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[Sticky] The Three Rules of Windows Drivers

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Glenn
(@glenn)
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I have three rules I follow when installing drivers:

1. If it's working, leave it alone!
2. Always, ALWAYS create a restore point before you start
3. Set SDIO to Not Installed and Better Match only.
4. Never install drivers just because they're newer.
5. Install only a few or one at a time.

Cardinal Fang! Fetch…THE COMFY CHAIR!


   
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(@alexyu)
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Plus, "6. Always count your rules twice"? 

Yes, as I had said, I believe in, do try to follow, these rules.

Actually, maybe #5 should be #0: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?


   
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(@alexyu)
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Seems somewhat OT, but rule #1 reminded me of something I thought when first using SDIO:  It should be possible to choose a name for each restore point (because, many times, several restore points are made close together, and if you need to restore to one particular one -- even if it means reinstalling later ones -- there is no way to know exactly which one it is).

Maybe repost this as a new topic (something I stll can't do)?

 


   
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Glenn
(@glenn)
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@alexyu You start at the last one and work backwards until it starts booting again.


   
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(@camfarrsuperstar)
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Posted by: @glenn

@alexyu You start at the last one and work backwards until it starts booting again.

 

Quoted for truth! I just got a new HP laptop and one of the faulty drivers is "AMD LPC Filter" . After much trial and error, it was that particular driver that caused an "inaccessible boot device" blue screen. Good thing it's a fast computer.

 


   
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Glenn
(@glenn)
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Posted by: @camfarrsuperstar

driver that caused an "inaccessible boot device" blue screen

was that an SSD by any chance?


   
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(@camfarrsuperstar)
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@glenn So sorry for the late reply.

Yes it was. I'm not blaming you since it shows up as an update in the main SDI and Origin. It's a new laptop and I don't believe it's an NVME.

This post was modified 3 months ago by camfarrsuperstar

   
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(@camfarrsuperstar)
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I guess I can't edit that now. Here's the device name in Device Manager: PC SN5000S SDEPNSJ-1T00-1006. I updated to 25H2 right away, so maybe that's the reason.

 

This post was modified 3 months ago 2 times by camfarrsuperstar

   
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Glenn
(@glenn)
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I ask because I came across a similar problem recently. I put it down to a failed drive but it may have been a dodgy driver 🙁  In this case it was an NVMe.


   
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(@camfarrsuperstar)
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OK. My last few laptops were Intel and it came with a VMD driver. But, using a guide I found, I removed that and changed the setting in the BIOS to disable VMD and then used SDIO to install the Intel NVME driver.

The LPC filter error comes from a chipset driver. Installing the AMD chipset driver from their website also leads to the "Inaccessble Boot Device" blue screen. So again, it's not SDIO related.

This actually IS NVME. If I look under Storage Controllers, I get a "Standard NVM Express" entry. 

And it also helps, installing the LPC Filter affects the PCI Standard ISA Bride until System Devices.

This post was modified 3 months ago by camfarrsuperstar

   
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(@elreymon)
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Posted by: @glenn

4. Never install drivers just because they're newer.

Curious. I thought SDIO was about having drivers updated, and so: more secure, reliable, and effcícient.

 

This post was modified 2 months ago by elreymon

   
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Glenn
(@glenn)
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@elreymon You don't always get secure, reliable and efficient by installing the latest and greatest. But if you must then refer to rule #2.  🙂


   
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(@vainer)
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Wow, I've always followed those golden rules. Thanks Glenn for sharing the rules.


   
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Glenn
(@glenn)
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I could design a driver installation flowchart ... 🤔 


   
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