How to properly update your nVIDIA graphics card driver

You can also check the guide created by the developer of Driver Uninstall Mr. Wagnard here:



Display Driver Uninstaller Download
DDU Guide / Tutorial
by Wagnard

 

Nice one. You could have deleted unwanted folders like here http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/nvidia-geforce-drivers-v385-69-whql-findings-fixes.809155/
Since you install GFE separately, deleting those unwanted files like @j95 showed us, would create only some entries related to NV Shield and GFE.
Let me ask you this, is there any reason you are disabling in game overlay of GFE? If you aren't using GFE overlay for FPS, screen recording etc then GFE isn't needed. You can get Battery boost settings in nvidia inspector.
One more question (because you're a nice guy) were you able to get vulkan running on Intel iGPU, because whenever I tried on Optimus based system the performance was pathetic and I had to use nvidia's vulkan driver installer to get a decent FPS.

 

Nothing special, I have been just installing it on top of the current version for 10 years without any problem. I always install the driver and physix only, nothing else.

 

I have always installed Nvidia’s Alpha drivers the way @j95 do it. Fast and clean And why bother with Msconfig for boot into safe mode? Too many steps for me.

 

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed the guide.

 

I usually check the option for the safe boot dialog in the DDU program, so when I start it up, it automatically will reboot into safe mode for me. I liked that it used to default to that option checked, but it doesn't anymore. Either way, good video, thanks.

 

it doesn't do it automatically because there were some cases where if one was using a Micro$h4ft account to login to his PC rather than a local account, he would be locked in Safe Mode as his password wouldn't work in Safe mode nor would his PIN forcing them to either format their machine or buy some tool to hack their own machine to unlock it. So since then, one must select that option to prompt to reboot into Safe Mode manually

 

I Use MSA on all on my Win 10 installs on every device. 3-4PCs configured the exact same way as my primary and daily usage PCs. No issues using Safe mode prompt in DDU. One user complained about DDU wrecking the BCD, so Peter Wagnard disabled that feature.
Maybe I'll ask him politely to join NBR forums for more feedback for DDU to improve it further.

 

That's be nice

 

Thanks, I'll send him a PM and let's see what happens.

 

Nice guide. But why not just let DDU restart in safe mode for you so you don't have to do it manually?

 

Some people has run stuck in boot loop and couldn't recover... Only a new clean Win install helped.

From Issues and solutions.txt file in DDU...

To solve the infinite boot loop issue (stuck in Safe Mode) / password lost that some users are having, you must boot with the DVD/USB (Windows installation disk) in recovery with Command prompt OR restart the computer (not the reset button) and HOLD THE SHIFT KEY until you have the advanced option menu and the option to boot with a Command prompt and type :
Option 1 (recommended) : bcdedit /deletevalue {default} safeboot

* Replace "default" with the identifier of your operation system. (can be seen when you run bcdedit)
If option 1 is not working,
Option 2 : bootrec /rebuildbcd
There may need to be some adjustement if you have a dualboot system. but if not , it should work correctly.
From my personal experience, the UXTHEME patcher was a possible cause of this.
Safe Mode may not work especially with the "Windows 10 Anniversary Update" when CSM in the bios is "Disabled". (Microsoft issue)

 

Interesting. So how is booting from msconfig into safe mode different than using the one in DDU?

 

From Phoenix Software Updates thread. For more info I think DDU's own forum threads can give better answers.

 

because if it works, great, if not, you have to format your computer as you'll be locked in safe mode and your pin/password won't work. Wagnard says it's fixed now but I don't trust it anymore.

I don't have a PIN or password anyway so it doesn't affect me. Be brave...be like Phoenix and roll without a password

 

Welcome after

 

Hey all. Been a long time. I'm curious if it's necessary to even update to the latest edition of DDU. I have been using a version of DDU that is probably 18 months old and never had an issue. Haven't been on it in a while and now I am seeing people talking about a problem with DDu and using it's boot into safe mode feature. I never had an issue with this on the version I am using. Do I need to update at all or can I keep using the old version I have? Also, is the problem with using DDU to boot into safe mode a Windows 10 issue or does it affect all versions of Windows? I'm still using 8.1.

