Really know nothing re Drivers, except that it is apparently a good idea, always, to use the latest.
Anyway, was thinking of possibly downloading the latest drivers for my Radeon graphics card from the ATI site.
(But my questiosn really relates to any drivers, not just those for my graphics card)
My understanding is that one is supposed to delete the present drivers from the control panel prior to downloading and installing the new ones.
BTW: I looked in "Control Panel," but it is not clear to me how one deletes, safely, the present drivers for a particular program. How is this done, please ?
So, what happens immediately after the deletion of the present drivers before any new ones are installed ?
Will my graphics card (or any other program where I have removed them) still function even without "any" drivers at this point ? How is it possible ?
If someone could explain this for me, would be appreciative.
Also, I read that one should use in addition a "driver cleaner".
Why is this (also) necessary ?
What would be your recommendation for a good free or inexpensive one that is
I currently have an old P4 running 32-bit Windows 7 RC. I don’t think I can put 64-bit on that machine, but I am considering 64-bit on the retail version when it is released in October. I tested about thirty 32-bit shareware and freeware applications on 32-bit Windows 7 RC and they all work well. My questions concern 32-bit drivers and unsigned 32-bit and 64-bit drivers on Windows 7 64-bit retail.
I have seen references to a BCedit command. I ran Bcdedit /set Bcdedit nointegritychecks ON on my Vista SP2 machine and it ran successfully. I have not tested what it will let me do as I now have no Vista driver issues. Here are my questions:
Which of these is the correct command to disable the signature check on Windows 7 RC?
bcdedit /set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
bcedit –SET TESTSIGN NO
Is there any reason to use the correct command rather than using F8 during the boot process?
Does the correct command work for both unsigned 32-bit and unsigned 64-bit drivers on a 64-bit Windows 7 system?
Is the correct command useful on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 for driver signing issues generally?
I assume the command works for only 1 boot cycle. Given that, is there any reason to run a command to re-enable the driver signing check if one reboots again after the driver installation?
Is there any other solution other than third party software, which I would prefer to avoid as I don’t expect to run into a driver issue frequently?
What is a decent estimate of how many of my 32-bit applications that work well on 32-bit Vista SP2 will install and work well on 64-bit Windows 7 retail, assuming I use the correct command to disable the signature check?
I need to update all my drivers. I have tried to do it the traditional way through the control panel but my drivers claim to not need updating. Is there another fix?
I would prefer not to download driver update software that requires me to pay them for updating my drivers.
I used to try to keep all of my drivers up to date with the latest release. Earlier this year my video card died. I found out that there had been a bad driver released that altered fan operation. I think that may have been the real cause of the card failure.Since then I've wondered about that. I think if you're not having any issues maybe the best policy might be "If it ain't broke don't fix it".
I've read security tips that urge you to update your drivers. Why is this important from a security standpoint? How can outdated drivers' vulnerabilities be exploited?
finally my new computer rig arrived today, but my problem is the store has already installed everything on it including windows 7 ulitmate and its intel drivers etc.. the problem is they used the DVD that comes with the motherboard so its an old drivers being installed in my desktop.. how to update this drivers? intel chipset drivers, realtek HD audio etc? i have already downloaded before hand the drivers for it, but i dont know how to install this when they have alread
I have a HP EliteBook 8530W. And always when I start some sort of game I get Blue Screen Of Death, and I get it if I change my resolution... I am using a NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M. The problem wasn't before I updated drivers...
After updating my drivers today I am now getting the following Warning in Event Viewer: 'An error was detected on device DeviceHarddisk0DR0 during a paging operation.' I formatted my hd and did a clean install on Sunday and the warning wasn't there then or soon after. It didn't start to appear until I updated my drivers. I booted up at 5:28 and there are around10 of these warnings at boot up. If so what driver will I need to roll-back? I have an HP p6520y computer.
I have been researching up on the Asus Crosshair III before i purchase. I have been reading reviews about how you need to download Win7 drivers and the most recent bios from the Internet which is not a problem. However i came across one concern. I am building a computer from nothing, and the drivers that come with the Asus Crosshairs are not for win7. I also read that in order to update the drivers to win7 you need vista.
I just need confirmation that this is true. Is it possible to update my motherboard's drivers/bios just by purchasing the full version of Win7? Or do i have to purchase vista and update the drivers/bios and then buy the upgrade for win7? Just a little confused as to what needs to be done.
