Need a second opinion

I have an ATI Radeon 9550/X1050 series graphics card. I use to have an NVIDA GeForce MX 420 card. I found out recenlty that I've ben updating my video card drivers the wrong way. Apparently you can't just install a new driver over an old one. I always thought when you install an update it just overwrites the old theing. Anyway, this computer I've had since 2001 and it's mostly fine and has lasted this long. It has had its RAM doubled to being a GB. The hard drive has been cloned to a bigger hard drive that is a 230GB in size. It has XP Pro. So with one of my games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the sequel The Sith Lords I learn on lucasforums.com that KOTOR haas a problem with ATI cards and does better on NVIDA cards. I started out asking them about a problem with not having shadows in game. So they tell me I was never to overwrite drivers. They take me though this whole process of what to do to install a driver the right way. So I was to go to Add/Remove and uninstall ATI Uninstall Utility and restart into Safe Mode and run a program called Driver Sweeper. I was to put check boxes on the NVIDA display driver and chipset, and ATI display driver. Yeah there was an instance of NVIDA even though I no longer have that card. I was told to enter Safe Mode as an administrator to give Windows full access to driver sweeper. But when you go to the admin option it comes up with a password prompt. I never set a password. So is there some kind of default password kinda like how a Linksys card has a default password of admin to enter the menu to change settings. So though I was told to enter in as an admin which I couldn't I entered as my normal profile. So after running driver sweeper I restarted into normal mode and installed the ATI Catalyst Suite. I was told I can't just install the display driver I have to also have hte Control Center. So I do that and would like to say I'm visually impared so the next thing was to go to Zoomtext which is a program to allow you to magnify the screen at will. So in order to use it you have to disable secondary display settings. Apparently this comptuer has an HD ability. So you rebot and it works fine and I was able to get my normal resoultion of 800x 600. Yes it can do better, but I use that resoution to see best. So I start my games and discover that when you up the graphics, quit, or play a cutscene in the KOTOR games that the comptuer restarts. So now th LF tech support guys are telling me I need to re-install windows. I shouldn't have to do taht. I learned with computer problems you do the less difficult solutions first. So I want a second option you guys. I noticed during the installation of the Catylist Bundle it installed something called Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable. I noticed in Add/Remove programs list that there are two instances of it, but one has 4MB size and the other has 5MB size. They are both the exact same name though. Would uninstalling one help? If so which one? Finally, if the problem was I entered in as a normal prfile and not as an admin caused a problem? Was there a default password because I never set one? One lat thing, anyone that plays KOTOR please tell me of your setup you'd use to play KOTOR? I also hear KOTOR has problems with Vista. This shouldn't be so complicated to play a game that is only a few years old. If someone has a computer rig I could purchase that will play it great. I have a max budget of 1500 dollars. Sad thing is any new computer has Vista on it and it has problems with KOTOR. Not sure what problems it has with it. Please help me with this. Thanks.

I have an ATI Radeon 9550/X1050 series graphics card. I use to have an NVIDA GeForce MX 420 card. I found out recenlty that I've ben updating my video card drivers the wrong way. Apparently you can't just install a new driver over an old one. I always thought when you install an update it just overwrites the old theing.

different drivers have different file names….so no overwriting. Not all ATI drivers interefere with nVidia drivers and vice-versa. Those that do not can often exist happily for years w/o incident. Since that problem reared it's ugly head, it required us techs to alter our method of install.

So they tell me I was never to overwrite drivers.

I've not run into that issue as being one that might have been caused by co-existing drivers…..

They take me though this whole process of what to do to install a driver the right way.

What they are referring-to is often termed "Best Practice" regarding the installation of a new vid card. Following that method can eliminate many issues that COULD arrise…..doesn't mean they WOULD-have.

So I was to go to Add/Remove and uninstall ATI Uninstall Utility and restart into Safe Mode and run a program called Driver Sweeper. I was to put check boxes on the NVIDA display driver and chipset, and ATI display driver. Yeah there was an instance of NVIDA even though I no longer have that card.

