Should I restart PC after Graphics driver update?

[Braiboo99]

Like I would with any other driver should I restart my computer after updating graphics driver through geforce experience?

[_I_]

op did not say manually or automatic
gfe by default pushes updates for you
if it updated them automatically there is no choice from the user

it rolls back to 'should i reboot' after driver update, what do you think?

no, it does not reset 'all' settings, it resets most of them, if a previous driver had settings that the new one does not, it ill not set those back to defaults
it also does not reset display count and position settings, those are done by windows, which ddu would also wipe out

and the 'clean install' does not clean up after itself when done either
there may be driver installers or leftover files in windows\system32 or other areas, along with many entries in windows registry that it does not 'clean' up

[plat]

Yes, this is what it states on the NVIDIA driver installer regarding a "clean installation." I looked up the terms "upgrade" and "clean installation" just to ensure I had my facts straight. An UPGRADE installs a newer version of software while retaining some elements of the previous version. A CLEAN INSTALL puts the entire software on the drive without such remnants and previous elements.

https://i.imgur.com/w1ii1OD.png

This is turning into quite a contentious discussion. I didn't expect that.

People have an understandable fear of hardware drivers and firmware. But NVIDIA has it down when it comes to optimizing and streamlining the installation of its proprietary software. I'm going to continue to do things their way.

[_I_]

if an old driver had a setting, the new driver install with 'clean' would not reset it as it may not use it, or it might just ignore it or assume its default

then if you uninstalled the new driver, and went back to the old one, those settings would remain the same

and the driver installer files would still be left over from both installs

[_I_]

*all settings it knows about, if an old version has settings the new one does not, how can it know to reset those?

[_I_]

it does not reset settings for games or other windows settings

if it reset 'every setting' it would reset bios and settings on your phone or other pcs and everything everywhere

they use 'every setting' in a very limited definition

[_I_]

Originally posted by kitty:

Originally posted by _I_:

it does not reset settings for games or other windows settings

It does do that though. You are wrong. With Nvidia if we set any custom profile settings for any games it will completely erase all of those to defaults with a clean install. Every possible setting that we could set via the nvidia control panel is all reset to nvidia's defaults on clean install. That's how Nvidia does it.

Originally posted by _I_:

if it reset 'every setting' it would reset bios and settings on your phone or other pcs and everything everywhere

No one is discussing computer bios settings, nor phones, nor anything outside of video drivers in this thread. You might want to try staying on topic. I know that's difficult for you to understand but that is a requirement if you post comments here in the steam forums, per the rules.

ok, how can it reset settings that other drivers used if/when the new drivers does not have those settings?

it does not change settings in games, keybinds etc.. maybe using some global video settings, but nothing beyond that
gfe and gpu control panels can override some game video settings if thats what you are talking about

[Carlsberg]

So, just to recap...

If you wish to update you may do so,
If you wish to clean install you may do so,
If you choose not to reboot you may do so,
If you wish to reboot you may do so.

Popcorn anyone?

[_I_]

do you really think the newest nvidia driver will look for and reset settings from the orig geforce/tnt cards (pci) drivers and nvidia forceware drivers from agp cards?

software engineers take as many shortcuts as they can, if they do not need to look for and change those settings they will not do it

that may be a bit extreme
but there are settings from drivers a few years ago that are no longer in the newer drivers

[Bad 💀 Motha]

With regards to NVIDIA installers...

Selecting Clean Install in those installers simply resets ALL NVIDIA Control Panel Settings. Nothing more / less. It does not "clean" install the Drivers.

You shouldn't need to keep old installers for the GPU Drivers, as NVIDIA already does that for you right on their website. If you do want to keep old installers, keep the original packed EXE / ZIP / 7Z file you downloaded, not the unpacked crap it extracted into a folder elsewhere.

While restarting might not ALWAYS be required after such as install, it is recommended by Microsoft, NVIDIA and others. Regardless of an installer asking you to restart afterwards or not. However if it is all working fine without a reboot, then you should be fine. For example you have no need to reboot after installing anything related to Audio or Network. I do however highly recommend doing it when it comes to things like Chipset or GPU.

[_I_]

Originally posted by kitty:

Originally posted by _I_:

do you really think the newest nvidia driver will look for and reset settings from the orig geforce/tnt cards (pci) drivers and nvidia forceware drivers from agp cards?

That's the second time you've done this: The OP in this thread said they are updating their drivers through geforce experience. Those old cards pre-date the existance of GeForce Experience. No one is talking about anything that old in this thread. Again: It would be nice if you could stay on topic here instead of wandering all over the place trying to mention irrelevant things.

update vs new install is using the same installer, gfe just grabs it and runs it for you

doesnt matter if those old gpus dont support gfe, they still use nvidia control panel, and have settings that the new ones will not look for and reset