Video driver download...WHERE?

[MarkF]

I know I'm not, but I feel totally computer illiterate right now. Can someone do me a favor and find an online download for a video driver? I think mine is shot, and I don't currently have the time or money to go buy myself a ner video card. See my other post Monitor Troubles for a full description of my problem.
Thanks!

[Damian Manda]

Drivers will depend on the graphics card you use:

If it isATI: based
http://mirror.ati.com/support/driver.html

If it is nVidia based:
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

If it is something else, search for the company and look for a drivers link. It would help if you posted you graphics card model.

[Yan Wang]

Go to www.windowsupdate.com and it will automatically scan your computer for any needed driver updates.

[MarkF]

the card is the one that came w/ the computer. I know it is nVidia, I saw that before on the properties menu, but how do I know what specific driver I need?

[Jeff Waegelin]

Originally posted by MarkF
the card is the one that came w/ the computer. I know it is nVidia, I saw that before on the properties menu, but how do I know what specific driver I need?

All nVidia cards use the nVidia "Detonator" drivers... it's a "one-size-fits-all" driver.

[MarkF]

then why does my monitor refuse to accept anything better than 16 color, 640 X 480 resolution?

[Raven_Writer]

Originally posted by Jeff Waegelin
All nVidia cards use the nVidia "Detonator" drivers... it's a "one-size-fits-all" driver.

Even if it's a GeForce2 Integrated one? woah.....SWEET! [/learns something new everyday]

[rbayer]

Originally posted by monsieurcoffee
Go to www.windowsupdate.com and it will automatically scan your computer for any needed driver updates.

Not true. Windows update is (marginally) good for keeping the core OS up to date with security fixes, etc but it very rarely has drivers for third-party cards, etc. You've got to get those straight from the manufacturer.

Originally posted by MarkF

then why does my monitor refuse to accept anything better than 16 color, 640 X 480 resolution?

A number of things can cause this problem, but most likely it's that you've got a bunch of old drivers lying around and Windows is getting confused. Here's my fix:
1. Make sure you have drivers for both your vid card and monitor somewhere on your HD. You'll need them in a minute.
2. Reboot into safe mode. (Press F8 while it's starting up and choose safe mode from the menu that will come up).
3. Delete ALL video adapters and monitors from Device Manager. ALL OF THEM.
4. Reboot. Windows should come up with the "new hardware" message. At this point, tell it to use the drivers that you downloaded in step 1.
5. Reboot.
6. Cross fingers and hope it worked. If not, post back here and I'll see if I can think of anything else.

--Rob

[MarkF]

I got into safe mode, deleting everything video and display I could find, but when it reinstalled the driver all it did was go back to the way it was before, same problem. This is driving me crazy. HELP! lol.

Thanks!

[rbayer]

Quick question: what does it say in the drop-down box labeled Display? For example, mine says "Optiquest Q95-2 on Nvidia GeForce DDR".

[evulish]

Which OS are you using?

If you're using XP, go to Start->Control Panel->System->Hardware->Device Manager. Are there any Exclamation marks or question marks or anything that seems out of place? What's listed under Display Adapters? What's listed under monitors? If you double click on your video adapter (under the Display Adapters tree), what version driver are you using (under the Driver tab).

If you're using Win 95/98/ME, go to Start->Settings->Control Panel->System->Device Manager and answer the questions above

Can you take your video card to another computer? Do you have a spare monitor? The best thing to do is actually find out what is wrong. I'd imagine the video card but there are a LOT of different things it could be (OS, virus, drivers, communication, video card hardware, motherboard).

Hope this helps.

[evulish]

Originally posted by Jeff Waegelin
All nVidia cards use the nVidia "Detonator" drivers... it's a "one-size-fits-all" driver.

Well, _most_ use the detonators. If you have a Riva or a Quadro, you're not going to be using nVidia's Det's

*pets ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128m*