I HOPE at some point, they told you to disconnect from the Internet and turn-off any Anti-virus protection before begining…..? If not I recommend you do so and start-over.

I never set a password. So is there some kind of default password kinda like how a Linksys card has a default password of admin to enter the menu to change settings.

No. Windows assigns a "blank" password to the Admin account by default.

start—run—"control userpasswords2" [press enter]
when the "User Accounts" window opens, Highlight the "Administrator" account and click the -Reset Password- button at the bottom.
When the "Reset Password" window opens, enter the "New" password, and then enter it again, then press [OK].

So I start my games and discover that when you up the graphics, quit, or play a cutscene in the KOTOR games that the comptuer restarts.

Verify you have the current drivers and then Start-over as suggested above. failing that, check the KOTOR forum for possible necessary "tweeks" for that card….

Finally, if the problem was I entered in as a normal prfile and not as an admin caused a problem? Was there a default password because I never set one?

I doubt this problem is non-use of the Admin profile. The 'default' is blank. If you built it, SOMEONE on your end changed it. This is also true if you bought it [new] from a store. If you bought it "used" from someone or company, then they could have changed it.

Tallon41

Let me just make sure I understand this. You don't think the problem with the video card is that I was not able to run Driver Sweeper in Admin profile of Safe Mode. They said it was important that I do it in admin and not my profile in that it gives Driver Sweepermore access to Windows.

Also, I have never heard this that you were to reinstall XP every year they say. Why do that? How come when I run driver sweeper I always see the NVIDA instances if I no longer have NVIDA? Is this due to not having it in the admin profile in safe mode. So if the not going into Safe Mode as admin what would be the problem you think?

I did buy the computer from Best Buy and the person who installed the ATI card was an independent tech I know. I'll do that thing you suggested to get past that password prompt.

Update I went into that "control userpasswords2" menu and found 3 profiles there. My profile says right next to it debugger users; Administrators, above that is a profile called ASPNET and to the right of it it says users, and of course Administrator to the right of it says administrators.

What's this ASPNET account? And what does it mean debugger users for my profile mean?

Let me just make sure I understand this. You don't think the problem with the video card is that I was not able to run Driver Sweeper in Admin profile of Safe Mode. They said it was important that I do it in admin and not my profile in that it gives Driver Sweepermore access to Windows.

Well, what they REALLY meant is that it is important to do it in "safe mode" [and XP home can only access the ADMIN account IN "safe mode", but you have XP Pro. You can access it anytime, but you SHOULD use "safe mode"]
It is "safe mode" that will give it more access, in that the system loads with "basic" drivers, especially in the case of Video/Audio, it does NOT load any drivers the user may have installed with add-on cards.

Also, I have never heard this that you were to reinstall XP every year they say. Why do that?

There was a time when this was true for windows….SP0 and SP1. I have 3year-old SP2 boxes that are fine. It's more a case where the programs the User installs put update programs in the Startup menu that increase Startup times and eat away at System Resources (RAM.) Many users didn't want to bother with trouble-shooting and just re-installed, or just wanted a clean-slate so-to-speak. If you have SP2 (or SP3 now,) it is not necessary.

How come when I run driver sweeper I always see the NVIDA instances if I no longer have NVIDA? Is this due to not having it in the admin profile in safe mode.

If you UN-installed the nVIDIA drivers and software, [if you didn't, then THAT's why it's still there,] then "NO". That would be a case of POOR programming of the UN-installer package. There are files "in use" that can't be deleted right-away, and have to be removed on the next boot it runs once, then delets itself, but many software programs leave parts of themselves behind. Norton is a HUGE offender in this area.

So if the not going into Safe Mode as admin what would be the problem you think?

actually you have it backwards….Being in "safe mode" would be a good idea, but ANY account with "administrator" rights [and your User account did] in safe mode should be sufficent.
I was just saying that, not being able to get into the ADMIN account, your using your User account, as it pertains to Video would make no difference.

What's this ASPNET account?

that is the profile used to access the MS Active Server Page .NET framework (pronounced "dot-Net")
Leave it alone and ignore it.

