Question Black screen afterr new PSU and GPU drivers

[gupps]

System Specs:
Intel i5
12GB DDR4
EVGA GTX 970 4GB
Corsair RM750x
H110 Chipset

Issue:
So, earlier this week my PSU died, and so I went out to replace it, however, after installing the new supply I was met with an eternal black screen after Windows initially posted.
I go through a copious amount of troubleshooting and decide that the best thing to do is a Fresh Reset from bootable media and reinstall Windows. I go through all of that, get to the initial desktop and download the latest GTX drivers. Yet, in the middle of install I'm once again greeted with the eternal black screen of death... So, I boot into safe-mode and use DDU to uninstall all and any graphics drivers that are on the PC and install the drivers in safe-mode w/ Networking (Windows Update disabled). Everything seemingly goes OK here, except for the fact that the Nvidia Telemetry Client fails to install. Although, when booting normally I get the black screen again after the initial Windows post. I've used Event Viewer to try and catch any errors, but all I could glean from the logs were that the graphics card didn't fully install, it 'Required further Installation' or something like that; I can't remember the exact wording right now. I can also boot and use the computer normally when I take out the card and use the board's video output instead.

PLEASE HELP!!!! I've been working on this for almost a week now...

I've already:
ran Memory Diagnostics
rotated DIMM slots for RAM
rotated PCI slots for graphics card
formatted drives
used start-up repair
reinstalled Windows multiple times

 

[Darkbreeze]

Don't install the drivers in safe mode. ONLY remove ALL graphics drivers while in safe mode. Install new drivers in regular Windows, BUT, do this first.

How To - How to stop Windows 10 from automatically updating device drivers

The transition to Windows 10 has been in some cases a breath of fresh air, and in others, more like a whiff of landfill. One of the areas that has NOT been well accepted is the decision to enforce updates whether you want them or not. While I happen to disagree with this policy, many think it's...

forums.tomshardware.com

So that Windows doesn't try to screw things up by changing the graphics drivers.

It would also be a very good idea to make sure that you have the MOST recent BIOS version for your motherboard installed, before messing any further with the drivers. If you do, great, if you don't, update, and THEN use the DDU to uninstall while in safe mode, then restart, and install the latest Nvidia drivers while in the normal Windows environment. If you cannot get into Windows BEFORE you install any graphics drivers because you get a black screen, then there is an issue aside from all this because the basic graphics drivers in Windows (If you are running Windows 10, if you are not, then all bets are off because most hardware is no longer supporting Windows 7 either officially or off the record anymore, and not at all after January) should be all that is necessary to at least get basic function from the graphics card.


Here are the first steps to take when trying to solve these kinds of hardware problems. If you have already tried these steps, all of them, exactly as outlined, we can move along to more advanced solutions.

If there are any you have NOT done, it would be advisable to do so if for no other reason than to be able to say you've already done it and eliminate that possibility.


First, make sure your motherboard has the MOST recent BIOS version installed. If it does not, then update. This solves a high number of issues even in cases where the release that is newer than yours makes no mention of improving graphics card or other hardware compatibility. They do not list every change they have made when they post a new BIOS release.

Second, go to the product page for your motherboard on the manufacturer website. Download and install the latest driver versions for the chipset, storage controllers, audio and network adapters. Do not skip installing a newer driver just because you think it is not relevant to the problem you are having. The drivers for one device can often affect ALL other devices and a questionable driver release can cause instability in the OS itself. They don't release new drivers just for fun. If there is a new driver release for a component, there is a good reason for it. The same goes for BIOS updates.

IF you have other hardware installed or attached to the system that are not a part of the systems covered by the motherboard drivers, then go to the support page for THAT component and check to see if there are newer drivers available for that as well. If there are, install them.

The last thing we want to look at, for now anyhow, is the graphics card drivers. Regardless of whether you "already installed the newest drivers" for your graphics card or not, it is OFTEN a good idea to do a CLEAN install of the graphics card drivers. Just installing over the old drivers OR trying to use what Nvidia and AMD consider a clean install is not good enough and does not usually give the same result as using the Display Driver Uninstaller utility. This has a very high success rate and is always worth a shot.

If you have had both Nvidia and AMD cards installed at any point on that operating system then you will want to run the DDU twice. Once for the old card drivers (ie, Nvidia or AMD) and again for the currently installed graphics card drivers (ie, AMD or Nvidia). So if you had an Nvidia card at some point in the past, run it first for Nvidia and then after that is complete, run it again for AMD if you currently have an AMD card installed.

Here are the full instructions on running the Display driver uninstaller and CLEAN installing new drivers.

