Users on any of the dedicated GPU Paperspace machines are able to update their Nvidia drivers if need be (for example, certain games may require specific drivers), but in order to do so safely and without damaging your VM, we recommend the following methods.
To find the correct driver, go to this link and search for Quadro drivers. The drivers for our instances correspond to the machine type. For example, a P4000 would be a Quadro P4000; the same applies to the P5000, and P6000 drivers.
Option 1: Using the command line (recommended)
This is the safest way to update the driver when using a remote machine.
1. Open Command Prompt by typing CMD in the Start menu and pressing enter
2. Locate the path where you downloaded the driver. A common location is your Downloads folder: C:\Users\paperspace\Downloads
3. In Command Prompt, enter the path followed by the driver followed by /s /k
Here's an example:
C:\Users\paperspace\Downloads\377.11-quadro-winserv-2016-64bit-international-whql.exe /s /k
An explanation of the two command line arguments:
/s = install silently in the background
/k = automatically restart after install
After the driver is finished installing in the background, the machine will restart. That's it!
Option 2: Follow the regular install process (use at your own risk)
This method is easier but riskier than Option 1 because you will temporarily lose access to the VM during the install process.
This happens because the streaming software that delivers your Paperspace desktop relies on the graphics driver which will be disrupted during the upgrade.
1. Simply run the driver from where you downloaded it by simply double clicking it. The driver is typically a file name something like 377.11-quadro-winserv-2016-64bit-international-whql.exe
2. Walk through the regular install steps
3. You may lose access to the VM during the install process. If so, wait 2 minutes and then restart the machine.