The nvidia hardware installation wizard is running. NVIDIA installation cannot continue: This graphics driver did not detect compatible hardware

When installing a video card driver, users are faced with the error: “failed to install NVIDIA software.” Read this article to learn how to avoid this error and successfully install NVIDIA programs.

Reinstalling the driver

Sometimes something interferes with software installation. These could be third party files or a previous driver. If you encounter such an error while installing NVIDIA software, there are 2 ways to solve the problem: clean installation and manual installation.

Advice! To find out the model of the video card that is installed on the PC, press Win + R and run the dxdiag command

The video card model will be indicated in the “Screen” tab.

Clean installation

Download the driver installation files for your video card from the official NVIDIA website:

Advice! A firewall or antivirus with advanced security controls may be blocking installation files. Restore default security settings or pause them during installation.

Manual installation

If you continue to get the error, try installing the driver manually. To do this:

Uninstall the previous version. Go to “Explorer” - “Uninstall or change a program”. Select "NVIDIA Graphics Driver" and click "Uninstall".
Using a standard uninstaller, remove the program.
Restart your PC when the procedure is complete.
The driver can only leave behind an empty folder C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation
Go to Device Manager (found in the context menu caused by right-clicking on Start).
Find “Video adapters” and right-click on the video card - select “Update drivers..”
Click “Search for drivers on this computer” and select the folder where you unpacked it at startup (usually the C:\NVIDIA drive). Click Next.
Wait a few minutes.

When trying to install or update drivers for an Nvidia graphics card, the user may encounter the installer message “The NVIDIA installation cannot continue: This graphics driver did not find compatible hardware.” In this article, I will tell you what the essence of this dysfunction is, and also explain how to fix the “NVIDIA installation cannot continue” error on your PC

This error “NVIDIA installation cannot continue” indicates that the installer’s driver database did not find a driver for the Nvidia video card installed on this PC. This situation may arise for the following reasons: - An old Nvidia card is installed on the user’s computer; - There is no Nvidia video card on the computer (or it is disabled by software); The Nvidia video card has failed (you need to test the video card); - The kernel of the operating system for which the drivers are installed is outdated (the computer OS needs to be updated); - The user tries to install Nvidia drivers intended for the 32-bit version of Windows on the 64-bit version and vice versa; - If there are two cards on the computer (built-in and discrete), the user first tries to install drivers on the discrete card.

To solve the problem “NVIDIA installation cannot continue”, do the following: - Make sure that you are using the correct drivers for the Windows OS of the current bit level. Press the Win+Pause key combination, and in the “System type” item, view the bitness of your OS. Look for drivers for your card for the appropriate operating system bit type; - If your computer has two video cards (built-in and discrete), install drivers for the built-in video card first (usually from Intel), and then install drivers for the discrete one (in our case, Nvidia). This must be done to resolve the error “This graphics driver did not detect compatible hardware”; - Make sure your Nvidia graphics card is not disabled by software. To do this, go to “Device Manager” (click on the “Start” button, enter devmgmt.msc in the search bar and press enter). Find the “Video Adapter” tab, double-click on it, and then the name of your video card will open. Hover over it, right-click, and select Enable. Then restart your PC;

Check if your card is detected correctly. In some cases, the video card will be detected incorrectly, located in the “Device Manager” in the “Other Devices” tab (usually with a yellow circle and an exclamation mark). If you see such a device, hover over it, right-click, and select “Properties.” Go to the “Details” tab, where in the properties select “Hardware ID”. In the values that open, select the longest value. Typically it consists of the words “VEN” (Vendor) and “DEV” (device), followed by a specific numeric and alphabetic code. For example, in the code: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68E0&SUBSYS_1BF21043&REV_00 The vendor code is 1002 The device code is 68E0 Review and write down the vendor code and the device code of your unidentified device. Then go to the site pcidatabase.com, enter the vendor and device code in the appropriate fields, and click on the “Search” button. You will receive information about the creator and type of your unidentified device; - Install all possible updates for your version of Windows OS (especially important in the case of Windows 10); - Use special programs to install the latest versions of drivers - “DriverPack Solution”, “Driver Easy” and other analogues that can help bypass the dysfunction of installing Nvidia drivers; - Manually add your device ID to the INF data of the installation file. How to do this is discussed in the following video:

Despite the fact that the process of active computerization began more than two decades ago, it is still very far from completely eradicating the difficulties that arise during the interaction between the user and the computer. So, now one of the pressing problems is the process of installing control programs for this or that computer equipment.

Two bridges to the world of video

Once upon a time, video adapters for computers were produced by various companies: Trident, S3, NVIDIA, Ati, Cirrus Logic, Matrox, etc. Much has changed since then, and at the moment the most common products are from only two companies - AMD and NVIDIA. The famous Intel never presented a discrete solution, limiting itself to a line of central processors. It is believed that the popularity of Nvidia products is higher than that of AMD, so it is understandable that users more often encounter difficulties when using video cards from this particular manufacturer.

This is the main reason. It is worth noting that due to all of the above, it is impossible to say that Nvidia is not installed, while the Intel driver works stably. It is also necessary to take into account the degree of distribution of solutions from a particular manufacturer. In this article we will answer the question “why does the Nvidia geforce driver not install?” and point out ways to solve it.

Correct control program

In order for applications to display all colors correctly and be able to use 3D acceleration, you must install the video card driver. This is a special program that is installed once and ensures interaction of the operating system with the hardware units of the video adapter.

One of the reasons why the Nvidia video card driver does not install is that users download the control program from unverified sources. These can be various forums, overclocking resources, websites in specific areas. For “advanced” computer scientists, such drivers are an opportunity to increase the performance of the video subsystem or get any additional features blocked in official releases.

However, ordinary users who decide to get all these fabulous bonuses are often faced with the fact that the Nvidia driver is not installed. When you try to install, you may receive messages about some kind of discrepancy, an error in memory addresses, a driver already present in the system, etc. All this can be avoided if you download the program from the manufacturer’s official website. So, the first rule says: the driver must be obtained from the Internet resource of the company that manufactures the video chip; support disk included with the computer/laptop; website of the assembly company (Asus, MSI...).

Reading the label

Some users, having visited an Internet page, get lost in its seemingly simple menu and download the wrong thing. It is not surprising that an attempt to use other control programs leads to the fact that a topic is often created on the forums “why is the Nvidia driver not installed?” Every owner of a personal computer or laptop must know the full name of the video adapter installed in his system unit or the type of chip used. These data are provided on the website of the assembly company.

Let's look at two examples. There is an Asus GTX780TI-P-3GD5 video card. By going to the website of the same name and selecting the “Computers and Components” section, you can find the specified model. Its characteristics indicate that this card is based on the nVidia 780Ti video processor.

Or, the laptop sticker says “nVidia GeForce 8400 GS”. In this case, the name of the chip used is directly reported. In other words, the second rule is: know the exact name of the video chip!

The right choice

Avoid the question “why won’t the Nvidia driver install?” It is possible if you select a program that matches the chip. Previously, the principle was followed that the latest versions could be installed to support outdated video card models, but now this is the exception rather than the rule.

Thus, on the Nvidia website you need to go through the menu tree “Drivers” - “Download drivers”. Here the user will be asked to fill out a simple table, indicating the type, series, family and operating system. After clicking the “Search” button, a link to the most suitable program that needs to be downloaded and installed will be displayed.

The manufacturer also offers the opportunity to try a test version of the control program, which, theoretically, should have a number of advantages. The selection is similar, except that you need to follow the “Beta Versions” link. Please note that trying to install it may cause an error like “Nvidia video card driver is not installed” - depending on your luck.

So, rule three: it is recommended to download and install a control program marked as WHQL (compliance tested). An indispensable condition is an accurate indication, if not of the video chip family, then at least of its series (for the 780Ti it is 700, and for the laptop 8400GS it is the 8M series).

I have contact

Sometimes even experienced computer scientists are faced with the fact that the Nvidia driver cannot be installed in any way. The reason may be not only software, but also hardware. As you know, it is inserted with a comb of sliding contacts into a special connector on the motherboard. Fixation occurs using screws or special fasteners. In some cases, in order for the card to move out of the connector a little, it is enough just to accidentally touch the rigid video adapter-monitor cord. Performance is not completely lost, but software problems arise in the form of the inability to use 3D functions, limited color gamut, and periodic artifacts on the screen. This does not install the Nvidia driver, so it is not possible to solve the problem this way.

California company problem

Users who follow the news and read thematic forums know that Nvidia has become famous for the fact that one of its lines of video chips has a factory defect, which manifests itself in the gradual degradation of BGA soldering and, as a result, complete or partial failure of the entire video card . Since there is nothing special to lose, many people practice baking such a video adapter in the oven (there is a technique), which in many cases allows you to restore functionality for a period of from several days to six months. The problem with soldering manifests itself, in particular, in the fact that the Nvidia driver takes a long time to install or displays an error message, although previously everything could work stably. Thus, the fourth rule states: problems with installing the control program can be caused by hardware failures both in the video card itself and in the logic of other components. All of them must be eliminated.

You can try to install the driver in forced mode, even if the installer displays an error message. To do this, you need to launch the desired distribution package with the program and select the unpacking folder. After the message about the impossibility of installation (assuming that it is displayed), you should follow the path “Computer” - “Properties” - “Device Manager” and select “Video adapters” from the list. By clicking on its name (as a rule, the choice here is small - one element), you need to select “Driver Update” and, when performing a search on this computer, indicate the folder where the distribution package was extracted. If everything is done correctly, a list of supported video cards will be displayed - all you have to do is indicate “Any” and agree to the installation, ignoring the warning. This method is not a panacea, but in some cases it allows you to overcome installation errors.

The essence and causes of the dysfunction “It is impossible to continue installing NVIDIA”

How to fix "This graphics driver did not detect compatible hardware" error

To resolve the "NVIDIA installation cannot continue" issue, do the following:

For example, in the code:

PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_68E0&SUBSYS_1BF21043&REV_00

The vendor code is 1002

Device code – 68E0

Review and write down the vendor code and device code of your unidentified device. Then go to pcidatabase.com, enter the vendor and device code in the appropriate fields, and click on the “Search” button. You will receive information about the creator and type of your unidentified device;

Install all possible updates for your version of Windows OS (especially important in the case of Windows 10);
Use special programs to install the latest versions of drivers - “DriverPack Solution”, “Driver Easy” and other analogues that can help bypass the dysfunctional installation of Nvidia drivers;
Manually add your device ID to the INF data in the installation file. How to do this is discussed in the following video:

Conclusion

If you encounter the error “the graphics driver did not find compatible hardware” and a message about the absence of compatible hardware, I recommend using the entire set of tips listed above. A fairly effective way to "trick" the installer is to add your device data to the installer's INF file, which circumvents the bug I'm discussing. Use the tips listed above, and you will be able to install drivers for your Nvidia card, enjoying all the richness of its functionality.

After connecting the video card to the motherboard, for its full operation you need to install special software - a driver that helps the operating system “communicate” with the adapter.

Such programs are written directly to Nvidia developers (in our case) and are located on the official website. This gives us confidence in the reliability and uninterrupted operation of such software. In reality, things are not always like this. During installation, errors often occur that prevent you from installing the driver, and therefore from using the video card.

So, when we try to install software for an Nvidia video card, we see this unpleasant-looking window:

The installer can give completely different reasons for the failure, from the one you see in the screenshot to the completely, from our point of view, absurd: “No Internet connection” when there is a network, and so on. The question immediately arises: why did this happen? In fact, with all the variety of errors, they have only two reasons: software (software problems) and hardware (hardware problems).

First of all, you need to rule out hardware malfunction, and then try to solve the problem with the software.

Iron

As we said above, first you need to make sure the video card is working.

To fully understand the situation, you can try connecting a known working card to the motherboard and repeating the driver installation, or take your adapter and connect it to a friend’s computer.

If the device refuses to work in a working PC, but another GPU on your motherboard is functioning normally, then you need to contact a service center for diagnostics and repairs.

Software

It is software failures that give rise to the widest range of installation errors. Basically, this is the inability to write new files over old ones that remained in the system after the previous software. There are other reasons and we will talk about them now.

"Tails" of the old driver. This is the most common problem.
The Nvidia installer tries to place its files in the appropriate folder, but there are already documents with the same names there. It is not difficult to guess that in this case overwriting should occur, as if we manually tried to copy a picture with the name "1.png" to the directory in which such a file already exists.
The system will require us to determine what to do with the document: replace, that is, delete the old one and write a new one, or rename the one we are transferring. If the old file is being used by some process or we do not have enough rights for such an operation, then when choosing the first option we will receive an error. The same thing happens with the installer.

The way out of this situation is as follows: remove the previous driver using specialized software. One such program is Display Driver Uninstaller. If your problem is “tails,” then DDU is likely to help.
The installer cannot connect to the Internet.
Here, an antivirus program that also performs the functions of a firewall (firewall) may well be misbehaving. Such software can block the installer’s access to the network as suspicious or potentially dangerous.
The solution to this problem is to disable the firewall or add the installer to the exceptions. If you have installed anti-virus software from a third-party developer, refer to the user manual or the official website. Also, our article can help you in solving this problem:

The standard Windows Firewall is disabled as follows:

After rebooting, the firewall will be completely disabled.
The driver is not compatible with the video card.
The latest driver version is not always suitable for the old adapter. This can happen if the generation of the installed GPU is much older than modern models. In addition, developers are people too, and can make mistakes in their code.
Some users think that by installing new software they will make the video card faster and fresher, but this is far from the case. If everything was functioning normally before installing the new driver, then there is no need to rush to install the new edition. This may lead to errors and failures during further operation. Don’t torment your “old lady”, she is already working at the limit of her capabilities.
Special cases with laptops.
Here, too, the problem lies in incompatibility. It is possible that this version of the Nvidia driver conflicts with outdated software for the chipset or integrated graphics. In this case, you need to update these programs. This must be done in the following order: first install software for the chipset, then for the integrated card.
It is recommended to install and update such software by downloading it from the manufacturer’s website. It’s easy to find a resource, just type a query in a search engine, for example, “asus laptop drivers official website.”

You can read more about finding and installing software for laptops in the section.

By analogy with the advice from the previous paragraph: if the laptop is old, but works fine, do not try to install new drivers, this can do more harm than good.

This concludes the discussion of errors when installing Nvidia drivers. Remember that most problems are caused by the software itself (installed or already installed), and in most cases they can be solved.