7 replies to this topic

[Wildstreak]

Recently I was informed by a program I needed to update my nVidia drivers. My current one is Version 9.18.13.1422, date 3/14/2013. Their last one was put out on 3/10/2014. Usually I let Windows update the drivers but it has not done so in over a year. If I try to do it manually, the new driver tries to locate itself in a different folder.

I figure this means I have to do this manually, it has been a while since I have done that. If I remember right, I can install the new one without harming anything there. I recall about taking out old drivers but here I run into two problems. First, I usually leave at least one old driver I know works on the system in case of problems so I do not want to remove all old drivers. Second, the layout of the drivers in their folders means I am not sure how to remove anything if I even should.

Does anyone have recommendations about installing nVidia drivers manually they can share? Thanks.

[Durant Carlyle]

Windows updates graphics drivers on a very very slow basis. They are usually several versions behind actually going to www.geforce.com and getting them yourself.

There is no need to keep any drivers on your system -- you can find the newest version, as well as all older versions, on the www.geforce.com site.

When doing driver updates, just download the newest one for your GPU, then open it up and do Advanced mode. Check the box for Clean Install and it will uninstall all previous drivers and start fresh with the new driver and settings. Do this every time you update.

[Wildstreak]

Well, I usually like to keep one old one that works in case of problems.

The main issue I have is where to install, the new one wants to create Folder A (C:\nVidia\ or something like that), the old ones are in Folder B (C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation). Can I just overwrite?

I also have a C:\Program Files\Old NVIDIA Corporation for unknown reasons.

[Durant Carlyle]

It will copy the install files to a new folder within whatever folder you specify. The last time I checked, I had three folders in D:\nvidia (my data drive -- don't want them cluttering up my SSD).

FYI -- the copy location during the install is just the install files. It isn't the actual driver file location (that's the C:\Program Files location you mentioned). Do not copy the install files to the Program Files folder.

You can delete the install files location at any time, and I do occasionally.

[Goose]

http://www.guru3d.co...r_download.html

http://forums.guru3d...ad.php?t=388074

Remember: DDU requires Safe Mode …

[ThatBum42]

Having up to date video drivers is very important. They are constantly optimizing their software to make games run better.

The C:\Nvidia path is simply where the driver package you downloaded extracts to, the actual installer is in there. After the install it can be deleted safely. Do not, however, touch C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation. I couldn't tell you about C:\Program Files\Old NVIDIA Corporation, never seen that before.

Get the newest drivers from here. You can also get Geforce Experience, which is a thing that runs in your tray and tells you when there's updated drivers. Not the musty old ones from Microsoft, but straight from Nvidia. It also does some other cool things like Shadowplay, hardware-level video encoding for supported cards, and automatic settings for your games based on your GPU's performance level.

Edited by ThatBum42, 14 April 2014 - 03:02 AM.

[Odins Fist]

Yeah, just check for newer Drivers every so often. BUT, watch out for BETA drivers, they can be buggy..

[Goose]

[sarcasm]Unlike the WHQLs[/sarcasm]