SLI working...driver update...SLI not found

[MichaelE1]

Hi everyone,

First time for me here at Tom's Hardware. Seems to be a place of experts, though, so hopefully I can get some assistance!

I run:

Asus P8Z68-V Pro MB
Core i7-2600K
GeForce GTX 580 (2 identical)
16 GB Corsair DDR3 RAM
Windows 8.1 64-bit

Two days ago I configured my Nvidia settings to enable SLI so I could play a video game (Deus Ex: Human Revolution). Today, I noticed there were driver updates for my graphics card (337.88). I downloaded and installed them using my device manager (automatically search for updates) and they were successfully installed. I then went back into my Nvidia settings, and the SLI option was gone. It just shows a PhysX screen now.

I tried to do a driver roll-back and got a nice BSoD with a page fault in non-paged area screen. I then tried to do a system restore, and for some reason or another it failed as well. I attempted a fresh install of the same drivers using clean install; same problem. I then reinstalled my old drivers, ensuring I did a clean install (found under custom selection) and to no avail.

I then tried a registry cleaner: no help. I did a sfc.exe/scannow and received no errors. I also ensured the cards were seated correctly (they are being detected by my PC and Nvidia's panel) and ensured the bridge was on the cards firmly and correctly (it should be, it worked only 2 days ago before the update). In addition, I entered my BIOS and ensured PCIE/PCI was selected.

So now I'm at a loss. I don't even know where to start from here. I just don't think my SLI bridge could have failed within 2 days immediately after a driver update; that'd be one heck of a coincidence that's beyond the realm of reasonable probability. I never had an issue before. Also, I do not have Realtek LAN on this PC.

Anybody have any ideas?

 

[photonboy]

Troubleshooting:
Likely a SOFTWARE issue, but to be thorough:

1) run MEMTEST for a full pass www.memtest.org (may need to change boot order in BIOS)

2) Try each card separately in the top PCIe x16 slot (use SLI compatible benchmark to easily compare scores). The 2nd card should be REMOVED completely (on/in anti-static bag if possible. Use proper grounding procedure.)

3) If both cards work fine separately, try the 2nd slot with one card only to ensure it's functional.

4) Bridge?
I guess that's possible.

5) *If possible, get a spare drive, unhook all other SSD/HDD drives, then install Windows and the necessary drivers to test if updated software works. Run the same BENCHMARK again to see if score improves.

In particular, the MAIN CHIPSET driver for the motherboard (motherboard support site), and the NVidia drivers. Don't Activate Windows.

Conclusion:
I'm a little split now as to whether I think it's hardware or software. I'm starting to lean towards a hardware issue. Hopefully the above gets you closer to solving the issue.

Sometimes System Memory causes a lot of corruption to software because it's either physically damaged or just setup incorrectly.