[SOLVED] Can't download NVIDIA drivers or software for new GPU

[Jerm21]

Today I installed a used GTX 770 into my windows 7 pc and tried to install everything I needed for it. I downloaded it and began to install all the needed files, but after the initial download upon opening, even as administrator, it gave me the error "system cannot find the path specified" I looked in my device manager and saw that my GPU wasn't showing up. I tried inserting it into a different PCI slot, I tried using a cleaner, and I tried uninstalling all past gpu drivers and software.
Still the problem persists. It's probably worthy of note that my previous GPU, an RTX 460, had installation errors 1603 and 1604. Consequently it only partially installed the drivers and didn't install the software. I've had problems with doing stupid things with my windows registry before. Problems similar to this have been plaguing me for a long time. If anyone has any idea what a possible solution could be for all this I would greatly appreciate it.

Mod Edit for Language

 

[Wolfshadw]

Really just need to start fresh with a clean install of Windows. Get the latest Windows 7 ISO before support for it ends next month.

Windows 7 ISO Direct from Microsoft <--- Product Key Required.

-Wolf sends

 

[Jerm21]

Really just need to start fresh with a clean install of Windows. Get the latest Windows 7 ISO before support for it ends next month.

Windows 7 ISO Direct from Microsoft <--- Product Key Required.

-Wolf sends

Would I need to wipe all of my files?

 

[Wolfshadw]

You could try a repair, but I'd rather just start with a complete wipe and clean install (having backed up m,y data first, of course).

-Wolf sends

 

[Jerm21]

You could try a repair, but I'd rather just start with a complete wipe and clean install (having backed up m,y data first, of course).

-Wolf sends

A repair as in a repair install of windows?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Yes. If you have your data backed up, then you could try a repair to see if you can get it up and running, but even if you did, I'd still recommend a clean install.

-Wolf sends

 

[Jerm21]

Yes. If you have your data backed up, then you could try a repair to see if you can get it up and running, but even if you did, I'd still recommend a clean install.

-Wolf sends

I really really don't want to lose all of my files and I've been trying to avoid having to wipe my system so i'll try the repair install but if it doesn't help that's probably my only option.

 

[Jerm21]

Yes. If you have your data backed up, then you could try a repair to see if you can get it up and running, but even if you did, I'd still recommend a clean install.

-Wolf sends

I did a repair install and no problems were detected. I have a way to install windows 10 and still keep stuff like games and such. Do you think that would help?

 

[Wolfshadw]

It might, but It's not my recommendation. I look at it this way.

A Repair MIGHT work. If not, then you have to do a clean install anyway.
A Clean Install SHOULD work. If not, then you know you have other issues (likely hardware) that need to be resolved and which probably caused the initial issue in the first place.

It's up to you how much time you want to spend on this.

-Wolf sends

 

[Jerm21]

It might, but It's not my recommendation. I look at it this way.

A Repair MIGHT work. If not, then you have to do a clean install anyway.
A Clean Install SHOULD work. If not, then you know you have other issues (likely hardware) that need to be resolved and which probably caused the initial issue in the first place.

It's up to you how much time you want to spend on this.

-Wolf sends

I'm almost certain it's not a hardware issue. I only ever had problems like this when I messed up my registry.

 

[Jason H.]

I'm almost certain it's not a hardware issue. I only ever had problems like this when I messed up my registry.

I used to have this issue about 3-4 years ago when I took the free upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10. I simply could not install any new gpu drivers. I had even fully uninstalled Nvidia Experience and reinstalled and it still didnt work. Then 1 day it kind of just fixed itself as I tried uninstalling/reinstalling experience and it finally updated my drivers.

With that said, you can backup all your data before clean installing. And then move all your files back once you get the fresh install up and running.

Have you tried using DDU to uninstall your gpu drivers and also uninstalling experience completely then reinstalling experience and trying again?

 

[Jerm21]

I used to have this issue about 3-4 years ago when I took the free upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10. I simply could not install any new gpu drivers. I had even fully uninstalled Nvidia Experience and reinstalled and it still didnt work. Then 1 day it kind of just fixed itself as I tried uninstalling/reinstalling experience and it finally updated my drivers.

With that said, you can backup all your data before clean installing. And then move all your files back once you get the fresh install up and running.

Have you tried using DDU to uninstall your gpu drivers and also uninstalling experience completely then reinstalling experience and trying again?

Thank you so much. That makes me a lot less hesitant to clean install. I uninstalled just about everything regarding my previous GPU and I straight up could not install the nvidia stuff.

 

[Jason H.]

Thank you so much. That makes me a lot less hesitant to clean install. I uninstalled just about everything regarding my previous GPU and I straight up could not install the nvidia stuff.

Well lets keep in mind, it took almost 2 years to "randomly fix itself". I wasnt a PC gamer then and only used my pc for music production so it didnt bother me. And I still have no idea what changed that allowed me to finally install my drivers.

So your only immediate, readily available fix is to just clean install. You could also look into how to revert all your registry edits. There is a command somewhere online that allows you to pull up a interface for windows and on that interface there is a option to revert registry back to its original settings. However do this at your own risk as I have no idea if it messes other things up.