[SOLVED] GTX 970 Not Being Detected, Windows Not Seeing Any Card I Put In Now

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
D

Dynasty2201

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
9
0
10,510
[Edit] Fresh install of Windows 8.1 and not allowing Windows to download updates or drivers by disconnecting my wireless dongle before and throughout the install, then installing chipset drivers and then the latest Nvidia driver resulted in my 970 being detected and the drivers installing correctly.

Setup:

Asus Sabertooth Z77 Mobo.
MSI GTX 970 (2x EVGA GTX 770s to hand as well)
16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM
250GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD.
Corsair 850W PSU Windows 8.1

So yeah.

Windows 8.1, I've had a SLI 770 setup for over a year, and grabbed a good bargain on a GTX 970 from Ebay (sold because his PC wasn't compatible, came with everything in the box, even the sleeve over the PCI connector etc) as I plan to SLI them in the future.

Card arrived, downloaded the latest 970 driver from Nvidia (8.1 64bit), I uninstalled Geforce Experience, then PhysX, then the current driver using program uninstall from the control panel. As I shut down, I realized I didn't delete the Nvidia folders, but hey, there's a clean install option that Nvidia introduced so I believe you don't need to clean up much any more.

Anyway, slap in the new MSI GXT 970 (oh it's so pretty), plug in everything again, monitor turns on, sweet, success - card isn't a dud.

In to Windows, run the Nvidia driver I downloaded, it scans my system and the agreement comes up. So already I think it's seen the card. (DOES THE INSTALLER SAY SOMEWHERE WHAT IT HAS DETECTED?)

Custom install, select only PhysX and the driver, hit install and walk away as I usually do with driver installs in the past, done it countless times.

First time ever, I come back to "Nvidia driver failed to install." Specifically listed the driver as not installed or failed or whatever.

Panic. Panic. Panic. Brand new card, £250 wasted, what have I done etc.

Go to device manager, display is not even there. Just a yellow icon in "Unknown devices."

Delete the Nvidia folders newly created, shut down. Check I've clicked the card in properly, swapped out the PCI-E cables. Fire her up again, monitor works fine so all is good.

Back in to Windows, can't even up the resolution. Check DM again, display is now listed as "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter" or something.

Nvidia driver fails again. Delete and reboot to get the display adapter listed in DM, ran the Nvidia driver to get the Nvidia folder on my C drive, right click the display adapter and install drivers by saying I have a disk and point the directory to the nv_disp.inf file. It runs.

"Error trying to install" or something, BUT, it lists the GTX 970.

Check DM again, still listed as basic display adapter.

I download the latest drivers for my mobo from Asus, head in to the BIOS and run it off the flash drive, success. So everything is set to default and I have the latest mobo version (granted I hadn't done this in a good 7-8 months I'd say).

Card is still listed as basic display adapter in Windows.

So, I swap the 970 out and slap in my 770s again and hook up SLI.

Restart, get the latest 770 drivers, and now the Nvidia installer WON'T WORK AGAIN FOR 2 CARDS (Nvidia installer fails) THAT WERE WORKING AN HOUR EARLIER.

What the flying ***k?

What are my options now?

A clean OS install with the 970 kept in, ensure I'm offline so when Windows detects everything it doesn't download the drivers itself and I run the Nvidia driver?

Is this a potential CPU driver issue?

When I do a clean install, I usually:
•Have everything connected and hardware installed. Run new Windows install.
•Ensure my USB dongle is out so the PC can't connect to the internet.
•Run CPU drivers for the mobo.
•Run USB drivers.
•Run Nvidia drivers.
•Install USB dongle drivers.
•Go online and then have Windows run updates.

This has pretty much never failed me.

I'm not at home so all I can think is "what if I re-install Windows and the card is still not detected?"

This has never happened to me so I'm at a complete loss.

Yes, I have ensured the card is slotted correctly (as far as I can see, never, EVER had an issue with the card not seating properly in 10+ years of PC gaming).

