Driver installation gone wrong; discrete cards not recognized anymore

Hello all,

I was recently trying to update my NVIDIA drivers (in order to fix a stuttering issue, long story) while using SLI on my dual GTX 260M's (I used the ones in the Dell "Drivers and Downloads" section). At some point during the installation, my display cut out completely, save for the cursor. I waited an extremely long time, and I realized that no amount of waiting was going to change the situation, so I powered down and switched to my integrated card.

When I look at Device Manager, only my onboard card is listed under Display Adapters, while the discrete cards are nowhere to be found. While FN+F7 does give me the opportunity to boot up using my discrete cards, doing so just produces a blank screen like the one I encountered during the driver installation.

I tried installing the newest drivers for the 260Ms directly from NVIDIA's site (while using the onboard card), but nothing changed.

Can somebody please help me with this? Thanks a lot!

 

Do one thing.
Download driver sweeper
Remove all the traces of Nvidia
Install your drivers.
I am preety sure it will resolve your issue

Guru3D - Driver Sweeper

 

Thanks for the help, but one question: If I remove ALL traces of Nvidia, then won't that just cause the same problem for my integrated card? I don't see a driver for it on the support page, so it'd be very tough to reinstall that driver, wouldn't it?

 

The on board GFX installs itself through windows

 

Yeah!
You will just be fine.
Just follow my directions and it will be perfect.

 

to add an alternate method...

This is the process I use with the M17xR1 to update the display driver... have never had an issue with NV driver install using this method - and no, DriverSweeper is not used. I don't trust it due to its last date updated.

 

So, quick update: I used Driver Sweeper, reinstalled the drivers, and nothing has changed. The cards are still not recognized by the computer; when I boot up into the discrete video cards, I get a black screen where only my cursor is visible.

Just a note, I reinstalled the drivers while using my onboard video card, though I'm not really sure that would affect anything.

Any more advice?

 

Going to post this process again... it works and you should not have any issues if you follow it exactly. Forget DriverSweeper.

Please follow this process:

Be sure to disable Windows Automatic Driver Installation. This should always be done (if you like to control your own drivers or frequently uninstall and reinstall devices).

1. Start Menu ---> Right Click the COMPUTER link and select PROPERTIES
2. In the PROPERTIES window, left sidebar ---> ADVANCED SYSTEM SETTINGS
3. Click the HARDWARE TAB
4. Device Installation section ---> Choose NO, NEVER INSTALL...
5. Apply Changes and close open windows, reboot.

Once done,

1. If you do not already have it, download CCleaner. CCleaner is a nifty cleaning tool with Registry Cleaning abilities as well as a nice handy startup items quick access list. You can grab it from: http://www.ccleaner.com/ (Be sure to review the quick tour if you have not used it before: http://www.ccleaner.com/help/tour/1-after-installation).

2. Verify Hybrid Graphics and Integrated Graphics are both enabled in the BIOS (F2 as the system is starting up to enter the BIOS). This is very important when updating the NVIDIA Display Driver as it will ensure the driver is installed for not only the 9400M G but also the discrete GPU(s). **This is probably where you are going wrong so be sure this is done.

On to the actual driver uninstall/install:

3. Open the Programs & Features Control Panel. Locate the entry titled "NVIDIA Drivers". Highlight it and select UNINSTALL. VERY IMPORTANT: Select: Only uninstall the DISPLAY DRIVER. If you do not do this, you will need to reinstall the NVIDIA Chipset Driver which will just cause more confusion for you at the moment.

4. Once uninstall is complete, you will be prompted to restart. Acknowledge the restart prompt.

5. As the system is booting up and you see the BIOS screen, repeatedly tap the "F8" key to enter Safe Mode. You will see a list of options and need to highlight SAFE MODE and hit enter. This will put you into Safe Mode.

6. Once in Safe Mode, open CCleaner and select the Registry Module. Click Scan and then Clean any left over entries which are found. Once this is done, reboot the system normally.

7. Once back at the desktop, Win7 will automatically install the Standard VGA Adapter. Allow this to happen and once done, reboot the system normally.

8. Once back at the desktop, run the install for the new NVIDIA Display Driver.

Which driver are you trying to install (link to driver please)? You may want to try this since it has been verified as a working install.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/535696-modified-nv-197-52-driver-m17xr1-only.html


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If after all of this and you are still having issues, then I suggest contact AW Support.

 

Oh, sorry...I totally didn't see that post last time. I'm not sure how.

Anyway, I'll try that method and tell you how it goes.

One quick thing though: I'm using Vista, not 7 (I noticed a specific reference to Windows 7 in there); that won't impact the installation at all, will it?

Second quick thing: when I install the driver, it's alright to be using the onboard GPU during installation, so long as I've enabled Hybrid/Integrated in the BIOS, right?

Also, the driver I'm trying to install is the latest one listed on the Dell support site for the GeForce GTX 260M (257.38, it says):
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...peid=-1&formatid=-1&impid=-1&checkFormat=true


Thanks a lot for all your help with this!