Microsoft Basic Display Adapter – Troubleshooting Notes (DriverFiles)
People arrived at this page believing the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter or a missing GPU driver was the root cause of their display problems. These notes document what actually happened when they tried to resolve it, including situations where reinstalling or reverting drivers did nothing, where the adapter disappeared entirely, or where the underlying cause turned out to be unrelated to the basic display driver itself.
Problem: Discrete GPU not detected in Device Manager
What users observed: The expected NVIDIA display adapter was completely absent from Device Manager, even when hidden devices were shown. Only the integrated Intel graphics appeared. Driver installers failed immediately because no compatible hardware was detected.
What was tried: Scanning for hardware changes, rebooting multiple times, toggling hidden devices, and uninstalling previously visible display adapters. BIOS settings were checked and confirmed to allow switchable graphics, but nothing new appeared.
How this played out: The system remained locked to the integrated graphics. No unknown devices surfaced, and the discrete GPU never re-registered, leaving the situation unresolved.
Problem: Unable to install any display driver, including Microsoft Basic Display Adapter
What users observed: After uninstalling display drivers, the system stayed at large icons and low resolution. The Display Adapters category vanished entirely. Neither NVIDIA drivers nor the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter could be installed, and installer errors persisted.
What was tried: Repeated uninstallations, reboots, Safe Mode attempts, system restore, and repair actions. Safe Mode itself failed to load correctly at first, and restore points were lost during disk repair.
How this played out: The GPU was no longer detected at all. The situation escalated to hardware inspection, with no software-level resolution confirmed.
Problem: Dual monitors stopped working and system reverted to basic display mode
What users observed: Long-working dual monitor setups suddenly mirrored the same desktop at low resolution. Display settings could not detect multiple displays. Adapter properties showed Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, while Device Manager still listed the correct ATI Radeon card.
What was tried: Removing display and monitor entries, disconnecting from the network, rebooting repeatedly, and allowing Windows to reapply drivers. Updates were temporarily blocked after brief, inconsistent recoveries.
How this played out: Dual displays returned only intermittently before failing again. Stability was achieved only after preventing a specific display update, suggesting the basic adapter state was a side effect rather than the root cause.
Problem: Microsoft Basic Display Adapter reporting error code 31
What users observed: The adapter showed a code 31 error indicating drivers could not load. Updating both the GPU driver and the basic display adapter reported everything as current, yet manual selection failed.
What was tried: Driver updates, uninstallations, re-enabling the device, and Windows Update checks. None changed the error state.
What this turned out to be: The system had dual graphics hardware, and the integrated GPU drivers were missing. The basic display adapter appeared because those drivers were absent.
Where this sometimes ended: Once the correct integrated graphics drivers were installed, the error cleared and normal display behavior returned.
Problem: Microsoft Basic Display Adapter showing code 31 with “Object Name not found”
What users observed: Attempts to update NVIDIA graphics consistently failed, with the basic display adapter reporting code 31 and an unknown driver location. The adapter appeared broken rather than outdated.
What was tried: Uninstalling and reinstalling drivers, resetting the system, and clearing display drivers with removal utilities. Registry inspection was considered but avoided.
How this played out: The condition persisted with no confirmed resolution.
Other adapters showing similar behavior:
- Scans your system for missing or outdated drivers
- Downloads and installs the correct versions
- Creates a restore point before making changes