Photoshop detected an error in your display driver

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
April 23, 2021
8 replies
16604 views

Hi, I have a 2012 retina macbook pro, and I'm running MacOS Catalina 10.15.7. It also has NVIDIA Geforce GT 650M 1GB & Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536MB.

I have been using photoshop with no problems at all, but then out of nowhere, I suddenly start getting this error message when I'm trying to do basic tasks such as using the brush tool: "The 3D features require that 'Use Graphics Processor' is enabled in the Performance preferences. Your video card must meet the minimum requirements and you may need to check that your driver is working correctly."

So I go into the performance settings and I can't check 'Use Graphics Processor' because there is this error message:

"Photoshop detected an error in your display driver. Update or reinstall the driver and check Graphic Processor to retry."

My Macbooks up to date, and I've tried suggestions from other topics like this, but nothing seems to work. It's so frustrating because I'm trying to meet a University deadline, and I haven't been able to work on it all day. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions!

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer davescm

Hi

NVidia's 650M 1GB released in 2012 does not meet the current, published, system requirements for Photoshop
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html

However a little background on what is happening with GPUs and an action that may work for you (paragraph 4).

A bit of background on the video card :

There are several things at play here.
1. Adobe are updating the core graphics functions in Photoshop. This is driven by the operating systems of Apple and Microsoft in which the old Open GL functions are being removed in the case of Apple, or deprecated in the case of Microsoft. This means that the graphics functions that have worked for years must be rewritten to use Metal and Direct X. At the same time, Adobe are sensibly updating those core functions to deliver the additional speed we require to handle the very large files of today.
2. Led by the changes being made above, Adobe introduced new GPU checks in 22.3.1. Unfortunately, these caused issues and have therefore been revised for v22.4. That means that many GPUs that incorrectly did not work in 22.3.1 will now be seen in 22.4 and will function.
3. Some functionality in Photoshop, such as 3D, still relies on the older Open GL graphics functions. To make these work, an additional preference Preferences>Technology previews>Deactivate Native Canvas has been added. This can be checked and Photoshop restarted to restore 3D functions to where they were in 22.3
4. Unfortunately, the move to update the core graphics functions will mean that some older GPUs will no longer be suitable. If you are using 22.4 and your GPU is still not recognised, first make sure the driver is up to date. If it is and you only have a single GPU enabled ( conflicting GPUs remain an issue) then you could try and force Photoshop to use your older GPU by creating a file PSUserConfig.txt containing the lines:
# Force GPU On
GPUForce 1
Save that text file to :
Windows: [InstallationDrive]:\Users \ [UserName]\ AppData\ Roaming\ Adobe\ [Photoshop_version]\[Photoshop_version]Settings\
macOS: //Users/[UserName]/Library/Preferences/[Photoshop_version]Settings/
Note though that this requires 22.4 or 22.4.1 and is not officially supported by Adobe, so may cause other issues such as instability or crashes if the functions are not fully supported or VRAM insufficient – so you do it at your own risk

Dave

hmorrisodu

Participant

If you have conflicting drivers in Windows (desktop) -- make sure your monitors are plugged into your video card, not the "default" video port. The default video port always wants to use the integrated video driver. Shut down Windows, move the video cable, and start the PC. Your BIOS should detect that your displays are using the dedicated video card and disable the integrated video device driver. This solved my issue -- I kept getting a Photoshop alert that it detected an error in my AMD Radeon Pro W5500 drivers. I switched ports and now Photoshop doesn't complain at all.

F

fight5E6C

Participant

Thanks for sharing it, it's helpful.

P

Picsart5F9C

Participant

Thanks for updating it, really helpful.

Reeeel

Participant

I have the exact same problem. Mac os 10.15.7 MacBook Pro 9.1 . The methods given here did not help.

Kevin Stohlmeyer

Community Expert

What version of Photoshop are you running?

T

the5EDB

Participant

Thanks for sharing, it's really helpful.

L

Lumigraphics

Legend

You can try disabling the Intel graphics. Note that the nVidia card is old enough that it may not be supported for graphics acceleration.

A

andreww60384475Author

Participant

Hi there, thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded this application called gfxCardStatus, and it lets you disable the cards. I've attached a screenshot, and it basically switches back to Discrete Only everytime I select Integrated Only. It won't let me use the main nvidia geforce card on its own.