Graphics card CLEAN install tutorial using the DDU


​

 

[gupps]

Don't install the drivers in safe mode. ONLY remove ALL graphics drivers while in safe mode. Install new drivers in regular Windows, BUT, do this first.

How To - How to stop Windows 10 from automatically updating device drivers

The transition to Windows 10 has been in some cases a breath of fresh air, and in others, more like a whiff of landfill. One of the areas that has NOT been well accepted is the decision to enforce updates whether you want them or not. While I happen to disagree with this policy, many think it's...

forums.tomshardware.com

So that Windows doesn't try to screw things up by changing the graphics drivers.

It would also be a very good idea to make sure that you have the MOST recent BIOS version for your motherboard installed, before messing any further with the drivers. If you do, great, if you don't, update, and THEN use the DDU to uninstall while in safe mode, then restart, and install the latest Nvidia drivers while in the normal Windows environment. If you cannot get into Windows BEFORE you install any graphics drivers because you get a black screen, then there is an issue aside from all this because the basic graphics drivers in Windows (If you are running Windows 10, if you are not, then all bets are off because most hardware is no longer supporting Windows 7 either officially or off the record anymore, and not at all after January) should be all that is necessary to at least get basic function from the graphics card.


Here are the first steps to take when trying to solve these kinds of hardware problems. If you have already tried these steps, all of them, exactly as outlined, we can move along to more advanced solutions.

If there are any you have NOT done, it would be advisable to do so if for no other reason than to be able to say you've already done it and eliminate that possibility.


First, make sure your motherboard has the MOST recent BIOS version installed. If it does not, then update. This solves a high number of issues even in cases where the release that is newer than yours makes no mention of improving graphics card or other hardware compatibility. They do not list every change they have made when they post a new BIOS release.

Second, go to the product page for your motherboard on the manufacturer website. Download and install the latest driver versions for the chipset, storage controllers, audio and network adapters. Do not skip installing a newer driver just because you think it is not relevant to the problem you are having. The drivers for one device can often affect ALL other devices and a questionable driver release can cause instability in the OS itself. They don't release new drivers just for fun. If there is a new driver release for a component, there is a good reason for it. The same goes for BIOS updates.

IF you have other hardware installed or attached to the system that are not a part of the systems covered by the motherboard drivers, then go to the support page for THAT component and check to see if there are newer drivers available for that as well. If there are, install them.

The last thing we want to look at, for now anyhow, is the graphics card drivers. Regardless of whether you "already installed the newest drivers" for your graphics card or not, it is OFTEN a good idea to do a CLEAN install of the graphics card drivers. Just installing over the old drivers OR trying to use what Nvidia and AMD consider a clean install is not good enough and does not usually give the same result as using the Display Driver Uninstaller utility. This has a very high success rate and is always worth a shot.

If you have had both Nvidia and AMD cards installed at any point on that operating system then you will want to run the DDU twice. Once for the old card drivers (ie, Nvidia or AMD) and again for the currently installed graphics card drivers (ie, AMD or Nvidia). So if you had an Nvidia card at some point in the past, run it first for Nvidia and then after that is complete, run it again for AMD if you currently have an AMD card installed.

Here are the full instructions on running the Display driver uninstaller and CLEAN installing new drivers.

Graphics card CLEAN install tutorial using the DDU


​

So, I followed all of your steps to the T, as well as the DDU clean install guide, and when I go to finally install the new drivers the screen goes black while 'Preparing Install'

 

[gupps]

Don't install the drivers in safe mode. ONLY remove ALL graphics drivers while in safe mode. Install new drivers in regular Windows, BUT, do this first.

How To - How to stop Windows 10 from automatically updating device drivers

The transition to Windows 10 has been in some cases a breath of fresh air, and in others, more like a whiff of landfill. One of the areas that has NOT been well accepted is the decision to enforce updates whether you want them or not. While I happen to disagree with this policy, many think it's...

forums.tomshardware.com

So that Windows doesn't try to screw things up by changing the graphics drivers.

It would also be a very good idea to make sure that you have the MOST recent BIOS version for your motherboard installed, before messing any further with the drivers. If you do, great, if you don't, update, and THEN use the DDU to uninstall while in safe mode, then restart, and install the latest Nvidia drivers while in the normal Windows environment. If you cannot get into Windows BEFORE you install any graphics drivers because you get a black screen, then there is an issue aside from all this because the basic graphics drivers in Windows (If you are running Windows 10, if you are not, then all bets are off because most hardware is no longer supporting Windows 7 either officially or off the record anymore, and not at all after January) should be all that is necessary to at least get basic function from the graphics card.


Here are the first steps to take when trying to solve these kinds of hardware problems. If you have already tried these steps, all of them, exactly as outlined, we can move along to more advanced solutions.

