NVIDIA Drivers - Avoid Problems

How to Avoid NVIDIA Driver Problems​

   Information

This tutorial will show you how to do a clean install of NVIDIA graphics drivers for those having problems with the drivers.

Here's How:

1. Download the driver you want to install from your computer manufacturer or from NVIDIA.com.
See also: http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/602-latest-nvidia-forceware-video-drivers-windows-7-a.html
2. The first thing to do is open Windows updates, in the left column click change settings, in the drop down box select check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them. The purpose of this is to keep Windows update from automatically installing a driver. We do not want conflicts with drivers.

3. Next go to your "C" dive and there should be a folder named Nvidia.

4. Open the folder and you will find a folder named 'Display Drivers', inside that folder will be all the drivers you have installed designated by number.

5. Delete all of the folders with numbers but Do Not delete the Display Driver Folder itself.

6. Next go to Control Panel (category View) and Uninstall a Program

7. Scroll down to the Nvidia drivers and begin to uninstall them but read the info box below before you start.

   Information

If you have an Nvidia chipset, DO NOT uninstall the chipset driver only the Display drivers. Also, uninstall all of the display type drivers but BE SURE TO UNINSTALL THE GRAPHICS DRIVER LAST.

8. When you uninstall the Graphics driver, Windows will request a reboot, do so. Upon reboot Windows will install a graphics adapter, that is good.

9. Open the new driver you downloaded, agree to terms and select custom install. Under custom install uncheck everything except the Graphics driver, PhysX and GeForce experience, if you want that. Be sure the 'CLEAN INSTALL' box is checked

10. Your set up should look like this.

11. Click next and begin the installation, after which you will reboot. This should give you a clean install of your drivers. You can now re set Windows Update to your preferred setting, as you are through.

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Add or Remove "NVIDIA Control Panel" from Desktop Context Menu
• How to Add or Remove NVIDIA Taskbar Notification Area Icon in Windows
• Help Diagnose Graphics Card Problems

 

[essenbe]

Thanks a lot John. I really appreciate it.

 

[ThrashZone]

Sweet tutorial Steve
Works great on win-10 too

 

[essenbe]

Thanks Mike. That's the way I always do it, but some do it different and never have problems. I wrote it mainly for those who do have problems and, of course, for those like me who don't want any.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thank heavens for this one Steve it is going to save a lot of typing
Mind you I don't know about having that stuff alongside the C: dive mate LOL!!

 

[PimpleMaze]

Nice tutorial, and it will avoid some problems compared to a normal windows update install.
However, Nvidia drivers tend to leave a lot of trash behind in registry and folders.
Since this tutorial is meant for people with driver issues, people who might want to try previous drivers because the current one gives problems, or people with a messed up driver store full of old leftovers,
I would recommend a cleaner removal of display drivers:

-Make sure any graphics related program, like afterburner, is not running while uninstalling
-or preferably start in Windows safe mode!
(in safe mode, windows will use the standard VGA driver, so there will be less problems with 'files in use' while uninstalling)
-Instead of NVidia's built in uninstaller i would recommend using a 2nd party removal tool, like DDU from guru3d. (It's supposed to also trace, and remove, leftovers from earlier driver installs).
-Then reboot windows in normal mode and install the new NVidia driver:
--choose custom install
--check: "perform a clean installation"
--uncheck all the things that you don't use:
If you don't use 3d, there's no use to install 3d vision.
If you don't use sound over hdmi there's no use of installing the hd audio driver.
(I only install the graphics driver and PhysX).
-Then install, reboot, and you should be good to go.

The files in c:/Nvidia are just the installation files that are extracted by the setup package. they are useful when a new driver gives problems, so you can reinstall the previous version.
When the new driver is fine, they are safe to remove from your drive. (they just use a lot of space).

 

[yosua]

problem nvidia

hello sir, i wanna ask to you .
i have installed my nvidia with your steps , but after i install it , my nvidia become blur and there is a line in nvidia controll panel. and i cannot play game too.
can you help me to fix it ?

 

[armyslowrdr]

After step 8....after it installs the graphics adaptor it requests a reboot. Only problem is when computer reboots IT INSTALLS the Nvidia driver I just uninstalled.

Should I skip this reboot and try step 9 immediately ?

If Nvidia installer package worked correctly in 1st place........lot of people having problem using it with all panels black right after using it and right after windows splash screen appears...only way out seems to be letting windows due a repair (which is a roll back in time). Only reason I am trying methodology in this thread which isnt working out for me either. All I want is the updated driver so when pop for the Dell 4K panel......

 

[Arc]

After step 8....after it installs the graphics adaptor it requests a reboot. Only problem is when computer reboots IT INSTALLS the Nvidia driver I just uninstalled.

Should I skip this reboot and try step 9 immediately ?

When I do it, I disconnect network so that it cannot install the driver via windows update at reboot.