And what does it mean debugger users for my profile mean?

it is a Security Group that is assigned "permissions" that give them access to things that are needed for debuggers, if you want you can remove your membership in that group, otherwise ignore it.

It is likely that the Tech who installed your Video card changed the password, and although that is a good security precaution, he/she SHOULD (and may have,) given you written notice of that.

Were you able to change the password, and you can now enter the "Administrator" account at will?

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I recommended, was that *if* you did not disable your Anti-virus protection when you did all that the first-time [disconnect from the internet for safety,] then to do it all again, and THIS time kill the AV first. Also that you verify you have the latest drivers.

Tallon41

Before I do it all I just want to make sure I have this all right this time. 1. I uninstall the ATI Uninstall Utility and restart into Safe Mode under Administrator. 3. Then I run the Driver Sweeper on the ATI Display driver, NVIDA chipset, and display driver. Why not the ATI chipset? 4. Then restart into normal mode and install the Catylist Suite that containes the ATI Display Driver, Catylist Control Center. So you believe that should fix this right? Yes the independent tech did uninstall the NVIDA Display driver. But the strange thing is I a while back did see it on the Add/Remove programs list and I simply did remove on it. It said there was an error during the uninstallation and it corrected it and then the NVIDA Display driver on the add/remove list went away. It was strange, but it went away. And so when I change the admin password you were putting the word "new" as in that would be the password to type in. I know it's a stupid question. I'm just the kind of guy that wants to know exactly and be sure before I do extra ordinary stuff like this. I am a careful person who likes to learn, and feels every direction is important. And when I go to turn off my Anti Virus and Internet do I simply disconnect the modem by taking out the plug to it? I noticed the last time I installed the ATI Catylist Suite that includes the Display Driver it also installed something called Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable. I noticed there were two instances of this in Add/Remove programs list and the only difference is onee was 4MB and the other is 5MB. Should I remove one? Yeah he should've told me the password. But then again I don't think he'd thought I'd learn this much of these kinds of technical things. I did ask him after he did it because I was wanting to learn because I like learning things and he said it would be too complicated. Uh not really. It's just directions and knowing what and why your doing something. Most people can be taught stuff. Thanks.

Before I do it all I just want to make sure I have this all right this time.

? The only thing you might have gotten 'wrong' is not 'stopping' your AV protection first. Did you ? If you DID, then what you did was fine.

good 1. I uninstall the ATI Uninstall Utility and restart into Safe Mode under Administrator.
good 4. Then restart into normal mode and install the Catylist Suite that containes the ATI Display Driver, Catylist Control Center.

is no longer necessary. 3. Then I run the Driver Sweeper on the ATI Display driver, NVIDA chipset, and display driver. Why not the ATI chipset?

unless you were to use "system restore" and roll-back your PC to a time before you ran this previously, then those changes made were permanent. [why isn't this #2 ? LOL]

So you believe that should fix this right?

it's not a black and white kind of error. It's a driver error. There are cases where using the latest drivers would not work properly on some PC's and older drivers had to be used instead. *DID* you check to see if you were using the most current drivers ?

I believe you can get to a point where you can play the games at a higher resolution, you should be using the Control Center to adjust that, if you were not. IOW, back to where you were before they had you mess with stuff.

As to the 'shadows' in the game, I referred you to the game site as that video card MAY require a 'tweek" of one kind or anther for those to work….or a "user preferences" setting in the game itself. On the other hand, often a game that requires more umph than the Video card can handle will turn-off or reduce features to allow a better game "experience" for the user, REGARDLESS of the choices made in the "preferences" mentioned. (e.g. you choose "high" details, but everytime you go in the game they are lower, and when you look at the setting, it is no longer "high".) This is the result of allowing "application management", (recommended,) rather than "user management" of the video card settigs. There are just too many things to set if you want to do it yourself, you can read-up on it if you want….I wouldn't recommend it.

