Uninstall old video card drivers?

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lespaul50

n00b
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
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So I just got a GTX 460 (upgrade from a 8800gt), and I forgot to uninstall the old 8800gt drivers.

How big of a deal is this? Windows already downloaded and installed the drivers for the GTX 460. Is it too late to uninstall the old drivers? With the way Windows 7 works is uninstalling the old drivers manually even necessary anymore?
 
Well, first and foremost, you dont find too many experienced people who let windows download and install drivers automatically. That is not a smart idea. While it may just be installing the same thing as what nvidia has, you should always do it manually so you know exactly what is what. Dont let microsoft tell you what you should be using....

Second, yes, you should always uninstall previous drivers first, but in this case, it probably uses the same drivers(unless you never updated them and are severely old). Its not too late to uninstall the old drivers probably. I would probably do that, then just do a clean install with whatever drivers you want.
 
Yeah I never really use whatever default driver Windows installs. However, I don't even see the 8800GT in the device manager anymore (I even did the thing that makes unused devices show up).


If I really wanted to uninstall the 8800GT drivers thoroughly I guess I would have to
1. Uninstall the GTX460 in the device manager,
2. Physically remove the card
3. Put the 8800gt back in
4. Let Windows 7 recognize and install it's drivers for the 8800gt
5. THEN uninstall the drivers in the device manager
6. Physically uninstall the 8800gt
7. Install the GTX460 again
8. Then finally install the drivers for that card.

Seems like a lot of rigamaroo for something that windows might take care of itself





Retsam said:
Well, first and foremost, you dont find too many experienced people who let windows download and install drivers automatically. While it may just be installing the same thing as what nvidia has, you should always do it manually so you know exactly what is what. Dont let microsoft tell you what you should be using....

Second, yes, you should always uninstall previous drivers first, but in this case, it probably uses the same drivers(unless you never updated them and are severely old). Its not too late to uninstall the old drivers probably. You might do that, then just do a clean install with whatever drivers you want.
Click to expand...
 
Whoa, no no no. I still use winXP so, I am not 100% familiar with the procedure on win7, but it has to be similar.

There should be a nvidia driver icon or something in add/remove programs.... All you have to do is uninstall the drivers there, reboot, and then install new drivers. Simple as that. The drivers are probably installed for the GTX460, you should be able to check somewhere what driver version is installed. Just uninstall the GTX460 again, then reinstall and all is well probably. You might not even worry about it if everything is working good.

Stop letting windows dictate what you install....
 
You people are making it WAY too complicated.

1. Download the latest drivers from Nvidia.com
2. Run it, and select "clean install".
 
They are both Nvidia cards ffs....last couple times I've switched cards I never even installed the drivers. Windows recognizes the card and the same driver is put into use....As long as you have a new(er) driver, you should have zero problems.
 
Pitbully said:
They are both Nvidia cards ffs....last couple times I've switched cards I never even installed the drivers. Windows recognizes the card and the same driver is put into use....As long as you have a new(er) driver, you should have zero problems.
Click to expand...

Your cards will never run at full potential. The 8800GT and the 4XX series use completely different drivers that optimize each series for specific games and fixes. That's a very bad idea.
 
So what should I do to uninstall the 8800gt drivers? I just reinstalled the gtx460 drivers and clicked the "clean install" box. Anything else I should do?
 
The driver package is most likely the exact same file for both cards, but it never hurts to uninstall the old one and do a clean re-install. Lots of settings might be tailored for the first card but not the second, or vice versa.
 
As I said, I see no way to uninstall the old 8800gt drivers. People keep telling me I should uninstall the 8800gt drivers but I dont see them. How do I do this after the gyx460 is already installed?
 
I'm usually on AMD cards, but ...

Just uninstall all nvidia drivers, reboot in safe mode and run driver sweeper to get rid of any traces of all nvidia drivers. Then reboot normally and reinstall current driver. I've done that a couple of times when i had to use my 7600gt in between cards, no traces of nvidia that I know of...
 
lespaul50 said:
So what should I do to uninstall the 8800gt drivers? I just reinstalled the gtx460 drivers and clicked the "clean install" box. Anything else I should do?
Click to expand...

You don't need to do anything to uninstall the 8800gt drivers. The clean install wipes any old Nvidia video card drivers before it installs the new ones.
 
manofthem said:
I'm usually on AMD cards, but ...

Just uninstall all nvidia drivers, reboot in safe mode and run driver sweeper to get rid of any traces of all nvidia drivers. Then reboot normally and reinstall current driver. I've done that a couple of times when i had to use my 7600gt in between cards, no traces of nvidia that I know of...
Click to expand...

Driver sweeper is no longer needed. In fact, the last time I tried it.. a few months ago, it trashed my system and I had to wipe and restart from scratch so my computer wouldn't BSOD every time I tried installing video card drivers.
 
Id have to agree. Using programs like driver sweeper is a good way to destroy your system..... Ive seen that happen myself. You should never ever use that garbage.
 
I've never had that problems with driver sweeper. As long as you don't let it uninstall things you do need, there shouldn't be a problem.
 
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