If there are any you have NOT done, it would be advisable to do so if for no other reason than to be able to say you've already done it and eliminate that possibility.


First, make sure your motherboard has the MOST recent BIOS version installed. If it does not, then update. This solves a high number of issues even in cases where the release that is newer than yours makes no mention of improving graphics card or other hardware compatibility. They do not list every change they have made when they post a new BIOS release.

Second, go to the product page for your motherboard on the manufacturer website. Download and install the latest driver versions for the chipset, storage controllers, audio and network adapters. Do not skip installing a newer driver just because you think it is not relevant to the problem you are having. The drivers for one device can often affect ALL other devices and a questionable driver release can cause instability in the OS itself. They don't release new drivers just for fun. If there is a new driver release for a component, there is a good reason for it. The same goes for BIOS updates.

IF you have other hardware installed or attached to the system that are not a part of the systems covered by the motherboard drivers, then go to the support page for THAT component and check to see if there are newer drivers available for that as well. If there are, install them.

The last thing we want to look at, for now anyhow, is the graphics card drivers. Regardless of whether you "already installed the newest drivers" for your graphics card or not, it is OFTEN a good idea to do a CLEAN install of the graphics card drivers. Just installing over the old drivers OR trying to use what Nvidia and AMD consider a clean install is not good enough and does not usually give the same result as using the Display Driver Uninstaller utility. This has a very high success rate and is always worth a shot.

If you have had both Nvidia and AMD cards installed at any point on that operating system then you will want to run the DDU twice. Once for the old card drivers (ie, Nvidia or AMD) and again for the currently installed graphics card drivers (ie, AMD or Nvidia). So if you had an Nvidia card at some point in the past, run it first for Nvidia and then after that is complete, run it again for AMD if you currently have an AMD card installed.

Here are the full instructions on running the Display driver uninstaller and CLEAN installing new drivers.

Graphics card CLEAN install tutorial using the DDU


​

Is there anything else that I can do?

 

[Mind Games]

What cable are you feeding from your monitor to your GPU?

 

[gupps]

What cable are you feeding from your monitor to your GPU?

HDMI

 

[gupps]

I tried going through all of the steps again, except this time the screen blacked out before I could even get to the nvidia driver installer

 

[Mind Games]

I tried going through all of the steps again, except this time the screen blacked out before I could even get to the nvidia driver installer

Do you have a Display port for both ends or DVI?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I think you have a problem with your graphics card, but it's hard to say. Is there is another system you can try the card in. Is there a different card you can try in your system? Maybe borrow one from a friend?

You might want to at least TRY a different type of display cable as well.

 

[gupps]

I think you have a problem with your graphics card, but it's hard to say. Is there is another system you can try the card in. Is there a different card you can try in your system? Maybe borrow one from a friend?

You might want to at least TRY a different type of display cable as well.

I've tried using another HDMI cable, but I don't have any DVI/DVI-VGA converters. Nor do I have access to a spare card or system, but my onboard graphics work fine, if that means anything. I'm considering going out today to bite the bullet and buy a new card, but am I jumping the gun a little or should that solve my problem? My current card is nearly 5 years old, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is indeed the culprit. I believe I've ruled out my mobo being the issue, as I updated the Bios and chipset drivers no problem, and everything other than that and my CPU has been replaced in the last couple of months. Considering I've done just about everything aside from testing out another GPU, I feel that replacing it's my best option.

I just wanna play Escape From Tarkov 😢

 

[gupps]

Do you have a Display port for both ends or DVI?

I've got x1 mHDMI, x1 HDMI, x2 DVI

 

[Mind Games]

I've got x1 mHDMI, x1 HDMI, x2 DVI

Please try using a cable that can connect from your display to your motherboard (VGA)
I recommend going from you monitor directly to your motherboard and use the integrated display drivers. Most likely you have a fried card.

 

[Darkbreeze]

A "fried card" that works in safe mode, but doesn't work when normal drivers are loaded? Possible, but really doubtful. I wouldn't rule it out so I agree that trying to see if there is a display using the iGPU is a good next step. Be sure to completely remove the graphics card when you do so.

 

[gupps]

A "fried card" that works in safe mode, but doesn't work when normal drivers are loaded? Possible, but really doubtful. I wouldn't rule it out so I agree that trying to see if there is a display using the iGPU is a good next step. Be sure to completely remove the graphics card when you do so.

Turns out it was just a "fried card that works in safe mode" . I hedged my bets and just finished successfully installing the newest Nvidia drivers on my brand new GTX 1660Ti 🆒 Thanks for all of your help guys !

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, I did say it was possible. At least you got it sorted out, so that's good. Best of luck to you gupps.