Graphics card conflict may cause ArcGIS Pro to crash

Description

ArcGIS Pro may crash on launch, either when opening a project, or during display‑intensive operations. This behavior can occur intermittently and may be accompanied by slower‑than‑expected performance. The issue is commonly observed on machines that have both an integrated graphics card and a dedicated GPU enabled.

Cause

ArcGIS Pro relies heavily on graphics hardware for rendering. On machines with multiple graphics adapters (for example, an integrated Intel GPU alongside a dedicated AMD or NVIDIA GPU), ArcGIS Pro may not consistently use the intended graphics card. Driver conflicts or GPU selection issues between the adapters can result in instability or crashes.

Solution or Workaround

Troubleshooting or modifying graphics hardware is outside the scope of Esri Support Services; however, the following workaround has been known to resolve this issue. Esri recommends involving an IT administrator before making system‑level changes.

1. Verify whether multiple graphics adapters are present by checking Device Manager > Display adapters.
2. Disable one graphics adapter, restart the machine, and launch ArcGIS Pro to test behavior.
3. Re‑enable the first adapter, then disable the alternate graphics adapter.
4. Restart the machine again and test ArcGIS Pro.
5. Re‑enable both graphics adapters, restart the machine, and launch ArcGIS Pro.

In some cases, completing a disable/re‑enable cycle for each graphics adapter and then running ArcGIS Pro with both adapters enabled refreshes GPU selection behavior and resolves crashes.

Additional recommendations:

• Install the latest graphics drivers directly from the hardware manufacturer.
• If supported by the graphics vendor (for example, AMD or NVIDIA), configure ArcGISPro.exe to run in High Performance mode using the vendor’s graphics control utility.