***Updating Mobile Graphics Cards Drivers (Windows 7 and Vista)***

Updating Mobile Graphics Cards Drivers (Windows 7 and Vista)
by crash
last updated: 25 August 2010

Why update your drivers? Newer drivers can improve 3D performance, fix bugs and other graphical glitches in certain games, support new features, and use your hardware more efficiently.

Disclaimer: ***I take zero responsibility for any possible damage caused by following this guide.
Proceed at your own risk***

Quick Jump to
NVIDIA Drivers »
ATI Drivers »
Switchable Graphics Drivers »
FAQ »


NVIDIA Drivers

There are three recommended places to find drivers for your mobile NVIDIA card: your manufacturer, NVIDIA, and LaptopVideo2Go.

Your Manufacturer
Often these are referred to as "stock" drivers for your card.
Depending on your manufacturer, some companies update frequently and others infrequently.
These drivers contain support for only a limited number of cards, so make sure you're downloading the correct one for your model! Although they are recommended as a baseline driver to use for stability, updating to a newer driver usually results in some sort of performance boost.

NVIDIA
NVIDIA now supports official updates for mobile cards.
They can be found here.

LaptopVideo2Go
These drivers are desktop and/or notebook graphics drivers from NVIDIA that are modded by the LaptopVideo2Go team to be compatible with almost all currently existing mobile cards.
They offer a performance increase, but sometimes at the cost of stability.
You can find their drivers here.

Procedure
Note: If updating to a LV2Go driver, follow instructions in orange as wellDownload the new driver from one of the three sources above (manufacturer, NVIDIA, or LaptopVideo2Go)If from LV2Go, be sure to download the modded .inf as wellUninstall the current driver by going to device manager, expanding Display Adapters, opening up the current driver info and clicking "Uninstall"Restart your computer once the driver has been uninstalledInstall the new driver by running the executable you downloaded earlierIf from LV2Go, you may need to install it manually using the "Have Disk" method as explained hereRestart your computerOpen the device manager to verify that the new driver installed correctly!
NVIDIA Drivers », Top »

ATI Drivers
Note: If you have switchable ATI/Intel graphics solution, please see the next section

There are three recommended places to find drivers for your mobile ATI card: your manufacturer, ATI, and Mobility Modder.

Your Manufacturer
Often these are referred to as "stock" drivers for your card.
Depending on your manufacturer, some companies update frequently and others infrequently.
These drivers contain support for only a limited number of cards, so make sure you're downloading the correct one for your model! Although they are recommended as a baseline driver to use for stability, updating to a newer driver usually results in some sort of performance boost.

ATI
ATI now supports official updates for mobile cards.
ATI updates their mobile (as well as desktop) drivers once a month.
They can be found here.

Mobility Modder
This program modifies any ATI desktop driver to be compatible with your mobile card.
Manufacturers and ATI themselves do not update their mobile drivers very often, so this program allows you to use the latest enhancements on your notebook.
If you experience system instability after using one of the modded desktop drivers, it is recommended to switch back to an official driver from either ATI or your manufacturer.
You can find the program here (scroll down about half way for the download link).

Procedure
For manufacturer driver or official ATI driver...
Note: If you have switchable ATI/Intel graphics solution, please see the next sectionDownload the new driver from either your manufacturer's site or from ATI directlyNote: If you are upgrading from a 10.x driver to a newer 10.x driver, it is not necessary to uninstall the previous driver before upgradingUninstall the current driver by going to device manager, expanding Display Adapters, opening up the current driver info and clicking "Uninstall"Restart your computer once the driver has been uninstalledInstall the new driver by running the executable you downloaded earlierRestart your computerOpen the device manager to verify that the new driver installed correctly!
For Mobility Modder drivers...
Note: If you have switchable ATI/Intel graphics solution, please see the next sectionDownload and install MSXML 6.0 SP1 from MicrosoftIf you're using Vista, you must turn UAC off! It must remain off while updating your driver but can be turned back on once the driver has been updated.
If using Windows 7, proceed to step 2Type in "User Accounts" in the Start menu and open "User Accounts and Family Safety"Click on "Add or remove user accountsClick on your account nameClick on "Go to main User Account page"Click on "Change security settings"Unselect the box and click "Ok"Restart your computerDownload the latest desktop Catalyst driver you wish to use from ATIUninstall the current driver by going to device manager, expanding Display Adapters, opening up the current driver info and clicking "Uninstall"Restart your computer once the driver has been uninstalledRun the driver you downloaded earlier, but stop the installation once all the files have been extractedRemember where the driver was extracted to!Run Mobility Modder and direct it to the folder where you extracted the driver and press "Modify"Default directory is c:ATISUPPORTIn Vista, if nothing happens, navigate to the directory and run the SETUP.exe fileOnce the driver has been modified, restart your computerIf you're using Vista and you want to turn UAC back on, navigate to the same place where you turned UAC off and check the box to turn it back on.
Restart your computerOpen the device manager to verify that the new driver installed correctly!These instructions were taken in part from Mobility Modder's official site.

ATI Drivers », Top »

Switchable Graphics Drivers

Notebooks with switchable ATI/Intel graphics appear to require that any new drivers be installed over the factory installed driver since only the factory driver supports the Intel integrated GPU on core-i chips and the ATI discrete GPU.
You can upgrade to a new ATI driver version (and I would recommend not using Mobility Modder in this case), but the procedure changes slightly:

ProcedureDownload the new driverInstall the new driver by running the executable you downloaded earlierRestart your computerOpen the device manager to verify that the new driver installed correctly! Also, check to make sure your laptop is switching between cards (ATI and Intel) properly
Switchable Graphics Drivers », Top »

Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if I have switchable graphics?How can I roll back my driver in case something went wrong?What is the difference between WHQL, unsigned, and beta drivers?How do I boot in safe mode?
1.
How can I tell if I have switchable graphics?
Open up the Device Manager and expand "Display Adapters".
If you see two items here - an ATI card and an Intel card - then you have switchable graphics.
If there is only one, then you do not have switchable graphics.
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2.
How can I roll back my driver in case something went wrong?
Open up the device manager, expand "Display Adapters" and double click on your graphics card.
Under the "Driver" tab, click on the "Roll Back Driver" button.
FAQ », Top »

3.
What is the difference between WHQL, unsigned, and beta drivers?
Companies can submit their drivers to Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) for compatibility testing.
They test the drivers for stability and compatibility with a wide range of hardware configurations, and when they pass the tests, they become WHQL certified drivers.
Unsigned drivers are those that either were not submitted to Microsoft's WHQL for testing or they did not pass the tests.
Beta drivers are working versions of drivers that work in most cases, but sometimes have stability issues as they are not the finalized version of a driver.
Often times NVIDIA classifies any driver that they do not fully support as beta.
FAQ », Top »

4.
How do I boot in safe mode?
Restart your computer and repeatedly press F8 until the "Advanced Boot Options" screen comes up.
Select "Safe Mode" and you're good to go.
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