How To: Reinstall Video Drivers (Quick Guide)

erocker · Feb 13, 2008

***Updated 7/3/2016

Hello! You can still use the guide below, however things are a bit easier now days.

1. Uninstall old drivers through the Control Panel (programs/features). Restart.

2. Download, install and run DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) then restart. Best to do it in Safe Mode (the program will give you that option).

3. Done. Install new drivers.

AMD Drivers Here

Nvidia Drivers Here

Download DDU Here (Scroll down to bottom and be sure to download the latest version)

This works with XP, Vista and Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10. with both Nvidia and AMD. Make sure that your motherboard/chipset drivers are updated. If you just added a 2nd card to your system you may need to update your motherboard/chipset drivers again. If you are using CrossFire, have both cards installed with both crossfire bridges installed from the start. This guide is for those of you having driver issues either due to a bad install, swapping in different video cards or what have you. If you have any kind of input, recommendations or suggestions please leave a post in the thread.
:toast:

Section A Control Panel

1. Uninstall any video card overclocking programs that are tied to your drivers. (Rivatuner, ATi Tool, etc.)

2. Uninstall video drivers. Generally this is done through the control panel (add/remove programs for XP, Programs and Features for Vista and Windows 7) in Windows. For AMD it's called "AMD Catalyst Install Manager". For Nvidia it's usually labeled as "Nvidia Display Drivers" you want to uninstall. Restart. When restarted don't allow windows to install any drivers for your cards yet, just cancel out. For AMD, remove the latest CAP from the Control Panel as well... It will most likely ask you to restart again, do so. Re-check in add/remove programs - Programs and Features for any remaining AMD/Nvidia display associated drivers.

Section B Registry

See Fig. X
1. Click Start->Run. Type: regedit

2. In the registry editor Click File->Export. Save to your desktop (Now you have a backup of your registry.)

3. Expand the folder "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" (by clicking the "+" sign), then expand the folder "Software".

4. Find and delete any files/folders pertaining to your old video drivers in the Windows folder and Program Files folder(s) BE CAREFUL NOT TO DELETE ANY CHIPSET FILES OR FOLDERS.

5. Follow steps 4 and 5 for the folder "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Click File->Exit and you are done.

Section C Windows

See Fig. Z
1. Delete the ATi/Nvidia folder on your system drive in the "Program Files" folder or wherever you saved it.

2. Go to the drive that Windows is stored on and double-click on the Windows folder.

3. Delete everything possible in the Temp and Prefetch folders.

4. In Vista/7: Start-->Search-->For Files and Folders. Type ATI in the search box, go to advanced and be sure to tick the box to search unindexed drives (if indexing is off). Two ATi folders should pop up under C:\Users\"yourname"\appdata. Delete both.

Or, you can find the folders manually. These files can be located, but first you need to make sure that you have "Show Hidden Files/Folders" selected under "Folder Options" in the Control Panel. Once done, go to: My Documents-

>AppData->Local and delete the ATi folder. You may find another folder to delete in: My Documents->AppData->Roaming.

5. Use a driver uninstaller of your choice. Driver Fusion, DDU, ATiMan, etc. This step really isn't necessary unless you experience issues with the reinstall.

6. Empty the Recycle Bin. Restart.

Install New Drivers

*If you are running an AMD chipset/CPU be sure to reinstall your SB (chipset) drivers as well.

-Have fun!

***Always make sure that DirectX is up to date here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3

Azazel · May 4, 2008

thanks...

i see you got your old ava back

PaulieG · May 4, 2008

Nice thread, Eric. I'm wondering though, what kind of damage have you heard happening when using driver cleaner? I've used it for about 5 years without a problem.

erocker · May 4, 2008

Paulieg said:
Nice thread, Eric. I'm wondering though, what kind of damage have you heard happening when using driver cleaner? I've used it for about 5 years without a problem.

Most of the time mess ups with DC happen with user error. Though I've seen a driver cleaner or two take out a couple necessary Windows files before, resulting in random errors here and there. I just prefer knowing what's being deleted on my machine and not have a third-party program do it for me.

jbunch07 · May 4, 2008

nice one erocker!
there has been allot of talk about this subject lately this is a great guideline!