Yes, I've connected the card using 8-pin and the 6-pin connectors (I'm not THAT inept).

BIOS is flashed and defaulted.

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!
 
Solution
Ra_V_en
Keep calm, now we can be almost sure its software related, the weird thing is that now both cards are not detected. You probably messed with the drivers at the start... since both are from Nvidia and using the same driver it wasn't such required to fully clear them, the card should work on the old driver as well. Noneless fresh install will handle that mess.
Sort by date Sort by votes
T

thetechy

Reputable
Dec 29, 2014
131
0
4,760
It doesn't seem like a hardware issue as your system is able to detect the video cards 970 as well as 770 and is able to fire up the display. The issue might be with windows or drivers. Try running the computer in safe mode and uninstalling all Nvidia related device drivers. The run in normal mode again and download fresh drivers from nvidia website and install it. If this doesn't work for you, try reinstalling the OS.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
EasyLover

EasyLover

Splendid
Dec 30, 2013
6,551
0
24,960
First of all, boot your PC, go into the BIOS and check if 970 is being displayed there or not. As you have updated the BIOS ( which was not required though in MHO), load the BIOS defaults. Save settings and exit. If 970 is being displayed there then it is a software error.

Download DDU from guru3d. Start your Windows in Safe mode. Use DDU to completely remove the Nvidia driver. Restart your PC in normal mode of Windows. Download and install the driver for your 970. (I always download driver from geforce website).

Use the recommended settings while installing.

Give it a try.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dynasty2201

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
9
0
10,510


Thanks for the reply.

I checked the BIOS settings last night, specifically ensuring the display setting was set to PCI-E and not "auto" to rule out the onboard GPU overriding.

I'm not entirely sure where to look to confirm the card is deteced in the BIOS.

Never had this issue before so I've never learnt where I need to look.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ra_V_en

Ra_V_en

Honorable
Jan 17, 2014
1,296
0
11,960


It means its working in 2D still this card might be broken.... buying second hand is always a risk especially when someone say "his PC wasn't compatible" and then put it on ebay instead simply returning the card to the seller (in EU we have that right at all times)... think about it.
Device manager bahavior is a second clue there might be something fishy here.

So yes the simplest way to check its not driver/software issues is to fresh install the OS. Make a proper backup of Users folder and you have all save games, etc there. If you still want to keep the os you can make a partition backup with Acronis True Image or something similar, then fresh install.. if it works then restore the system and play with the drivers or the system itself.

First things first... be sure you have a valid card not a bricked one then you can fight with the software.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dynasty2201

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
9
0
10,510
If the card turns out to be a dud then so be it, I've been had and Ebay will sort it for me.

But the fact that 2 of my GTX 770s are now having the exact same issue suggests it's not the card, as both cards have been fine for a good year.

I mean come on, I swap out a card and Windows doesn't detect it, fair enough, software or hardware issue I guess. I put the same cards back in and have the same issue, and STILL cant install the drivers for the exact same reason (cards undetected by Windows)? Cant be a hardware issue on the cards surely.

A fresh OS install is my plan for now, if that doesn't work I don't know what the hell to do.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ra_V_en

Ra_V_en

Honorable
Jan 17, 2014
1,296
0
11,960
Keep calm, now we can be almost sure its software related, the weird thing is that now both cards are not detected. You probably messed with the drivers at the start... since both are from Nvidia and using the same driver it wasn't such required to fully clear them, the card should work on the old driver as well. Noneless fresh install will handle that mess.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution
EasyLover

EasyLover

Splendid
Dec 30, 2013
6,551
0
24,960
No, this is not hardware issue. This happens with me earlier. I had 660 in. Received mu 780Ti. Removed, 660, installed 780Ti. It worked without nay issue (unlike your issue). Later when I removed 780Ti and installed 660, I got the same issue like you are describing. Installing the OS, removed my problem and cards worked properly.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dynasty2201

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
9
0
10,510
Well, I got home from work and thought "screw it" and am running a completely clean system "reset" (what Windows 8.1 calls in when you boot from the disc). It formats the drive etc.

