Why do the dots stop rotating?


  1. Posts : 89
    Win 10 TP
       #1

    Why do the dots stop rotating?


    I have a Dell Dimension 3100 that I upgraded to Windows 10, with no adverse effects. I recently added a widescreen monitor and a GT 730 card. This story is told in more detail in another thread. The reason for raising the issue here is that the driver is somehow in conflict and I would like to know if there is a solution
    After installing the appropriate NVIDIA driver, Windows 10 will not boot. It gets as far as the black screen with the blue Windows logo and a circle of rotating dots; they spin for a few turns and then stop. I have left it for more than an hour but nothing more happens.
    I see lots of threads about the boot sequence stopping with the dots rotating incessantly but none where the dots stop rotating. Can anyone tell me why this happens?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 134,237
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #2

    Not sure this would work ....but you could try booting into safe mode BEFORE letting windows boot ....and see if safe mode works.

    Not sure which F key your Dell needs ....could be F10, F12 If you can .....then uninstall that Nvidia driver, and try going back to your desktop.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 134,237
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #3

    If you make it that far ....and back to your Desktop, then try letting Windows Update search and install the driver for you.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 89
    Win 10 TP
    Thread Starter
       #4

    OldMike65 said:
    Not sure this would work ....but you could try booting into safe mode BEFORE letting windows boot ....and see if safe mode works.

    Not sure which F key your Dell needs ....could be F10, F12 If you can .....then uninstall that Nvidia driver, and try going back to your desktop.
    As far as I know, there is no direct F key access to Safe Mode in Windows 10. The only way I know to do it from a boot failure is to attempt a start three times in succession. On the third attempt, the screen goes through a diagnostic routine that ends with the option to restart or advanced options. You have to go through a further two option choices and another two restarts before you then use an F key get into Safe Mode.
    It is a very annoying process by comparison with the old F8 routine. Microsoft say the boot process in Windows 10 is so fast that it is not practical to manually intercept with an F key. However, I'm sure there must be an easier way into Safe Mode than the one I describe above. Of course, the difficulty is aggravated by the boot failure. The easiest way into Safe Mode from inside Windows or even from a startup screen, is to press 'Restart' while holding down the 'Shift' key.
    So, in short, the only way I have found is to struggle into Safe Mode and uninstall the NVIDIA driver with the DDU utility, only to have Windows update reinstall it within a day or two. What a mess!
    Last edited by TopGeek; 16 May 2016 at 15:36.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 89
    Win 10 TP
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Well, fingers crossed, I think I've found a stable way to stop the driver downloads. In another thread, I read about the Windows Update management utility that goes under the highly forgetable name of 'wushowhide.diagcab'. When you run this utility, it will search for currently available updates and allow you to 'hide' the unwanted files so they will be ignored in future. Why MS says 'hide' instead of 'block' is one of those semantic mysteries. I can foresee future flaws in this process (such as next version will probably not be hidden) but it certainly seems to have done the trick for now.
    On the other hand, I still have no answer as to why the dots stop rotating when the NVIDIA driver is installed.
    Last edited by TopGeek; 17 May 2016 at 07:15.
      My Computer


 

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