Video driver Vista on XP

[michael9218]

I just finished building my first PC and loaded the video driver and now have a blank screen. I loaded the XP operating system and when loading the video driver (MSI R4670 2D512/D3 video card) I received a warning that the device was not XP registered and could cause problems. I figured to go ahead and look online afterwards for an XP specific driver, since the one that came on the CD with the hardware is apparently for Vista.

How do I go back and uninstall this video driver to get my screen back?

[The Wise Monkey]

If you press F8 before the Windows boot screen is displayed, you will be able to select advanced boot options. Use this to boot into Safe Mode and remove the video drivers using the Control Panel.

[michael9218]

Thanks. That worked.
Now if only I can get the video driver for XP from MSI's website to work. It won't install. I've saved the zip file and tried to launch the install exe, but it gives me an error message about file length being too long (over 88 characters?).

[The Wise Monkey]

That's quite odd - try downloading the zip file again, or try and rename the install to something small.

[michael9218]

I've tried over and over again.

I uninstalled all ATI drivers and software and tried reinstalling from both MSI's website and the CD (I found that there is a set of XP drivers on the CD if you "browse CD").

What is now happening each time is that the set up is interupted by a warning that this software hasn't passed Windows logo testing and may not be compatible. Sure enough, if you continue you'll end up with a black screen and have to resort to VGA mode.

I've sent MSI a message and am waiting on a reply, but I can't be the only one with this problem...

[The Wise Monkey]

If you can find them, try downloading and installing some older drivers i.e. a couple of generations ago. These should be WHQL qualified by now, which would prevent that logo from appearing.

[michael9218]

Thanks. Any idea or suggestion on the model I should pick? I don't know the models and order in which they came out? Let alone one that would be probably compatible.

MSI hasn't been too helpful. One reply back to my inquiry with a link to the XP driver...the one that doesn't work!

[michael9218]

Update: Tried three other versions of the video drivers. None worked. This is frustrating...I'll have to wait on MSI's reply and solution. Otherwise, I guess I look for another brand of video card.

[The Wise Monkey]

Hmm, this is very strange...

Have you tried using the Live Update Online feature from the MSI website?

[michael9218]

Well, I tried that with high anticipation, but it also didn't appear to work for me. The live update identified three drivers available for me, but when it displayed the list of the drivers and the hardware that each supported, my video card was not listed. Not even the series was listed. The video driver files look to be older versions (8.22, 8.292, 8.31). So I don't know which one would work for me and I gave the first one listed a try. It appeared to install without pause or issue, but I can't see a difference in video quality from the VGA mode. Do I need to do anything to activiate this driver if it went through the install routine?

[The Wise Monkey]

Can you change the resolution? This is always the big test for a graphics driver.

I've just realised that I may have been a bit stupid - try downloading the drivers from the ATI website:

http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx?p=xp/radeonx-xp

This link takes you to the ATI driver download page for XP Home/Pro for the 4670 series.

[michael9218]

Thanks again for your help. This site seems to be for AMD chipsets. I have an Intel chipset. Will this cause an issue?

I'm getting a bit confused here. This website talks about the AMD Radeon HD4670. Would this be different than my MSI R4670? What is the relationship of AMD, MSI, ATI? My video card is made by MSI, but is an ATI Radeon R4670. Would this be essentially the same as the AMD HD4670? The link you provided says the driver is for an ATI Catalyst, yet my video card makes no mention of "Catalyst". Is this a different series even though they're both 4670?

[michael9218]

Well, regardless of my confusion, the video driver from the AMD/ATI site worked. Thanks again for your help.

[The Wise Monkey]

ATI is the video card developing branch of AMD (the company that make CPUs). ATI develop the card and make a basic reference model, but other companies are allowed to make their own versions of the card by adding different heating solutions, changing the clock speeds etc. MSI is one of these companies.

However, since the originial chipset is left unchanged, you should always download the drivers from the original manufacturers i.e. ATI or nVidia.