Need to remove Nvidia Physx

[nonpareilpearl]

I installed a game and must not have been paying attention because it installed the physx drivers at the same time...the kicker is I don't have an nvidia card in my system, so I'd rather it not take up space in there. Most of the threads I've come across on this topic are for people with nvidia cards looking to remove/upgrade/etc. - I just want it gone because I don't have that hardware in my machine.

So far I've gone into Add/Remove and removed it, but is there anything else I need to do? Based on my available disk space I think there may be some components left behind.

 

[4745454b]

PhysX can also been ran like Havok. If a game uses PhsyX that doesn't mean its going to be ran on the GPU. Worse, now that you've removed PhysX your game might not even run now. I'd leave it alone.

 

[Dogsnake]

You can use (http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html) to uninstall any program and the crap they leave behind. I have never had a game not run correctly on my AMD card without PhsyX.

 

[welshmousepk]

474 is correct, some games do require physx to run, and even without an nvidia GPU will not run without it.

it really doesn't take up much space anyway, its just a driver.

 

[alishathomaz]

Don't uninstall it... Just Disable it.. disabling it can improve FPS..

 

[MMO Fan]

474 is correct, some games do require physx to run, and even without an nvidia GPU will not run without it.

it really doesn't take up much space anyway, its just a driver.

Physx suck cause it cannot run on the CPU Nvidia **** blocked that feature so you have no choice if you want Physx but to buy Nvidia.

 

[welshmousepk]

Physx suck cause it cannot run on the CPU Nvidia **** blocked that feature so you have no choice if you want Physx but to buy Nvidia.

no, it CAN run on the CPU. its just that nvidia very rarely license it to do so. Don't get me wrong, i heavily dislike PhysX and the way nVidia controls it, but there are games that require it to run, even without an nV GPU.

 

[MMO Fan]

no, it CAN run on the CPU. its just that nvidia very rarely license it to do so. Don't get me wrong, i heavily dislike PhysX and the way nVidia controls it, but there are games that require it to run, even without an nV GPU.

NOT nvidia Physx that is proprietary to nvidia only. Some other Physics algorithms like Havok yes that runs on the CPU but not nvidias Physx. Plus I don't notice a stick of difference anyway other than massive FPS drops in Physx based games LOL what a joke they are.

 

[welshmousepk]

Again, you are mistaken. Nvidias propriety Physx is simply software. It is coded to run specifically on GPUs, but CAN be used on CPUs. nvidia very rarely licenses it for this though.

and i agree, I have never seen it used in a way i consider even remotely useful. But i have in my previous build (dual 6850s) been forced to install the physx software with a game on steam (though i can't recall which, i think it may have been DIRT) that stopped working if i removed it.

 

[MMO Fan]

Again, you are mistaken. Nvidias propriety Physx is simply software. It is coded to run specifically on GPUs, but CAN be used on CPUs. nvidia very rarely licenses it for this though.

and i agree, I have never seen it used in a way i consider even remotely useful. But i have in my previous build (dual 6850s) been forced to install the physx software with a game on steam (though i can't recall which, i think it may have been DIRT) that stopped working if i removed it.

Nvidia is not into selling software they sell HARDWARE end of story.

 

[4745454b]

I'm with welsh on this one. First, PhysX can run on the CPU. Second, not all games that need physX can run it on the GPU. Very few of the PhysX games do.

 

[outlw6669]

MMO fan, you are very mistaken.

PhysX
NVIDIA PhysX provides game physics solutions for a variety of platforms including PC and all current major game consoles, in both software and hardware-accelerated configurations.

http://developer.nvidia.com/technologies/physx

In fact, CPU based PhysX is much more prevalent than GPU accelerated only.

As further proof, looking to nVidia's Own List you will see that Red Steel uses PhysX.
Now why is this significant you ask?
Because Red Steel is a Wii exclusive title and the Wii most defiantly does not have a CUDA capable nVidia GPU.

Now that you have been educated with Logic and Facts, please continue with your ignorance...

