Need help: lost the display driver on my desktop; cannot see what I'm doing

[United Gnosis]

I'll study your video closely to discover whether there is a fail-safe method I could apply.

As for the linus video of a first-person build, I did not intend for it to be the main reference or something that you study closely. But it is fairly in-depth so I went in to look for the relevant part for you - installing the video card is usually one of the last things you do in a build, to keep free working space, so you'd have to watch the whole video just to catch the detail I was referring to.

Linus starts finicking around the top PCI-e slot around 31:45, at exactly 32:10 he mentions the nub I was talking about (he calls it a 'tab'). This is the relevant part of the video, because that is the only manipulation that could interfere in the steps that concern you. Somebody who doesn't know could tug on the card and damage either it, the motherboard, or both, but you simply have to make sure to disengage it, the graphics card will half click out by itself.

Also, I said use your left hand, because that's an experience I could refer to easily and describe, but it depends on the size of your CPU cooler. I guess you can also come at it right hand thumb pointing down, going around and below the cooler to reach the tab. But at least now you'll know what to reach for.

Again, this is the only relevant second of that video. Push the tab back and the card half disengages.

All of that being said, the Jayztwocents' 'Serious issue has a simple fix' is the one to watch.

 

[Palinurus]

All of that being said, the Jayztwocents' 'Serious issue has a simple fix' is the one to watch.

I've just re-read this whole thread from start to finish, the links and videos included, thereby slowly but surely building myself up into a state of mind that would enable me to really start a hands-on procedure anytime soon.

The first time I watched said video (with subtitles activated because the guy talks really fast and in a rather convoluted way, sentence- wise) it went way over my head. But now, after the ongoing discussion here, I can make much more sense of it. I understand what he's proposing and why, but I also think his DDU-procedure would be best performed afterward when the desktop is working normally again and not during the revival procedure. I don't think a stacking of drivers upon drivers upon drivers is my issue ATM.

So having taken all I could manage from the discussion together, I intend to do the following in the not to distant future:

First I take the power off completely, open up the desktop case and try to remove the RTX 2070 graphic card.

Would I be successful in that endeavor, I will close up the box again (to avoid risk of statics and/or other unintended interference), put the power back on and try to reach the WinRE screen via the start (three times) - stop (two times) method. Having arrived there, I should activate safe mode with networking, and reboot.

In safe mode with networking, I seem to have the following options:

- go to the Intel webpage, download the proper driver for the UHD 630 and install it; or let the Intel Driver Support Assistant do the work for me if it's available in safe mode;

- go to device manager via: This Computer > Properties > Device Manager, right-click on the proper graphics adapter to select Update driver via web search (in stead of via Windows Update);

- try to find a restore point from before 13 October (maybe via CCleaner Professional - if available in safe mode), go back to before the Windows Update sequence of the past week, and hope that all will then be functioning normally; thereafter run Windows Update again plus any other updates that present themselves afterward;

- some other method I haven't thought of or didn't distill as of yet from our ongoing discussion.

- open up the box again (power completely off), insert the RTX 2070 back into its slot with its power-feeds connected, close the box once more, reboot, and live happily ever after.

This is what I'm provisionally planning to do. I put it in here first to allow comments, caveats, and anything else that may seem to-the-point. Sorry for being such a nuisance.

 

[Ina]

Last but not least. Use the Settings to limit or stop automatic Windows upgrades alltogether.
And like the French say, Bon Courage!

 

[United Gnosis]

but I also think his DDU-procedure would be best performed afterward when the desktop is working normally again and not during the revival procedure. I don't think a stacking of drivers upon drivers upon drivers is my issue ATM.

It's kind of exactly the issue, actually. Having a fail while installing drivers, anti-virus interrupting the process and try to revert the files, is exactly what happened in your situation. You can try to install on top of this more-or-less-reverted-stack-of-drivers, and pile up fresh ones on top. It might even work. But this is exactly why you run a DDU after any driver conflict, to wipe the slate clean to the basic display drivers, and then you are sure that the fresh drivers you are installing don't get conflicts from everything left over.

 

[Palinurus]

Last but not least. Use the Settings to limit or stop automatic Windows upgrades alltogether.

Thanks for the reminder. This was mentioned also in the Jayztwocents video, BTW.

For starters, I just deactivated this setting on my laptop from which I'm currently working. I'll do the same on the desktop as soon as I have access to the settings there. This setting is really a relic from previous times and other machines on which I had several Windows apps that needed updating as well as the main OS. I abandoned all those apps since then and replaced them with other options but simply forgot to deactivate this update setting.

