Graphics Issues after Creators Update

I run 3 monitors with my system:

Monitor 1 (HP LE2201w) is driven via graphics card VGA output at 1050x1680 resolution.
Monitor 2 (BenQ GW2765) is driven via graphics card DisplayPort output at 2560x1440 resolution.
Monitor 3 (BenQ GW2765) is driven via graphics card DVI-D output at 2560x1440 resolution.

This setup has been working perfectly for 6+ months. After the Creators Update was installed, Monitor 2 stopped working at the full 2560x1440 resolution. Windows says it is outputting at that resolution but the monitor won't display anything. I also get a DisplayPort Link Failure error message -

the system has detected a link failure and cannot set the requested resolution and refresh rate on your DisplayPort display. Your display might not support the requested resolution or there may be an issue with the cable connecting the display to your computer.

When I lower the resolution of Monitor 2 in the Windows Display Settings, the monitor will work. However I did not purchase a 2560x1440 monitor to run it at 1920x1080...this is unacceptable.

I tried upgrading to the latest available drivers for my graphics card. This is the non-WHQL Radeon Crimson beta 16.2.1 driver. This did not fix the issue.

I then tried rolling back the graphics card driver to the only other driver available through AMD which is the WHQL certified driver - 15.7.1...this did not fix my issue.

Then I used system restore to roll back to a restore point from before the Creators Update - This fixed the issue. My displays all ran at full resolution without any issues just like they had for 6 months prior. When I re-installed the Creators Update my problem reappeared. I think this confirms it is not a hardware issue and has something to do with the Creators Update or the graphics driver version that was installed with the Creators Update. I am not sure what I can do to fix this...AMD doesn't offer any older drivers so I can't just download whatever version I was running prior to the Creators Update.

Any advice for how I can fix this?

dalchina said:

Hi, you might be able to back up the driver used in the Anniversary build thus:
Backup and Restore Device Drivers in Windows 10 Hardware Drivers Tutorials

Years ago I used freeware to back up drivers.. but I've never tried it with a graphics driver.

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Videocards - ATI Catalyst Windows 7 | 8 | 10

I don't know if any of those are of interest


- note- I don't think that was System Restore.. all S Restore points are wiped on a build upgrade (as they should be).

Given the driver versions you've tried, and knowing the version used in the Anniversary edition, presumably you could contact AMD/an AMD forum.

(Another approach meanwhile if you have Win 10 Pro would be to Defer Feature Updates - while awaiting a fix for this).

I expect others who have experience with this sort of configuration will comment soon....

Woohoo you're suggestion to back up the working driver and then restore it after the Creators Update worked.
I rolled back to previous version of Windows 10 (Settings > Recovery > Go back to the previous version of Windows 10), then followed the instructions in Backup and Restore Device Drivers in Windows 10 Hardware Drivers Tutorials to backup all my drivers. Then I reinstalled the Creators Update and then restored the working driver, again following the instructions in the aforementioned link. It still wasn't working after a reboot, but I noticed that it wasn't actually using the working driver version (15.201.1151.0), it was still using whatever version Windows automatically updated it to during the Creators Update. From Device Manager I right-clicked on the display adapter > Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver (this option was previously greyed out). After that my monitor suddenly started working and I verified it was using the older working driver version 15.201.1151.0.

Thanks for the help! Now is there any way to prevent Windows from trying to install a newer driver version?

The solutions suggested by Microsoft have worked for me:

2nd Monitor on restart only


On an immediate basis: Win+Ctrl+Shift+B brings back the monitor. More fundamentally, turn off the Fast Boot option in Power management in Control Panel