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Need a bit of advice on reinstalling video drivers, please?

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Ed from AZ

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Jun 22, 2009, 4:55:45 PM6/22/09
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I have a Dell D600 with XP Pro sp2. I'm working on trying to restore
my video drivers. I'm going to download them from the Dell site and
install them. I tried to install some "upgraded" drivers from a
different vendor (since ATI no longer supports this adapter): I
uninstalled the ATI drivers through the Add/Remove Programs, then
installed the new drivers, but a check orf running services and apps
shows bits of ATI stuff still there.

Then it hits me - how can I fully uninstall my ATI drivers when
they're in use driving my current screen?? For that matter, now that
I "uninstalled" them and installed a third-party driver, how do I
fully clean all _that_ out and reinstall the Dell drivers - all while
having *something* drive my current screen display?!?

I'm now officially confused! A drop-kick in the right direction would
be most appreciated!

Ed

Paul

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Jun 22, 2009, 10:49:25 PM6/22/09
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If you think about it, there is a possibility, when Windows is
first installed, that there isn't a driver for your video
card available and ready to go.

And that means, between the video card and the OS, that there
is a "fall-back" solution, that allows the display to continue
to operate. But it might be limited to 640x480. And that
is one way you might tell you're using a less capable solution.

So try an experiment. Remove the video driver using Add/Remove.
Reboot the computer. Does the resolution end up pretty low, so stuff
looks bigger on the screen ? Now go to Device Manager, and
see what name the video stuff got.

*******

At one time, there were driver cleaners of various sorts,
that could be run *after* the traditional Add/Remove
was finished. But in one test I ran, where I knew of
some obscure ATI files still on the system, the driver
cleaner I downloaded didn't touch them. So even if
you manage to find a cleaner written by ATI, don't
expect miracles.

With an ATI driver installed, go to Device Manager, find
the video entry, and use the "Driver" tab to list the
installed files. That will give you some hint as to the
naming convention used for the files, so you'll be able
to examine your C: drive, for left over crud.

In terms of recovery procedures, WinXP has

1) "Rollback driver" - to undo the last driver upgrade
2) "System Restore" - to restore the system to a previous
point. I don't know all the technical restrictions, as
to what you might expect it to fix. I have mine set to
only monitor the C: drive, as all programs are installed
on C: .
3) "Repair Install" - an option that is not supposed to
affect installed programs or user data. But it will
require any subsequent Service Packs, security patches,
and Windows tools upgrades (IE8, WMP11, or whatever) to
be put back. So that cuts your work in half.
4) "Clean Install"

Paul

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