 

You shouldn't use an old DDU version. Here we go Display Driver Uninstaller v17.0.8.1

 

Using outdated versions of DDU on newer drivers won't do a thorough cleaning and leaves residue behind. There's a reason DDU is constantly updated like drivers are.

 

Yes please DDU must be updated to be able to catch all recent changes. Not to mention the bugs that I fixed too.
If you guys got any question or inquiry for DDU just ask me. I'm the developer.

 

Hi Wagnard. I didn't know that you're a member here

Does launching DDU in safe mode for people who have a PIN or Password still cause issues? I remember 3 months back my friend had a password, then launched DDU in safe mode but his pin/pass wouldn't work so he was locked in Safe Mode.

 

Yeah I was a member that didn't login for a long time until someone asked me to.
For Windows Safe Mode, I didn't try it for a long time. All I know is that it's not a DDU issue, it's just how Windows play in safe mode now
I think that there is no problem if you have a PIN if you actually remember the password you had originally when you created the account (Or the one currently associated with the Microsoft account) not sure exactly but its playing around this.
It can be tested safely by going into Safe Mode the normal way (Without modifying the BCDEDIT as DDU does).
By going normally, if it doesn't work, rebooting will reboot the system in Normal.

 

The PIN/password bug occurs only if you have a microsoft account connected because it can't connect to the internet. I have a password myself but i never had issues with it because i got a local account.

 

So is this just an issue with Windows 10 or does it affect all versions of Windows?

 

Yeah that's what I thought since in safe mode there is no internet usually and thus the password cannot be verified with the Microsoft servers. Pretty dumb that the OS doesn't store the password in some local database though.

 

IIRC, I think the passwords are stored in a file called SAM or something. You can check regback folder.

 

+1 on this, @Phoenix . Because one of the first reasons I felt like puking on Win10 from utter disgrace was after I clicked checkbox in msconfig for "safe boot" (and I remember that box "make this changes permanent" was unticked) I got a constant bootloop without even mention of the reason like enter password or anything.
It happened a year ago so I don't know if that was the same case of logged in MS account instead of local but I can say for sure that if boot was unsuccessful then your computer will be in bootloop for "safe mode" over and over again even though you didn't check 'make changes permanent'.
So I bet there is no difference whether you do it through msconfig or let DDU do it for you. It's my speculation though based on my experience so you decide what to do with this info.

P.S. Every windows by default has it's 100-500 MB first partition so you don't have to download new iso or have installation media for recovering this: MBR and GPT have their own way of entering OS to this cheap recovery mode which will let you fix boot problems (not helpful in this case), open command prompt (helpful) or recover to the latest Restore point.

 

DDU Guide / Tutorial
by Wagnard

@Phoenix Put it in OP if you want.

 

Ok

 

Would you recommend this method for updating the integrated Intel graphics driver as well?

 

Off-course

 

They only problem I've had doing this for Intel is it will also remove the Intel audio drivers too and the new driver won't always reinstall those properly for some reason (microphone specifically. I always end up having to get the driver update from MS to fix it).
If you don't have the same PoS Intel SST audio my laptop is plagued with, it's probably a non-issue

 

I've used DDU a few times with no problems and now when I boot into safe mode with networking only, I cant make it to windows. I get the blue screen recovery page (ESC to boot to UEFI, F1 to run recovery programs, ETC ETC....) saying something along the lines of "Missing a critical hardware component (GPU)". 2 times in 2 days I had to use my OS install disk to undo whatever is happening.

Anyone know what I'm missing here?

 

It sounds like the version of DDU being used is messed up. It is probably deleting a file that should not be deleted. This has happened in the past with other versions of DDU. For that reason I seldom update DDU. I also seldom use it in Safe Mode. I do it in normal Windows mode and choose the option to shut down. If it deletes a file it should not, that can still cause issues whether you are in normal Windows mode or Safe Mode.

What version of DDU are you experiencing this problem with?

 

Well I'm not even able to use DDU. When I go into msconfig to choose boot into safe mode, as soon as I tap restart, it restarts but hangs up on the recovery page. So I really cant blame DDU because I didn't even get to my desktop in safe mode to use it.

I will have to check on the version when I get off work.

 

Hmm... I never use MSCONFIG to access Safe Mode. I use F8 to bring up the Advanced Boot Menu options. Maybe something is getting goofed up using MSCONFIG.