I went on the asus website and found the drivers. Just need clarification on how i install them.
I have just installed Windows 7 Professional on to my Acer Aspire 5735 and now half of the functions of the laptop don't work, such as the card reader and volume control. How I can fix this or find updated drivers as I cannot find anything on the Acer website.
I have an ATI Radeon HD 4350. Currently I am using the WDDM 1.1 drivers that came with my Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit install (store-bought). It's been working fine for normal use, but the drivers are 2 years out of date and no games want to work on my system.
I tried installing the Catalyst 11.11 driver package, rebooted and... the result was that Windows suddenly treated my video card like it didn't have ANY drivers; it defaulted to the Standard VGA drivers and didn't even want to acknowledge that the proper drivers for my card existed on my computer. When I brought up Device Manager to manually install the new drivers, it listed the new drivers as ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 along with the old ATI Radeon HD 4350 (Microsoft Corporation WDDM 1.1)- which I kinda/sorta get but don't really. What's the difference between the 4300/4500 and the 4350? Red herring; ignore that.
Anyway... I can revert back to the original 4350 drivers and the screen looks fine, but I'm not getting to use any of the games I've got installed now. I also noticed that, while looking through my System Information, the 4350 is causing some sort of hardware conflict with the PCI-to-PCI Bridge. Which completely drives me bonkers because it WORKS with the WDDM 1.1 drivers.
I recently went to update my mobile video card drivers on my ASUS G73JH laptop and after doing so, on boot up I would see this error message after saying my CCC.exe has crashed...I also couldn't access any programs that make use of the video card, every time I would open one, it would crash before opening.So I rolled back my drivers and everything is fine, but obviously, I would like to update my drivers for my video card, but not really sure what to try.
i need to update my sound card drivers.... i am on windows 7 and went to the biostar website to update my on board audio drivers and there was nothing available for windows 7.... only vista,xp, etc.
Anyways I've used windows xp happily for years, but I want to make the switch from windows 7 being in a slow, sluggish, crappy virtual pc to being setup as a dual boot. I've never set this up before so I have a few questions.
Firstly I've been trying to use gparted, but its not working. I know how set up an iso for burning and all, thats not the problem. Yes my computer is set to boot from cd first, I know that! But I don't understand why its not working.. Anyways for those that have used it, I've heard that you keep all your files on the hard disc when partitioning? Is this a load of crap? Or do you really? And if I can't get this to work what other program should I use?
Secondly whats the best way to back everything up. I did a complete backup using the backup utility, but at the end it said something about it could make an ASR because I don't have a Floppy Disc. I read online that all that does is help me boot the computer right into the backup incase something major goes wrong. If I ignore this then I will just have to install XP again and then back everything up?
I've got a few questions regarding networking in general and then some issues that have popped up since upgrading (in place) to Windows 7.
1) Generic question: If I were to install a Wireless N router would the wireless network default to the slowest connection on the network? For example, if I had two N wireless adapters and one B adapter would the entire network run at B speeds? If so, would a dual band router allow me to circumvent the issue?
2) Generic question: Would the same issue as outlined in #1 be a problem in a wired network? Can I mix 10/100 and gigE on the same wired network and achieve gig speeds between gig-enabled devices?
3) Specific: I have an HP dv9500t that I upgraded to Windows 7. HP has not released Windows 7 drivers for this machine but I have been able to work around the few issues that I encountered. However, my wireless connection to my Linksys AP (Wireless-G broadband router WRT54G2 with up-to-date s/w) seems to be dropping and recovering on a regular basis. I have not seen the issue on any other wireless network. If I am downloading a large file (say 1G) the d/l will proceed at full speed for ~45 seconds and then drop to zero for ~45 seconds. I'll usually get the "limited connectivity" alert but then the link will restore itself and begin transferring again.
I've run some of the Linksys diags when it is down and it usually tells me that the default gateway is unavailable and resets my wireless adapter and the whole routine starts again. Quite frustrating. I've worked with Linksys tech support (they claim no known issues with Windows 7) and their supposition is that it is an interference issue and they suggest I change wireless channels.
