NVIDIA drivers won't install on Windows 7?

[MELVIn]

So I installed the RC of Windows 7, let Windows Update do its thing, downloaded the (correct) drivers from Nvidia.com, installed (Didn't really check if it installed correctly or not, cause I'm so used to just clicking "next" all the time), rebooted, and now I can't access the nvidia control panel.
It seems like the drivers didn't install correctly. Is this a known issue? And what can I do aboot it?


Funsies: DXDIAG screenie.

[MELVIn]

bumping and what have you.

Here's what I've done so far:

I've tried to uninstall the drivers, but everytime I'm forced to reboot, and once that's done, windows is kind enough to reinstall the same drivers.

I ran the setup in both Vista SP2 compability and as administrator. Nothing.

I tried installing the Vista 64 drivers instead of the Windows 7 64 drivers. Same thing, nothing.

Every time I try and install the installer stands still for about 5 minutes, before telling me that "no files have been replaced/changed" or something similar.

[xoqolatl]

What do you mean by "can't access the nvidia control panel"? There's no shortcut in desktop context menu anymore. You have to go to Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> NVIDIA Control Panel, or type nvcplui in search box in start menu and hit enter.

[MELVIn]

Aye but it's just not there. Looks like it didn't install at all. And when I try to install it using the NvCplSetupEng in the C:\NVIDIA folder, it tells me that "setup failed to read the required drivers etc".

It seems like Windows 7 won't allow me to install the drivers at all.

[ScarT]

Aero can't be enabled without drivers installed hope this helps. I'm pretty sure you're using the WDDM 1.1 drivers that comes from Microsoft, which is actually better than nVidias (yet developed in corporation with Microsoft).

[xoqolatl]

Well then, what I'd suggest is:
- go to Device Manager (type devmgmt.msc in search prompt)
- right-click your display adapter and click properties, select Driver tab
- it should look like this:


If the driver provider is Microsoft, go to Update Driver..., select Browse, browse to C:\NVIDIA or wherever you have extracted the drivers to, include subfolders and it should find a proper Nvidia driver.

BTW: Microsoft's WDDM 1.1 driver is not better. It may be more stable but it hurts performance and functionality.

[ScarT]

I'll just leave this here.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/window ... ,7644.html

[xoqolatl]

What you posted is true, but you have incorrectly assumed that Microsoft's driver is the only one built with Windows Display Driver Model 1.1 in mind, while in fact latest Nvidia drivers are WDDM 1.1, too. You may want to read release notes for 185.85:

This is a WHQL-Certified driver supporting GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, and 200-series desktop GPUs and ION. This driver package installs WDDM v1.1 for GeForce 8, 9, and 200-series (DirectX 10) GPUs and WDDM v1.0 for GeForce 6 and 7-series (DirectX 9) GPUs.

[MELVIn]

I did what you said and went into the Device manager, and it says there that the driver is infact
provided by: nvidia.

Driver Date: 30.4.2009

Driver Version: 8.15.11.8585

I couldn't however update my drivers from there. It just told me that the latest and best drivers are already installed.

This bums me. I mean Episode 2 seems to work fine (only game I've installed so far), but I miss the ability to fool around with them settings in the Nvidia control panel. Especially since they just announced the Ambient Occlusion thingy.
Isn't there a way to force windows to NOT install any drivers automaticly when I uninstall them and reboot?

[xoqolatl]

There is some uninstall, delete, reboot-in-safe mode, delete thing, but I don't know exactly how to do that.

[MELVIn]

Maybe if I try to locate and delete the setup files for that windows driver and delete them, then uninstall the drivers themselves, and then unplug my interwebs. Sounds like a job for John McLane, but I'm going for it later tonight.

[ScarT]

What you posted is true, but you have incorrectly assumed that Microsoft's driver is the only one built with Windows Display Driver Model 1.1 in mind, while in fact latest Nvidia drivers are WDDM 1.1, too. You may want to read release notes for 185.85:

This is a WHQL-Certified driver supporting GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, and 200-series desktop GPUs and ION. This driver package installs WDDM v1.1 for GeForce 8, 9, and 200-series (DirectX 10) GPUs and WDDM v1.0 for GeForce 6 and 7-series (DirectX 9) GPUs.

Dang bro! Thanks! I didn't know that

[xoqolatl]

No problem man I explain hardware for a living

I hope that method works for you Melvin!

[MELVIn]

K... so for whatever reason, after the 20'th or something time trying to install the drivers, it seems to have worked. I still got the errors, but I accidentaly stumbled over the "Nvidia control panel" in my control panel now. I have no idea how I fixed it, or if I even did... but it's there now. Ambient Occlusion and PhysX HO!