bad video card

[j lunis]

Vista Home Addition
HP PC
A while back I began getting a BSOD about a nVidia graphics card driver.
Finally (kinda) resolved that by going to the nVidia web page and
Dling/installing the latest driver. However, two problems persist.

minor - I can not use any Direct3D screensaver - keep getting "The
screen saver can't run because it requires a newer video card or one
that's compatible with Direct3D."

major - my PC is MUCH slower - that is, for example, when I open
Explorer, it takes ~ 45 sec. to a minute to open as opposed to nearly
instantly before the BSOD. on startup, icons on the desktop show up as
white objects and slowly change to the actual icon image a few at a
time. Before this, icons initially (instantly) appeared as the actual icon.

HP had me reomve the video card and wait for a beep - none - and remove
the RAM cards and wait for a beep - one short, one long.
Now they want me to do a System Restore. I am not at all interested in
this. Previous attempts have resulted in reinstalling programs/settings
over several days - time I do not have.
Any ideas on troubleshooting/resolving this? Can I confirm a good nVidia
card? Could it be a driver problem?

 

[David B.]

Uninstall the current driver and install the latest one from Nvidias
website, that will determine if it's a driver problem. What brand is the
video card?

 

[John Galt]

Vista Home Addition
HP PC
A while back I began getting a BSOD about a nVidia graphics card driver.
Finally (kinda) resolved that by going to the nVidia web page and
Dling/installing the latest driver. However, two problems persist.

Is your video card different than what originally came with the
computer? If not, then you should have gotten your driver from the HP
website.

 

[j lunis]

Is your video card different than what originally came with the
computer? If not, then you should have gotten your driver from the HP
website.

Yup. OEM. I did get a driver but it allegedly corrupted which is what
sent me to the nVidia web site.

 

[j lunis]

Uninstall the current driver and install the latest one from Nvidias
website, that will determine if it's a driver problem. What brand is the
video card?

I thought nVidia was a brand.

 

[John Galt]

Yup. OEM. I did get a driver but it allegedly corrupted which is what
sent me to the nVidia web site.

Go to the HP site, find your computer, get the video driver for it.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

nVidia is a chipset manufacturer. Other companies buy nVidia's chipset and
make the actual graphic cards.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Yup. OEM. I did get a driver but it allegedly corrupted which is what
sent me to the nVidia web site.

Uninstall the nVidia drivers.. shut down the machine.. remove the video
card.. reboot the machine.. shut down again.. re-install the video card..
install the latest video drivers

 

[David B.]

By brand I meant the mfg of the card, it uses an Nvidia chipset but Nvidia
doesn't mfg graphics cards, only the chipset.

 

[j lunis]

By brand I meant the mfg of the card, it uses an Nvidia chipset but
Nvidia doesn't mfg graphics cards, only the chipset.

Don't know. How do I tell?

 

[j lunis]

Uninstall the nVidia drivers.. shut down the machine.. remove the video
card.. reboot the machine.. shut down again.. re-install the video
card.. install the latest video drivers

Just curious. If I have no graphics card driver and boot up, can I see
the display on the monitor?

 

[David B.]

Take the card out and look at it.

--


------

Don't know. How do I tell?

 

[Chuck]

If you uninstall & remove the Nvidia driver, the PC "should "use a default
Microsoft VGA/SVGA driver. Caviats are that a much lower resolution will be
used.
Your best bet is to obtain an appropriate driver from Nvidia. Why your HP
driver copy is "corrupt" is beyond my knowledge, other than to say that this
does occasionally happen.
Usually, modern download methods and supporting software keep this from
occurring. It's possible that you might have additional problems that result
in file corruption.

"Just curious. If I have no graphics card driver and boot up, can I see
the display on the monitor?"

 

[j lunis]

Uninstall the nVidia drivers.. shut down the machine.. remove the video
card.. reboot the machine.. shut down again.. re-install the video
card.. install the latest video drivers

worked perfectly, thanks