I've tried 6 different channels and the issue does not change. I have tried upgrading the adapter drivers the the latest available from HP (Vista drivers, not Windows 7) and have also tried drivers from the adapter manufacturer (Intel Wireless WiFi link 4965AGN, Win 7 drivers) but the issue is still there. I have also rest my AP back to factory defaults to no avail. It certainly could be that I have burned through yet another wireless AP but before replacing it I wanted to see if anyone might have suggestions.
4) Since, as far as I know, Homegroup cannot be used unless all of the PCs on the network are Windows 7 I am trying to utilize Workgroup settings to config my network. The problem is that my wirelessly connected laptop does not seem to have access to my wired workgroup unless I set the SSID of the AP to the same name as my workgroup. Is this normal operation or is there a good tutorial around showing me how to set this up?
I am on Vista Home Premium at present. I bought the upgrade to Windows 7. I have two questions:
1) Is it true that when you upgrade from Vista to Windows 7, all of your installed programs basically remain intact and working, or do you have to re-install everything again from scratch? I believe that the documentation in the box said that if you are on XP, you would have to reinstall MS Office and some other programs. What is the situation in upgrading from Vista?
2) Partly in order to find out the answer to the above, I decided to upgrade my laptop first because it has relatively few installed programs on it compared to my PC. I tried on three separate occasions to do the upgrade. On each occasion, it went all the way through to the very end, completing all of the listed steps. However, it then stated that Windows 7 could NOT be installed on this computer and then unwound the entire thing, leaving me with Vista again.
Why, is a mystery to me because when I ran the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, it did not highlight any problems that would prevent the installation. Yes, it did point out one printer driver which might not work after the upgrade and advised me to uninstall it (which I did NOT do - might that be the problem?), but apart from that it seemed to be happy with the situation.
3) Do I really need a skilled technician to do this upgrade or can I not just do it all myself? If some major backup and re-installation of complex drivers is necessary, then maybe I need one. But is this really going to happen, or is the whole thing as self-explanatory as it seemed while doing it on my laptop?
I've upgraded all of my computers to Windows 7. Including my wife and children's older computer. I build all of my desktops myself so there's no particular model number or brand name for any of the desktop computers. After loading Windows 7 on my wife's machine I noticed that Windows 7 still seemed a bit sluggish. This is due to the fact that all of the hardware in it is pretty old.
So here are my questions. Is Microsoft going to give me a hard time for upgrading this computer after only a month of 7 use? Or am I going to be able to upgrade motherboard, cpu, graphics and memory with no trouble?
I should add that Windows 7 was installed using an Upgrade DVD if that helps.
On my laptop i have a limited amount of HD space i currently have 37 gb free of a 160 gb drive. After i upgrade to Windows 7 is there any way i can delete my old vista files? and if so where would they be located and is it safe to delete them?
I am going to dual boot Windows 7 (Home Premium) using a separate new Hard Disk Drive, with XP already installed on the old existing Hard Drive and using the instructions in this link:-
Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP
As it is the first time I have tried something like this could someone answer a couple of questions for me?
1: The XP drivers (Chipset, Graphics, LAN, Audio etc.) and an Antivirus, together with any required software/programs, are already installed on the original XP HDD.
When I have installed Windows 7 on the second/new HDD, do I then boot the Windows 7 OS and install the Windows 7 drivers (Chipset, Graphics, LAN, Audio etc.) and an Antivirus together with any software I want to run on Windows 7 (even if that software was already installed previously for XP?) It seems funny having two sets of drivers (XP & Win 7) and Antivirus on the one machine.
2: XP runs all the programs that I need and I am just trying out Windows 7 at the moment so Win 7 restore points are not very important to me.
If that is the case, can I just ignore the fact that XP may delete the Win 7 restore points, in a dual boot, and not bother with the procedure (explained in the above link) to prevent this from happening?
To stop XP from deleting your Windows 7 System Restore Points everytime XP is started, then see System Restore Points - Stop XP Dual Boot Delete to hide Windows 7 from XP. I intend to drop XP and move over to Win 7 eventually so this will just be a temporary setup. Many thanks for any replies.
Which should I do. Its my home office computers. I'd like to be able to access files between both machines. Doing this, what precautions should I make that noone can get into my system? I'm a little hesitant to share ALL files on both computers between each other. But i'd like to!
I'm playing with Sharing now but i'm noticing that sometimes when I save a file on one computer it isn' accessible to the other computer until I right click and SHare it. I thought by sharing the folder it would just share every new file. Is there a way to do that?
