News Upgrading Your GPU? Here's How to Totally Uninstall Old Nvidia, AMD or Intel Graphics Drivers

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Status
Not open for further replies.
peachpuff said:
Old wives’ tale to think your new nvidia card will somehow use amd's drivers 🙄

Boot into safe mode? lolol ok
Click to expand...
Your new Nvidia card won’t use them, but Windows might be stupid and try to use the wrong ones. Putting into safe mode is the only way to truly remove them and go back to the standard windows install drivers.
 
As with any third party program making registry changes, I only recommend DDU when necessary. If one is experiencing issues with a current driver and needs to install an older, known good version? DDU. Moving to a different brand? DDU. There are several registry entries that are left behind on a standard uninstall, as well as folders and other fragments that can and do have stability and performance implications. Of course it is possible to remove/edit these things oneself, but DDU makes it simple and in many years I have not had an issue using it. I certainly have had issues NOT using it, or at least making the deletions/changing keys myself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deleted member 14196
peachpuff said:
Are you still using windows 98?

I just switched from amd to nvidia and windows 10 isn't as stupid as you think it is.
Click to expand...

so what you're saying is "it worked for me so it clearly will work for everyone else in the world!!" this forum has a ton of questions daily that start with "i changed gpu and it's all kinds of messed up" if it was so simple, we'd not see these questions.

guess what we suggest each time someone has the issues?? yup that's right, exactly what this article says to do. and guess what?? yah it works just about every time to get it working right.

stop being so nieve to think that just because you did something successfully once, it will always work every time for everyone in all ways.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SunMaster, Deleted member 14196 and CelicaGT
Math Geek said:
so what you're saying is "it worked for me so it clearly will work for everyone else in the world!!" this forum has a ton of questions daily that start with "i changed gpu and it's all kinds of messed up" if it was so simple, we'd not see these questions.

guess what we suggest each time someone has the issues?? yup that's right, exactly what this article says to do. and guess what?? yah it works just about every time to get it working right.

stop being so nieve to think that just because you did something successfully once, it will always work every time for everyone in all ways.
Click to expand...

You're assuming both that their system is functioning correctly, and that they would have any idea if it wasn't. Other than that, yes, pretty much the rest of what you said..
 
Used DDU years ago to remove an old GPU driver and ended up having to do an entire new install of Windows. Not sure what I did but it took me days to get my PC up and running again. If I was switching from an Nvidia card to an AMD I would maybe use it again but if I'm using the same company I don't bother. Just upgraded from a 3070 to a 4080 and just did a clean driver install with GeForce Experience.
 
Jaxstarke9977 said:
Used DDU years ago to remove an old GPU driver and ended up having to do an entire new install of Windows. Not sure what I did but it took me days to get my PC up and running again. If I was switching from an Nvidia card to an AMD I would maybe use it again but if I'm using the same company I don't bother. Just upgraded from a 3070 to a 4080 and just did a clean driver install with GeForce Experience.
Click to expand...

Generally speaking, with Nvidia you don't need to do any cleanup these days, their drivers are quite good at detecting the new hardware and having the correct components installed. Going from NV to AMD, or Intel? Yes there can be, and often are issues.
 
I always use DDU, even when just upgrading to a new driver version. There will always be leftover gunk from the previous drivers when doing a driver upgrade, and DDU will take care rhat's not the case.

If you have a lot of special driver settings you have spent a long time setting up, make a profile backup and restore that after the new install. AMD has this function built into the software, and Nvidia there is a tool you can download and use for the same purpose (can't rememeber of the top of my head the name of the Nvidia tool).

I have once in a while just done a straight upgrade on top of the previous driver version and though that has never caused me any issues, I prefer doing a clean driver install every time.

Instead of using the DDU option to prevent Windows from automatically install the driver upon reboot from safe mode, I just disable the network card or unplug the network cable before booting into safe mode. This prevents Windows Update to install the driver upon normal reboot.

