Why am I being told to upgrade my graphics driver during the log-on process?

[Ashelley Reina]

I used to be able to log-on normally up to Aug. 17, 2011. Then something changed after that date and the next time I tried to log-on, Sep. 3, 2011, I was told "VFS initialization failed. Please update your graphics driver". It seems to me that this problem is on SL's side, as I had not changed anything about my computer prior to getting the above message. Also, I did re-install the graphics driver from the manufacturer's website, and that action still did not help me re-achieve the abilt y to log-on. So I am at an impasse.

[Nyll Bergbahn]

Hi Ashelley.

I've never seen that combination of error messages before. It's normally one or the other.

VFS stands for Virtual File System and when you get a VFS error, the usual solution is to delete the Second Life folder in AppData.

If AppData is hidden on your system:

Enable Hidden Files & Folders:

1) Open Control Panel
2) Open “Folder Options”
3) Open the “View” tab
4) Check “Show hidden files, folders, and drives”

Press OK and close control panel.

Accessing AppData:

Browse to the path below that corresponds to your operating system:

Windows XP - C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\

Windows Vista - C:\Users\<username>\AppData\

Windows Vista Home Premium - C:\Users\<username>\AppData\

Windows 7 - C:\Users\<username>\AppData\ 

Inside the AppData folder:

1) Open the Local folder and delete the entire Second Life folder.

2) Go back one level to the AppData folder.

3) Open the Roaming folder and delete the entire Second Life folder. If you wish to save existing chat files you've had with other avatars, move the Roaming > [avatar name] folder elsewhere on your computer and drag any chat text files you wish to retain into the new Roaming > [avatar name] folder once Second Life is reinstalled and you've logged in at least once. Ignore if you don't want to save any.

4) Restart your computer and try opening Second Life.

Let us know how you get on using Options > Edit to the right of your post.

If still getting an error message about your graphics card, please post your computer specifications including graphics card and driver used.