MS solution contradiction for unexpected shutdown

[Bob]

MS message says I need to download and install the driver for NVIDIA nforce
Networking Controller. I go to Device Manager to update the driver and it
tells me "Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up
to date".

Can anyone explain this?

 

[Malke]

MS message says I need to download and install the driver for NVIDIA
nforce Networking Controller. I go to Device Manager to update the
driver and it tells me "Windows has determined the driver software for
your device is up to date".

Can anyone explain this?

Do not go to Device Manager to update the driver. Go to either the OEM's
website for your specific model computer if you have that kind of
machine (HP, Dell, etc.) or get the driver from the motherboard mftr.
Download the file and install the drivers per any instructions on the
website. See general drivers information below:

Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:

1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM
computer (HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).

Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the drivers.

To find out what hardware is in your computer:

1. Read any documentation you got when you bought the computer.
2. If the computer is OEM, go to the OEM's website for your specific
model machine and look at the specs (you'll be there to get the drivers
anyway)
3. Download, install and run a free system inventory program like Belarc
Advisor or System Information for Windows.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows

If you have installed drivers from Windows Update, you can roll them back:

Roll Back Troublesome Device Drivers in Windows Vista from the How-To
Geek - http://tinyurl.com/346lox


Malke

 

[the wharf rat]

Never get drivers from Windows Update.

Why not?

 

[Malke]

Why not?

I speak from long experience as a professional computer tech. The
drivers on Windows Update are often old, basic and sometimes identify
your system hardware incorrectly. Installing drivers from Windows Update
has caused clients' machines to lose network connectivity, lose the
ability to boot into Windows, and lose the ability to use the graphics
card in Windows (hard to manage when there's nothing on the monitor) -
among other things.

I stand by my recommendation:

The First Law of Driver Updates is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Normally if everything is working you want to leave things as they are.
The exception is that heavy-duty gamers will usually want to update
their video and sound drivers to squeeze every last bit of performance
out of the hardware to get the fastest frame rates. If you're not one of
those people, you don't need to update your drivers if there are no
problems you are trying to solve.

Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:

1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM
computer (HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).

Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the drivers.

YMMV, of course.

Malke

 

[Bob]

Malke,
Thanks for your response AND the education!

It took some searching but on the OEM's website (HP) I located the driver.
The version is exactly the same as the one I have but it has a later date. I
don't understand that. I would think if it has a later date it would also
have a different version number. I downloaded the driver but I wanted to
check with you before I installed it.

The driver I downloaded is Release Date: 2007-10-05 Version: 65.7.4.0. Fall
2007 Original NVIDIA LAN Driver. The driver I have is 2007-05-03 Version:
65.7.4.0. The other thing I don't understand is why the driver is referred
to as "Original" when obviously it's not.

I'll look forward to your response.
Thanks again.

 

[Malke]

Malke,
Thanks for your response AND the education!

It took some searching but on the OEM's website (HP) I located the
driver. The version is exactly the same as the one I have but it has a
later date. I don't understand that. I would think if it has a later
date it would also have a different version number. I downloaded the
driver but I wanted to check with you before I installed it.

The driver I downloaded is Release Date: 2007-10-05 Version: 65.7.4.0.
Fall 2007 Original NVIDIA LAN Driver. The driver I have is 2007-05-03
Version: 65.7.4.0. The other thing I don't understand is why the driver
is referred to as "Original" when obviously it's not.

I would install the newer one. I don't know why the version numbers
aren't different. I had a client with a new HP desktop (Vista Home
Premium) and every time he rebooted he got an error about the Nvidia
video driver. This seems rather strange since this is a new machine and
one would think that HP would have used good drivers for their install
image (hahahah), but installing the latest drivers from HP's site did
the trick. I'm hoping the same thing will work for you.


Malke

 

[Bob]

Ok, I installed the driver. Hopefully the issue is resolved.

FYI There must have been something different about the new driver because I
did not receive a prompt asking me if I wanted to overwrite an existing
file.

 

[securetype]

MS solution contradiction for unexpected shutdown
Networking Controller.

I'm still looking for a solution to the "unexpected shutdown" which Vista
dutifully identifies as related to a bad NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
driver. I have driver 65.7.4.0 5/3/07 which I downloaded directly from HP
(my computer is an m7750n Media Center). I've also downloaded this directly
from NVIDIA, which is packaged as a complete motherboard driver package

15.01_nforce_winvista_32bit_international.exe

which unzips into a NVIDIA folder which has a subfolder "Ethernet" which has
exactly the same driver 65.7.4.0 dated 5/3/07.

Installation is buggy and I had to snap through hoops to get it installed,
including a complete wipe out of all previous drivers. Checking the driver
via device manager confirms that I have 65.7.4.0 5/3/07. This is the most
recent driver obtainable from NVIDIA and/or HP.

The computer locks up periodically and when Vista (home premium, updated
manually) reports the problem, it specifies that the networking controller
needs to be updated, which I have done countless times manually to avoid the
M$ generic driver. This is an unresolved problem, and I'd like to see NVIDIA
& Microsoft address this jointly. We should see a driver more recently
updated than 5/3/07, but I won't hold my breath.