And like the French say, Bon Courage!

Thank you. Very sweet. I feel I'll need plenty of it.

It's kind of exactly the issue, actually. Having a fail while installing drivers, anti-virus interrupting the process and try to revert the files, is exactly what happened in your situation. You can try to install on top of this more-or-less-reverted-stack-of-drivers, and pile up fresh ones on top. It might even work. But this is exactly why you run a DDU after any driver conflict, to wipe the slate clean to the basic display drivers, and then you are sure that the fresh drivers you are installing don't get conflicts from everything left over

First off, we have to distinguish between the Intel UHD 630 driver and the RTX 2070 NVDIA driver. I normally update both of them from the vendors' websites and have noticed that they both uninstall the old driver first before installing a new version. Whether Windows Update does the same with their driver updates, I simply don't know. You never can actually see what they are doing anyway.

The RTX 2070 has no issues AFAIK and will be temporarily removed before starting the revival procedure I sketched above. Therefore, it won't update itself automatically during that process, I presume.

The Intel UHD 630 is the one with the aborted updating process, but before that intervention Intel had already removed the old Windows driver that caused the troubles in the first place. So, when now installing a new version of it directly from the Intel website again there seems zero chance of stacking drivers upon one another, since there's hardly anything left (because otherwise, I would still be able to get visuals in safe mode or in the boot section) plus whatever is still left will be removed first. And afterward, I will perform a thorough clean-up session as soon as things are working normally again. I always do that regularly anyway; and all the more so in these tricky situations.

In my estimation, there's no pressing need for the DDU procedure to be implemented during the revival process. Yes, it would be preferable and the right thing to do, theoretically. But it also would complicate proceedings and slow me down, considering my lack of hands-on expertise in these matters. Then, I should first study the Jayztwocents video much more closely and make a detailed campaign plan, to be certain I accomplish the needed steps in the right order without getting confused while doing it. The video is much too long to have it in standby mode while operating, I think.

Please correct me if I'm wrong with these assumptions.

 

[United Gnosis]

Thanks for the reminder. This was mentioned also in the Jayztwocents video, BTW.

For starters, I just deactivated this setting on my laptop from which I'm currently working. I'll do the same on the desktop as soon as I have access to the settings there. This setting is really a relic from previous times and other machines on which I had several Windows apps that needed updating as well as the main OS. I abandoned all those apps since then and replaced them with other options but simply forgot to deactivate this update setting.


Thank you. Very sweet. I feel I'll need plenty of it.


First off, we have to distinguish between the Intel UHD 630 driver and the RTX 2070 NVDIA driver. I normally update both of them from the vendors' websites and have noticed that they both uninstall the old driver first before installing a new version. Whether Windows Update does the same with their driver updates, I simply don't know. You never can actually see what they are doing anyway.

The RTX 2070 has no issues AFAIK and will be temporarily removed before starting the revival procedure I sketched above. Therefore, it won't update itself automatically during that process, I presume.

The Intel UHD 630 is the one with the aborted updating process, but before that intervention Intel had already removed the old Windows driver that caused the troubles in the first place. So, when now installing a new version of it directly from the Intel website again there seems zero chance of stacking drivers upon one another, since there's hardly anything left (because otherwise, I would still be able to get visuals in safe mode or in the boot section) plus whatever is still left will be removed first. And afterward, I will perform a thorough clean-up session as soon as things are working normally again. I always do that regularly anyway; and all the more so in these tricky situations.

In my estimation, there's no pressing need for the DDU procedure to be implemented during the revival process. Yes, it would be preferable and the right thing to do, theoretically. But it also would complicate proceedings and slow me down, considering my lack of hands-on expertise in these matters. Then, I should first study the Jayztwocents video much more closely and make a detailed campaign plan, to be certain I accomplish the needed steps in the right order without getting confused while doing it. The video is much too long to have it in standby mode while operating, I think.

Please correct me if I'm wrong with these assumptions.

You seem to think DDU is a lot of trouble, but it literally takes 5 minutes, and it's not like it breaks anything either. video out keeps working and so on. It doesn't complicate proceedings, it ensures you're proceeding from a known point, and it's something that is speecifically run in safe-mode because all advanced drivers are not loaded and can be properly cleaned. Anyways.

