Hi penny,
Plug&Play VGA is just a generic driver. In order to update
your video drivers we need to identify it's make and model.
Here are a few ways to identify which video card you have
installed on your computer.
1. Click Start / Run / type: dxdiag
Click the Display Tab
Look under Device for the name and manufacturer
2. Click Start / (Settings) Control Panel
Click Display
Click the Settings Tab
Click the Advanced... button
Click the Adapter Tab
3. Click Start / Run / type: msinfo32
Click on the + Components
Click on Display to see the name on the right
4. Use Belarc to see indentify your Video, Chipset and Motherboard:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download1385.html
5. Get the information from the manufactures website (or store)
6. Look on the Video card itself if you plug into a card, or
7. Look in your Motherboard manual if you plug into the
on board video built into the motherboard of your computer.
Hope that helps you identify the make and model of your video card,
and afterwards, Try updating your Video drivers using these steps:
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers Good Luck!
--
Cheers, *Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User*
Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
Visit my MSN Games and Windows Gaming Help Site:
www.msce.mvps.org
MS Games Help and Support Center:
http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________
penny Wrote:
=================
| Hi!
| thanks for all the information you have given me
| I have got as far as finding out what card it is and it says plug&play vga
| that's all.
|
| I have found a diagnostic tool and it says...Direct3D functionality not
| available.
|
| Help!
|
|
|
|
| "Jimmy S." wrote:
|
|| Hi penny,
||
|| Updating video card drivers can solve most gaming issues. Here's some
|| simple abc's to always keep in mind. a. Shut off download accelerators,
|| firewalls and antivirus programs when downloading or installing updates;
|| b. Check for game patches:
www.avault.com/pcrl/patches_list.asp?letter=a
|| c. Make sure you meet the game's minimum video and system requirements.
||
|| Before you update your drivers, I recommend that you update DirectX
|| from:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx
||
|| Here are the steps I recommend you use to update your driver:
||
|| 1. To identify the make and model of your card, right click your
|| Desktop, choose Properties / Settings / Advanced / Adapter.
||
|| 2. Download the latest video driver for your card online, using
||
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#drivers
|| to find the website to download from. I also have advanced
|| video driver and direct X troubleshooting steps on that page.
||
|| 3. Save the .exe driver (or extract the zip file) to a folder
|| in My Documents named after the driver version number.
||
|| 4. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
|| about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.
||
|| 5. Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware
|| Device Manager / expand +Display Adapters / right click on
|| the adapter, pick "Uninstall", and click No if asked to reboot.
||
|| 6. Use Control Panel / Add-Remove programs to uninstall the
|| previous driver (exe)software which may have been installed.
||
|| 7. Restart the computer in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
|| about once every second as it's rebooting to pick Safe Mode.
||
|| 8. If the driver is NOT a (.exe)program file, GO TO step 11.
||
|| 9. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
|| "Cancel" and Double click the driver program to begin installation.
|| * Even if not prompted, doubleclick the driver and install it.
||
|| 10. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
|| choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
|| That's it! Scroll down to the Troubleshooter if you have problems.
||
|| 11. When Windows prompts you to install the video adapter, click
|| "Install from a list or specific location", click the "Browse" button,
|| browse to the My documents folder where you saved the driver,
|| and finally click on one of the driver files to begin installation.
||
|| ** If you are not prompted, or if the driver was updated automatically:
|| Click Start / (settings) Control Panel / System / Hardware Device Manager
|| expand +Display Adapters / right click on the adapter, pick "Update Driver"
|| to start the Update Wizard, choose the "Install from a list..." option:
|| Browse to My Documents\ folder with the driver in it
|| Click OK and click Next to begin the update.
||
|| 12. After you reboot, go to Control Panel / Display / Settings and
|| choose 32 bit Color Quality, and 800x600 or higher Resolution.
|| That's it! Try the advice in the Troubleshooter if you have problems.
||
|| TROUBLESHOOTING:
||
|| Test your drivers using DXDiag: Click Start / Run / type: DXDIAG
|| Click the "Test" buttons in the Display, Sound, Music & Network Tabs;
|| If any of the Display options are Disabled and you cannot Enable them,
|| your most likely solution would be to update your Chipset Drivers as per
|| my website:
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits/Video.html#v11
||
|| Your program might not support dual monitors, or "dual head" video cards
|| You can disable the extra video output in your display properties control
|| panel. Click Start>Settings>Control Panel>Display>Settings>Advanced.
||
|| Along with your Video card, Sound Cards, Motherboard Chipsets,
|| and Video Monitors may also require updated drivers. Even your
|| motherboard's BIOS may need to be updated for compatibility with
|| your Video card. These steps are listed at:
http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk
||
|| Perhaps the old Video drivers did not completely uninstall. If that's the
|| case, use these utility to completely uninstall the drivers and go to step
|| 7:
|| nvidia:
http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0
|| or for all cards including nvidia use:
http://www.driverheaven.net/cleaner/
||
|| The latest video drivers sometime don't work with a particular game.
|| (Check the Video suggestions in the readme.txt file in your game folder/CD)
|| If there's no suggestions, try an older (WHQL) driver, and/or if you still
|| experience problems try a Beta driver, or even an Omega driver instead:
||
|| BETA Drivers:
http://download.guru3d.com/
|| OMEGA Drivers:
http://www.omegadrivers.net
||
|| There you have it, if you have any questions feel free to post them!
||
|| Cheers, Windows_XP_MVP_Shell/User
|| Jimmy S.
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
||
|| Visit my MSN Zone.com and Gaming Help Site:
http://mvps.org/nibblesnbits
|| MS Games Help and Support Center:
http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=gms
|| My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
|| _________________________________________________________
||
|| penny Wrote:
|| =================
||| I've since found a disc entitled system and driver CD and I have installed
||| direct X and also downloaded an update from microsoft. The same message is
||| appearing.
|||
|||
|||
||| "penny" wrote:
|||
|||| I keep getting a message saying cannot run Direct3D
|||| Can you please tell me what this is and how do i get it?
|||| I am on Windows XP
|||| Thanks