Adding shadows will noticably reduce frame-rate. Make sure that "shadows" are turned-on in the game and try it at the lowest possible resolution and see if what I mentioned is happening. If it is, you might get shadows at a lower resolution, but not at the higher ones, as it takes siginficantly more GPU power to render the display as you increase the resolution. Old movies were shot at 24 frames per second, so if you drop below that, you can expect some choppy-ness to creep-in; get down to below 10, it's practically unplayable ! lol

But the strange thing is I a while back did see it on the Add/Remove programs list and I simply did remove on it. It said there was an error during the uninstallation and it corrected it and then the NVIDA Display driver on the add/remove list went away. It was strange, but it went away.

Not so strange, that list is, well, just a list. Many programs use the same "installer" programs to uninstall as well, hence the error msg referrs to "installation" even though you were "removing" the program. Part of that error msg offered to "remove the program from this list" [if you were to read it fully,] and you aparently chose to do that, and so the "list" was updated. That is not always offered, sometimes the message says the program "might already be uninstalled," this can happen with programs that have their own "install/uninstall program and it either was not properly programed, or it encountered an error and terminated unexpectedly, having NOT fully completed its task. Further attempts to run it now fail immediately and the remaining files and folders etc have to be removed manually.

And so when I change the admin password you were putting the word "new" as in that would be the password to type in. I know it's a stupid question.

no, un-necessary perhaps. You might be better-off with help from a more 'responsive' source then, like somone on IM or a program like "crossloop" where someone else can control your PC remotely, rather than posting back and forth….kinda takes longer this way. The answer is, as you surmised, that you do not have to use "new", you can put anything in there you want. It's a "password" field. You've used them to 'create' passwords for access to websites, [e.g. THIS one,] before, and this one is the same.

And when I go to turn off my Anti Virus and Internet do I simply disconnect the modem by taking out the plug to it?

turning-off the AV will vary with the product. Disconnecting from the internet, you can physically take-out the Ethernet cable from the rear of the PC tower or you can "disable" the Network Adapter.[start—control panel–network connections–right-click "local area connection" then choose -disable-. To "enable," do the same, but choose -enable- instead.
If you were to disconnect the feed to the modem itself, then ALL users in your home will not have access to the internet….if you're the only one, then that's fine, otherwise I'd recommend you use a different method, as others might not appreciate it ! lol

I noticed the last time I installed the ATI Catylist Suite that includes the Display Driver it also installed something called Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable. I noticed there were two instances of this in Add/Remove programs list and the only difference is onee was 4MB and the other is 5MB. Should I remove one?

not necessary, but you can if you wish.

Most people can be taught stuff.

yeah, I'll usually try to explain stuff….'till I see their eyes start to glaze-over ! LOL Usually doesn't take long !

Tallon41

I only have this one pc in my house. This admin password, you said security. As in security against someone sitting down infront of your computer, or as in someone online trying to hack in? As for the resolution it really is best that I keep it on the lowest resolution as possible in that I am visually impared and the bigger the better. Yeah it may simply be I'm using a newer driver that the game can't handle well. I've heard people on forums say it's not good to use later display drivers for NVIDA or ATI. Things is people have different cards. So I wish there was an easy way to tell which drivers work for the game and what ones don't. In other words at what point do you not update past a certain driver. There's got to be an easier way to tell rather than having to go through a process like this that takes 30 min or so. Not sure if it will help, but these games were released around 2003 and 2005. I wish I could go back with sys restore. But I stopped play KOTOR for a while and uninstalled them. I then started playing more current games with later drivers. And of course at that time each month I would install the drivers. Not knowing you have to take out the prevous driver and put the new one in. lol. It worked fine though, but not for these older games when I came back to them. The movies in the game that it plays are Bink movies. Must be some kind of type of video. Currently you can't go past 60 for the game's refresh rate. It has the capability, the game, to go up to 74. So from what your saying the problem most likely is that I have a newer driver the game can't deal with very well, right? And no before they never told me to disable my AV and internet. But this time around I'll do so. But yeah I've seen online an online tool that allows you to put in the game name from a drop down list and click go to see if your computer can play that game, and it gives you a rating. If there are tools like that there should be something that tells you if you can run a game on a certain driver rather than having to install one and see if it works, take it out see if this one works, etc.