Win7 auto installing VGA drivers, Grrrrrrrr!!!!

[2Low]

I've recently replaced my 512mb ATI 4850 with an nVidia GTX 275. I uninstalled the 4850, booted into safe mode and ran Driver Sweeper. Upon reboot Windows installed my GTX for me, @#$%!!!!. In all fairness it was the latest driver but that's not the one I want.

I went in and disabled the auto update feature and went through the uninstall, Driver Sweeper routine again. Of course Windows ignored my do not install selection and did it again! GRRRRRRRRRR!

I get no dialog box explaining it is doing it so I have no way to stop it's progress. I log in and after hitting enter it takes about 10 seconds for a dialog box to pop up telling me I need to reboot to complete installation.

I went to a Windows help forum and they told me to set Windows to not install updates. Been there, done that. No worky.

Here is what I responded with, please correct me if my understanding is incorrect....


Hello Samhrutha G,

Thank you for your response. I believe your solution would work if Windows had never had the nVidia driver on the system but since it did (from when my settings were to allow updates) it installs it regardless of my settings in the Windows Update Settings area. You see I had (temporarilly) set that setting to never allow Windows to download and install updates but it ignored that (I tried with your settings too).

I think I found a solution but I may be wrong in my understanding. It is my thoughts that when you uninstall a video card driver and reboot with no 3rd party drivers on your system Windows uses it's "Standard VGA" driver. I'm not sure but I believe that is the state that we are looking for after using something like Driver Sweeper in safe mode, just the Standard VGA driver, that way a clean install of 3rd party drivers can be done.

What I've done is to use the Device Manager to navigate to my VGA card and selected the option to update my driver from a list of drivers already on my system. I was given the choice of installing nVidia's GTX 275 driver or the Standard VGA driver. I chose the Standard and rebooted. After reboot it did not try to update to the one I don't want so this is good.

My next steps will be to boot to safe mode, run Driver Sweeper to clean out any remnants of the nVidia driver, reboot letting the sytem totally load and then reboot again. I wil then install the nVidia driver of my choice.

If I am right that what users are usually trying to accomplish with the Driver Sweeper method is Windows just using it's Standard VGA driver then I am all good and my card will run better than my old less powerfull card (which is not the case now). I think I'm right because Windows would need some kind of driver to display anything on screen at all which I assume is it's "Standard VGA" driver.

Please anyone correct me if I'm wrong as I typed all that out in hopes of helping others with the same issue.

Thanks again Samhrutha I appreciate you taking the time to offer your help,
Rob

... so is my thinking right?

I'm hoping it is a driver installation issue as FSX was way, way smoother on my 4850. I've lowered a lot of settings and reduced my cloud resoltion to 1024 from 2048 and it's still not as nice as the 4850 was.

I have my fingers crossed that I can avoid the complete Windows and FSX re-install.

[harleyman]

Not sure about windows installing VGA drivers,..

My thinking was that the CPU ran the display with no driver installed.


I would do this to be sure.

Download the driver you want...

Remove the vid card so its not seen.

Enter safe mode and remove all ATI and Nvidia drivers.

reboot into windows and shut down

Install the new card

Install the new driver on your desktop.

done

[2Low]

Thanks Harleyman. I was not sure how the computer handled the display after you uninstalled the drivers. I'll try that in the morning after I return from work. I fear that when I boot to Windows after safe mode Windows will go ahead and install the driver on my system again but I will try it and get back to you.

[2Low]

Hello again harleyman,

Your method presents a problem, If I remove the card I can't get to safe mode because I'll have nowhere to plug the monitor into (no onboard video either). If by remove you mean uninstall, then that is what I tried a bunch of times but within 10 seconds of logging in (after safe mode) Win7 had already installed the 195.XX driver with no option to stop it.

I think the only way to stop it would be to find where Win7 storred that driver package and delete it, disable updates (unplug the net even) then go through the usual process. I just couldn't find where Win7 hid that package.

I had already gone through the process I described earlier (using the Standard VGA driver) but had not tested FSX yet before getting your reply. When I came home from work this morning I figured I'd install nHancer as well and give it a shot.

Now I don't know if it was a bad driver install originally or if the 182.5 drivers are just that much better for FSX but I am almost shaking while typing this because of how I just saw FSX run.
I took the Hellcat up and flew around CYYZ (Pearson Int.) then went terrorizing the citizens of Toronto. Not a stutter in sight! Not even a tiny bit. Vsync worked! (Used to DX10 with the ATI) no shimmering, crisp textures etc.

I thought I'd push it and tried Aerosofts F16, same flight. Still smooth as can be but I'll admit that full afterburners at 500ft did induce the blurries, but they were smooooth blurries LoL. I fly low and slowish mostly anyway.

I don't want to mess with the drivers more right now so I'll just leave things be. It's running so good I don't want to upset the FSX Dieties. Although I will investigate more to find where Windows stores the drivers it downloads through Windows Update to prevent this in the future.

Anyhow thanks again for your reply and in general for the help and info you provide. You are one of the FS gems and a gentleman.

[harleyman]

Hmmm your motherboard should have a VGA slot on the back for a monitor.

Ok..Glad its better..i have to think about all else you said...

maybe as you said..Find and delets the package, then kill the internet next time to stop that..Does sound like a bad install the first time though

[2Low]

Nope, no VGA slot. I think mobo's only have that if they have onboard graphics solutions. My last 3 mobo's have not had a VGA slot.

I'm going to fly now but this weekend I'll research and if I find where windows store those files I'll post here in hopes of helping others with the same issue.

[hey_moe]

When I do a full format the first thing I do is get all the updates and drivers for my hardware and downloaded all the current updates to my software, copy to a CD and then I move forward.I guess I do a install a different way than you guys do. I use the program Wipe Disk and if you don't have that you can download a program at the HD site that makes the HD. On the WD site there program does a nice wipe then writes zero's to the HD. Before I do a full format I disconnect from the internet because I don't want to do any of the up dates till I am ready. I install all the programs I want and when I get everything up and running I connect to the internet then. But that's me...Mike

[2Low]

Mike I will do it that way on my next full re-install of everything. I'm running WDs so I'll check their site out for that program. Thanks for the HU.