[SOLVED] Windows 1709 update, OpenGL, Waves/Melda/Unfiltered Audio plugins...

Aaaaah!

I have a pretty old desktop with a pretty old graphics card (Nvidia GeForce 7300). However, it works and does what I need it to, or at least it did, until Windows 1709 ('fall creators') update screwed it up. Now plugins from Waves, Melda, and Unfiltered Audio, which I am pretty reliant on, load with a blank UI. The Unfiltered ones I can get working by disabling the GPU acceleration, but the others I can't - Waves because apparently it's impossible, and Melda because it evidently can't be turned off except from the settings panel on the plugin, which I cannot load.

I've done a bunch of research on this and can't find a solution other than rolling back to 1703, which I am prepared to do but which may only be a temporary solution as eventually Windows will likely force the update again.

Any ideas? It's host-independent, and did not happen on my laptop which I updated at the same time. But the desktop which is my main Daw is now crippled - cannot run these plugins, though they scan fine, they just have no GUI. Open GL 2.1 is apparently installed and working, and the plugins worked fine on the same machine before the update, so it's not a hardware problem, it's Windows.

Thoughts? Anyone?

Ha , when I get home I'll post the link however I have a thread with microsoft about the issue. It installs on most fine however on some systems it causes 4 hour start up delays and never updates. Still have not resolved it and just stuck at restart required on 1703. If I select shut down it shuts down and reboots fine. However if I select restart it gets stuck on the reboot and has taken anywhere from 2 to 6 hours to boot up with no sucesfull update.

I'd consider doing the new video card suggestion. I know buying new hardware for something that isn't a direct benefit sucks but it will give you less trouble down the road and probably fix your issue. There's only so long nVidia supports their videocards with new drivers. The current drivers support the new Titan V (and other upcoming Volta cards), the 1000, 900, 700, 600, 500, and 400 series. That's 8 years or so worth of cards.
 
The most recent card they support in Widows 10 at all is the 8 series, which are about 10 years old. Those they do have office 10 drivers for, but they haven't been updated in a year so they don't officially support 1709. The 7 series that you have, well that support stopped with Windows 8 as it is about a 12 year old card at this point. They did give MS a basic driver that is included with 10 for them, I think, but there's no official support, no drivers on their site.
 
So not a bad idea to think of an upgrade. 12 year old hardware is pushing it for computers. Plus graphics cards have progressed a lot since then. In particular there was a big change with how they worked in the 8 series, basically a refactoring of the API. What that means is that modern OSes expect things that those old cards just don't have the capability to provide. Thus a new one is a good idea, and should last a nice long time. I recommend a 1050, as they aren't too expensive, and don't need additional power to run. Should last you a good bit.
 
Likewise plugins may start needing newer OpenGL versions. The API changes didn't just apply to DirectX, the native Windows 3D, but to OpenGL as well. Old GPUs just can't handle new OpenGL versions, and plugins may decide they wish to use that.
 
Also if you have a regular processor (meaning not high end desktop or server) that is reasonably new, it may well have better onboard graphics. An Intel 4000 series or above will have a GPU that has newer features, and may even be a tad faster, onboard.

I, too, had to replace an old ATI video card.
 
I bought a Gigabyte card. There are several video card manufacturers that incorporate an nVidia chipset, and they are NOT created equal. I've found Gigabyte to be the best.
 
Since I have no interest in gaming, that simplified my requirements for the video adapter. I picked the GeForce GTX 750 Ti. Not expensive. Very quiet with typical DAW loads. My guess is that it's been replaced by something a little newer, but it's a very capable card with plenty of life left. The driver for it is updated almost monthly.

The good news is your card is a PCIe card, which means that all new cards use the same socket. While it isn't as fast as newer PCIe slots, that doesn't matter. PCIe is 100% forward and backward compatible so you can put a new card in an old socket no problem. Only real issue could be power, your PSU may not have the addon power the higher power cards need. Hence my 1050 recommendation. Needs no addon power, and is actually a super capable card. It is the kind of thing you might well transfer to a new system, if you build one in the next couple years.
 
You can also look at getting an older card used if possible. If you can find a cheap 750 those also don't need additional power and being 2 generations old can sometimes be found used for very little. Despite being two generations old it supports basically all of the newest tech (except for DirectX 12 and Vulkan, which are currently relevant only to very few games) and nVidia should support it for 4-6 more years.

So now your plugins are working as expected? Great! Glad to hear this.
 
Have fun at the NYE gala: )
 
Don't work too hard!

subtlearts
 
Some might not even consider what I do *work*, per se, though it's definitely fairly intense and demanding... 
http://www.palazzo.org/en/berlin/show/artists/
(I'm down at the bottom with an accordion)

I see ya!! Nice :)

Fun, for sure, at least most nights. And when the band is firing on all cylinders, we can groove pretty hard (I'm actually mostly on keys, the accordion is a fun little bonus, I also sneak a bit of trumpet in there most nights) and that's the most fun there is... But it's a show, so there are parts of it that are work. Not the worst work, no, but work.

I don't know either of those artists, though the name Leon Sash rings some faint bells. I'll check both out when I get home. Thinking of incorporating more accordion into what I do, I do love it! And who knows, running it through some crazy complex FX chains could be the next big thing!