Proper Way to Install NVIDIA Drivers

 This isn't something you'll find in an official NVIDIA document but from experience we end-users have agreed on the method listed below to reduce the risk of future headaches associated with the installation and removal of video card drivers. I'm sure many of you have installed drivers before and might ask why you would need to follow this guide to install your video card drivers, well simply put, you don't need to follow this guide, carry on about your business and be on your way. But if you're one of those people that would rather be safe than sorry then follow this guide to the letter.

If you're one of those people who would rather risk it all and give in to the chance that your system may crash and burn, well I used to be one of you and my system was nearly engulfed in flames but after some research, I figured to try these steps which saved me from further issues. I've heard of many horror stories of systems going berserk after video card driver installations and this method has sometimes even rectified those situations.

These are the steps I take for the installation of NVIDIA video card drivers on Windows operating systems:

1. Install Driver Sweeper, this will be the program we will use to clean out old driver files and any associated registry entries.

2. Uninstall your NVIDIA video drivers and PhysX drivers.

3. Reboot your computer and hold F8 after your computer boots up to bring up the "Windows Advanced Options Menu".

3. From the list of options, select "Safe Mode" and press Enter.

4. After you are in Windows under Safe Mode go ahead and run Driver Sweeper.

5. Select the following options:
'NVIDIA - Display'
'NVIDIA - PhysX'

6. Click 'Analyse' button.

7. Click 'Clean' button.

8. Click 'OK' when prompted with "Are you sure you want to continue?"

9. Click 'OK' when prompted with "Do you want to reboot?"

10. After you're back in Windows, you may proceed by installing your drivers as usual.

NOTE: Even though this article is describing the removal of NVIDIA video card drivers, Driver Sweeper can also be used in the same manner to remove any of the other listed drivers which are shown when you run the Driver Sweeper. Simply follow all of the same steps except substitute the drivers you are want to remove/install for steps 2 and 5.