Question Do I need to install drivers on old system?

[Astralv]

I just reinstalled Windows 10 on computers from 2014 Hasswell processor 4th generation. I m looking at the drivers on Asus motherboard manufacturer site. I attempted to install Chipset driver and got pop up message that one of the files already installed is newer than the file I am trying to install. Do Windows now days include all the drivers or not? I could install Chipset any way. But this is like 5th reinstall because I had major issue with my AMD R9 270X graphic card and AMD Display driver. It installs with Adrenalin and turns my monitors black. When I removed it, Windows offered it to me as an Update- I installed it again, thinking it world be better if it came from Microsoft, and again it gave me black screen. So I do not want to install anything that may contain it. So far Windows do not offer me Display Driver and graphic card is working. This going to be an office computer accessing Electronic Health Records on the Cloud. I installed Windows updates, can I just skip the drivers? So I need SATA controller driver, LAN and Audio? Right now it only shows S/PDIF High Definition Audio, maybe I should install Realtek Audio? Thank you so much.

 

[Lutfij]

Do Windows now days include all the drivers or not?
No, very likely if you didn't install the OS in offline mode, that the OS sourced it's drivers online and installed the one it thought was right for your platform. That method, btw, is usually hit or miss, it's why users are advised to install all drivers in an elevated command, manually.

If the platform isn't sluggish or doesn't exhibit any anomalies, you can forgo installing drivers.

can I just skip the drivers?
As stated above, you install all drivers necessary for your platform.

Lastly, Windows 10 is going to run aground in terms of support...which means it'll be left with vulnerabilities, towards the end of this year.

 

[Astralv]

I actually did reinstall OS in Offline mode. I did not like the fact that it created local account, and now it is confusing because I eventually had to connect and now not sure if I am in Administrator account or user accout. But I connected way later, and then it installed H2 something updates, etc. Right now it working.

Do I need VGA driver? I always installed everything from Asus site. But now I want to be more selectve.

So Do or Do Not install Chipset? It says one of the files already installed newer than what i am installing.

"DO" install Audio and SATA? Sorry if I dont get it the first time. lol.

I get it about Win 10, I will build new systems, just no budget right now- opened psych practice and can't see patients without computers, so have to use what I got. Thank you.

 

[BFG-9000]

Do you really need the R9 270X? Your i7 4770k comes with an IGP (specifically, HD Graphics 4600) and your P8Z77-V PRO has DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA outputs so if you aren't playing games could just remove the 270X.

The problem is driver support for 1st gen GCN ended in 2022 and has been problematic for a long time so the modded NimeZ drivers I suggested are from one person mixing and matching dlls from multiple driver revisions in order to try and get one working driver for games. You probably don't want such a thing for a health records office PC

BTW Haswell 4770k does not work on Z77 motherboards so you probably have 3770k like in your sig which is Ivy Bridge and HD Graphics 4000

 

[Astralv]

Do you really need the R9 270X? Your i7 4770k comes with an IGP (specifically, HD Graphics 4600) and your P8Z77-V PRO has DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA outputs so if you aren't playing games could just remove the 270X.

The problem is driver support for 1st gen GCN ended in 2022 and has been problematic for a long time so the modded NimeZ drivers I suggested are from one person mixing and matching dlls from multiple driver revisions in order to try and get one working driver for games. You probably don't want such a thing for a health records office PC

BTW Haswell 4770k does not work on Z77 motherboards so you probably have 3770k like in your sig which is Ivy Bridge and HD Graphics 4000

Thank you for your reply. I have multiple builds, probably at least 7, so it may get confusing. I do have Ivy Bridge that I also brought to the office and trying to troubleshoot. That one has all another story. lol. I will post about it when I am done with Haswell, and it has Asus Z87 Pro V. My signature kept at oldest build to show where it all started for me. lol. I appreciate you notocing. As of graphic card- You are right, I do not need it but it is there and supposed to work better than Intell graphcs, so I just want to make it work- removing it is always available if everything fails. Right this second Graphic card works just fine, so my hope is- if no Display Driver forced to be installed with Windows update, it should be ok.

Do I need to install VGA driver- it is some Intell graphics accelerator? I am not comfortable with anything video related due to discussed above issues.

Does Chipset contains Display Driver? I am wondering because in my folders it said something about AMD Chipset, which is odd because it i Intel system, I was wondering if Display Driver from AMD hides in chipset folder? Or am I being suspicious because I dont know enough? Thank you.

 

[BFG-9000]

As of graphic card- You are right, I do not need it but it is there and supposed to work better than Intell graphcs

This doesn't appear to be the case here, and for an office PC you also have to consider the 270X also uses up to 180w of power and even idles at 20w extra power use over the IGP which can nearly double the PC's idle power consumption.

The Microsoft Basic Display Adapter (which is the driver you are using before any actual driver for the 270X installs) has much lower performance than any IGP as it disables all hardware acceleration entirely and performs all display functions in software using the CPU to emulate them.