Dr. Spankenstein · May 4, 2008

Thank you for taking the time to do this! This is a thread we'll all be linking....

I don't know how many people realize HOW imperitive it is to thoroughly clean the video drivers before instlling new ones.

One of the biggest clues that there are reminants of old drivers is if upon reinstall, it restores the screen res you had on a previous install and not the default 800x600. If you've experienced this, you haven't cleaned everything.

Another thing to note is how these latest Cats don't require C++ anymore, so if you have the latest Cats and something seems off, look in the "Add/Remove" and look and see if you have multiple C++ installs. Uninstall them and reinstall a current version IF you need it for another program.

Again, congrats on a wonderful and useful write-up!

Sticky?

HP_dudeman · May 5, 2008

i havent had any problems with uninstalling video drivers without prefetch/temp or anything. just a simple uninstall thru add/remove programs works fine

erocker · May 5, 2008

I can believe that. Though for some this isn't the case.

nflesher87 · May 5, 2008

you can never be too thorough with uninstalling drivers

I don't think I ever got to thank you for that PM a while back on this e, so there you go

I actually have come to like using Driver Cleaner Pro as I do believe it automates what you described plus more, not to mention being quite simple to use

newtekie1 · May 5, 2008

erocker said:
I can believe that. Though for some this isn't the case.

Especially if, for whatever reason, there was a problem with the drivers and they aren't working correctly.

jbunch07 · May 5, 2008

this should be stickied!

panchoman · May 5, 2008

great guide man! also ccleaner does a nice automated job for step 3

hat · May 5, 2008

Meh. I've never had any problems just uninstalling the old ones and then installing the new ones.

oli_ramsay · May 5, 2008

jbunch07 said:
this should be stickied!

+1

panchoman · May 5, 2008

oli_ramsay said:
+1

+2 but maybe in the general software as this can relate to many non-graphic things as well.

HTC · May 5, 2008

panchoman said:
+2 but maybe in the general software as this can relate to many non-graphic things as well.

Signed!

LifeOnMars · Jul 20, 2008

Dr. Spankenstein said:
Thank you for taking the time to do this! This is a thread we'll all be linking....

I don't know how many people realize HOW imperitive it is to thoroughly clean the video drivers before instlling new ones.

One of the biggest clues that there are reminants of old drivers is if upon reinstall, it restores the screen res you had on a previous install and not the default 800x600. If you've experienced this, you haven't cleaned everything.

Another thing to note is how these latest Cats don't require C++ anymore, so if you have the latest Cats and something seems off, look in the "Add/Remove" and look and see if you have multiple C++ installs. Uninstall them and reinstall a current version IF you need it for another program.

Again, congrats on a wonderful and useful write-up!

Sticky?

I've just followed all of the steps....and it keeps booting up in the same res 1280 x 1024 which is my monitors native res...what am i missing? Also, unsure as to what i can and can't delete in my temp and prefetch folders...any idea please?

Hayder_Master · Jul 20, 2008

everyone i give you something very useful , one click to clean all temp folders and Prefetch folders, like ccleaner but with 1kb size no installation and very fast

View attachment delXP.zip

Dr. Spankenstein · Jul 20, 2008

Prefetch is an element of XP that is used to help "speed up" the opening of regularly used programs/files. You can delete eveything from it with no ill effects.

Temp folder is just that...temporary. Delete with impunity.

erocker · Jul 22, 2008

LifeOnMars said:
I've just followed all of the steps....and it keeps booting up in the same res 1280 x 1024 which is my monitors native res...what am i missing? Also, unsure as to what i can and can't delete in my temp and prefetch folders...any idea please?

In prefetch delete everything except the Readyboost folder at the top. For the temp folder I delete everything except my anti-virus folder.

psyko12 · Jul 22, 2008

Your quick guide helped me most of the time, especially with 177.66's heh, I managed to get em running fine with RivaTuner with your guide, 1st install was bad then tried this and *viola* it worked :toast:

erocker · Jul 22, 2008

Small update for Vista users.

