Is driver cleaning still needed?

S

setscrew

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 19, 2000
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I have Vista Ultimate 64 bit and will be upgrading cards in May. I currently have an 8800GTS 512. I am torn between the 285 or a 4890. I like the price/performance of the 4890, but do not want to reformat/reinstall Vista if I decide to go that route.

I have used driver cleaner a couple of years ago with XP, but have not thought about it since a fresh install of Vista 64 and the 8800.

Opinions?

TIA
 
Yes, and Driver Cleaner is meh now... No longer promoted by Guru3D. Grap Driver Sweeper.
 
If you notice performance issues after installing a new driver, its worth cleaning.
I intend to clean mine each time I use a new driver, but I forget at times and havent noticed a drop in performance attributable to leftover driver files for a long time now (years).

So my answer is you probably dont need to do it each time but remember its a useful tool to try when you do have performance issues.
 
I always do clean installs on my NVIDIA gpus and my ATI gpus..

Nothing beats fresh clean install IMO.
 
I use the built in ATI unistaller.
Go to safe mode and use driver sweeper followed by Crap cleaner.
I go into user profile and delte ACE and ATI files "mom".
i do regedit for ATI
then follow up with Crap cleaner.

Takes a few minutes to do but I never have problems with my driver installs and i get good performance.
 
I use Driver Cleaner... as needed. I would say it isn't worth the bother if you have no problems, but if you run into one it can help. I have been installing the Catalyst drivers on top of each other, and ATi does recommend that, but when the CCC wouldn't install properly for me one time Driver Cleaner solved the problem.
 
Driver Cleaner > Driver Sweeper.

I've used both and Driver Cleaner always found and removed more leftover driver files and registry than Driver Sweeper. Only downside to Driver Cleaner is that you have to purchase it, but it is definitely more effective. It also removes many other drivers that are not video card related. Great program for removing many different types of driver related files for various different hardware.

I personally find it good practice to run it every time I update my video drivers so that I know that I'm getting a good clean install of the new drivers, especially if I'm going from ATI card to Nvidia and vice versa.

Choosing to use driver cleaning software is up to the user, but both ATI and Nvidia recommend that you uninstall the old drivers first before installing new ones.

ATI Hardware Installation and Driver Installation
- To ensure successful installation of your ATI graphics card, you must uninstall the graphic drivers for the existing graphics card before removing it from your computer.

- Before installing the latest Catalyst drivers, any previous drivers must be uninstalled. This note only describes the uninstall process for previous ATI drivers. This step can be skipped if the system currently has no legacy display drivers installed.

Nvidia
- When an NVIDIA display driver update is performed, the new driver will remove the previous drivers during the installation processor. Sometimes it is not successful in removing the older display drivers which can lead to display issues later on as a result of conflicting drivers. As a basic practice, it is recommended that you first uninstall the older display drivers before updating to a newer version. To uninstall your current NVIDIA Forceware display driver from your system, please follow these steps:
 
for vista if you are going from ATi>Ati you dont need to uninstall etc, just install the drivers and it's good to go right away (no need to even reboot)
 
risqu3 said:
for vista if you are going from ATi>Ati you dont need to uninstall etc, just install the drivers and it's good to go right away (no need to even reboot)
Click to expand...

Crossfire or an x2 requires a reboot. Just FYI.
 
Please don't listen to the lazy people who believe that their way is fool proof since they haven't been burned by STDs although they have unprotected sex with hookers. Do it the way it is recommended by the manufacturers. Think about it, why would they recommend such methods in the first place?

On a side note, I've yet to encounter any video driver related issues since I've started using Driver Cleaner. I'm stating this since there are people who believe that using such programs can lead to issues.
 
I just uninstall the driver, reboot and install the new driver. There have been times when I've needed to use driver cleaner, but pretty rare.
 
little off topic, but what would be needed so that windows update can automate the driver updates properly, without leftovers? Would microsoft need to integrate a driver cleaner into windows update? I would love to stop doing this chore..
 
NVidia WHQL drivers uninstall automatically as part of the new driver installation process.
Beta drivers may differ in behaviour.
 
I've always just installed my nvidia drivers over the top and have never had a problem related to the drivers themselves and have always had acceptable performance. Been doing it for nearly 2 years with my 8800GTS 320mb.

The only time I used driver cleaner/sweeper was when I accidently screwed up the settings and had to use driver cleaner to get rid of the old settings (because installing the new drivers over the top kept the old settings). Oddly enough, after that incident that particular windows install now runs slower than my other windows install on the same PC (different drive). But I think that was due to my screwing things up, not because of driver cleaner.

EDIT: I generally like to keep my settings from one driver to the next, as I have profiles set for many games which took me a while to get exactly how I wanted them.
 
If you try beta drivers, the uninstall might not do its job fully, leaving incompatible files that can be used by the new driver
Sometimes a WHQL or beta install/uninstall will fail/error leaving a situation where you cannot install a new driver.
2 situations where a driver cleaner is useful.
 
In answer to the original question, no. I'd also far rather trust a professional companies installer program than some backroom wannabe.

I don't know why people have such an adversion to simply using the built-in uninstaller. They do actually work these days.

In ATi's case anyway, you should be installing over the top of the previous build. nVidia, remove old, install new, simple.
 
hdnut said:
Please don't listen to the lazy people who believe that their way is fool proof since they haven't been burned by STDs although they have unprotected sex with hookers. Do it the way it is recommended by the manufacturers. Think about it, why would they recommend such methods in the first place?
Click to expand...

Hilarious anecdote, good advice.
 
Last edited:
I only use driver cleaner software when moving from ATI to NVIDIA or vice-versa. I do not bother when only upgrading the drivers.
 
Thank you very much to all who replied. As i do not upgrade video cards often, it is reassuring to obtain the latest information.
 
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