 

[outlw6669]

@ OP

Yes, you will probably need to reinstall the nVidia driver before your game functions properly.
As discussed above, there are quite a few games that use, and therefor require, CPU based PhysX.

 

[MMO Fan]

MMO fan, you are very mistaken.

PhysX
NVIDIA PhysX provides game physics solutions for a variety of platforms including PC and all current major game consoles, in both software and hardware-accelerated configurations.

http://developer.nvidia.com/technologies/physx

In fact, CPU based PhysX is much more prevalent than GPU accelerated only.

As further proof, looking to nVidia's Own List you will see that Red Steel uses PhysX.
Now why is this significant you ask?
Because Red Steel is a Wii exclusive title and the Wii most defiantly does not have a CUDA capable nVidia GPU.

Now that you have been educated with Logic and Facts, please continue with your ignorance...

You did not prove anything you just stated your opinion.

 

[4745454b]

both software and hardware-accelerated configurations.

So a hardware accelerated config would use an Nvidia card, what would be a software config? What would you call that?

 

[nonpareilpearl]

You can use (http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html) to uninstall any program and the crap they leave behind. I have never had a game not run correctly on my AMD card without PhsyX.

Thanks for the advice - but it doesn't seem to have removed it. Or at least it hasn't stopped the symptoms that started when it installed.

Since the installation of the physx driver, I've had all sorts of random glitches with video where it will suddenly stop streaming and freeze. Never had this issue before, only after the install. The issue isn't limited to games either - it also happens when I'm typing or when I move the pointer/cursor around.

I only grabbed the one game that seemed to have an insistence for using it, but all of my other games run (rather, ran) fine without it.

As I mentioned I don't have an nvidia card, I'm a casual gamer and actually my laptop has an Intel card. I'd really like to get my laptop back to working the way it was before without needing to start from scratch (i.e. reinstall the OS) :-/

For some more background: My laptop has a 128 GB Crucial M4 SSD (latest firmware - I added the drive as an upgrade a few weeks ago) with an Intel i5 processor. 8 GB RAM and, of course, the Intel graphics card. Those are the main system specs anyway. OS is Windows 7 Home Premium x64.

 

[4745454b]

Have you tried reinstalling the Intel graphics driver?

 

[nonpareilpearl]

Have you tried reinstalling the Intel graphics driver?

I can't believe in all my panic I forgot to try this. This did it.

I guess as a summary for anyone who follows:
- Remove physx driver and uninstall graphics driver
- Reinstall graphics driver

THANK YOU.

 

[Dogsnake]

Driver Sweeper may find and remove it (http://phyxion.net/item/driver-sweeper.html).

 

[4745454b]

NP/your welcome. I'm assuming that the physX software changed something in windows or the drivers. Reinstalling the drivers changed it back.

 

[nonpareilpearl]

Best answer selected by nonpareilpearl.

 

[tazmo8448]

I had the same issue and by uninstalling PhysX and Punkbuster it immediately started to download correctly upon resuming initial install of the game. Must be in my mind the 'newer' versions of PhysX interferred with the 'older' version that comes in the game. Beats me.. but by getting rid of the PhysX thing it downloads now.

 

[tomshardw]

For me, nvidia PhysX couldn't be removed from Control Panel> Programs and Features so I reinstalled PhysX and Unistalled it using the installer.
I uninstalled nvidia PhysX (I have an Intel Integrated GPU) by downloading nvidia PhysX from softpedia.com, I used the installer to install PhysX again, then I used the same installer to remove nvidia PhysX for good.

 

[tazmo8448]

I have since gone to the Legacy Nvidia Physx that includes all the older stuff plus allows newer updates. Keep in mind I use the AMD GPU & CPU, not familiar with Nvidia cards other than they include things in their software that deal with older games. The newer games I have overwrote the older Physx rendering it unusable on older games that require that older version when installing but since doing that I was able to go back and put the newer stuff in with no effect on the older games.