Try this... admin command prompt...

Code:

bcdedit -set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

Then reboot, spam F8 after BIOS splash screen, then select Safe Mode.

 

Maybe @wagnard can help, the developer of DDU.

 

Like I said, I havent even been able to use DDU the past couple tries so I really cant blame it. It worked fine on the last driver update. It's probably like @Mr. Fox said, msconfig is probably borked from a windows update that slipped past me.

 

Did you check AV quarantine folder. WD flags DDU if Smartscreen is allowed, I have to whitelist DDU everytime.

 

I have WD disabled. I've not even gotten to the point of opening DDU. I get hung up on the recovery screen after trying to boot into safe mode before I can even get back to the desktop.

 

That might have something to do with it as well. I have all of that sort of garbage removed and/or disabled. I do whatever I want to with my OS without any input from the Redmond Mafia bot net.

If you run DDU in Windows (not Safe Mode) does it work, or does something try to block it?

 

It opens fine in windows but urges me not to run it in windows mode, to run it in safe mode only. If you take a look at Phoenix's video on the first page, I do everything he does except I get road blocked when trying to boot into safe mode using msconfig.

 

I will open DDU when I get home and see if any settings got reverted back to default within DDU itself.

One thing is for sure when this happens, I have a small heart attack every time when I seen my EZ debug light up on my mobo saying bad VGA lol!

Edit...I'm also going to run your CMD prompt command line too. I was wondering why spamming F8 did nothing anymore, go figure it was the Windoze X Redmond mafia.

 

Also, never let DDU automatically reboot you into Safe Mode. I ran into serious issues allowing DDU to set the flag for me in the past and had to reinstall Windows on my Alienware M18xR2 and Alienware 18 twice because of it messing something up. That was a long time ago, but I learned my lesson after the second time. That was also before I was religiously OCD about having multiple versions of Macrium Reflect images available to easily fix things or undo messes like that.

 

Yes sir I have Macrium Reflect too and it has already saved me a couple times. I actually used windoze system image the last 2 times because my system image on MR is a little old

 

Yeah, makes like so much simpler. My OSes also frequently get torn up beyond repair with extreme overclocking and benching on the ragged edge of stability, so it saves my bacon all the time. It's sad how fragile Windows 10 can be when you start pushing the envelope on overclocking.

I just ignore that and run it in Windows mode all of the time. I've never had a problem skipping Safe Mode with DDU. I usually run it with the option to do nothing (not shut down) and do not have the issues with black screens that it warns about. After running it that way, when it finishes I re-run it a second time with the option to shut down (install new video card).

 

I run uninstall Nvidia Driver, reboot into safe mode (F8). DDU clean up and reboot. F8 and without drivers sign in. Install Nvidia with custom and clean up, reboot and put prefered settings. Have always worked for me.

 

Yup, that will work fine, too.

I do not have to disable Driver Signature Enforcement (DSE) using F8 to access that menu because I have it permanently disabled at all times. I can install any modded drivers I wish, whenever and as often as I wish, without having to do that. I hate DSE and do not want that "feature" to be functional on any of my systems. I view DSE as being a worthless, restrictive and unnecessary pain in the ass, just as firmware signing is. That kind of stuff is just retarded control freak crap to deprive end users of control and autonomy, LOL. If it was really because they cared and wanted to provide special "safety features" to those that want them it would be easy, and clearly documented, how to turn the driver and firmware signing on and off at will for anyone that does not want them. These "features" deprive those with a legal right to make their own decisions (end users) and gives control to those who stand to profit from imposing functional limitations they have no right to impose. The attempt to ram this filth up all of our butts without the ability to easily opt out is proof of their Nazi control freak idiocy.

Save as 'Disable_DSE.bat' right-click and run as admin.

Code:

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

bcdedit /set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

bcdedit /set TESTSIGNING ON

bcdedit /set nointegritychecks on

pause

Reboot, then run PainteR's Universal Watermark Disabler to get rid of the Gestapo watermarks.

 

Have you tried holding shift when clicking on restart? That should take you to the Windows recovery screen, and when there you can click on Advanced boot options.

Which should take you to the menu with the Safe mode button.