Windows 10: PC will not wake up from sleep and NVidia driver fails to install

Hello!!


It looks like I stumbled upon the black hole in troubleshooting "Windows 10 will not wake up from Sleep" + "Microsoft NVIDIA drivers preventing full install of NVIDIA drivers from NVIDIA website" which I have been tackling for days with Dell to no avail. I honestly believe it's Microsoft's latest build/updates causing this problem that kept my monitor from waking up from sleep mode. In my 18+ years using Dell's equipment, I never experienced anything like this. I am an avid Security Researcher, a Jr level Cybersecurity Analyst. I am tech savvy and this stubborn problem will not disappear.


My System Info:


OS Name: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
OS Version: 10.0.17763 N/A Build 17763


System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: XPS 8930
Processor(s): Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz, 3696 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version: Dell Inc. 1.1.3, 11/2/2018


I have reformatted, wiped system to no avail. I also looked at past post with the same problem but the thread was locked.


As for the NIVIDIA drivers dilemmas. When I format my system and do a fresh install of latest Windows 10 build, I have to do so without ethernet connection to keep Microsoft from installing the video drivers on my system while I try to install the binaries from NVIDIA site - full install. After removing ethernet cable, preventing Microsoft updates from installing drivers/updates, I was able to install NIDIA full install with no problems. BTW, I have a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070.


Never in my life have I ever had this kind of problems. I have a Dell XPS L502x laptop, for about 9 years, it went from Windows 7, 8 to 10 to current build today, not one issues, not one!!! But my new system is having the following problems listed above.



***Original title: Windows 10 will not wake up from Sleep + Video Driver***

:)

 

Troubleshooting PCs spontaneously waking from sleep

I've also battled with sleep/wake issues over the years, and from experience have learned that trying to find, or rationalise, the root cause is a waste of time. All you need is `powercfg`.

`powercfg -devicequery wake_armed` from an Administrator PowerShell window/Command Prompt will give you a list of all devices that can possibly wake the PC. This command is interesting because very often, it will show devices that you'd never expect being able to wake your computer. I think in one instance I had the chipset device listed!

`powercfg -devicedisablewake "device_name_from_device_query"`will prevent said device from ever waking the computer. This command is 100% the only thing I have found that will resolve sleep/wake problems. Updating drivers, unplugging peripherals, switching to a cleaner power supply (UPS), changing ethernet cables... none of those have helped, yet`powercfg -devicedisablewake` has done the trick.

Note that occasionally, devices you have disabled wake for may start waking up the PC again - this happens if you plug a USB device into a different port, or occasionally when drivers are updated, because Windows sees it as a new device. In that case rerun `powercfg` to find and disable that device again.

If this does not resolve your wake issues, I would start looking at power fluctuations.

 

Sleep / Wake Function, malfunctions after waking

Hi,

Issues that arise after waking up the PC from sleep mode might have been caused by a software conflict or system file corruption. For us to clarify the issue, we would like to ask these questions:

• What is the exact issue that you are experiencing?
• Did you notice any recent system changes prior to this issue?
• Have you encountered any error message?
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?

If you are having issues waking your PC from sleep, we suggest running the
Power troubleshooter as an initial troubleshooting. Kindly follow these steps:

• Click on Start.
• Type Troubleshoot, and then press Enter.
• Under Find and fix other problems, click on Power.
• Click on Run the troubleshooter button.
• Follow the onscreen guide.

We will wait for your response.

 

NVIDIA Driver Install Fails

The NVIDIA graphics driver on this PC is several versions out of date, so I went to upgrade it due to an unrelated issue. I went to the NVIDIA website, downloaded the 64-bit Windows 10 driver for the GT 720 GPU. I ran the installation as you normally would only to be met with the error "NVIDIA Installer Failed", and it told me the "Graphics Driver" failed to install.

Now I only have one usable monitor, the other is not detected, yet it turns on briefly as Windows initially loads the desktop.

What I Have Tried

Clean Installation

This is the first thing I tried, I restarted the computer, waited a while, and then I ran the NVIDIA driver installer, I selected "Custom Install", and then I ticked the "Clean Install" checkbox. This failed in the same way as before. Note, I also tried "Run[ning the updater] As Administrator".

Windows Update

I opened Windows Update to check for updates, since this can often fix failed driver installs. It said there was a NVIDIA driver update available, so began the update process. This failed with the error "0x80070003". I tried again, it failed again.

Manual Driver Install

From device manager, I right clicked on the GPU, and clicked "Update Driver Software", I opted to browse for driver files, with "Check subfolders" checked, and navigated to C:\NVIDIA\DisplayDriver\368.39\ and clicked "OK". This failed with "Code 28".

Manual Driver Install (Automatic)

Same as before, except I let Windows find the driver online automatically, I presume it found the same files I had already downloaded, and downloaded them again. This failed.

I am still stuck with one working monitor, reduced graphical performance, and am unable to install the NVIDIA driver.

This is my work PC, so I don't have a huge amount of time to reinstall Windows, so I'd rather not do that, as I have various customisations in place, and lots of programs installed. It'd take a long time for me to do all of that again.

EDIT: More Info

There are no NVIDIA listings under "Uninstall a Program" in the Control Panel. Yet the "NVIDIA Control Panel" app is still in the start menu, but does not start. I believe that is because there are just three DLL files in C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\coprocmanager, and no other files/directories in coprocmanager's parent directory.

When the driver is installing, my second monitor starts working, and then stops when the installation fails.

When the driver is installing, it briefly appears as "NVIDIA GeForce GT 720" in Device manager, after it fails, it goes back to being labeled, quite simply, "Display".

Tried running...

..to no avail.

PC Specs (from Speccy):

• Custom build
  
• NVIDIA GeForce GT720 (not from Speccy, since it just lists the monitor under Graphics).
  
• Intel Core i5 4460 @ 3.20GHz
  
• 16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-28)
  
• ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. H81M-PLUS (SOCKET 1150)