So how are people handling auto Nvidia driver updates? (Win 10)

Hey everyone.

So I'm curious about how people are handling the auto updates for nvidia drivers. I've been holding off on going to windows 10 because I haven't found a solution to disabling the updates. How has everyone been dealing with it? 970m.

Thanks.

 

I've just been express installing from geforce experience. Works flawlessly.

 

What he said.

 

That doesn't really help if he doesn't want to be on a specific driver, especially if he's on Win 10 home.

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/223864/how-to-uninstall-and-block-updates-and-drivers-on-windows-10/

I hate Windows 10 and its automated features. However, I do see the benefit of having them. I'm sure 95% of consumers don't even run them which leaves them at risk for intrusion, infection, degraded performance, etc. Micro$oft just needs to come up with a better - lightweight and hidden - method of going about it.

Windows 10.1 will probably be much better. Windows 8 was awful... 8.1 was acceptable.

P.S. You should know that Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials need to be updated. I wouldn't disable that unless you're running other software.

 

Oh - I haven't really had that problem. But the solution is fairly simple -
1. Download the latest drivers from nvidia
2. Disable wifi/remove ethernet
3. Manually uninstall the driver
4. Run driver sweeper and CCleaner
5. Install latest drivers

 

That doesn't have anything to do with the question he asked... how does someone stop Windows automatically updating drivers? If 355.98 is giving someone artifacts (and a LOT of desktop users are getting them) and they want to use DDU and go back to 355.60 for example, how does he stop Windows installing the new driver?

And even using the update blocker tool (that obviously has to be third party... right Micro$loth?) you need to block EACH new update. This means if you wanted to be on 355.60 and blocked 355.98 and nVidia released 356.34 TOMORROW you'd wake up and find it installed the day after, because you didn't re-block the new driver. Maybe setting connections to metered works somewhere, but is that really a "fix"? That's not a fix, that's a workaround, and a sloppy one at that; one that shouldn't be needed at all.

As for whether or not I think automatic updates are a good thing? I do. Especially for home users. But not for non-MS-software. Problematic nVidia driver updates and intel (wifi card) updates and such is a PRIME example. WHQL doesn't compensate you if your driver automatically updates and your screen gets bricked or your GPU fan stops running or some crap. WHQL is a useless branding right now, and if MS wants to use automatic updates, it BETTER only use WHQL stuff, and WHQL better give compensation for even a system hiccuping twice after a driver install when it was working fine before.

Also further to that fact, Windows 7 and 8 and 8.1's updates design was PERFECT. There is a limit to how much you need to account for stupid people. Pandering to stupid and taking steps to remove stupid from the equation is just making this world worse.

 

Why would you use Driver Sweeper (severely outdated) or CCleaner for graphics drivers when DDU exists?

 

Hmm ... is 'hosts' still functional on 10? If so, then simply block the MS update servers. Could make two cmd/bat scripts to enable/disable when you feel like it. Or keep block and resort to third party repository and download the 'for redeployment' .msi files.

 

t456, IIRC most if not all MS stuff bypasses hosts. =/

 

Or maybe... get this - a TOGGLE to actually turn off some of the automated features?! That way, power users can have full control that they need, and average consumers can get their automatic updates that they need even though they don't know they need them.

 

A more hidden auto-update for even less control? No thanks.

 

By hidden, I meant with notifications and bothering me with "Windows needs to update." Not less control. Control had nothing to do with my post.

Apparently Windows "Pro" has more control now.

 

The most bothersome thing so far with my work computer, was working on something while windows downloaded the update. I took a quick bathroom break and when I returned, my computer had rebooted itself to install the new updates.

Immediately disabled auto updates then and there lol.

 

Yes, that is also quite annoying. It shouldn't be restarting. I can understand after like 10-15 minutes idle (no activity), it installs an update.

Personally, I just leave it: "Check for updates but let me choose when to download and install them."

 

You can disable automatic driver installs with ShutUp 10. http://www.oo-software.com/en/shutup10

 

does it work on Win 10 home?

 

As far as I know it does.

 

Interesting. We need a sacrifice to test.

I'm not even going to put a line through it and say "generous soul". It's a bloody sacrifice.

 

It has to do with the question he asked. He asked how people are handling it, that's how I handled it. I only had to do that once. I don't think anyone disagrees with your rant but do you feel better?

I personally don't. I just forgot the name of the new one everyone updated to after sweeper became obsolete. I use CCleaner for everything. If you really want to know why I use it, my typical order was - open browser, navigate to geforce, download drivers, exit browser, run ccleaner, uninstall drivers, etc.

 

He said he hadn't found a solution to turning off the updates, so saying "I don't really care, I just leave it" doesn't exactly help him. Express installing from GFE doesn't help either; if he gets a driver with a problem he'd need to know how to remove it/block it.

 

That paraphrase wasn't even close to what I said or even implied.

 

Well you can of course block windows update from downloading device drivers on any version of 10.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/how-prevent-automatic-device-driver-updates-windows-10-1515918

After that, just roll back the new driver to the old one and it shouldn't update again. If it does then it is time to break out DDU and grab the driver you want from nVidia.

 

That probably works even better then what I suggested. I always forget about rolling back.

 

Your initial response was to quote HFM who said he used GFE to express install, and say "basically that".

When I said that doesn't help if he doesn't want to be on a specific driver, you basically said (subbing your programs) to run DDU and install the driver you want... but that doesn't stop Windows 10 from simply deciding you're on the wrong driver and reinstalling the new one in a day.

So far, shutup10 (assuming working on Win 10 home), micro$loth's 3rd party tool, or telling Windows your connection is metered is the only legitimate methods mentioned here for preventing the automatic updates keeping him on a driver he doesn't want. The third party tool however needs to be re-run every time a driver update comes out, so it's not a good method. If he didn't know there was a new driver and went to sleep and one released he could wake up and have a new one installed (against his will). shutup10 and telling windows your connection is metered are the only other two viable methods in that case.

 

Seriously, just disable driver updates like I linked. I did it on my desktop and I haven't had a single forced driver update

 

Driver Fusion is just Driver Sweeper in a different skin. Everyone uses DDU now for cleaning graphics drivers.

 

I did this a while back and have never had a driver auto-installed. It definitely works, you don't need a 3rd party tool.

What's bizarre is nobody seems to know this. It took a while to find that solution, every other google hit was just people complaining that it couldn't be done.

 

Yeah Microsoft buried it pretty well but I have strong powers of Google-Fu

I actually have my desktop on insider fast ring for updates and just have driver updates disabled so that I don't get buggy nVidia drivers.

 

Perhaps this method should be stickied. And then the entire internet would come here.

 

Yeah my post didn't help if win10 is updating the drivers automatically though wup. Plenty of workarounds for that though.

 

I used the method in this article when Windows 10 just came out. It involves blocking a specific hardware from automatically updating by using Power Shell. (Apologies if something similar has already been posted.)

http://hmemcpy.com/2015/04/preventing-a-certain-windows-update-from-installing-on-windows-10/

Before doing this Windows kept calling the shots and installing the "latest and greatest" NV driver in the background without any hint of warning.

 

I've been asking the same question for a while.