*will check with XP tomorrow...

psyko12 · Jul 22, 2008

Ty for the heads up on the un-indexed search. Does that apply to nvid too?

erocker · Jul 22, 2008

psyko12 said:
Ty for the heads up on the un-indexed search. Does that apply to nvid too?

Hmm.... No Nvidia card to try out anymore, but I don't think so. The update is for deleting profiles and settings in CCC which automatically get deleted for Nvidia.

psyko12 · Jul 22, 2008

erocker said:
Hmm.... No Nvidia card to try out anymore, but I don't think so. The update is for deleting profiles and settings in CCC which automatically get deleted for Nvidia.

Ahh, I see, anyhow that un-indexed drive tip helps too, thx

I got indexing off on my drives :toast:

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF x670e-Plus Wifi
Cooling	EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory	64GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 4090
Storage	WD/Samsung m.2's
Display(s)	LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case	Fractal Design North
Audio Device(s)	Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Amp, Adam Audio T5V's, Hifiman Sundara's.
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Epomaker 84 key
Software	Windows 11 Pro

Processor	5800x(2)/5700g/5600x/5600g/2700x/1700x/1700
Motherboard	MSI B550 Carbon (2)/ MSI z490 Unify/Asus Strix B550-F/MSI B450 Tomahawk (3)
Cooling	EK AIO 360 (2)/EK AIO 240, Arctic Cooling Freezer II 280/EVGA CLC 280/Noctua D15/Cryorig M9(2)
Memory	32 GB Ballistix Elite/32 GB TridentZ/16GB Mushkin Redline Black/16 GB Dominator
Video Card(s)	Asus Strix RTX3060/EVGA 970(2)/Asus 750 ti/Old Quadros
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB/WD Black M.2 NVMe 500GB/Adata 500gb NVMe
Display(s)	Acer 1080p 22"/ (3) Samsung 22" 1080p
Case	(2) Lian Li Lancool II Mesh/Corsair 4000D /Phanteks Eclipse 500a/Be Quiet Pure Base 500/Bones of HAF
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 850G(2)/EVGA Supernova GT 650w/Phantek Amps 750w/Seasonic Focus 750w
Mouse	Generic Black wireless (5)
Keyboard	Generic Black wireless (5)
Software	Win 10/Ubuntu

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF x670e-Plus Wifi
Cooling	EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory	64GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 4090
Storage	WD/Samsung m.2's
Display(s)	LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case	Fractal Design North
Audio Device(s)	Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Amp, Adam Audio T5V's, Hifiman Sundara's.
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Epomaker 84 key
Software	Windows 11 Pro

Processor	i5-2500k
Motherboard	ASRock z68 pro3-m
Cooling	Corsair A70
Memory	Kingston HyperX 8GB 2 x 4GB 1600mhz
Storage	OCZ Agility3 60GB(boot) 2x320GB Raid0(storage)
Display(s)	Samsung 24" 1920x1200
Case	Custom
Power Supply	PC Power and Cooling 750w
Software	Win 7 x64

Processor	Intel C2D E8500 @ 4.25GHz (1.36V)
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6
Cooling	(Temporary) Tuniq Tower 120
Memory	2GB Transcend aXeram 1200+
Video Card(s)	HIS HD3870 CF Volt modded
Storage	3 Seagate 320Gb Barracuda in an Intel Matrix Raid array
Display(s)	Sony GDM-FW900 24" Widescreen CRT (a.k.a "The Shiznotch")
Case	Ultra Aluminus Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	onboard Intel HD audio
Power Supply	PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750
Software	XP MCE + Vista (HP) dual-boot

System Name	The custom one
Processor	AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Motherboard	ECS RD480-A939
Cooling	amd
Memory	512mb ddr
Video Card(s)	mx4000
Storage	160gb
Display(s)	compaq presario mv700
Case	powmax
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	idk
Software	xp pro

