message prompt like the one below, click Yes.
- On the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window, go to the Display tab.
- Under Drivers, check your WDDM version next to Driver Mode:
As explained above, your WDDM version should be 2.0 or higher so your GPU data can show up in the task manager. If your driver’s WDDM is lower than 2.0, you can try to fix it by updating your network adapter driver.
How to Check your Windows Update version
In this step, we want to ensure that our Windows Update version is 1709 or above. We can check our current Windows version by doing the following steps:
- Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.
- Under Settings, click on System:
- Then click on About.
- Browse down to Windows Specifications to check the version and edition of your Windows:
If your Windows version is older than 1709, update your Windows 10 to the latest version.
Conclusion
For the task manager to show your GPU usage, it is necessary that your GPU driver is WDDM 2.0 (or higher) and that your Windows version is 1709 or more recent, so to fix this issue, you will need to update your GPU driver and make sure that your Windows is updated.
If nothing works, you can use a third-party GPU application such as MSI Afterburner and RivaTuner to monitor the usage and temperature of your video card.
If you like to play PC games with your GPU, I’ve written a helpful article on how to create a hotkey to change between audio outputs in Windows quickly.