On my laptop Windows Update installs and replaces the new driver, so there I had to create .reg files which prevents Windows installing drivers for specific hardware. You can set this up using Group Policy too (if you have a Windows Pro version), but takes longer, as you have to allow windows to install drivers for the specific hardware when upgrading the driver yourself. So having premade .reg files is much quicker. I had to include the audio drivers on my laptoo too this way, or Windows Update installs new drivers for my audio hardware as well, which destroys the sound from being clear and good to distorted popping and crackling sound. So I can never upgrade the sound drivers. A lot of people on the internet with the same laptop models think their speakers are broken, and starts longwinded support tickets with Asus, but it's just bad driver issues. (It's a Zephyrus laptop).
 
So Im running a pc to play UltraHD BluRay disks using the required integrated graphics on my intel CPU.

Can I also run a Nvidia graphics card & driver for gaming? I'd be changing the output signal to a different port.
 
CelicaGT said:
... Going from NV to AMD, or Intel? Yes there can be, and often are issues.
Click to expand...
Unrelated issues, perhaps. But the idea that AMD will somehow use NVidia's drivers and vice versa clearly doesn't understand how drivers work. As far as the OS is concerned, an Nvidia driver and an AMD driver relate to two entirely separate devices, so basically, you may as well claim that your new video card may potentially use a keyboard driver. Again, drivers don't work like that. Especially not in any version of Windows going back a decade or two.
 
  • Like
Reactions: peachpuff
Every device reports a vendor ID, a device ID, and a device type. This allows the OS to not only make sure to load the correct driver, but if a specific driver isn't available, to load a generic driver for that device type. So a GPU from AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel isn't going to use a driver for the wrong manufacturer. Also drivers from at least AMD and NVIDIA are compatible with a wide range of their GPUs, not just the specific one you selected. For example, NVIDIA's 527.56 driver is compatible with Maxwell GPUs, so you could jump from a GTX 980 to a RTX 4080 without changing the drivers.

The only issue I've encountered that needed DDU was when I had multiple versions of a compatible driver. But there's a solution to avoid that:
  • Disconnect the computer from the internet (this is to prevent Windows from getting a driver from Microsoft's repo)
  • Uninstall the driver from Control Panel -> Programs and Features
  • Reboot
  • Install the driver
  • Reboot again for good measure (the installer may also tell you should reboot)
Actually, disconnecting the computer from the internet when installing new hardware that requires drivers to work with until you get the proper drivers installed is probably a good idea in general.
 
BX4096 said:
Unrelated issues, perhaps. But the idea that AMD will somehow use NVidia's drivers and vice versa clearly doesn't understand how drivers work. As far as the OS is concerned, an Nvidia driver and an AMD driver relate to two entirely separate devices, so basically, you may as well claim that your new video card may potentially use a keyboard driver. Again, drivers don't work like that. Especially not in any version of Windows going back a decade or two.
Click to expand...

I never said they would use each others drivers, that was an entirely different comment by someone else. The issue lies in that both drivers will use the same registry keys with different or conflicting values, these typically do not get removed on an uninstall, even a "clean" one. With multiple keys in the same location issues can arise. It usually emerges as lower than expected performance, or stability issues in some games. It can be game by game, or present at all times. In many cases the user doesn't notice anything is amiss, and then when issues do crop up, they are unable to find a resolution as they will simply uninstall the current driver, then reinstall, or update. All the while the old keys remain, and sometimes new ones get added compounding the issue. It HAS gotten better in Win10, but when switching brands especially it IS recommended. Intel even has a service bulletin about it.

(Edit) To add, recently I have fixed these issues manually. A relative installed my old GTX1080 in a system that previously had an AMD RX460 in it. They had simply uninstalled the AMD driver and then swapped cards, installing the latest Nvidia driver. Everything ran fine for months until attempting to play SnowRunner, launching past the menu screen caused an immediate CTD. After quizzing them about their PSU age (again), and then on what they had done when swapping cards I removed the registry components myself as once the driver has been uninstalled DDU cannot help you. The CTD stopped afterwards thankfully, it still could have been their old ass PSU. As I mentioned in another comment one does not NEED to use DDU, this process can be done manually as it's fairly simple. The keys/folders needing removal can be found online. For me DDU is only for use when there is a definite, known driver issue but I also recommend it when brand switching simply to reduce the possibility of encountering issues down the road.
 
