Video Card Drivers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jo999
  • Start date Start date
J

Jo999

I am a totally lost when it comes to hardware. Could someone please tell me
where I can find the type of video card driver I have, and if I need the
version number also, so it can be updated. Thanks for any help.
 
Jo999 said:
I am a totally lost when it comes to hardware. Could someone please tell
me where I can find the type of video card driver I have, and if I need
the version number also, so it can be updated. Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Control Panel>System>Hardware tab>Device Manager. Expand the category under
Display to see your video adapter. Please read the following general
information about drivers:

The First Law of Driver Updates is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Normally if everything is working you want to leave things as they are. The
exception is that heavy-duty gamers will usually want to update their video
and sound drivers to squeeze every last bit of performance out of the
hardware to get the fastest frame rates. If you're not one of those people,
you don't need to update your drivers if there are no problems you are
trying to solve.

Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:

1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM computer
(HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).

Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the drivers.

To find out what hardware is in your computer:

1. Read any documentation you got when you bought the computer.
2. If the computer is OEM, go to the OEM's website for your specific model
machine and look at the specs (you'll be there to get the drivers anyway)
3. Download, install and run a free system inventory program like Belarc
Advisor or System Information for Windows.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows

Malke
 
Jo999 said:
I am a totally lost when it comes to hardware. Could someone please tell me
where I can find the type of video card driver I have, and if I need the
version number also, so it can be updated. Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Start > Run > type "devmgmt.msc", press Enter > In Device Manager click the
+ next to Display Adapters to expand > Right-click yours, left-click
"Properties" in drop-down > "Driver" tab along the top, driver info is
there.

Not quite sure what you mean by "type of video card driver", though... Do
you mean "type of video card"? It's important that you know this for
downloading the correct latest driver.
 
Jo999 said:
Yes, type of video card is what I mean.
Click to expand...

You're welcome.

For that, Start > Run > type "desk.cpl", hit Enter > "Settings" tab >
"Advanced" button > "Adapter" tab. Details are there.

Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to install the new
driver.
 
Thank you both, very much. That was a great help to me. According to the
information, there is no better installation than I have now.

I was having trouble with a game (my mouse was very sluggish while playing
it) and I was told that I have older video card drivers and they should be
updated, but since there is no update to it, it may be the game itself that
is causing problems. Most of the time, everything seems to be working fine,
but am still told by friends and web sites to update them.
 
Jo999 said:
Thank you both, very much. That was a great help to me. According to the
information, there is no better installation than I have now.

I was having trouble with a game (my mouse was very sluggish while playing
it) and I was told that I have older video card drivers and they should be
updated, but since there is no update to it, it may be the game itself
that
is causing problems. Most of the time, everything seems to be working
fine,
but am still told by friends and web sites to update them.
Click to expand...

You're welcome!

Has the game always been sluggish, or become so? It will have certain
minimum requirements/specifications for a video card - does yours meet
these? Also, does your system generally meet the game's other requirements,
principally processor speed and amount of memory (RAM)?

How does the mouse connect - is it wireless? If so, try a USB or PS/2 one if
you can, see if the problem persists.

If the game has a Graphics or Video setting in its options, try dropping
down the resolution a notch or two.

Make sure you're not running any other programs at the same time.

The game manufacturer may have a patch for the game - check their website.

If it's an older game, you could try running it in a Compatibility Mode
(right-click its shortcut, click on the Compatibility tab, try selecting
"Windows 98 / Me", or just tinker).

If there's an option to do a full install, as opposed to a minimal one which
might still run files off the CD, maybe try that.

It's hard to say more without knowing which game it is... If you really want
to press on with seeking a fix, perhaps start a new thread in the
microsoft.public.windowsxp.games group with full details of your system and
the game's name.
 
i cant find display adapters i have Start > Run > type "devmgmt.msc", press
Enter > In Device Manager but i still cant find display adapters.
 
Back
Top