Help: Cannot Remove old ATi Driver

SouperComputer

ok, heres the hardware:

Packard Bell I-Go (not sure which model)
P4 M 2.0Ghz
512DDR
XP Home Ed


Basically, the machine is randomly locking up. The stop error is pointing to the graphics chip or the drivers. gut feeling is the drivers as they are a year old for some reason.

heres what I tried:

rolling back driver; no luck sticks me with the old one nomatter how many times I revert it

disable device: still no joy

remove device: nada

diable plug n play after manual driver removal: no joy, cant install new drivers!


there is no ATI remove program in add\remove progs so I cant even do that.

all I need to do, is make XP stop installing its own crap drivers so that I can install more recent ones.


any ideas?



Edit: ran memtest86 and passed

feylya

Download new drivers or drivers that you know work.
Set the graphics card to be bog standard VGA drivers.
Install new drivers.

spongebob

device manager > select device > properties

update

only tick window update (untick the rest)

forces it to go online for (hopefully) newer drivers

there is a good russian ati driver site ISTR

M

SouperComputer

the problem with ATI is that you MUST have the standard VGA driver before you can upgrade. The problem is that I cant get it to revert to the vga drivers using the aformentioned tactics

id considerd windows update, hmmm, may have to resort to that

feylya: please read a post before replying!

SouperComputer

Tried windows update, seeminly there is no later driver for the graphics, despite the fact that the driver is over a year old!!

ar$e!

Sleipnir

yeah, sometimes there won't be a new driver. Maybe it's a older card and they are no longer updating drivers for it?
Have you searched the ATI webiste for the lastest driver file for your card?
Check the date of the latest release, you might not be able to update it because there is no update available?

SouperComputer

the problem isnt getting the update, in fact there is even one on PB.com.

the problem is getting frickin XP to revert back to a standard VGA driver so I can install the later drivers.

Sleipnir

maybe you could use the Driver File details tab under the properties of the card in Device manager.
Get the names of the files, remove the card from Device manger,
then delete (or move to a floppy) the files and reboot?
You would probably have to switch off system restore first.
Not 100% sure that it would work but surely if the files aren't there and can't be recovered.......?

SouperComputer

tried that, XP just keeps using its own drivers.

Sleipnir

balls! where the funk is it getting them from?
is the i386 folder on your hd?
this is annoying me now.....

SouperComputer

yea, im sure you can guess how I feel!

oh, no, the I386 folder isnt on the drive

-Wheeler-

Try this :
Download the Universal Ati/Nvidia driver cleaner, go here:
http://www.driverheaven.net/cleaner Install the Driver Cleaner.

1. - Choose to uninstall the ATI entry in the Add/Remove programs list if there is one.

2. - Restart the PC and cancel any automatic windows prompts to install the new hardware found.

3. - Run the Cab cleaner (located in the Driver cleaner folder) and choose ATI. Click "clean". When that is finished run the Driver cleaner and choose ATI. Click "clean".

4. - Restart the PC again, and again cancel any automatic windows prompts to install drivers for the new hardware.

5. - Run the install program for the latest drivers and reboot.

I hope that sorts it out for you.

Go here for the latest ATI drivers:
http://www.ati.com/support/products/pc/rageiic/rageiicdrivers.html


Wheeler_1028.

SouperComputer

hmmm, sounds good, ill give that a bash.