All outdated drivers will have their own problems but at least most won't result in a black screen. After removing the card, I would just let WindowsUpdate install the Intel IGP drivers but the latest Haswell IGP drivers are here and Ivy Bridge ones here.

 

[Astralv]

Guess what! No, nothing good... So I instlled a Chipset, right...? Nothing happened, everything good, I am looking for what else I need to istall, then about 5 minutes later, I hear, "Tam dam dam!" and it goes in Black Screen AGAIN! So it is in Chipset? Or something in Chipset causes it? Or is it really something else? The sound was like something got disconnected- hardware. I was checking for updates at that time, but it did not ask me if I want to install anything...

Hard power off, start again- it shows Asus Logo, then even Windows Logo, but after Windows it stays black.

I disconnected power, and restarted. It ubfortunately went in to its old Repairs mode. New behavior- before it ws failing repair. This time it said it will dignose the problem and then it booted! It says- it uninstalled recent update. Says it had issue with .NET, I think it reinstalled it or something. I can't find Update History button...

 

[Astralv]

I can access computer but it only able to see single monitor, and I have 2 monitors connected. It says it uses Basic Intell Driver from 2006. It would not detect 2nd monitor. So disappointing. Been working on it for 6 hours just today...

 

[Astralv]

So the problem now is that what ever it removed or for some other reason- I can't get it to work for dua display. Even without graphic card, t does the same thing from onboard graphic- it does not detect 2nd monitor but both monitors in Duplicate mode showing the same thing.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I can access computer but it only able to see single monitor, and I have 2 monitors connected.
It says it uses Basic Intell Driver from 2006. It would not detect 2nd monitor.

Remove discrete graphics card. You don't need it. It just causes confusion and problems.
Install Intel graphics drivers.
Without drivers multiple monitor option may not be available.

Find Intel Graphics accelerator driver in support web page for your specific motherboard model.

Z87-PRO(V EDITION) - Support

www.asus.com

 

[Astralv]

Thank you for the last reply. Yes, I removed the graphic card, and installed VGA driver and it works with multiple monitors, but the graphic card does not work, even tho it did before. But oh, well- I dont need it, you all right. I had 3 specialists say I dont need it, so I will listen. Thank you all. It works so far.

 

[Misgar]

The Intel HD Graphics 4600 (iGPU) in my i7-4770K system is running a driver provided by Intel, Date 29/09/2016, Version 20.19.15.4531. OS is Windows 10 Pro.

When installing Windows 10 on old hardware, I always boot offline, because I want to use a Local Account. None of my PCs are using a Microsoft Windows Account.

When Windows is installed I connect to the internet and soon after, the screen goes black for a few seconds and the Desktop reappears in higher resolution mode, when the video driver automatically updates from Basic Adapter.

I check Windows Updates, allow the PC to download and restart. Then I check Windows Updates again and it continues updating. Rinse and repeat.

Next I check Device Manager and look for hardware with yellow exclamation marks, indicating a lack of drivers.

These days, especially on old Xeon server boards, I find it easier to download the optional driver updates offered by Windows Update, instead of trawling the web looking for obscure drivers that might or might not work.

On modern boards I decide whether or not to run the mobo driver updates, depending on how the system is behaving. If Windows Update can't find a driver, that's when I run the mobo manufacturer's driver package. If a 10GbE network card drops frames, I update the driver. Otherwise, I leave well alone. Some driver updates cause more trouble than they're worth if they contain bugs.

not sure if I am in Administrator account or user accout.

Open 'User Accounts'. The name of the account you are currently using should be displayed.

On my machine it shows "Local Account. Administrator. Password protected"

This means the account I'm currently using is Administrator level. You can ignore the Local Account Password protected part for my account. Your details may differ.


Another thing to check in the BIOS is GPU priority. Sometimes it's set to Auto, other times to iGPU or PCIe (the actual names may differ). Get it wrong and the screen could go black when the BIOS switches the output to a port with no monitor attached.

I had one system which displayed black screen during POST on a plasma TV connected via HDMI, but the same TV worked fine and displayed the BIOS screen when I used the 15-way VGA input.

I assume both your monitors were connected to the R9 270X GPU?

People have been having trouble with Windows 10 and R9 270 cards.

https://community.amd.com/t5/pc-dri...rs-for-radeon-r9-270-on-win-10-64/td-p/489791

https://www.reddit.com/r/AMDHelp/comments/vw3cte/unable_to_install_drivers_for_r9_270/

https://www.amd.com/en/support/down...5/radeon-r9-200-series/amd-radeon-r9-270.html

https://umatechnology.org/windows-10-graphics-card-compatibility-list/
"Many Radeon HD and R9 cards are compatible with Windows 10, particularly if the latest drivers are installed. Users may experience performance limitations in modern applications, given the age of these cards."

I stick to GT 710, 720, 730 or more recent cards for Window 10. If a GPU is too old to fully support Windows 10, I leave it running as a Microsoft Basic Adapter in 1024x768.

Your R9 270 might be too antiquated.