In a recent thread I posted how to install drivers, the proper way using Driver Cleaner Pro and rebooting and all that good stuff 🙂
(also at the bottom of the page there are some useful tools and links)
That basically inspired me to create a new thread to spread the word and hopefully stop people from asking a redundant question that need only be answered once 😛, cause I'm sick of putting the steps down when it's acutally in the Readme of Driver Cleaner Pro
First, this little guide applies to both ATI and Nvidia users. Just to get that out of the way.
Second, whether your an ATI user or a Nvidia user, Tweaked Drivers are almost always better than the stock drivers. I (personally) seem to see a lot more talk of tweaked Nvidia Drivers, then I do tweaked ATI Catalyst drivers. Maby it's just me since I have an Nvidia card, but thats the way it seems.
Tweaks R Us has tweaked drivers for both Nvidia and ATI that often have superior IQ and Performance to the stock driver. It's definitly worth looking at if you have an Nvidia Card. I can't say the same about their WarCat drivers cause I've never used them. Anyone had any experince with them I'll be glad to edit this with that info.
Latest Drivers at time of writing (5/1/06):
ATI- Catalyst 6.4
Nvidia- 84.56 (Beta?)
(from personal experience, the XG Tweaked drivers (Nvidia) can sometimes be worlds of difference)
Now for the actually Guide to Installing these newfound drivers:
Step 1) Uninstall the old drivers (video card) from the device manager. You also might want to delete the folder you extracted the drivers too.
2.) Reboot into Safe Mode (safe mode is key here as it doens't work in regular windows), also hit cancel to any of those "Install Driver" notifications that pop up.
3.) Run Driver Cleaner Pro using the appropriate settings. (ATI or Nvidia depending on the graphics card)
3a.) The Readme says to run CabCleaner too, but there's never anything there so you can just skip this I guess)
4.) Reboot into regular Windows. Hit cancel to any "Install Driver" things that pop up.
5.) Install the appropriate driver (ATI or Nvidia) and Reboot (yes, another reboot 😛)
6.) Now, there's no more rebooting unless your installing something else, but now you basically tweak the driver to whatever settings you like or use. (AA, AF, Res., Refresh Rate, etc.)
SO, now in three reboots (instead of 2) you uninstalled and reinstalled your drivers the "proper" way to avoid problems and conflicts between driver versions (this seems more evident in the XG Tweaked drivers if you don't use Driver Cleaner Pro).
Hurray, and Congrats. That is the "proper" way to uninstall and install new drivers. 🙂
Useful Websites and Tools:
-ATI Homepage
-Nvidia Homepage
-Tweaks R Us (both Nvidia and ATI)
-Omega Drivers (mainly ATI)
-Driver Cleaner Homepage
(also, any suggestions are welcome)
(also at the bottom of the page there are some useful tools and links)
That basically inspired me to create a new thread to spread the word and hopefully stop people from asking a redundant question that need only be answered once 😛, cause I'm sick of putting the steps down when it's acutally in the Readme of Driver Cleaner Pro
First, this little guide applies to both ATI and Nvidia users. Just to get that out of the way.
Second, whether your an ATI user or a Nvidia user, Tweaked Drivers are almost always better than the stock drivers. I (personally) seem to see a lot more talk of tweaked Nvidia Drivers, then I do tweaked ATI Catalyst drivers. Maby it's just me since I have an Nvidia card, but thats the way it seems.
Tweaks R Us has tweaked drivers for both Nvidia and ATI that often have superior IQ and Performance to the stock driver. It's definitly worth looking at if you have an Nvidia Card. I can't say the same about their WarCat drivers cause I've never used them. Anyone had any experince with them I'll be glad to edit this with that info.
Latest Drivers at time of writing (5/1/06):
ATI- Catalyst 6.4
Nvidia- 84.56 (Beta?)
(from personal experience, the XG Tweaked drivers (Nvidia) can sometimes be worlds of difference)
Now for the actually Guide to Installing these newfound drivers:
Step 1) Uninstall the old drivers (video card) from the device manager. You also might want to delete the folder you extracted the drivers too.
2.) Reboot into Safe Mode (safe mode is key here as it doens't work in regular windows), also hit cancel to any of those "Install Driver" notifications that pop up.
3.) Run Driver Cleaner Pro using the appropriate settings. (ATI or Nvidia depending on the graphics card)
3a.) The Readme says to run CabCleaner too, but there's never anything there so you can just skip this I guess)
4.) Reboot into regular Windows. Hit cancel to any "Install Driver" things that pop up.
5.) Install the appropriate driver (ATI or Nvidia) and Reboot (yes, another reboot 😛)
6.) Now, there's no more rebooting unless your installing something else, but now you basically tweak the driver to whatever settings you like or use. (AA, AF, Res., Refresh Rate, etc.)
SO, now in three reboots (instead of 2) you uninstalled and reinstalled your drivers the "proper" way to avoid problems and conflicts between driver versions (this seems more evident in the XG Tweaked drivers if you don't use Driver Cleaner Pro).
Hurray, and Congrats. That is the "proper" way to uninstall and install new drivers. 🙂
Useful Websites and Tools:
-ATI Homepage
-Nvidia Homepage
-Tweaks R Us (both Nvidia and ATI)
-Omega Drivers (mainly ATI)
-Driver Cleaner Homepage
(also, any suggestions are welcome)
