upgrading video driver in XP

[Guest]

A computer phobic friend has a message popping up telling her she needs to
upgrade her video driver. I'm going to go and help her but am not sure how
one does this. Any help or direction appreciated.

Jeff

 

[Malke]

A computer phobic friend has a message popping up telling her she needs to
upgrade her video driver. I'm going to go and help her but am not sure
how
one does this. Any help or direction appreciated.

It is important to know what program is telling your friend to update her
video driver. In all my many years doing computer tech support I haven't
ever seen anything in Windows or video driver software natively give a
message to update a video driver. So you need to find this out first. For
all we know, her computer could be infected and the message is from
malware.

If neither you nor she can figure this out, a trip to a competent local tech
(not a BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place) is in order.

Malke

 

[Kelly]

Hi Jeff,

Who is sending the message? Windows wouldn't. Flash/Java.....might, etc.
I would be leery to do so. Again, depends who is asking?

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

 

[Rich Barry]

Jeff, if you are lucky enough that the message gives you some info on
what Video Card or Chip she has or directs you to a site then
it's just a matter of downloading and installing the new driver.
However, you may have to find that info on your own and I would
download and install Belarc Advisor which will give you a detailed
picture of what is in the computer.
When you find out if it's a Nvidia, ATI or Intel chip you can go
to the respective websites and get the driver.

 

[Guest]

I thought of that. I am pretty good with malware including viruses,
firewall and the like. I just have never updated a video driver.

From what she tells me it is a windows popup that tells her she has just
recovered from a serious crash (her words) and she should update her video
driver. Unfortunately this popup is not likely to happen when I am there.

Jeff

 

[Guest]

Would that be recorded in the even viewer?

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Who is sending the message? Windows wouldn't. Flash/Java.....might, etc.
I would be leery to do so. Again, depends who is asking?

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm

 

[Guest]

Great idea! I have Belarc on my PC and that is obviously the way to find
out which video driver she is using.

I'll also do a virus check first.

Jeff

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

A computer phobic friend has a message popping up telling her she needs to
upgrade her video driver. I'm going to go and help her but am not sure how
one does this. Any help or direction appreciated.

Popping up from what program? That is a very strange and unusual
message--one that I've never seen before.

 

[Guest]

I'll try to find out tomorrow.

Jeff

Popping up from what program? That is a very strange and unusual
message--one that I've never seen before.

 

[Mark Adams]

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

I'm sorry, that's like Humphrey Bogart saying "Play it again, Sam" or
William Shatner saying "Beam me up, Scotty". Never happened. ;-)

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

<bite me>

I'm sorry, that's like Humphrey Bogart saying "Play it again, Sam" or
William Shatner saying "Beam me up, Scotty". Never happened. ;-)

 

[M.I.5¾]

I thought of that. I am pretty good with malware including viruses,
firewall and the like. I just have never updated a video driver.

From what she tells me it is a windows popup that tells her she has just
recovered from a serious crash (her words) and she should update her video
driver. Unfortunately this popup is not likely to happen when I am there.

Jeff

This sounds *very* suspicious. A recovery from a crash should not require
an update of video driver. However, if she has installed something
recently, some software does a check on the graphic capabilities and will
request an updated driver if the current one is in any way inadequate.

Having said that, it is usually a good idea to have the latest video driver
installed as bugs get fixed and features get enabled in later releases.

All you need to do is go to the video card manufacturer's website and locate
and download the latest driver for your operating system (presumably XP as
you are posting here). All you need to do is run it and it pretty well
should do everything required automagically.

Whatever you do, *don't* download any drivers from Microsoft.

 

[Roy Smith]

I thought of that. I am pretty good with malware including viruses,
firewall and the like. I just have never updated a video driver.

From what she tells me it is a windows popup that tells her she has just
recovered from a serious crash (her words) and she should update her video
driver. Unfortunately this popup is not likely to happen when I am there.

Jeff

First you need to find out the make and model of her video card. To do
this right click on My Computer either on the desktop or on the Start
Menu, and select Properties. Then click on the Hardware tab, and then
choose Device Manager. Then expand the Display Adapter by clicking on
the triangle next to it and you'll see the current driver that's
installed for the video display.

Now with this information go to the manufacturer's website and search
for that model video card and download the new driver. Run the install
program and reboot. Hopefully that will cure your friends problem.

Good Luck!

 

[Tim Slattery]

A computer phobic friend has a message popping up telling her she needs to
upgrade her video driver. I'm going to go and help her but am not sure how
one does this. Any help or direction appreciated.

First and foremost: as others have said, the message is highly
suspicious. If it's pointing you at a driver that it wants you to
install, I would NOT take that choice.

Updating a video driver, in my experience, is very simple. Finding the
new driver is the trick. Look at the web site of the manufacturer of
the video card, of if the computer uses integrated video then the
computer manufacturers website. (Right-click the desktop,
Properties|Settings|Advanced|Adapter will identify your video
hardware. The Driver tab will tell you the version of the driver.)
Once you find the right thing, you'll download a *.exe file. All you
need to do to install it is to run it.

 

[Mark Adams]

<bite me>

Jack Lord saying "Book 'em Danno, Murdah One". You're bitten, thanks.

 

[M]

First and foremost: as others have said, the message is highly
suspicious. If it's pointing you at a driver that it wants you to
install, I would NOT take that choice.

Updating a video driver, in my experience, is very simple. Finding the
new driver is the trick. Look at the web site of the manufacturer of
the video card, of if the computer uses integrated video then the
computer manufacturers website. (Right-click the desktop,
Properties|Settings|Advanced|Adapter will identify your video
hardware. The Driver tab will tell you the version of the driver.)
Once you find the right thing, you'll download a *.exe file. All you
need to do to install it is to run it.

On the nVidia site it says to uninstall the old drivers first.

M

 

[Guest]

OK, I got her to print the popup message when it came up. It looks legit,
Here is what it said:
................................
Error Message: STOP 0x000000EA
Thread_stuck_in_device_driver
(Q293078)

You received this message because the video driver installed on your
computer caused Windows to stop unexpectedly. This type of error is referred
to as a "stop error". A stop error requires you to restart your computer.

Solution:
There are 2 options you can use to fix the problem. If the first option
does not work try the second.
Option 1: Install the most current device driver for your video card
Option 2: Manually decrease Hardware Acceleration for your video card.
................................

I elected to (at least temporarily) reduce her video Hardware Acceleration.
It was set at maximum and I reduced it one notch.

I now have A_Squared Free running a deep malware scan on her PC but suspect
I will find nothing other than cookies. She has Avast running as her AV.

Any other suggestions?

Jeff

 

[Guest]

For the record, her video card is a :

NVIDIA Display
GeForce 6150 LE
5.51.28.39.25
IRQ 16
256 MB
ForceWare version 82.05

Jeff

 

[Tim Slattery]

For the record, her video card is a :

NVIDIA Display
GeForce 6150 LE
5.51.28.39.25
IRQ 16
256 MB
ForceWare version 82.05

IHMO, you're right, it looks legit.

Go here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

From there I'd use the "Automatically find" option. Click "Graphics
Drivers", it will try to figure out what video adapter you're using
and what driver you need.