Computer Hope

Question:

I need to update or remove my video card drivers, but of course, they need to be reinstalled. What are the steps for this?

Notes:

* These steps below may not be exact depending on your card manufacturer and model. I use NVIDIA, so I will be providing instructions for a NVIDIA card. I will also be using Windows XP.

* By this time, I hope you have downloaded (but obviously not installed) the new drivers for your video card from your card manufacturer's website. Do not continue with these steps until your new drivers are downloaded.

* When downloading/installing drivers it is recommended that you:

• Turn off any download accelerators
  

• While installing drivers turn off all Antivirus and Antispyware software
  

Answer:

-Download:

1) Go to your video card manufacturer's website (I will be using NVIDIA)
2) Click on the Download Drivers Button
3) You will now be asked for your product type. Use the first drop down box to select the family that your card belongs to. For our purposes in this demo, I'm going to use GeForce. The second drop down box is the product series. This is the second step to narrowing down what series of card you have installed. Click on the second drop down box to select your Series. The third drop down box is the Product selection. This is the last bit of information you need to give about the card --- so that you find the right driver. After that, use the last two drop down boxes to select your Operating System and Language.

-Uninstall:

1) Access the Control Panel by clicking on Start and Control Panel.
2) Click on the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3) Depending on which driver version you are using, your graphics drivers may appear differently in the list of programs installed. These drivers will appear as, "NVIDIA Windows Display Drivers", or as "NVIDIA Drivers".
4) Click on the appropriate listing and click on the Add/Remove button.
5) You will now be asked to confirm the removal. Note that you may see a window appear which should look similar to this:



I did not see this Window myself, but encase you do, I didn't want it to be a surprise. If you don't see the window, please move onto the next step. If you see this Window, click on the bullet point next to "Remove only the following". Once selected, select NVIDIA Display Driver, and click on the Remove button.

Note: You will probably be asked to restart your computer at this time.

-Install:

1) Once the computer has fully booted-up; double-click on the setup file you downloaded earlier.

Note: Your video drivers have been uninstalled and Windows is using generic drivers. You will likely notice that your resolution has changed to become larger and possibly distorted. Do not worry at all --- once you install your new drivers things can be returned back to normal rather easily.

2) Follow the on-screen instructions from this point forward. This is usually just as simple as watching the progress bar, but you may receive a prompt to do something on your part.

Conclusion:

I hope this article has helped you   If you have any questions or comments about this article, please request assistance on the forum. Thanks, and good luck! 

Flame

Article revision: 2/28/09