Fresh install of video drivers in XP??

[DilLy]

I am wanting to do a fresh install of hte new 40.72 Detonators.
I asked this question before, and someone said to use Add/Remove Programs and uninstall the drivers, like I always do, and then install the new ones BEFORE i restart.

Well, I just got to trying that today, and when I am use Add/Remove it tells me I have to restart to complete the uninstall, and it only gives me the option to press "OK", then it restarts automatically. The problem with that is once the computer starts back up WindowsXP detects my video card and installs these really old Detonator drivers, and if I try to uninstall those drivers its the same process over again.

This is what I am trying to avoid becasue I don't want to install the new ones on top of the ones XP installs for me, I want a fresh install. I am afraid of what might happen if I completely disable the device in Device Manager (its the only thing connecting my PC to my monitor, heh) and I haven't tried.

I just want some equivilent to how I did it in Windows 9x/ME, you know, uninstalling the drivers and setting it to VGA mode, restarting and then you can do a clean install of the new drivers (since 9x/ME didn't have native Detonators for the GeFroce cards).

I just don't want old driver files potentially mixed in with the new driver files, as I always heard this can cause problems sometimes. How does Microsoft expect us to properly install new drivers when their OS keeps installing new ones FOR us. Even Nvidia says not to install on top of old ones, to uninstall them first.

Any tips? Maybe I don't have to worry becasue of the way XP handles drivers now or something? I don't know, I just need to know how to do a proper fresh install of new detonators on XP.

Thanks for listening. This has always bugged me.

[Alienware_Dude]

Try starting XP in safe mode after un-installing the drivers.

[DilLy]

And how do I go about doing that?

[DilLy]

I think I am on to a solution. Another guy on another forum is helping me to remove the native Detonator driver listing (not the driver itself), from the driver path, so as to prevent it from auto installing the drivers on reboot (after the uninstall of the previous ones).


Not only is it not recommended to overwrite old video drivers, but especiall overwriting old 30.xx and 20.xx Detonators with 40.xx detonators.

So I think some solution to this should be posted in the FAQ,

If all goes well I will request the Moderators here to post it in the Windows XP FAQ...

[Alienware_Dude]

Good luck, hope it works!

[DilLy]

Okay I decided that trying to do the prevention of the auto install of only video drivers was considerably more complicated than just disableing the auto install of ANY driver. So this tip I am about to post is only useful if you don't use, or, are sure you will no longer need WindowsXP's auto driver installation "feature"

If requested I can post the instructions to disable only video driver auto installations.



****TO DISABLE AUTO-INSTALL OF ALL DRIVERS*********
Export the Device Path data in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr
entVersion for backup purposes.
Now delete the Device Path data (all the locations entered).
XP should not be able to auto-install drivers without you manually pointing to them.
***********************************************


In other words, go to Start>Run. Type in "regedit" without the quotes. Navigate to here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr
entVersion

inside that location, right click on the registry subkey named "Device Path" (the actual name will not contain the quotes). choose "Modify". in the text line called "Value Data" delete everything. This data is actually the locations of native XP drivers, if you delete the info there, XP will not be able to automatically install drivers. The drivers themselves will be left untouched however. This is why it is important to copy and paste the data so if you wnat the auto installation feature back, you can navigate back to that subkey, and re-enter the data.

i tried this and it indeed works. So now, when you uninstall your drivers and restart, Windows will, instead of auto installing drivers for you, bring up the Wizard to ask you if you want to install drivers and where they are located, etc, etc... or you may have to bring up the wizard yourself (or alternatively use the install file that came with your driver)

This is an excellent tip.

[DilLy]

I just want to add that some already installed hardware might not like it with the data removed from the subkey. My UPS wouldn't communicate with my OS properly, for instance. (I don't think all UPS's will have this problem though, such as those that you manually installed software for in the first place. Mine uses native XP drivers, and even though they were already installed before I went ahead with this procedure, the OS lost track of the UPS after I edited the subkey. I think it is just the way APC UPS work in XP, since APC developed the whole UPS system for XP and no software installation is required for them to work to thier fullest in the OS. Also, even though the drivers for my zip drive are the native ones, it didn't experience the same problem as the UPS, again leading me to believe only certain hardware, native driver or not, behaves strangely after the change in the registry).

So it might be to your full benefit to disable it only long enough to do the fresh install of whatever driver you want to use, then re-enable and restart if you get any troubles like mine. Then the symptomatic drivers will be properly installed.
Note, this is far from a serius problem, if it occurs, so no panicking please.

[aym]

Why removing the old drivers before installing the new ones I installed the new 40.x drivers over the old ones and nothing went bad, and the graphics card got a higher 3DMark score.

[pam123]

I don't think those drivers in XP need to be removed but you can e-mail Microsoft and ask.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...us;Prodoffer31

The first 2 e-mails/phone calls are free if you're a home user so decide if you want to use one. I can only say that on the two occasions I called them they were courteous, swift, professional and right.

