Trying to update nvidia driver

Currently NVIDIA 9600M GT on my AW290 is using 186 driver (from 2009). Obviously I'd like to update it to the latest and greatest.

I tried various 9M series drivers (from NVIDIA site and from laptopvideo2go, tried 197, 285, 302, 320) with modified inf files, however every time I get "NVIDIA installer failed" error ("graphics driver status: failed").
My Vaio is running Windows 8 64bit, card id is DEV_0649&SUBSYS_9040104D.

If anyone has any ideas on how I can possibly troubleshoot it, I'd appreciate it!

 

UPDATE: I solved the issue by disabling Windows 8 driver signature enforcement (that can be done in Advanced Startup). For some reason 320.20 causes BSOD soon after reboot, but 320.18 works fine so far.

 

Glad you got it sorted. Whenever you use a modded driver, you have to disable driver signature enforcement because the modded inf is not signed (the modders can't go through the hassle and expense of signing the drivers). The packages themselves are built using drivers signed by nVidia or Intel, so once the driver has been installed, it will run fine even without disabling driver enforcement.

It is highly recommended that you clean your system of stray nVidia files - the BSOD is most probably because the nVidia control panel version is from a different driver. The next time you install the driver, do run driversweeper or nfr to remove any old nVidia files lying around in your system.

If the new driver has automatic updating options, disable them. Ditto for Windows Update's driver update.

 

Anytimer, thanks for you reply.

Do you know what is the difference between 320.20 and 320.18 drivers? 320.20 says CUDA on the installer screen, also, it does not show up on NVIDIA site when I search for drivers (320.18 shows up as latest). Where did LaptopVideo2go guys get it from?

Also, I edited inf files myself - I just added two lines with my card info in there. Is there anything else I should have changed to avoid possible issues?

 

320.20 is probably beta. It should show up if you search nVidia for beta drivers. Read the release notes for the driver to see what is new. If you don't need what's listed there, it probably isn't worth upgrading.

The only other thing in the driver inf that might need to be changed is the section number. Check the inf that came with the original driver and find the line for your device. Note down the section number, then note down the ID strings of all the other devices that have the same section number.

Now in the new inf, try to see if any of the other devices are present, and which section number they are using, and use that section number in the line for your device.

Note: I haven't done this for a while, so my information might be outdated and nVidia might have changed their inf structure. See if it makes sense to you; if not, maybe someone else will give a better reply.

Basically, your device is not in the original inf; you have had to add it. Look for a device that is the closest match for your hardware device, and use the same section number as that one.

 

That's the thing, 320.20 does not show up on NVIDIA drivers page, nor I could find any info in the driver package itself. It appears to be CUDA specific.

Regarding the section numbers - yes, that's how I did it.

 

In the future you can also use the new nVidia Geforce Experience software (free download from nvidia.com). It will autodetect and install the latest drivers for you if you like.

 

Interesting. Does it ignore the default inf files which don't support my card?