Game Crashing-Graphics Drivers Updated

[Axiom]

Okay so last night I updated my graphics cards drivers, which were severely outdated [I updated using the Nvidia website]. Each time I do this, the Sims 3 settings changes [So I can't exactly pinpoint what is causing it to crash]. Before that I haven't had any issues with crashing.

My graphics card is a Nvidia 630M 1GB, and I have an HP Envy Laptop, Windows 8 64bit, 8GB RAM and 2nd Gen intel i5.

The only thing I did differently last night [that may have led to this] is I opted to optimize the game's graphics and settings via the Nvidia GeForce Experience program.

Help?

[Randox]

Two possibilities come to mind. The first would be that you installed the new drivers without uninstalling the old ones. That doesn't really work, and can cause subtle and strange, yet big, problems.

If you used another program to change the settings of the Sims 3, it might have inadvertently set something that crashes the game, some setting it doesn't understand.

When does it crash? Is it nearly immediate, or is it making it to the main menu? When it crashes, do you get any messages, as that might indicate if the game or your graphics card is the part having trouble.

Something to try first might be the factory reset, as outlined in the thread pinned to the top of this section. If your settings are fouled up, that should fix them, and it's a lot faster than trying a reinstall or going for a system restore.

[Axiom]

I'm just tempted to do a reinstall. I've been having issues with store items and such, so thank you!

[Angélique]

Two possibilities come to mind. The first would be that you installed the new drivers without uninstalling the old ones. That doesn't really work, and can cause subtle and strange, yet big, problems.

What kind of problems are you referring to, can you please explain it in more detail?

I did exactly the same thing recently, except that I declined the option to use  Nvidia GeForce Experience program to change, "optimize" my graphic settings. In the guide at Nvidias website on how to install new drivers, there's no mentioning of the absolute necessity to uninstall the previous drivers before updating. I've always believed that the old ones are supposed to be overwritten by the new ones, but maybe that's not true after all?

If you uninstall the old drivers, what happens if you're not satisfied with the new ones for some reason, and want to go back to the old, is that possible, and if so, how do you do that? Aren't they deleted from the hard drive when you uninstall them?

[Schipperke]

When I updated my Nvidia awhile back, it wanted me to "optimize" my settings too.  I didn't know what it meant, so I clicked "yes."  Then when I went into the game, I learned that "optimize" meant having all the graphics settings turned up to maximum, and I returned them to the previous settings because I believe the game usually works better with most settings turned down a bit.  Axiom, I'm wondering if that could be related to your problem - have you tried returning the settings to whatever they were before the update? 

As Angelique said, I didn't uninstall the previous driver when I updated, and I haven't had any problems with mine.  Before trying more drastic solutions, why not try lowering your graphics settings and see if that helps.

You mentioned having issues with store items as well.  I was also having that sort of issue at one point and found a factory reset solved the problem.  It's much faster than a reinstall, and there is a thread here somewhere in this board that explains how to do it, if you're interested.

[Randox]

For me I suspect the problem was actually the new Catalyst program (now ADM Vision), the gpu control panel. For me, and I reproduced the problem a second time before I got the message, I lost the ability to connect to wi-fi. The wi-fi still worked, and it did so until my computer was restarted. After that, it didn't work again until I completed a system restore to go back to my old driver and Catalyst program.

If Nvidea says you don't need to do that, then you're probably fine. AMD says to just uninstall everything first, and that's what made it work for me, but admittedly, I am really only familiar with AMD.

To directly answer the rest of your question, system restore makes copies of all the system settings, which include the drivers. It should always be able to revert if you have driver errors, or a piece of maleware starts mucking around in your operating system.

[Angélique]

For me I suspect the problem was actually the new Catalyst program (now ADM Vision), the gpu control panel. For me, and I reproduced the problem a second time before I got the message, I lost the ability to connect to wi-fi. The wi-fi still worked, and it did so until my computer was restarted. After that, it didn't work again until I completed a system restore to go back to my old driver and Catalyst program.

If Nvidea says you don't need to do that, then you're probably fine. AMD says to just uninstall everything first, and that's what made it work for me, but admittedly, I am really only familiar with AMD.

To directly answer the rest of your question, system restore makes copies of all the system settings, which include the drivers. It should always be able to revert if you have driver errors, or a piece of maleware starts mucking around in your operating system.

Actually, the Nvidia Installation guide, look here, doesn't say that I don't need to uninstall the old drivers, it simply doesn't mention it at all. However, there's another guide on the same website on How do I uninstall, and so on... look here

That's what's so very confusing. Is it necessary to remove the old drivers before updating or not? I have no idea.

I checked the system restore program on the computer with the recently updated graphics drivers, and it searched for what programs and/or drivers that would be affected if I do a system restore, and found that all the new drivers will be removed, and the old drivers will "maybe" be able to work again. Or else I will have to reinstall them, from somewhere. I don't like the phrase "will maybe work again", so I don't think it would be a good idea to make a system restore. Instead I have decided to keep the new drivers as they are for now, and if some sort of graphic related problems occur, uninstall them and then reinstall them again. Hopefully they will work okay (fingers crossed...)