Crappy Performance Results and Can't update drivers

Hi There!

I have a Gigabyte GV 9700PRO and I installed the drivers off
the CD.
I then ran the latest 3d Mark results (2003) and came up
half the speed of any of the systems identically spec'd to
mine.
It was suggested I update my drivers which seemed like a
good idea.
However what a drama that started out to be:

I downloaded the 7.91 drivers from ATI.com and the drivers
from the gigabyte website and I kept being told that drivers
could not be installed
try installing vga drivers first. well I tried that and
couldn't because the only drivers available were ATI
drivers.
I had two disabled 9700 pro video cards and when I enabled
them they said they couldn't install.

Long story short I am still using my old drivers but would
like to know how I can update?

I downloaded Driver Cleaner and that didn't help.

You could turn off v-sync....

"Andre Southgate" wrote in message
news
Hi There!

I have a Gigabyte GV 9700PRO and I installed the drivers off
the CD.
I then ran the latest 3d Mark results (2003) and came up
half the speed of any of the systems identically spec'd to
mine.
It was suggested I update my drivers which seemed like a
good idea.
However what a drama that started out to be:

I downloaded the 7.91 drivers from ATI.com and the drivers
from the gigabyte website and I kept being told that drivers
could not be installed
try installing vga drivers first. well I tried that and
couldn't because the only drivers available were ATI
drivers.
I had two disabled 9700 pro video cards and when I enabled
them they said they couldn't install.

Long story short I am still using my old drivers but would
like to know how I can update?

I downloaded Driver Cleaner and that didn't help.

"Andre Southgate" wrote in message
news
Hi There!

I have a Gigabyte GV 9700PRO and I installed the drivers off
the CD.
I then ran the latest 3d Mark results (2003) and came up
half the speed of any of the systems identically spec'd to
mine.
It was suggested I update my drivers which seemed like a
good idea.
However what a drama that started out to be:

I downloaded the 7.91 drivers from ATI.com and the drivers
from the gigabyte website and I kept being told that drivers
could not be installed
try installing vga drivers first. well I tried that and
couldn't because the only drivers available were ATI
drivers.
I had two disabled 9700 pro video cards and when I enabled
them they said they couldn't install.

Long story short I am still using my old drivers but would
like to know how I can update?

I downloaded Driver Cleaner and that didn't help.


What the wizard is telling you, Andre, is that it can't install the display
driver while you have another one running. What you need to do is change to
the Windows Standard VGA driver. This is very simple if you haven't messed
everything up by trying to install different drivers at the same time. All
you have to do is uninstall all the ATi drivers and software first, ending
with the display driver. Then you reboot, and your system reboots with the
Windows Standard VGA driver in place - looks horrible. Your system will
then probably want to look for new drivers; don't let it (i.e. cancel out)
and when your system has finished booting, run the new driver installation
(if you have an AIW or VIVO card, start with the capture driver, of course).

If the display driver uninstall won't work, you've messed it up. By this
time, you should have uninstalled everything else. Open Display Properties
Settings Advanced Adapter and click the Change button - this will
start the Update Device Driver Wizard. Click Next, then select Display a
list... rather than Search for a better... and click Next. Now select Show
all hardware and select (Standard display types) Standard PCI Graphics
Adapter (VGA). That's the one you want - don't worry that it says it's a
PCI adapter. Click through to the end of the wizard, reboot, your system
will start up with the Standard driver in place and you can install your
hardware.

HOWEVER! you should bear in mind that, even if you've uninstalled all the
previous drivers/software properly, ATi (and other companies') uninstall
routines leave a lot to be desired - they don't remove all the files and
registry entries properly, and these may conflict with your new driver set,
and, if you didn't uninstall everything properly, you've _really_ got a
mess.

This is where Driver Cleaner comes in, if it works as I expect. I've always
used RegCleaner, which does the job superbly and safely, but unfortunately
it seems to have just gone commercial. If you can find an older freeware
copy around, or if you want to shell out money for the new version (from
http://www.macecraft.com/), I'd recommend it. Anyway, whatever registry
cleaner you're using, use it to remove all references to ATi in your
registry (don't even think about doing it manually unless you really know
your way around the registry - you can mess your system up royally. If you
_are_ comfortable with editing your registry, there's a thread at the Rage3D
forum - http://www.rage3d.com/board/). With RegCleaner, you can also use it
to remove the ATI Display Driver reference in Add/Remove Programs and the
start entries in the Run keys of your registry.

Then reboot. Now delete the ATI folder on your C: drive where the files
were unpacked to, and any folders in Program Files. If you've had DVD
player 7.7 or less installed, also delete the Ravisent folder in Program
Files\Common. Then go into Windows, do a search on ati*.* and delete any
results that you don't know you need. Then empty your Recycle Bin, reboot,
and you have a clean (of ATi, anyway) system, ready for new installations.

The system cleaning steps are optional if you've uninstalled all the
previous ATi drivers/software each time before installing new drivers,
although I do it every time I change my drivers. However, if you haven't
uninstalled everything before trying to install something else - and if
you're having the problem of not being on the Standard Windows driver, it
suggests you haven't (although some people who've installed all-in drivers -
capture, display and control panel in one - have reported that the display
driver entry in Add/Remove Programs then doesn't work), it becomes really
necessary to clean your system out properly.

The ATi Radeon drivers (i.e. Catalytic drivers are the current ones),
apparently, can be used with OEMs as well as Built by cards, excepting
mobility chips. The ones on the ATi site will always be the most
up-to-date, too, so that's probably the best way to go. In addition, the
results you get from speed tests have a great deal to do with the rest of
your system and how (and how well) it's set up. The suggested results are
probably from optimally set up, pretty high end systems, so don't expect
your setup to compare unless you know what you're doing.

HTH patrickp

Thank you Patrick for taking the time to write such a
complete explanation and set of instructions. A combination
of trying this and a few other things seems to have me on my
way.

I still think ATI need to learn a thing or two about
Drivers. I have never had such trouble before in 8 years of
being in IT. ATI should take a page out of Nvidia's books
for ease of installation.

That or XP should be removed from the planet as evil. My
first XP PC and my first ATI video card. Obviously not a
good combination.

-
Andre Southgate stood up at show-n-tell, in
, and said:

Thank you Patrick for taking the time to write such a
complete explanation and set of instructions. A combination
of trying this and a few other things seems to have me on my
way.

I still think ATI need to learn a thing or two about
Drivers. I have never had such trouble before in 8 years of
being in IT. ATI should take a page out of Nvidia's books
for ease of installation.

I can, definitely, agree with that statement.



That or XP should be removed from the planet as evil. My
first XP PC and my first ATI video card. Obviously not a
good combination.

--
Strontium

"You may be right! It's all a waste of time! I guess
that's just a chance I'm prepared to take....A danger
I'm prepared to face.....Cut to the chase." - RUSH