Windows 10: Windows 10 drivers confusion

So I got a Lenovo Z50-70 laptop.

The drivers from the Lenovo support site are barely updated and most of them are the old versions that were released as beta when Windows 10 appeared.

Would it be recommended to stick to those drivers for better performance or should I update them manually from the site/or through Windows Update?

Since the latest reinstall I expected BSOD quite some times due to my NVIDIA driver I think.

Also I can't seem to find the Windows 10 compatible (update) for my graphics card. When I'm in the Device Manager it's listed as Intel(R) HD Graphics Family and on the site where I got the laptop from it's graphics card is listed as Intel HD 4400.

Hope I was coherent enough.

Thanks!

:)

 

Driver confusion

Hi,

Not a problem. First though, I would like to get my other question answered. I find if they are missed in the queue they tend not to be addressed.

"if I take care of the drivers on my own, will windows update leave them alone & not change them back?"

With the forced updates including not being able to choose between just security, security & software, etc, the updates are reverting our drivers back to microsoft ones, yes? I swear I have repeatedly updated one that
has a sign date of 2015. Unfortunately I did not make a connection enough to make note of all the info. So, if this is all correct, seems to me if one were to take your advice to update the drivers as I have been doing, then one would also need to know a way
to stop windows update from reverting them back, yes?

 

Driver confusion

I had to do a fresh install of 10 & was checking my driver versions since my laptop needs the ATK package. It has driver 10.0.16299.192, the same number as the Windows 10 version & it's a Microsoft driver. According to my research I should have ATKPackage
v1.0.0039 or above.

So I decide to check out my other drivers & most are 10.0.16299.192. I am supposed to have realtek 6.0.1....., yet I have a Microsoft 10.0.16299.192 driver. My Intel Processor is 10.0.16299.192 digital signer,
microsoft. Should I not have an Intel driver?

Could this be the reason I crashed to start with????

& if so & I take care of the drivers on my own, will windows update leave them alone & not change them back?

 

My advice would be to see how well the Microsoft offered drivers work for your laptop's motherboard, graphics and CPU. Windows 10 is doing a pretty good job of selecting drivers for most situations so my guess is that it will pick the correct driver for your built in graphics card.

If you did not do a clean install I would recommend doing that to be sure you obtain best performance and avoid BSOD issues from anything carried over from previous OS or drivers. See the tutorial section if you are not sure how to do this.

 

I did a clean install last time and I am having sever BSO even when I'm starting the Windows.

 

I think this calls for some systematic troubleshooting.

Does your laptop boot up OK in safe mode or does it still suffer from BSODs? If safe mode is OK then you can start to identify which driver or process is causing the problem by gradually introducing them using the clean boot procedure.

If you have BSODs in safe mode then the problem is likely to be in the hardware and I would begin by performing a memory test to see if you have faulty memory.

Hope these suggestions help *Smile

 

I got new RAMs to mount on my laptop and I'll see after that how it goes. HDD is ok, I tested it.

So you think the best combination is the original drivers + windows 10 update for them? Why no manual update?

 

When doing a clean install Windows always selects its best guess drivers for everything it can. Then, I check in Device Manager to see which device drivers (if any) were not installed, these are identified by the yellow exclamation marks, and I then use the manufacturers website to get the drivers I need and manually install them. After that I let windows handle any further updates if it finds better drivers in the future apart from some devices like Graphics cards where I will check for new drivers on a regular basis.

 

Best guess drivers?

 

Sorry, I did not explain that very well - I meant Windows picks a WHQL certified driver from its own database which it considers to be the best available for that device.

 

Hi there.
Please fill in your system specs for us.
Looking on the Lenovo web site, I find this for your system:





But you are talking nVidia *and* Intel, so I am confused.

I agree with @philc43, that Windows will, on a clean install, usually install the best drivers for your devices.

-You have performed a clean install, yes? Where did the ISO come from? Media Creation Tool? MS TechBench?

-Are you able to get into the operating system at all, or does it BSOD immediately, so you can't do anything?

 

Product Overview - Lenovo Z50-70 - Lenovo Support (US)

This is all I could find about it.

I can tell you that the integrated graphics processor is Intel HD Graphics 4400 and the Graphics card is NVidia 840M.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-70 (59427656) Notebook Review - NotebookCheck.net Reviews
http://www.flipkart.com/lenovo-z50-7...mdxea6ay8nzn5y

I added some helpful links (I hope).

The model is Z50-70, not Z50.

Clean install it was. Media Creator.

I am able to log in, once in a while. But sometimes it just randomly crashes, while opening Photoshop (e.g.) or when I'm shutting down the PC.

I got a dual but, and on Linux I don't have any problems.

The drivers always made me confused. I don't know if I should stay with the ones from the support site, the ones from the Intel/NVidia/etc or I should use the ones from the laptop support + Windows Update.

Thanks for all your patience!

 

Okay, thanks for all the info.

Your clean install should have installed all the drivers that Microsoft expects to be the best for your system. Okay, sometimes that is not the best solution, and so you have to make some modifications....it happens.

If you can get into your system long enough, I would suggest you run a tool we have here called the DMCollector, and post the log for help in the BSOD forum. Here are the instructions for posting in that forum, and the preparations you need to make first:
BSOD - Posting Instructions - Windows 10 Forums

In the meantime, if you can, open Device Manager a post a shot of your installed driver for the nVidia 840m. Once a BSOD specialist has identified the cause of your crashes, he/she may suggest installing the latest certified driver from nVidia:
http://www.nvidia.com/download/drive...px/84891/en-us

It depends on what the BSOD specialist finds in the log you post, so don't do anything until you have some guidance, because you could make things worse than they already are.

The clean install is really the best, and you should be okay with the drivers MS installs, but sometimes we have to make little tweaks.

It's really difficult to say what will be best until a BSOD specialist has a look at your logs, okay? In the meantime, if you want to try a clean boot as @philc43 suggested, you could do that to try and pinpoint some things.

How did the test go with the new memory? Any better?

Please be patient with the BSOD specialists, as they are really swamped. *Smile

 

When you are in the Linux OS, can you tell which graphics it's using? It should be nVidia, because that will supersede the Intel-integrated. Just wondering if the nVidia is being used - it should be, and that's what Windows will use as well, unless it is disabled, or failing.

Usually, when discreet graphics are installed (nVidia 840m) it will take over, and the integrated (Intel) will not be used. However, if the discreet is failing, it can be disabled (in BIOS), and then the system will use integrated.

As far as priority goes: Clean install of Windows is first choice. Downloads from system manufacturer's web site (Lenovo) is second choice, *IF* they are W10 certified. Download from component manufacturer's site is third choice, if you are still having problems. But advice is needed many times for something like that.

Hope that answers your question. *Smile

 

I received only 8GB of memory from the total of 16GB because they were out of stock. I should get the other 8GB in the next days. I will keep the old ones in until then.

Thank you for all your patience with me. And I will try to do a clean install these days as well.

The problem with me is that I'm kinda obsessed with the updates (LOL). For the NVidia driver I have the GeForce Experience that recommends me to update the driver every time (updates which MS never tells me about).

But my main issue was with the integrated graphics card. I asked on the Lenovo board the question about it twice and I got no answer.

I also read this:

Lenovo Y50-70 Intel Video Driver Issue - Lenovo Community

It's related to the Y version of Lenovo which is pretty similar to the Z series.

Drivers Software

This would be the driver fit for my Laptop.

Whenever I open Photoshop I get that it has an incompatiblity related to the Graphics card driver.

Anyway. My biggest issue was if I should stay to the default drivers, should I update them manually or use MS update for this.