 

[essenbe]

If you will notice step #2 says to set Windows Update to 'let me decide what to install'. It will not install an Nvidia driver. It will only install a display adaptor which is needed. There is still a driver store on board which contains an Nvidia driver. Unless you set Windows Update as in step #2, it will install it, otherwise it won't.

 

[armyslowrdr]

^ yup windows update is set fine. I disabled my internet adaptor as well. After it installed the vga driver and before rebooting I checked control panel once again. To my surprise their was nvidia stuff appearing----so somewhere it is picking nvidia up. I deleted those yet again and rebooted. It reboot using generic display driver. I ran the latest nvidia update----and----same as last night.....got to windows splash screen and then 2 of the 3 panels went to amber status light and main display went off windows splash screen to grey and did nothing whatsoever.

I had to run windows startup repair for the FOURTH TIME since last night. Usually I do not let computer problems lick me but I am in gear of having to do a complete system recovery if I keep mucking around. Each repair is taking longer and longer. I guess a 4K display isn't necessary but I do want to get a larger 4th monitor to replace one I broke a year ago.

I think it must have something to do with display fusion and/or nvidia not being completely deleted. OR perhaps I am not supposed to connect anything but one monitor until after the update. No idea ---so confused. 1st time I changed from AMD to nvidia there was a bunch of flickering and scary stuff going on and I even had to plug and unplug cables etc but all worked. Then I did one update and that went well. Now all of a sudden no go. I guess I will be stuck on driver 311.06. Ah well.

Funny thing s MANY people have been having problems with the same exact symptom--black screens after windows splash for over a year and still no solution. Finally there was a detailed thread over there that practically mirrors the advice in this one. Then a later update says dont use that. Known problem. Have to use some sort of driver cleaner (display driver Uninstaller) to get all remnants and blah blah blah.

Why it have to be so hard. Ive built multiple systems. Up until now (except the new ASUS MB that required a BIOS update right out of the box to work with my graphics card) it has been pretty easy. I mean most things I can solve in a few hours.

Sorry for long winded rant. I guess I could get the recommended driver cleaner and make sure display fusion is perhaps deleted as well and try yet again...but what a hassle.

I should be able to use the latest Dell 4K at normal HD resolution and fill screen, correct?

argh--maddening.

 

[essenbe]

The screen going black after the loading Windows notification has been around for quite awhile. When you delete the driver folder in C:/Nvidia/Display Drivers, those are the drivers you have removed from your system. Checking the clean install box during the installation process is supposed to remove all left over drivers. You have to have a card capable of a 4K display. According to your System Specs, you have a GTX 670. I have a 4 GB SC 670 and the max display resolution is, from Nvidia's web site

 

[armyslowrdr]

GeForce GTX 670 | Specifications | GeForce

Spec tab def does show it is capable of 4K (naturally using the right connector and the driver to make it so). And thus why I want the updated driver.

I upgraded ASUS mobo with 1st bios that "works better with Windows 8" this evening (although I NEVER plan to get 8). I didn't get the latest 2014 beta because all that is new is it allows for is 16GBX8 RAM install, and at 300 dollars plus a stick who can afford that..lol. But I figure a newer BIOS cannot hurt. I will wait until next weekend and try again perhaps. When my 4th panel broke a year ago I left the cable just dangling still attached to the card. Who knows...maybe that wigged the install. Anyway excess cable detached. When I try again I'll update again. Checked the clean install..followed all the steps. YEs I saw it has been around for a while---too bad---think it wouldn't have to be this hard. It wasn't a few to 3 years back.

edit--and oh if I just canno get the driver updated or the card ends up not supporting 4K then I am not adverse to going back to AMD driver and a Radeon R9 290X. And I am not a gamer so dont require the highest performance.

 

[armyslowrdr]

tried again

Ok I was bored so I tried again since removing the cable and updating the mobo BIOS. Result is exactly the same. 2 monitors black and the primary is grey and does nothing after the windows splash screen. Every time I have to attempt to reboot 5 times before it offers to let me do a startup repair which always works after about 15 min. I was smart this time around and did some critical update install right before so it wouldn't pick a repair point before yesterday when I made some changes.

So things back to my humming along and splendid normal 3 monitor blazing away. No complaints. I just want that latest Nvidia driver installed and can't make it happen !

WOULD IT HELP TO>>>> 1) I noticed display fusion service running. Should I make sure this is stopped before doing the process ? 2) Would it help to totally unplug the other 2 monitors from the card when attempting the update--or would it matter ?

Thanks in advance ! So scratching my head here.

 

[armyslowrdr]

Well possibly no one's looking anymore...but just in case...

Last night I successfully upgraded the vbios of the EVGA GTX 670 card.

Today after work I used display driver uninstaller used in safe mode. Took additional steps of unplugging ethernet cable, unplugging 2 of the monitors, making sure displayfusion svc was stopped--but I guess safe mode would have taken care of that. I even uninstalled the one microsoft update (KB3004394) that is supposedly known to cause this problem under windows 8...thought I'd give a shot.