Last edited:
Put the warning in the BEGINNING:

DDU has the potentialy to as far as I know irreversibly damage Windows' drivers and/or registry related pointers and generally cripple systems.

Irreversible meaning either zero alternatives to a recovery disc or comparable repair/full reinstall, or any possible repair will be unique to each system and not follow a proscribed strategy.

Don't believe me? Try a search for "DDU +<insert any of various descriptive terms for mangled install> "

There are many many 10s of pages of negative and desperate commenters on many different forums that merely incidentally touch upon this subject.


Note: I don't dispute the value of the software or procedure. I am, however, intimately familiar with the risk associated with it.

note 2: I also don't dispute that the metric above (the number of angered commenters) is skewed as much as negative reviews of businesses or products by comparison to positives (10:1? more? consider how many times you have been motivated to positively review something where you got exactly what you expected with no controversy, vs negatively)

Its 1 step below the risk of a mangled BIOS update to a 1 firmware bank motherboard or router firmware upgrade.
 
If ddu mangled it, their operating system was probably anyway you don’t have to seriously mangled. In my own experience, I have used it several times and had no issues whatsoever. It was my only option because things just weren’t working right after on installing the old drivers using windows.

As with any risky procedure, you should have your system fully backed up before you do anything

Running DDU on a system that’s already compromised probably won’t yield any good results

anyway , you don’t have to use it
 
Mandark said:
If ddu mangled it, their operating system was probably anyway you don’t have to seriously mangled.
Click to expand...
even mentally adding commas made this hard to understand :)


Katana.lx said:
Hello!!!
Great article but I believe it's better to just clean install.
Click to expand...
wait, what. Clean install windows to upgrade GPU? Thats a little excessive.

DDU is pretty safe, I don't know how many times I have suggested https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...n-install-of-your-video-card-drivers.2402269/ but tis a good thing its free and I don't have to pay... DB would be rich... anyway, I have yet to have anyone come back and tell me DDU hosed their system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deleted member 14196
Nice guide, I never need it DDU on my personal rig. As always I guess it all depends on how healthy your system is if you need or not to use it.

I did run DDU on small number of "complicated" systems that got into my working table.

Is a nice tool to keep in mind, but I don't think you need to use it every single time for every single system.

The main problem right now for many people is to have the money to buy a new GPU and probably a new PSU.
 
RodroX said:
The main problem right now for many people is to have the money to buy a new GPU and probably a new PSU.
Click to expand...
it can just take saving
hdvhJjK.jpg


I have used DDU a few times, to remove 1 version of Nvidia drivers to try another...

Guess soon I will have to remove them for a few years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RodroX and Deleted member 14196
Colif said:
it can just take saving
hdvhJjK.jpg


I have used DDU a few times, to remove 1 version of Nvidia drivers to try another...

Guess soon I will have to remove them for a few years.
Click to expand...

Grats!

Yeah for some it may only take saving. Sadly for others like me, on this part of the world, no matter how much we save, our coin will keep going down vs the all mighty USD.

I can only hope 2024 with a new goverment things may get a little bit better.
 
Colif said:
even mentally adding commas made this hard to understand :)



wait, what. Clean install windows to upgrade GPU? Thats a little excessive.

DDU is pretty safe, I don't know how many times I have suggested https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...n-install-of-your-video-card-drivers.2402269/ but tis a good thing its free and I don't have to pay... DB would be rich... anyway, I have yet to have anyone come back and tell me DDU hosed their system.
Click to expand...


Do you change your graphic card yearly? To me it's 3 in 3 at most, so a clean install is already needed.
I've been doing this since windows 3.11, at the time there where no good driver removers, format c:. And now with pens it's so fast I don't waste my time with other methods. Yes, you may lose 2 hours but if you use DDU or other program and something goes wrong, you will loose more then to hours. And I'm a lazy bastard who doesn't bother doing an image...
On the other hand I have used DDU specially to diagnose computers, it's a good tool.
And there are other programs like Driver Fusion that can remove the drivers, it's not exclusive.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom