Nvidia Drivers Won't Uninstall.

[Thelps]

Hi all,

Trying to uninstall all Nvidia drivers from my system but for whatever reason they return after a system reboot.

I can't uninstall in Safe Mode since Windows 10 doesn't allow program installation/uninstallation from a Safe Mode environment.

I've tried disabling the Graphics Card under Device Manager > Display Adapters and then uninstalling from Programs and Features.

Tried uninstalling all instances of the Nvidia Files from Program Files, Program Files (x86), Program Data (Hidden File) and the specified Install Directory. No luck.

Drivers are displayed back in Programs and Features and all relevant directories after a system restart.

Could anyone suggest how to remove these drivers without using a driver removal utility? I'm interested in finding the root cause of this issue.

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For those curious, a full post-mortem of what happened is available in my final post of the thread.
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[Sinistercr0c]

The DDU driver un-install utility was written for a reason...namely because of the carnage left behind after a standard MS un-install. The issue under windows 10 is the same for AMD cards. Crimon version 16.6 is automatically installed after the removal of any later version which is a royal PITA.

Bite the bullet and use DDU. At least you know your system will be clean.

 

[clutchc]

Are you sure that Win 10 update isn't just re-installing the driver from its data base upon reboot? As long as the Nvidia card is installed, it will try to do that.

 

[Thelps]

I certainly don't notice any installer activity or downloading after a reboot.

Like I said, even when I manually uninstall ALL Nvidia folders (of which I'm aware) the drivers are back as well as all uninstalled folders immediately after a system restart.

Could I have a critical windows service accidentally disabled or somesuch? I receive confirmation from all uninstaller .exes (when I use Programs and Features) and the Windows Folder UI confirms file deletion when I manually delete the Nvidia folders.

The amount of anomalous activity on this PC is ridiculous, but everyone just gives the same advice: run Antiviruses etc. They don't ever detect anything.

What's most likely is I might have disabled a critical Windows Service that is required in 'remembering' Uninstaller actions and Folder Deletion but I can't see why the uninstallers would confirm success and the Windows UI would confirm folder deletions if this was the case.

 

[Sinistercr0c]

I suggest you read this:

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/211515-windows-10-attempts-to-install-drivers-for-hardware-you-no-longer-have

 

[Thelps]

As I've said, no downloading occurs after a system restart. Given I've deleted all the driver files manually and the Nvidia driver installer doesn't run after a reboot I'd say it's very unlikely Windows is performing a driver install during or after a system restart.

Further bugs: Windows Defender reports scans are finished WHILE the WD scan is running. That's off-topic but again indicative something is up beyond the normal system bugs etc.

More than probable this is 3rd-party 'hacking'-type influence, but it could still be an incorrect OS configuration. Regardless, under the list of 'Installed Updates' (Settings > Update & Security > Update History) there are no mentions of Graphics Drivers downloads.

It'll take a real expert, someone who really knows how to troubleshoot the OS at the code level to figure this out, I'm guessing.

 

[Sinistercr0c]

Disconnect your PC from your network....then do whatever uninstall you like (including DDU) and watch as windows 10 goes right ahead and reinstalls your Nvidia driver...its not downloading from MS, the driver is pre-packed into win 10 just as Crimson 16.6 is for AMD cards.

 

[Thelps]

Disconnect your PC from your network....then do whatever uninstall you like (including DDU) and watch as windows 10 goes right ahead and reinstalls your Nvidia driver...its not downloading from MS, the driver is pre-packed into win 10 just as Crimson 16.6 is for AMD cards.

I don't see any installer activity whatsoever after system restarts. The Driver files are instantly there as if they hadn't been deleted at all.

 

[Sinistercr0c]

You say driver files...I assume you don't mean the Nvidia control panel/Geforce Experience? As clutchc has said, unless you remove the GPU, then the registry (which I assume you have not messed with) will still hold the install information for the GPU and re-install the driver.

 

[Thelps]

You say driver files...I assume you don't mean the Nvidia control panel/Geforce Experience? As clutchc has said, unless you remove the GPU, then the registry (which I assume you have not messed with) will still hold the install information for the GPU and re-install the driver.

It could be registry files, assuming they don't perform a file-write process in the absence of the actual Nvidia folders after a restart where the folders have been deleted (not the registry keys).

By Nvidia folders I mean Program Files > Nvidia, Program Files (x86) > Nvidia, Program Data (Hidden) > Nvidia and Nvidia Corporation and the Windows > System32 files.

I've tried manual deletions of the above folders when the Programs and Features Uninstallers had absolutely no effect whatsoever after a system restart, despite reporting successful execution. I know they don't delete ALL the files, but they didn't delete ANY of the files, despite the files having disappeared when I checked after running them.

After every system restart ALL Nvidia driver files are back where they were supposed to be, without any apparent installer activity immediately after each restart.

 

[Thelps]

I'll try running the Uninstaller from Programs and Features then delete any remaining files in the above locations and then cleanup 'broken' Registry Hooks as reported by registry scanning software to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Sinistercr0c]

I can only tell you that what you have seen is the same as I have seen on the AMD side. I Uninstalled the Crimson driver suite both using MS uninstall programs and then DDU utility (which also cleans the registry) and almost immediately after the reboot, my display adaptors in device manager updated from the Microsoft basic display adaptor to 'AMD 200 series adaptor'. This can only be windows 10 recognising the device( s ) installed and executing a built in install of the driver.

Whether this activity is shown in task manager I couldn't say.

Why do you believe this is some kind of bug?

 

[Thelps]

Because of the amount of other activity Windows has been displaying that is strange...

Inability to login with the correct password despite that password working from a CMD prompt from the Shift + Restart menu. Windows Defender reporting scans as complete while the scan was still running. Flickering up of CMD prompt windows which instantly dissappear at system startup, etc. etc.

Loads of anomalous behaviour. Difficult to separate the bugs from the malware from the intended features.

 

[Thelps]

Anyway, finally ran Display Driver Uninstaller:

http://www.wagnardsoft.com/

It worked, the driver is completely removed.

Managed to achieve the same effect yesterday night the manual way I described here:

I'll try running the Uninstaller from Programs and Features then delete any remaining files in the above locations and then cleanup 'broken' Registry Hooks as reported by registry scanning software to see if that makes a difference.

Unfortunately, then my PC started refusing my password at the login screen (despite confirming it was the correct password from the CMD Prompt accessible via the Emergency Startup Menu you get when you press Shift + Restart from the Shutdown menu).

I was subsequently forced to roll back to a previous restore point to recover login ability (despite having a PW reset disk that suddenly refused to work).

Since that fiasco it became impossible to completely uninstall the Nvidia drivers so, as at the beginning of this post, had to use the Wagnar toolkit.

So much strange activity on this machine.

Selecting Sinistercr0c as best answer, but it would have been nice if someone could have waded in with manual means of disabling the driver updates.