DRIVERS DRIVERS I NEEd HELP WITH DRIVERS

[Flcl275]

I just downloaded game and it sas i have to update drivers idk how to do that!!!!!!!!!!! Lol please help!

 

[Rolig Loon]

Much of what you need to know is at http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Graphics-cards/ta-p/700073 .  Read and enjoy.  

[Knowl Paine]

If you don't enjoy reading, you want to find out what kind of Graphic Card driver you have and the search the web for "update graphic driver (name)" I use Nvidia and at their website is an auto-driver update. (the card I use now checks for updates automatically)

[Nyll Bergbahn]

Here is my Guide on updating Graphics Drivers.

Graphics Cards

To find out what graphics card you have:

Select Start Menu > Run

In the command box type dxdiag and press ok

Click the Display tab in the window that opens

The top line under the section Device should give you the graphics card manufacturer and card series

 If you have a desktop with AMD (ATI) or Nvidia graphics card, use these links:

NVidia: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?

AMD/ATI: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.​aspx

Input the details of your card or use Nvidia's auto detect utility if a Nvidia card. AMD/ATI's auto detect utility is still in beta and due out soon.

UPDATE: The AMD auto detect utility is now released http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/auto_detect.aspx

You do not have to uninstall Nvidia drivers before installing new ones but you do with AMD drivers. However, it's very simple and AMD provide helpful videos on that link.

If you have an Intel integrated chipset, use Intel's driver detect utility at http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect?redire​ctor_count=1&

If you have a notebook, you may need to download an updated driver from the notebook manufacturer's website. depending on the card. For AMD Mobility cards in laptops. refer to the links on this page http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/737-280​41SupportforATIMobility.aspx

Foe Nvidia cards in notebooks, Nvidia provide drivers from this link http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_drivers.html

[Peggy Paperdoll]

Nyll's post is great and the links to the major manufacturers driver download sites are very valuable...........save them to your bookmarks.  I am going to take exception to one statement in her post though.  Removing (or uninstalling) the older driver before you install the newer one with nVidia cards is just as important as it is with AMD/ATI cards.  I know nVidia rewrote their driver installation page and no longer say that it's recommended to uninstall the old driver first (they did that about 2 years ago as far as my memory can remember), but a driver is a critical bit of software that your hardware depends on to work.  Video drivers, due to the importance of them, are even more critical.  It's always a good idea to uninstall any driver (for any hardware device you have connected or installed in your computer) before installing a new driver.  Some devices, like keyboards and mice are very happy with the generic drivers your operating system defaults to if no driver is found..........but even those devices will need drivers if you want to use the fancy features some keyboards and mice have (like that designated key to launch your email, or open your documents folder that come with most Microsoft keyboards).  If you don't use those features there's really no need to even install a driver, let alone update it.  Video drivers are a little different unless you are using your computer as a word processor exclusively (the default driver the operating system uses will be just fine if that's the case).

 

Here's a link that is good reading for anyone about proper video driver installation.  It's also good to know for other drivers that you, personally, find important for your needs and your computer.  Finding problems due to a corrupted driver can very difficult and once a driver is corrupted it won't ever become uncorrupted by repeatedly installing a new driver over it..........it must be removed first.  The best way to avoid that problem is to not get that problem..........a simple uninstall before reinstalling avoids that problem 99.9% of the time.

 

http://www.playtool.com/pages/installgraphics/install.html

[Nyll Bergbahn]

Thanks Peggy. Regarding uninstalling old drivers first, Nvidia say this:

Help Installing Drivers:

Q: After I click Agree and Download, should I select Run or Save?
A: You can select either depending on your preference. If you want to save the driver for use at a later time or on a different PC then you should select Save. If you want to download and start installing immediately then you can select Run.

Q: Do I need to uninstall my older driver first?
A: No. It used to be the case that an uninstall was first required. Today the recommended method is to overinstall the newer driver on top of your older driver. This will allow you to maintain any current NVIDIA Control Panel settings or profiles.

Q: I want to go back to my older driver. How do I do that?
A: If you overinstalled the newer driver over the older driver then you can roll back to the older driver. Instructions can be found here: Option 2: Roll Back To Your Previous Driver.

On the other hand, Nvidia have not deleted this page off its web site http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_13955.html

I assume it's still there for those who wish to uninstall the old driver as per your excellent advice.