Windows 10 freezes when new Nvidia driver installed

bezousek · 25 Apr 2016

Hi all experts,

maybe this topic is already somewhere answered but I didn't find any solution after 2 days of searching web. So when I installed windows 10 on my Gigabyte laptop P2542G it stops working after nvidia drivers are updated. It always ask me for a restart and then it freezes after I login to the system. When I go to the safe mode and install driver 326.83 which is posted on manufacturer web page for windows 8.1 it works fine. I need to disable updates for my nvidia card and then I can use my laptop normally. Unfortunately when I want to play some game (especially XCom2) it will not run it on Nvidia card but only on the integrated one (I have nvidia optimus). So it means I cannot play the games :-(

I tried to install new driver and install process is ok when I deselect gforce experience. New driver doesn't need a restart and then I can play the games without any trouble. But when I restart it gets frozen again and then I need to go to safe mode and roll back driver. This means that HW is ok when it works in scenario mentioned above. There will be just some SF problem, some settings, some driver mismatch during login.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks to all

Arc · 26 Apr 2016

Your Computer: GIGABYTE - Laptop - Laptop - P series - Legacy - P2542G

The graphics configuration is:

Windows 10 freezes when new Nvidia driver installed-2016-04-27_013739.jpg

To Work with Optimus, You need to install the driver for Windows 10 from manufacturer's website; and Gigabyte does not offer Windows 10 in this laptop.

Windows 10 freezes when new Nvidia driver installed-2016-04-27_014013.jpg

Well, Windows 10 Drivers are available for GTX660M. It is here: http://www.nvidia.com/download/drive...x/100869/en-us
But there is a limitation there .... I am quoting it for you from that page:

However, please note that your notebook original equipment manufacturer (OEM) provides certified drivers for your specific notebook on their website. NVIDIA recommends that you check with your notebook OEM about recommended software updates for your notebook. OEMs may not provide technical support for issues that arise from the use of this driver.

An Optimus enabled Laptop only accepts the graphics driver that is supplied by OEM manufacturer, modded and designed to work with their Optimus settings.

It would be all better that you go back to Windows 8.1 until Gigabyte officially supports windows 10 for this laptop and releases drivers compatible to it.

bezousek · 26 Apr 2016

Thanks for your reply. I already contacted Gigabyte support and they told me that this laptop is too old (2012) and they will not provide support for windows 10. So ok its clear for me that there is some magic behind that I am not able to install newest driver for windows 10.
But is there at least a way how to force games (XCom2) to run on the graphics NVidia? Or new games just need new drivers and I have no chance to let them work?

How should I explain that if I install newest driver while I am logged in. Everything works fine and I can even run the XCom 2. But everything goes wrong after restart? There must be some settings how to fix it or is it really so manufacturer dependent that I have no chance?

Thanks for any feedback.

Arc · 26 Apr 2016

bezousek said:

There must be some settings how to fix it or is it really so manufacturer dependent that I have no chance?

If you want to achieve it, you need to disable Optimus. There are settings for it; but Locked up in the BIOS by the manufacturer, kept out of reach of the user.

A woyout is there in the AutoDesk Community; but there is no guarantee that it will work for you. If you try it, the process of unlocking the BIOS may damage the board permanently. So if you want to proceed with it, do at your own risk.
Keep in mind the high volume of risk and the low probability of success.

bezousek · 27 Apr 2016

Thanks for the response I will not try to break the bios. But I did several attempts with clean install.

Win 8 + Intel driver from manufacturer page + Nvidia 326.83 -> everything works, even the optimus for games
Win 8 + Intel driver from manufacturer page + Nvidia 364.72 -> freeze after restart
Win 10 + Intel driver from manufacturer page + Nvidia 326.83-> games not working
Win 10 + Intel driver from manufacturer page + Nvidia 364.72 -> freezes after restart

So even on windows 8 newer drivers doesn't work. From the gigabyte support they wrote me I need to install newest bios F30DA (I have F30CA) but unfortunately I have my battery gone. Without battery their utility will not let me to update bios :-(

Arc · 27 Apr 2016

Is the battery damaged? It is not a big deal to replace the battery.

bezousek · 28 Apr 2016

Ok so I was finally able to update bios without battery (interesting story) and after bios update new nvidia driver works fine under windows 10. So I can now play even games

Thanks.

Arc · 29 Apr 2016

Really good news!

hypa3000 · 02 May 2016

bezousek said:

Ok so I was finally able to update bios without battery (interesting story) and after bios update new nvidia driver works fine under windows 10. So I can now play even games

Thanks.

Awesome thanks for info -

Just happened to find this thread as thinking of updating my laptop to Windows 10....but i can see i will need to update Bios now to fix the issues...

i have the same Gigabyte laptop and Win 8 was freezing on login since updating new nvidia drivers (last 5-10 updates i tried)....so reading comments on this thread makes sense :)

one bit of news i can add is - my battery failed too...i was searching everywhere for a replacement for ages (ebay / chinese global suppliers)...

in the end i contacted Gigabyte support and they referred me to an IT repair company based here (in the UK) and had to order a new replacement battery.

It was NOT cheap (around £90), but came very quickly and all working ok now...

Here's the code for the OEM battery from the invoice:

BATTERY LI-ION 3S2P 5400mAh V0 961T2008F GNS-86S SDI CELL SMP

Can't wait to update Bios, install Win 10 and update nvidia drivers now

UPDATE:
Updated to latest gigabyte bios for this laptop (bios from 2015)
Updated Nvidia driver to latest 365.10 (May 2016)
No more freezing at log on!! :)
Now Upgraded to Windows 10 with these latest drivers - working so far so good (haven't tried any games yet though) - no freezing! Thanks for this post!

(ps. for reference old nvidia drivers that worked with old bios on Win 8.1 on this laptop were 344.75)

AtriosM3 · 02 Jun 2016

bezousek said:

Ok so I was finally able to update bios without battery (interesting story) and after bios update new nvidia driver works fine under windows 10. So I can now play even games

Thanks.

Hello Bezousek,

How were you able to update BIOS without battery? I am facing the same issue. I need to update, but do not want to invest in a new battery at this time. I am stuck on win 8 and would like to transition to win 10, but cannot do so until I get this update to go through, but stuck due to dead battery. Any lead way, or instructions on how to bypass the dead battery part to push through the BIOS update would be much appreciated =)