Crash on Startup after Updating Drivers

[Anonymous]

Hello, I recently updated my Nvidia Geforce GTX 660M drivers (to version 306.97) and now 3ds max (student edition) gives me an error (An error has occured and the application will now close...) when I start the program. I am not 100% sure the problem is that I updated the drivers, but I am pretty sure because a while back I updated it also, but because 3ds max gave me that error I restored it to the previous version and it worked. Now however, I want to keep my drivers updated so is there any known fix to this without degrading my drivers?

[Doughboy12]

PRO TIP: Use the drivers that work with your programs...the newest driver is not always the best driver at this time.

[Anonymous]

So the only way that this could be fixed is if Autodesk makes 3ds max compatible with my drivers in the next update?

[Doughboy12]

And your point is? Why do you "think" you need to run the latest "greatest" driver?
Don't get all caught up in upgrading for upgradings sake...a common newbie mistake.
If an update makes things run bad it is of no use and you should uninstall it, not expect that it will work with an update from another vendor. Use what works...

[Anonymous]

Oh no, I am not updating just to have the newest driver, I updated the drivers because a new game I got doesn't work well with the old drivers. If this hadn't been the case I would have left the drivers alone. I am just wondering if there is any solution to this 3ds max problem without downgrading because I want to run both the game and 3ds max.

[PiXeL_MoNKeY]

How did you install the drivers? Did you do a clean install by uninstalling the old drivers first? Did you run a driver cleaner in Safe Mode to ensure that all old driver files were removed? Did you install the new drivers in safe mode to prevent Windows from installing the drivers?

I am running a Quadro with drivers 307.32 and no issues. Some times there can be problems with drivers, but doing a proper clean before install should resolve that.

-Eric

[TMat]

Indeed it is very important that you clean install your new drivers properly or they may not function. After experiencing big problems the last time I upgraded my drivers I did some digging and found this guide:

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1174372&mpage=1

As it turns out you really need to know what you are doing or eventually you will come across issues.

Follow the instructions carefully and if Max will still not run you may have to go through the process again using an older, more stable driver version.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Strange, I did do a clean install of the new driver and it still isn't working, I will try clean installing a slightly older driver for my gpu that will still run well with my games and along with it hopefully 3ds max.

[Doughboy12]

Might not be the driver but the game that is causing the problems then...?

[PiXeL_MoNKeY]

It would also help to know where in the 3ds max boot process it is failing. Also, it would help to know what all you have tried.

Does it load all the plugins or crash right after the same plugin every time?
Are you using any 3rd party plugins?
Have you renamed your 3ds max 2013 user profile folder to see if it is a configuration file causing the issue?
Which 3ds max display driver are you using (Nitrous, D3D, or OpenGL)?
Does it work in any of the other display drivers?

-Eric

[Anonymous]

Wow strange, I tried again launching 3ds max a day after the clean install of the new drivers (it had done the same thing as before and crashed when I tried launching 3ds max a few minutes after the clean install) and it works fine now, so guess it needed some time to reload or something.
Thank you all for the help, I really appreciate it!