Windows will restart the graphics driver (DWM.exe) and reinitialize the connection to your monitor.

But the shortcut has limits. Alex discovered them the hard way during a livestream. The graphics driver crashed so hard that even did nothing—just silence and a permanent black screen. That required a hard reboot. The shortcut only works if the core driver is still responsive enough to hear the command.

By using these shortcuts, you can quickly restart your graphics driver and resolve common graphics-related issues.

Now, Alex teaches it to everyone: "If your screen glitches, don't panic. Just play that silent piano chord. And if that doesn't work? Then you can hold the power button."

Restarting your graphics driver can help resolve issues such as: