TinyNvidiaUpdateChecker: update Nvidia drivers without Geforce Experience

TinyNvidiaUpdateChecker is a small open source program for Microsoft Windows devices to update Nvidia drivers without relying on Geforce Experience.

While it is possible to update Nvidia drivers manually by downloading driver packages from the Nvidia website, the only built-in option to update drivers automatically is part of Geforce Experience.

Using Geforce Experience has its advantages, but it comes at a cost. We suggest you customize the installation of Nvidia drivers and only install the drivers you require. This is better for system performance, does away with most Telemetry that may be installed otherwise, and also mitigates security issues.

TinyNvidiaUpdateChecker

TinyNvidiaUpdateChecker is a small program for Windows that checks for driver updates when you run it, downloads updated drivers, and runs the installer. The program depends on the HTML Agility Pack which you can download from the project's website and place in the same directory as Tiny Nvidia Update Checker. The application attempts to download it otherwise (it is just 130 Kilobytes).

Note that you need to have WinRAR installed on the system to make use of the minimal installer method the program supports. The standard Nvidia setup is launched otherwise with Express selected by default.

NVIDIAs drivers also come with telemetry which this application can remove from the installer, but requries WinRAR in order to extract the self-extracting archive, and will only extract the core GPU drivers. (no Physics, HD Audio, Geforce Experience, 3D drivers, etc).

Windows may display a SmartScreen warning when you run the program. You need to bypass the warning, which I have explained in this guide.

The program opens a command prompt window, and will display several prompts to you. This is a one-time thing only as your answers will be saved so that you don't need to go through the initial setup again.

Basically, what you do is select the right Nvidia graphics adapter, and decide whether you want to install the driver using minimal installation or not.

The program displays information on the updated driver on the screen if it finds one.

You may open the Nvidia driver release PDF using it as well if you want. The release PDF document includes additional information, for instance known issues.

The download happens automatically at this point, and the next step depends on your previous selection. If you selected the minimal installation method and have WinRAR installed, all components but the core GPU driver are removed from the package.

If you have not, the default installation prompt is shown and it is up to you to deselect components that you don't want installed.

Run the program whenever you want to check for updates. You can automate this by adding it to the system start, or by creating a scheduled task that runs when you want it to run (for instance when the PC is idle).

Closing Words

Tiny Nvidia Update Checker is a handy program for Windows, as you may use it to check for Nvidia graphics card updates, and install them either with minimal components without Telemetry and all that good stuff, or manually if you require some of the components.

Now You: Do you update drivers regularly?

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