NVIDIA driver updating method - uninstall or update?

[Turbonium]

So what's the modern way to update NVIDIA drivers?

Back in the day, I used to uninstall the old drivers, reboot, then install the new ones. Is that antiquated? Can I just run the installer for the new drivers without uninstalling the old ones first?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Just update, no uninstall needed.

You can also select perform clean installation during the process in setup if you wish.

I have never uninstalled any driver before installing a newer version before.

 

[Nawlins]

Would that work for AMD video card as well?

 

[mojothehut]

I've always been a big fan of..
Uninstall -- Reboot to Safemode -- Run Driver Sweeper -- Reboot to normal windows & install new drivers.

But I'm just paranoid like that :'(

 

[JAG87]

I've always been a big fan of..
Uninstall -- Reboot to Safemode -- Run Driver Sweeper -- Reboot to normal windows & install new drivers.

But I'm just paranoid like that :'(

That's not necessary, Windows will always use driver files with a newer date than the superseded ones.

If you are switching vendors and want to remove all traces then your method has a point, but it's really only a neatness thing.

 

[FalseChristian]

I always have nVidia unistall the old drivers first. I'm paranoid that way, too. No need to reboot anymore.

 

[BrightCandle]

Just install the new one, works every time so far in the last 1.5 years.

The same was not true for my 7970's. I did have 2 installs over the top that did not work and required a bit fiddling to get things to work. In both cases old files had been left behind as AMD changed the drivers in a significant way and the old drivers were required to fix the problem (using their uninstaller).

So generally I trust the installer to do the right thing.

 

[boxleitnerb]

The Nvidia installer uninstalls the old driver by itself, everything is automatic. No fancy procedures needed.

 

[amenx]

"Updating" or installing over existing Nvidia drivers works fine, but problem is the old driver is backed up in windows driver store (C\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository). So for roughly every 10 drivers, the back ups grow by over 1gb. Uninstalling the driver ensures it doesnt get backed up.

 

[bononos]

Would that work for AMD video card as well?

Officially its uninstall then install. This is what got from some driver doc and after contacting support.

 

[nafees127]

you better uninstall driver fully and then install it completely. update will create issues, i never did that either.

 

[Daxwax]

I usually look at how big the changes is before deciding.
I always uninstall - reboot - driver sweeper - reboot - install when I'm going to/from beta drivers though.

 

[stahlhart]

This method always works well for me:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1150443/how-to-remove-your-nvidia-gpu-drivers#post_15432476

 

[blackened23]

"Updating" or installing over existing Nvidia drivers works fine, but problem is the old driver is backed up in windows driver store (C\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository). So for roughly every 10 drivers, the back ups grow by over 1gb. Uninstalling the driver ensures it doesnt get backed up.

I was about to say something similar. This is why I generally always do a fresh install - having your driver repository grow too large causes issues if you do any sort of windows system images regularly. I usually always "clone" my boot SSD which takes a matter of 4 minutes - but if you have a large driver repository it causes issues at times.... Over time it can prevent backup/system images from working correctly (you'll get an error when trying to attempt a system image backup).