Update From Microsoft Update Site Crashes Video System

HP Envy 17 3D (M0del: LV045UA#ABA) with Radeon 6850M and Mobile Intel HD Graphics.

On 9/3/11 the Microsoft update site provided a 150+ MB update for the video system. After the update downloaded and began to install, the video system crashed (the screen went blank) and did not recover after more than an hour.

I then performed a system image restore from a backup external hard drive. I tried again to install the update and again the video system crashed.

Anyone else experience similar problems with this update?

LMC, welcome to the Seven Forums.

What happened is your laptop has switchable graphics and will only work properly with the driver from the laptop manufacturer, in your case HP (or any other laptop with switchable graphics). Problem is that WU is essential stupid in that it doesn't know that and only sees one or the other of the video cards in the laptop, and as a result offers and installs one that won't work with it.

In this case stop trying to install it as it will never work. Just hide the update in WU so you don't see it and only ever install a video card driver update from HP.

I would recommend you to uninstall the drivers from Add or remove programs and download the driver from laptop manufacturer's website and then install it.

Everything should be fine then.

Welcome to Windows System Forums.

It can and does happen.

Manufacturer's OEM drivers often have different functionality to Windows drivers or hardware manufacturers' drivers.

I'd be inclined to go into Device Manager and double-click your graphics adapter, then choose the Driver tab and roll back the driver to the previous version.

Next, open Windows Update and right-click the troublesome graphics driver update and click Hide so that it won't be offered to you anymore.

You can also configure Windows Updates not to download and install automatically, but just to notify you first. That way, you have control over which updates you install.

Thank you, stormy 13.

Your advice confirms the actions that I had already taken: stop trying to install the update, hide it and only install video updates from HP.

LMC

Also thanks to the rest of you that responded.