As in all other tries the latest Nvidia driver did install. But with a slightly different result this time. With one monitor, instead of getting stuck on grey after the Windows 7 splash screen it just went to pure black and power off.

I plugged everything back in. I was able to do a boot to safe and revert back in time straight away instead of having to reboot 5 times to force a startup repair--so learned one thing--quickly making sure numlock is off on the keyboard lets one go ahead and actually select things from the start windows normal, start in safe mode, etc screen.

And done that way is TONS quicker than the forced way..I will venture to say 3 minutes rather than 30.

So once again I am back to my perfectly acceptable for now 3 monitor setup in the configuration I like...albeit with the 3.11 driver still. LOL It has to be something simple right...? Or maybe Nvidias latest driver installs really are just FUBAR....

I am going to post on the DDU section of Nvidia forums as well but I know the author will want event logs and such--totally forgot to do that before I startup repaired. edit--guess the roll back dont matter there--I still have events logged for the latest failed attempts.

Any other ideas before I just say give and forget about it until I just do a totally new build (likely a year plus after Windows 10 is stable).

 

[armyslowrdr]

Took the additional steps of unplugging a bunch of USB enabled devices and for grins let the driver update from windows update. It promptly gave an error code. But when I looked in Nvidia panel and GPU-Z the new update was listed. However on re-boot, SAME THING, nothing past windows splash screen. Did the usual restart repair.

BUT this time my Sound has totally whacked out. After plugging all back in and even deleting and re installing Roland Octacapture...NOTHING...just says cannot play testtone---

Now it will be time to let Macrium Reflect do a system image restore from several weeks ago, I think of just C drive and hopefully I will have my sound back. I will just leave well enough alone I guess. I've never had such problems after only wanting to update a graphics driver !

 

[maxseven]

I haven't followed your steps to-the-letter but regarding the problem of "where's this nvidia driver coming from?" it is likely the Driver Store. I have had good luck using [url=http://driverstoreexplorer.codeplex.com/]DriverStore Explorer to clean-out old junk I know I don't want to see any more. I believe this is where Windows stores 3rd party drivers and all "roll-back" items.[/URL]

Another useful tool is DriverView from Nirsoft which will show you exactly what is actually running on your system.
http://driverstoreexplorer.codeplex.com/

 

[armyslowrdr]

I will remember to check in to those. For now, this evening I was able to successfully run Macrium Reflect free version last image I backed up 3 weeks ago. After telling the rescue media where a USB3 driver folder was it went smoothly...less than 38 minutes and I'm back to exactly where I was when I started down the slippery slope.

Glad my sound is back. I use an Octacapture card with all analog outs to a 5.1 input on a Yamaha receiver. A steallar setup that I hated when I hosed it last night--to the point of staying up until 1 AM trying to fix it !

 

[armyslowrdr]

Wait I just thought of something--Essenbee you said the card has to be capable of 4K...I figured that was just to run the resoultion at 4K on a 4K panel..BUT maybe it means----to even install the driver successfully..... hmmmm... And you are likely right about the card ultimately not being capable to do 4K rez----The specs I saw were for GeForce tricked out "reference" card. My lowly card has only 2MB Video Ram compared to the reference which had 5.

But then again I was on A AMD forum the other night and I see R 9 290X owners are having the EXACT same problems with stuck windows boots. Maybe 4K is just not ready for prime time quite yet unless EVERYTHING in the system is new.

 

[essenbe]

The specs I quoted in that post came from the EVGA Web Site for your card. However, this tutorial was not really written for people in your circumstances. I wrote it for people who were having driver problems because of leftover drivers and driver crashes because of it. It has helped quite a few people in those circumstances. But, it is not a bad idea to install drivers that way in any case. There are a lot of drivers in the 'Express Install' package that few people use and need. In some of those cases, the Nvidia drivers conflict with the Motherboard drivers too. You have Audio and HDMI drivers in your Motherboard drivers. Two sets can conflict with each other and cause other problems. The intent is a clean install and reducing the possibility of driver conflicts. It does not sound as though that is the problem you are experiencing. I do know there are a lot of people running 4K monitors. So, it can be done. Your particular problem, I have no idea about or why, assuming your card is capable of running 4K. 2 GB of Vram will get eaten up pretty fast running 4K, I would think.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hmm regarding NVidia drivers I have just had a an interesting experience with my new laptop in that Asus support advised me to download drivers for the GTX 860M and after five different drivers all said there was no such device on board.

Now I happened to be able to get onto the Asus support site in Sydney and within an hour my GPU is functional and all because the drivers for the GPU from NVidia and the global Asus support site were not what was needed and the driver had to come through an Asus support site did not know about and not the one that one can Google!!

It turns out that this machine was made in the US and probably a refurbished one and the fellow I spoke to was so knowledgeable it reaffirmed my faith in Asus. Mind you it took three months of trying before the fix could be applied!!

So it seems that NVidia drivers are not the same for any old machine(I mean at least Asus ones)