The recommendation doesn't come from me; it's from various tech channels who constantly have to swap cards and ended up realizing it solves a lot of weird issues, which otherwise cause a lot of trouble, even if only to identify. But don't worry about it. You've already done plenty of homework, so you can go ahead and tinker on with the troubleshooting process. At least you know about that aspect of the solution, you'll see later if it is relevant.

Hope you enjoy the process :)

 

[Palinurus]

it's from various tech channels who constantly have to swap cards

Because you insisted, I decided to read up on DDU from various sources and - as was to be expected - it's a controversial issue. The take home message seems to be that it's only needed when you constantly swap cards, especially when swapping from AMD to NVIDIA dedicated graphics cards and/or back, or even standard Intel in some upgrading cases.

I wasn't upgrading the Intel UHD 630, only updating it - which makes a difference, I think.

Hope you enjoy the process :)

I'm sure I will enjoy the result if successful but I expect the process itself to be tiresome, but educational. And learning is supposed to be fun around here.

We'll wait and see.

 

[Palinurus]

Hello again. I have made progress and succeeded in reviving the display driver.

The removal of the RTX 2070 was fairly easy, although the retaining pin resisted for quite some time.

While booting, at first nothing happened. The start/stop procedure didn't seem to take hold and I got no visual. I checked all connection possibilities with the monitor manually one by one, but still no reaction.

The second time, I went to BIOS and there I got a visual after waiting quite a while. I clicked around a bit in the BIOS screens without altering any settings and then quit from it.

To my amazement, the computer went from BIOS directly to the Windows welcoming screen. It was in VGA mode, so the lay-out and the icons were rather awkward but it all worked perfectly. After I had entered my personal PIN, the Intel Driver Support Assistant showed up automatically as if nothing had happened in between, and I could start installing the needed display driver right away. After a restart, all was completely normal again.

I now have to put back the RTX 2070 again in its proper slot, and then I presumably will be able to carry on as usual.

I again wish to thank all of you who guided me through this, sincerely from the bottom of my hart. Networking rocks !

 

[United Gnosis]

Hello again. I have made progress and succeeded in reviving the display driver.

The removal of the RTX 2070 was fairly easy, although the retaining pin resisted for quite some time.

While booting, at first nothing happened. The start/stop procedure didn't seem to take hold and I got no visual. I checked all connection possibilities with the monitor manually one by one, but still no reaction.

The second time, I went to BIOS and there I got a visual after waiting quite a while. I clicked around a bit in the BIOS screens without altering any settings and then quit from it.

To my amazement, the computer went from BIOS directly to the Windows welcoming screen. It was in VGA mode, so the lay-out and the icons were rather awkward but it all worked perfectly. After I had entered my personal PIN, the Intel Driver Support Assistant showed up automatically as if nothing had happened in between, and I could start installing the needed display driver right away. After a restart, all was completely normal again.

I now have to put back the RTX 2070 again in its proper slot, and then I presumably will be able to carry on as usual.

I again wish to thank all of you who guided me through this, sincerely from the bottom of my hart. Networking rocks !

Talk about over-preparing! At least you'll be mentally more ready next time you have to fiddle inside a computer case :)

Glad it went that simply. Pretty much the best-case scenario so far. Hope the 2070 will get right back in its role!

 

[Palinurus]

Talk about over-preparing! At least you'll be mentally more ready next time you have to fiddle inside a computer case :)

Glad it went that simply. Pretty much the best-case scenario so far. Hope the 2070 will get right back in its role!

Thank you.

I didn't experience this thread as an example of over-preparing, actually, When I'm about to embark on something I've never done before I simply want to know as much about it as possible beforehand, to be fully prepared when I finally go ahead with it. Of course, one cannot legislate for every eventuality and have to be prepared to improvise when needed, but I like to do that from a solid base of knowledge.

One of the persons who helped me acquire more computer skills, had exactly the opposite character: whenever there was some problem or new tech available, he just started tinkering with it and went on doing that until he had a solution or understood how the new piece of equipment was supposed to work. However, he already had a vast collection of knowledge from previous tinkering and wasn't afraid to make mistakes either, because he knew he would learn something from it and would be able to remedy them eventually.

I've spent many hours in amazement seeing him doing his 'magic' so to speak but I never tended to follow his example. It doesn't suit my personality make-up, I'm afraid.

Anyway, the problem has been fixed now and I've learned a lot following the course of action I've ultimately taken, thanks to all the input and guidance. Indeed, I now feel a bit more secure in case I would have to fiddle with the interior of a computer again in the future.

The RTX 2070 has been put back where it belongs but I still have to test it later on when I've more time to do so.