At times, a Windows user may have problems while trying connecting to an external monitor. They may either have this error message “Failed to load hardware monitor” or their laptop just doesn’t recognize the connected device. Our solutions can fix the two issues. In this tutorial, we will see how to fix the Generic PnP Monitor driver issue on Windows 11/10.
What is a Generic PnP Monitor driver?
PnP, means Plug and Play, is present on all computers. It permit your computer to deal with any hardware changes it’s subjected to. When you are about to connect a driver to your system, PnP will automatically detect the hardware changes and hence attach that device to your system.
The Generic PnP Monitor driver, have the same for a monitor. So, if you connect to your setup an external monitor , Generic PnP Monitor will get the change and install the required software.
How do I fix Generic PnP Monitor problem
There are many reasons why you may counter this issue. Corrupted drivers , faulty hardware and improper connection are some of the most common ones. So, let us see how to fix the Generic PnP Monitor driver issue on Windows 11/10.
- Check your cable connections
- Reinstall or Update Generic PnP Monitor driver
- Run Hardware and Device troubleshooter
- Update Graphics Driver
- Uninstall it and Scan For Hardware Changes
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Check your cable connections
We will start troubleshooting this error first by checking your system’s connection to the external Monitor. You should verify if all the cables are connected the right way. If they are connected perfectly, plug and re-plug them to see if that solves the issue.
If the problem persists, try connecting your external Monitor to a another system. If that system fails to identify the monitor then there is something wrong with it.
Also, check the HDMI/DVI/VGA cables and see if they are at fault. You can connect them to a other different monitor to confirm your suspicion.
If all the hardware is working fine, use the provided solutions.
2] Update or Reinstall Generic PnP Monitor driver
An expired driver can be the first reason for this error. So, let us make the update to the Generic PnP Monitor driver and see if this fix the issue.
First, download the latest updted driver from the manufacturer website.
- Run Device Manager by Win + X > Device Manager.
- Expand Monitor, right-click on Generic PnP Monitor, and click Update driver.
- Now, select “Browser my computer for driver”, pick the downloaded driver from its location.
If updating is to no done, try reinstalling it. For that, you can follow the given steps.
- OpenDevice Manager by Win + X > Device Manager.
- Expand Monitor, right-click on Generic PnP Monitor, and click Uninstall device.
- Unplug and replug the monitor to reinstall the driver.
Finally, check if the issue was fixed.
3] Run Hardware and Devices troubleshooter
Now, let us give Windows a hand to do some work. Let’s deploy the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter and see if the issue was fixed.
Microsoft has hidden the Hardware Troubleshooter in Windows 10 now. However, there is many way to run this troubleshooter.
Open Command Prompt as an administrator and run the following command.
msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic
Now, use the on-screen instructions to fix the error.
4] Update Graphics Driver
In this solution , we have covered all the possible solutions for reasons related to the Generic PnP driver. So, if the issue still not fixed, we might be treating with a slightly other different problem here. If the issue is stubborn, it can be because of your Graphics Driver. So, try to update the Graphics Driver to fix the error.
Hopefully, you are able to resolve the External Monitor error with the help of mentioned solutions
5] Uninstall it and Scan For Hardware Changes
Uninstall the Generic PnP Monitor Driver and then run and use the Scan for Hardware changes option in Windows to let the OS install the driver for you.
Launch Device Manager using Win+X and choose the Device Manager among the list.
On the Device Manager window, select Action and then pick on Scan for hardware changes.
Can I remove or disable Generic PnP Driver?
No, you can’t remove the Generic PnP Driver as it is a built-in Windows Program. But what you can do is to reinstall the driver(aforementioned) if you are facing any error.
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