Old Nvidia Graphics Card - Advice!

[diablo_red]

Hello

After some time away from FS2004 I have decided to re-install.

Unfortunatly I have a very old graphics card. It is an Nvidia GeForce 4 MX420 DDR 64MB (No sniggering please!)

The rest of the PC spec is not that bad:

Pentium 4 2.66 ghz, 512 ram, XP SP2.

I have run it with this before with no problems (obvious limitations graphically though) and was wondering whether or not to install the latest driver from nvidia.

The latest driver 91.31 shows as supporting this graphics card. Is it worth doing and if so what is the best procedure for doing so (removing previous driver etc)

Many thanks, it has been a while!

[Saitek]

Hmmm a little out of date! Have a look for the latest driver, the old one will be waaay out of date. Don't delete the previous driver though until you have a WORKING new driver.

[Fozzer]

I had horrendous problems with the latest 91.31 drivers, and had to go back to my previous 78.01 drivers to cure a number of faults.....

I wonder if the 91.31 drivers are a beta version...?

Note: Sometimes the best drivers are the original ones included with your card....newer is not always best... ...!

Paul.... ....!

System specs below.

[diablo_red]

Cheers for the advice.

I will leave it for now I think and see how I get on. However, I have noticed that every time I do a windows update (not on automatic updates) there is a graphics card driver shown as a possible update.

It must pre-date the very latest driver though as it has been there for months.

Maybe that one could be a bit more stable??

[Fly2e]

Go here
http://www.drivercleaner.net/professional.php

Download the Driver cleaner software.
Make sure you follow the directions step by step.


  nVidia Card:

  1. Unplug nic card or modem from net or disconnect
  2. Remove nvidia from add/remove programs
  3. Reboot into safe mode (F8 during boot up)
  4. On reboot into safe mode WinXP SP1/SP2 will auto detect and install drivers. Just let it do its thing. If you can cancel out of the auto install hardware wizard then skip the rest and run Driver Cleaner! If you can NOT cancel out of auto detect wizard then...
  5. Navigate to device manager->display adapters->highlight nVidia and click uninstall or remove but don't reboot
  6. Disable any AntiVirus Software (If you don't disable is than it could give trouble)
  7. Run Cab Cleaner (not needed, but recommended)
  8. Run Driver Cleaner
  9. Empty recycle bin and reboot
  10. Install the new drivers.


This will allow you to remove your old drivers and then install your new drivers.

Dave

[Fozzer]

Go here
http://www.drivercleaner.net/professional.php

Download the Driver cleaner software.
Make sure you follow the directions step by step.


  nVidia Card:

  1. Unplug nic card or modem from net or disconnect
  2. Remove nvidia from add/remove programs
  3. Reboot into safe mode (F8 during boot up)
  4. On reboot into safe mode WinXP SP1/SP2 will auto detect and install drivers. Just let it do its thing. If you can cancel out of the auto install hardware wizard then skip the rest and run Driver Cleaner! If you can NOT cancel out of auto detect wizard then...
  5. Navigate to device manager->display adapters->highlight nVidia and click uninstall or remove but don't reboot
  6. Disable any AntiVirus Software (If you don't disable is than it could give trouble)
  7. Run Cab Cleaner (not needed, but recommended)
  8. Run Driver Cleaner
  9. Empty recycle bin and reboot
  10. Install the new drivers.


This will allow you to remove your old drivers and then install your new drivers.

Dave

Ta, Dave. I'll remember that....I think.... ...!

Given the choice I think I'd rather Hoover my carpet... ...!

LOL... ...!

Paul... ...!

[Mushroom_Farmer]

I had horrendous problems with the latest 91.31 drivers, and had to go back to my previous 78.01 drivers to cure a number of faults.....

I wonder if the 91.31 drivers are a beta version...?

Note: Sometimes the best drivers are the original ones included with your card....newer is not always best... ...!

Paul.... ....!

System specs below.

I'm running an even older card (Voodoo3) and thought about updating drivers. I checked a few Voodoo forums and after reading about all the problems and conflicts decided against it.
The old card does fine as is and I'm satisfied.

.....I've always follow the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" motto.  ;)

[cheesegrater]

New drivers might make a difference on a new card like the Geforce 7950 where they are getting some of the bugs and glitches worked out. However, if you have an old card that has been out for 4 or 5 years new drivers will do absolutely nothing.

Mushroom, are you running that Voodoo on Windows XP?