D:/ - Data (files.....pictures, documents, programs i've d/l etc) around 80Gb of data
E:/ - Recovery partition (Vista HP x64 factory recovery, as the laptop came supplied)
If you run the Windows 7 system image only backup and do all your HDD's and partitions can you restore individual files from that image?
Or do you have to do the data backup of all drives and tick the system image tickbox as well and then still you can only pick from the files you chose to be backed up from under the data backup?
If you understand that.
Basically can i back it all up and choose what i want to re-install upon recovery eg booting from the Windows 7 DVD and choosing repair?
Also i have a netbook with Windows 7 Ultimate RC installed, trying to back up to my laptop over the network it still asks for a username and password when setting it up (OK box is greyed out otherwise) but i dont have a username or pw (single user so didnt input a pw). what do you do in this case?
I just a purchased a brand new laptop. I have had it less than a week and qualify for the windows 7 upgrade. I would prefer to do a clean install, but not wish to lose certain programs that came default on the laptop (ex: powerDVD for playing blu ray, will cost $160 to replace).
Questions:
1.) With my Vista install as fresh as it is ,will upgrading to 7 be that much worse than a clean install?
2.) If I choose to clean install, is there a way to recover the programs without a repurchase (some way to back up an installed program on a flashdrive in a way that it can be moved or installed on the new OS)?
3.) If i have to upgrade instead of clean install, will running a registry cleaning program like "Clean My Registry" clean out the goop left behind by Vista? Or will it likely cause more issues?
When a link is launched from IE9 and needs to open in a different application, then a couple of security questions are presented before launching it for the first time. How can I reset these questions? (the selection made) Preferably, just for that type of link. Or alternatively, for all such questions.
i was really hesitant since XP worked what i at least THOUGHT was well. But Windows 7 is so much quicker and seamless. Anyways, 1st question is on XP i would drag a shortcut to the taskbar and it would then be usable and work as the original shortcut did. With windows 7 it doesn't wok.
For example, i have a text file that i keep on another drive and i put a shortcut to it on my taskbar. In XP i'd click it and the file would pop up as you'd expect. On windows 7 if i drag that text file to the taskbar, when i click the resulting shortcut instead of the file i just get a new empty notepad.
If i right click it (i THINK it was by R/clicking) then a list of various notepad files i've viewed pops up and i can choose it from there. But i just want it to be a shortcut to the particular txt file. Is there a way? second, i see shortcuts don't have the file's pathway or "address" if you will in them. I miss that for a number of reasons such as being able to tell where the file it's pointing to is, or adding switches in the target line etc etc. Is there a way to make them show the pathway?
My 350 gig HD has 7 partitions. C: is Vista (186 GB) D: (87GB) is HP factory image. The others have most of my programs, files, photos, etc. I have avoided installing most of the larger important programs on C: and they are on other partitions. I plan a clean install of 7 upgrade on C: (also considering 64 bit as my comp qualifies). By "clean" I assume that you and I both mean that partition C: has been formatted prior to inserting the 7 DVD to begin installation.
First, am I correct with this assumption? Second, if only C: is going to be affected by the formatting and installation of 7 is there any mandatory reason to backup all of my programs and files that reside on the other partitions? (other than just being prudent, that is). Also, how much can I reduce the size of C:, as it currently has 132GB free? I also intend to empty D: when this is over.
1) I currently am running Vista on a laptop on which it is the only OS. I want to install 7 on a second partition for dual boot. However, to keep things tidy, I would like to make Windows 7 Drive C: (which currently contains Vista). Is there a way to image the hard drive then reload it onto drive D: after I install 7 on C:?
2) I guess my other option is to install 7 on the formatted HD, then create a D: partition to run the Vista recovery disks on at least that would restore my drivers, etc. But I really wanted to keep my current configuration around for those programs that are slow to catch on to the new OS. (Or do I even have to worry about this?)
3) If all this dual boot stuff is too complicated or if I really don't need to worry about the driver/software compatibility, I might just do away with that idea and clean install it on the C: drive and forget about Vista. (reluctant to do so since I rely on this computer for school). I will be keeping my C: drive image that I took yesterday so taht I can recover to Vista if need be.
Edt: 4) I just had anther thought. If I install Win 7 clean could I then take my Vista hard drive image and make it into a VHD? that would pretty much solve all my troubles I think. Unless I would need to reinstall Vista onto the VHD.