So once that's done, I'll install the chipset drivers, then the Nvidia drivers. Fingers crossed.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dynasty2201

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
9
0
10,510


Thanks for checking in man.

Tis' done, and twas' a resounding success!

Ran a "reset PC" as for some reason Windows 8.1 doesn't call it a format, got rid of everything and started fresh. Weirdly it stated I had two drives (maybe an old version of Windows hidden away?) even though I only have one SSD in the PC, but anyway.

Yep, made sure my dongle wasn't plugged in the entire time of install/"reset" process, fresh new Windows 8.1, installed the latest chipset management and drivers from Asus for my mobo, then installed Nvidia 347.09, Physx and driver only, installed fine.

GTX 970 detected and working.

I tried to post an update earlier as it only took about 30 minutes to reinstall Windows and get the drivers up and running, but for some reason the forum was hanging, so, sorry for the delay!

Yeah, so I'm just in the process of downloading stuff from Steam, Uplay etc and I'll be sorted by tomorrow morning as I leave the downloads overnight.

Seems like there was some deep driver issue going on in Windows that didn't get cleaned out. I certainly ran Driver Sweep and it found "everything"...obviously not though. Nvidia's "clean install" also didn't seem to find the issue. Deleting all Nvidia folders and files made no difference either.

Maybe somehow the hidden "old windows" folder was causing issues?

Anyway, thanks for the input guys, much appreciated!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

PepeMarre

Commendable
Sep 25, 2016
4
0
1,510
Hi,

I hope this topic still active?

I'm having the exact same problem as all of u above. But with windows 10...

setup notebook:
Windows 10 Home
MSI GT72 2QD Dominator
Nvidia GTX 970M



I have tried the solution mentioned above, nothing worked. Windows 10 does not recognise my graphics card. Nor does the Nvidia Experience Software.

problems:
- Display Adapters in System Management: Only shows Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
- I can dl GeForce Experience, but when i run the .exe, it gives an error: "NVIDIA GeForce Experience requies an NVIDIA GPU"
- When i dl the driver from the official website with "Manual Driver Search", i can run it, but at SystemCheck (first action) it fails to find compatible graphic hardware

Steps i have taken:
- Via Windows 10 system: clean install of W10
- While not connected to internet: install Intel chipset, install latest nvidia driver (372.90-notebook-win10-64bit-international-whql) from a USB drive
- Still nothing...


Any suggestions?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

DragonFish

Commendable
Sep 29, 2016
2
0
1,510


I'm having the same problem too. I just recently got Forza Horizon 3 and the game was being funky with the old drivers. So i went to install the new one and the same exact thing happened.

My system:
MSI GS30 Shadow w/ gaming dock
i7-4870HQ
16gb of ram
Gigabyte GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming
Windows 10 64-bit

I have tried everything but the clean install, and i really don't want to do that unless I have to because that would involve buying a new harddrive to back all my files up on to
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

PepeMarre

Commendable
Sep 25, 2016
4
0
1,510


I have found a solution that worked for me. You just need to switch your gpu (answer from the official MSI forums).

https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=261171.0

I hope this is as much help for you as it was for me :)

Grts
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

DragonFish

Commendable
Sep 29, 2016
2
0
1,510


Hey, thanks for the suggestion! Unfortunately that has not worked. The GPU is picked up just fine with any other version of the driver that I try, but for some reason, every time I try to update it to 372.90, Windows device manager shuts it off and gives me a code 43.
One interesting thing I discovered however is that when I tried shaping in my old GT 730 the driver properly installed and the card was fully recognised. So given this information and the other info from earlier in this forum, I have come to the conclusion that there might some sort of compatibility issue between Windows and the 372.90 driver when using GTX 900 and 1000 series cards on certain systems.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom