Defining exceptions from Windows Update to not be displayed
 

For some reason, with the latest round of Windows Update this Tuesday, Microsoft has decided to no longer rate graphics drivers as recommended but as essential items.

Which is stupid, because for many people older driver versions are better choices, since new versions often produce artifacts with certain games, especially newer ones. The common advice given then is to go back to anj older driver. It has been like this since - ten years? 15 years?

I am such case, too, sticking with a nVidia 175.xx, because it does what it should - and all later versions I tried up to 3xx.xx produced some artifacts for example in Skyrim - micro-stutters, 2-second-pauses.

But thanks to Microsoft, now every morning I switch on the machine I get greeted by the Windows Updater telling me I should update the graphic driver.

Can't I define this as an exception from the rule somewhere, so that it does not make the updater taking it into account anymore? I want to leave updater running in the background to "on", not installing by itself but checking once a day and telling me if new stuff is available. I should tell me - just not about graphics drivers.

Wait, full stop. nVidia WDDM 1.1 and 1.2 - is that even a graphics driver update? 200+ MB. The tech-speak I get via Google, leaves me confused.

I don't think it is the actual driver itself, I'm not sure though.

What you can do is to right click the update, and select hide.

Thanks. Rightlick and hide, okay.

You are probably right, it seems to be not the driver itself. Anyway, this weekend I will do a HD image anyway, and after that got done, I install this update and see what it does. System restore I do not use, I don't trust it. The few opportunities I did, it did not work at all.

It IS a driver update or inculudes one, my driver has been updated from 275.xx to 306.xx after I ran Windows Update.

I now need to see whether it messes up my games like all other drivers that I tried of the 28x.x to 300.xx range - stutterings, micro-freezes, 1-2 seconds of black screens - or works as demanded. If the latter, okay. If not I say thankyou dear MS and dear nVidia for not clearly identifying the files you set up for update.

May I ask what card you use?

Nvidia has a pretty good driver track record, but sometimes they have major issues, and these windows update patches are mainly used to fix these major issues. I'll check to see if it applies to your card

Just have returned to old driver 275.33. The new one that was installed with this ominous Windows Update, was 306.xx. And like all drivers I tried since 275.33, it caused problems, this time especially with transparency levels and volumetric fog/cloud effects (in Skyrim).

Strange that nVidia since so long time is unable to bring up a driver that no longer has flaws at least with now older games.

Worst experiences were the drivers of the mit 280-range. Black screens for 1-3 seconds, stutterings, both with my old gfx card, and my new one.

275.33 may be old, but it gets the job done, flawlessly, with all games/sims I still have in use. And that is what its about: reliability. Whether I get 2 frames more or less, is totally uninteresting, I think.

Oh, the card I now use is a GTX460 SE with 1 GB

Windows Update immediately wanted to "update" it again, but no, thanks.