[DilLy]

Ummm, here is an exact copy of the tips I came across be warned this is for people that can fend for themselves only. No one here can be held resoponsible if you screw up:


Quote:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is pretty long but hopefully comprehensive. I suggest you print it out to use as a future reference. Hopefully it'll fit on one page

When you change drivers, you should not just overwrite one set with the other. Whilst that works with other types of drivers and it can work sometimes with v/card drivers, it is best to use Add an Remove Progs from the Control Panel to remove previous drivers first. XP professes to remove driver entries from the registry and with all the many driver exchanges I have carried out I have found nothing to the contrary

Sometimes nVidia alters the root files of its drivers and if you overwrite these you will get a conflict and of course problems.

To ensure all remnants of your existing drivers have been removed:
Click-START then RUN and type in the dialogue box regedit and then click OK.

You will then be faced with a drop-down list. Click the cross in the box next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. When it opens, click on the cross next to SOFTWARE. Scroll down and remove any reference to NVIDIA CORPORATION by right clicking on it and deleting it.

Once you've done that, close all the boxes up and repeat the same procedure with the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. You can then return to your desktop. I have not had to do this with XP, but follow this routine:

1. Go into Add and Remove Programs and click on Remove NVIDIA Windows 2000/XP Display Drivers.

2. Then click Yes to remove them from the registry.

3. If it asks you to remove nView profiles, obviously click Yes if you haven't set any, or No if you have. Personally I haven't found the need for them.

4. Then click Yes to restart.

5. After rebooting, a Wizard will ask if you want to Install software (your drivers) automatically or from a specific location.

6. Click on Specific location and then on Next.


7. You will then get another box in which you should click where it says Don't search, I will choose the driver to install, Then on Next.

8. In the next box, click on Display adapters and then Next.

9. This box has a list of graphics/video cards but ignore them. Click on Have Disk and then on Next.




I know for me and will most likely be usefull to others as well this tip. With out this tip it was impossible for me to do a clean install of a new Nvidia detenator driver cause xp's auto driver update would kick in and automatically install the driver for gts cards as default instead of the vga driver. With this usefull tip I was able to disable xp's auto driver install thus allowing me to do a clean install of the new detenator driver.

1) Run Regedit and navigate to this key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr
entVersion
2) Record the locations entered in the "Device Path" value..
3) Search these locations and also, if not included, these below also for any nv3.*nf, nv4.*nf or nv4_disp.inf files and delete them.
C:\WINDOWS\System32\ReinstallBackups (allsubfolders)
C:\DRIVERS\VIDEO (for Dell Systems)
C:\WINDOWS\Inf (which should be the first entry in the device path)
4) Uninstall and reboot - you should be using the standard VGA controller at this point - but if not dont worry.

*********NEW SECTION OF ADVICE**********************
5) Add ";c:\nvidia" to the end of the device path value (without the quotation marks).
6) Create a folder at c:/nvidia and extract new drivers here.

Note: For future updates - extract new drivers to c:/nvidia then uninstall Dets and reboot- afterwards the new drivers will install automatically. Then reboot again and use the RefreshTool and then reboot again and you're ready to go.
**************************************************
*

7) Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic
es\nv4 and delete this key.

Note: (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servi
ces\nv is the key which is used for detonator drivers whereas the nv4 is only for OEM and stock XP drivers)
8) Got to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro
l\Video
and delete any keys (eg. FF890-7895-7896-3611) which refer to detonator drivers.
(Uninstall drivers if not working under standard VGA) and reboot.
9) Drivers should now be installed automatically. Reboot and use the refreshTool. Reboot and you're ready to go.



****TO DISABLE AUTO-INSTALL OF ALL DRIVERS*********
Export the Device Path value in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr
entVersion for backup purposes.
Now delete the Device Path data (all the locations entered).
XP should not be able to auto-install drivers without you manually pointing to them.
***********************************************
10. This will bring up a box called Install From Disk.

11. Click on the Browse button and when the Locate File box pops up, direct it to where you have the driver located, that you wish to install.

12. Then click on the driver to expose the display file, usually a nv4_disp or a nv4_disp.inf file. At the same time the file will appear in the File name box below.

13. Click on Open.

14. This will return you to the Install From Disk box, where the filepath will be displayed opposite the Browse button.

15. Click OK.

16. The next box will will show your card type, e.g. NVIDIA Geforce 3 Ti 500. Just click Next and it will start to install the drivers.

17. Within a split second, a warning box will appear. Completely ignore this as it is pure bull from Microsoft. nVidia are the experts at making drivers, not MS. Click on Continue Anyway and the drivers will install.

18. Finally click on Finish when it arrives.

A pop-up balloon will appear near your clock in the bottom right corner, confirming the installation is complete.

You are then ready to adjust your card and refresh rates and off you go. Eezy peezy, lemon squeezy. Have fun.
Good luck and if you have any further problems pop back and someone will sort you out.
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End Quote

[DilLy]

oh and btw, I didn't geta reply from Statica and don't see the tip in the XP FAQ, so I guess they didn't like it. (unless they just haven't gotten to it yet)

*sigh*
Oh well.