driver updates for video card

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Guest

I've have a Radeon video card and when there are new drivers for it I download them. The one thing I don't do is uninstall the old driver.(don't know how) After the new driver is installed the card still works fine. Do I need to uninstall the old driver? If so, how.
Thanks
 
After the new driver is installed the card still works fine.
Do I need to uninstall the old driver? If so, how..
Thanks
Click to expand...

ATI recommends uninstalling the old driver, rebooting your computer so
that the default Windows driver is used, then installing the updated
driver.

Next time you're about to update your driver check the Add/Remove
Programs applet in Control Panel, you should see an entry for the
driver.
 
Hi Dufas (and xiray),

Allow me to share the steps I post pertaining to ATI Driver Updating. :-)

1. Look over the ATI articles about their latest driver on the download page.
They list Installation Tips, Fixes, and Release Notes with important information.

2. Download the latest Catalyst driver for ATI Radeon or All in Wonder Card:

Win XP/2000: http://ati.com/support/drivers/winxp/radeonwdm-xp.html
Win 98/Me: http://ati.com/support/drivers/winme/radeonwdm-me.html

3. Save the .exe driver in My Documents\My Drivers\ATI

4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.

6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.

7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.

8. If Windows prompts you to install the adapter, click "Cancel".

9. Double click the ATI driver we saved to My Documents\ My
Drivers\ATI folder in step 3 to install.it. If it complains about
Windows Logo Certification just click "Continue". This is normal.

10. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.

--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com


Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call / Contact
MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

| Thanks for the quick response. Yes I've seen it listed in my add/remove section. Should I download the new driver then delete
the old one so the new one is already saved om my computer??
 
Should I download the new driver then delete the old one
so the new one is already saved om my computer??
Click to expand...

If you're not already running the new driver then yes. And if you've
already installed the latest version overtop the older version, then
perhaps you should consider not just uninstalling but also manually
checking that you delete any program-specific folder(s) and registry
entries (i.e., registry entries for the older driver which you did not
uninstall).

FYI, I've always assumed that the reason you delete the old driver is
so that you don't install the new driver overtop the old, which could
cause old/obsolute files and registry entries to be left on you system
and thus available to cause conflicts.

I know that ATI's Catalyst driver does install a folder tree off the
root of your hard drive (but not all video card drivers do that).
 
Dude that makes me nervous going into the registry. I
Click to expand...

Yes, going into the registry is dangerous. I have sweaty palms every
time I do it.

You could back up the registry before you start.

But if you're worried that you'll screw up anyway, then avoid touching
it. The suggestion was only IF you wanted to have a pristine
configuration you MIGHT check in there. I've not had to look in the
registry for older video driver entires... so to be quite frank I
assume they might exist on your system. I do not know for certain and
I do not know for certain that older entires would cause problems.

What I am certain of, however, is that after you delete the Radeon
video driver off your system and after you reboot, there should be no
Radeon entries in your registry, so if you find them, then they can be
safely deleted.
 
It shouldn't be neccessary to do anything in the registry. The minimum you'd
uninstall is the ATI Control Panel followed by the driver itself. If you
want to update the MMC components then uninstall that as well. ATI has a
software removal utility if you need to uninstall everything.

Installing the new driver also re-installs the ATI Control Panel. MMC is a
separate install (ie. File player, DVD etc) that you'd do after the driver
is installed. If you don't want to upgrade that you might still have to do
a repair (an option available when you start to uninstall MMC) after the new
driver is installed.
 
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