[SOLVED] Did my gpu seriously die on me?

[GreyFoxs]

First of all: sorry for the long read.

My specs:

• Motherboard: MSI Z370 Gaming Plus
• CPU: Intel i5-8400
• GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 G1 Gaming 6G (rev 2.0)
• PS: Corsair RM550x

Hi guys, I’m very sad because I’m afraid my gpu died last night. So I bought a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 G1 Gaming 6G (rev 2.0) about 1,5 years ago and until last night it used to perform perfectly. I used Nvidia’s GeForce Experience to keep the drivers up to date and that used to work fine as well. But since about 3 months ago, GeForce Experience gave an error message every time I tried to install the new driver (quick install). I didn’t really think too much of it and was basically like “oh well, it still works so why should I care”. So this went on for a couple of months and every time GeForce Experience told me there was an update I would try the quick install and it would give me the same error message (something basic like “installation failed”). Last night I decided I had enough of this error message and I was going to try to finally complete an update. So I instead of the quick install I choose advanced install. In the options I decided it would be best to just focus on the graphics driver, which was also the only required part of the update. So I untick the other options and hit the install button.

Now this is where it all started to go south. I check the status of the update and I see that it says it’s uninstalling the old driver. Directly after that it says it’s installing the new one, but surprise surprise: another error message pops up saying the update cannot be installed. I was about to play a game League of Legends with my friends and worried that I might have screwed up my graphics card I start a custom game to see what the framerate is like. At this point the game runs like garbage so I’m pretty sure something went wrong. I decide it’s probably for the best if I try to restart my PC. When it restarts I see that for some reason the image ratio has been lowered to 1280 x 1024 instead of 1920 x 1080. So I set it to 1920 x 1080 again and decide to boot The Witcher 3 to see how that would run. Of course it runs even worse than LoL (about 0,2 fps), so now I know something is definitely messed up. I start googling and for the sake of clarity here’s a list of the things I did (pretty much in order):

• Tried installing GeForce Experience again (multiple times and multiple versions);
• Checked device manager to see if the gpu is visible: it is visible, but not under screen adapters and it’s also not identified;
• Checked if Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming Engine detects gpu: it does not;
• Disconnected and reconnected the gpu;
• Tried updating the drivers through device manager: error message;
• Updated the BIOS to latest version;
• Checked BIOS settings to see if gpu is selected as boot device;
• Restarted the computer about 15 times during the above.

I don’t know if this might be related or not, but I’ve had a few instances in the last few months where my computer booted or shut down very slowly. Sometimes it would just say “Just a moment” for like 30 minutes before I could log in and sometimes I would have no output on my monitor, but the pc was still visibly on when I initiated a shut down. I didn’t think too much of it, but since my gpu got screwed up last night, my computer always boots up way slower than it used to.

I think my gpu might just be royally f-ed. The only thing I can think of right now is to try to see if I can get my gpu running in my girlfriend’s pc or vice versa, so I can see if my motherboard’s the issue (although I’m not sure if there is any risk involved with connecting my possibly faulty gpu to her motherboard or her gpu to my possibly faulty motherboard). My monitor is connected to the gpu and I do still see my desktop and stuff. The fans and LGB’s on the gpu also still work, but I read that that’s a pretty poor indicator of functionality.

Does anyone have any further idea’s/suggestions? Any help is very much appreciated.

 

[King_V]

It sounds like somehow the drivers just simply aren't there, as far as the OS can see.

The one thing that I can think of is to try the following:

• Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU)
• Download the latest Nvidia WHQL drivers from Nvidia's site
• Reboot your PC in Safe Mode
• Run DDU, choosing the "clean and reboot" option
• After it reboots, immediately install the Nvidia drivers.

Hopefully DDU clears out whatever mess might be left over from the failed driver install, and the reinstall happens normally.

 

[vov4ik_il]

Plug your monitor into motherboard outlet (not the GPU) and boot, check device manager for your 1060 or an unknown device and post a picture of it. If might have Error 43 or similar. Get GPU-Z and run it, post the outcome too.

 

[GreyFoxs]

First of all, thanks to King_V and vov4ik_il for responding. As I said in my original post, I wasn't sure if the Windows booting issues I've had were in any way related to the issues with my gpu, but it did get me thinking. Especially after King_V's remark.

It sounds like somehow the drivers just simply aren't there, as far as the OS can see.

So after trying the other idea's that were posted, the problem still wasn't solved and I checked to see whether my Windows was having any issues. Upon checking the (Win + I) Windows update screen I noticed that for the past couple of months new updates had failed to install. So I decided to reset my windows, but keep my personal files. After the reinstall I immediately checked device manager and saw that my gpu was once again registered under the display adapters tab!

Now all I have to do is reinstall some apps and games, but so far everything is looking peachy. Thanks again for you who responded and have a nice weekend!

 

[King_V]

Sweet, glad to know that the problem's been solved!