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	Amd Athlon X2 4600+ Windsor(90nm) EE(65W) @2.9-3.0 @1.45
Motherboard	Biostar Tforce [Nvidia] 550
Cooling	Thermaltake Blue Orb-- bunch of other fans here and there....
Memory	2 gigs (2x1gb) of patriot ddr2 800 @ 4-4-4-12-2t
Video Card(s)	Sapphire X1950pro Pci-E x16 @stock@stock on stock
Storage	Seagate 7200.11 250gb Drive, WD raptors (30/40) in Raid 0
Display(s)	ANCIENT 15" sony lcd, bought it when it was like 500 bucks
Case	Apevia X-plorer blue/black
Audio Device(s)	Onboard- Why get an sound card when you can hum??
Power Supply	Antec NeoHe 550-manufactured by seasonic -replacement to the discontinued smart power series
Software	Windows XP pro SP2 -- vista is still crap

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Dream Weaver
Processor	Ryzen 5600
Motherboard	B450 MSI Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling	NH-D14
Memory	16GB Flare X @ 3200MHz CL14
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Vega 64 Nitro+
Storage	500GB evo 970 m.2 + 4TB HDDs
Display(s)	ASUS 27" 1440p 144hz FreeSync
Case	Fractal Design Define R3
Power Supply	Corsair 850W
Software	Windows 10 x64

System Name	HTC's System
Processor	Ryzen 5 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asrock Taichi X370
Cooling	NH-C14, with the AM4 mounting kit
Memory	G.Skill Kit 16GB DDR4 F4 - 3200 C16D - 16 GTZB
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse 6600 8 GB
Storage	1 Samsung NVMe 960 EVO 250 GB + 1 3.5" Seagate IronWolf Pro 6TB 7200RPM 256MB SATA III
Display(s)	LG 27UD58
Case	Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair TX 850M 80+ Gold
Mouse	Razer Deathadder Elite
Software	Ubuntu 20.04.6 LTS

System Name	Bad Moon Ryzen
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Asrock B450M Pro4-F
Cooling	Vetroo V5
Memory	16Gb (8gb x 2) 3200 MHz DDR 4
Video Card(s)	GTX 1080
Storage	Samsung 860 Evo 500Gb SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	Asus VG249Q3A (180Hz Freesync/Gsync) & 4K Samsung TV
Case	Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact w/Dark Tempered Glass
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	MSI MPG A850GF (850w)
VR HMD	Rift S

System Name	MASTER
Processor	Core i7 3930k run at 4.4ghz
Motherboard	Asus Rampage IV extreme
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	4x4G kingston hyperx beast 2400mhz
Video Card(s)	2X EVGA GTX680
Storage	2X Crusial M4 256g raid0, 1TbWD g, 2x500 WD B
Display(s)	Samsung 27' 1080P LED 3D monitior 2ms
Case	CoolerMaster Chosmos II
Audio Device(s)	Creative sound blaster X-FI Titanum champion,Creative speakers 7.1 T7900
Power Supply	Corsair 1200i, Logitch G500 Mouse, headset Corsair vengeance 1500
Software	Win7 64bit Ultimate
Benchmark Scores	3d mark 2011: testing

System Name	Zangief (Reborn) 2.0 AM4 not dead yet!
Processor	AMD Ryzen R7 5700X3D (tweaked PBO)
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-AX370 Gaming K7 Rev 1.0 BIOS F53d
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 Push / Push Config \| 2x ML120 \| 2x Phanteks 120 mm
Memory	2x16GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo RGB @ 3600mhz CL 18 -> running 3800mhz @ 1.37v
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 3080 Rog Strix Gaming OC
Storage	250 GB Samsung Evo 850 / 1tb WD Black / 4tb WD Blue / 512GB Adata XPG Pro SX8200
Display(s)	Acer Predator XB271HU \|Asus VX239H 23" AH-IPS Led
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG
Audio Device(s)	On Board Realtek HD \| Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX V4 850 Watts ATX 3.1
Mouse	Logitech G903
Keyboard	AKKO 5098N (Otemu Cocoa Brown Lubed) \| Tecware Spectre 96 (Akko Lavander Purple V3 lubed)
Software	Windows 11 Pro 24H2

How To: Reinstall Video Drivers (Quick Guide)

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