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Brandy redux -> Updating Video Card Driver: 2000/XP/Vista/7/Mac OS X 10.4.0 and later (11/3/2007 9:10:00 PM)
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For Windows computers:
Before you can update your video card driver, you will need to know 3 things:
1. Which Operating System are you using?
2. Is your Operating System a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version?
If you don't know which Operating System or which version you are using, go to Control Panel, select System. When the System window opens, look for the name of the Operating System {i.e. Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc.). Then, look in the 'System Type' section for something which says either 32-bit Operating System or 64-bit Operating System. If you don't see any reference to 32-bit or 64-bit, that would indicate that your Operating System is a 32-bit version.
When you select a driver for download and install, it is very important to keep in mind that the driver must match the version of your Operating System - either 32-bit or 64-bit.
3. What is the Manufacturer's Name and Chip Type for your video card and which Operating System are you using?
To answer those questions, follow these steps:
1. Click on 'Start'
2. Click on 'Run'. (If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, and you don't see a 'Run' option, simply type DXDIAG after clicking on 'Start', then proceed to Step 4 below.)
3. Type in DXDIAG
(If a message appears which asks: “Do you want to allow DXDIAG to check if you drivers are digitally signed…” Click Yes. )
4. The DirectX Diagnostic tool will open.
In the 'System Information' section, please make a note of which Operating System you are using (i.e. Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7), and which version you are using (i.e. 32-bit or 64-bit) as you will need this later.
5. Click on the 'Display' tab
6. On the Display page, take note of the Manufacturer (Examples of some of the top video card manufacturers are NVIDIA, ATI, Intel, SiS).
7. Also on the Display page take note of the Chip Type (this should be listed under the Manufacturer.)
8. Now that you know the Manufacturer's Name, Chip Type, and your current Operating System and version you will need to follow one of the links below to find the most current driver for both your Operating System and version of your Operating System.
NOTE: If your video card is not an nVidia, ATI, Intel or SIS, you will need to find either the video card manufacturer's web site or your computer manufacturer's web site to inquire about updating your video card driver.
After going to the matching webpage below, please follow the instructions on that webpage for selecting the correct chip type by answering a series of questions. Continue through the web pages to download the driver.
If you don't find an exact match for your video card on the webpage, that would indicate that drivers for your video card can be obtained only from the computer manufacturer. And, in that case, you will need to go to your computer manufacturer's support webpage to ask for assistance.
• If your manufacturer is NVIDIA: Please Click on the link below to go to the NVIDIA Driver update page
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
• If your manufacturer is ATI: Please Click on the link below to go to the ATI Driver update page
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx
NOTE: Even though this is an AMD web site, this is the correct web site for updating ATI video card drivers
• If your Manufacturer is Intel: Please Click on the link below to go to the Intel Driver update page
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx?iid=homepage+hdr_nav2_download
NOTE: On the Intel site, you must type the chip type into the Search downloads box.
• If your manufacturer is SiS: Please Click on the link below to go to the SiS Driver update page
http://www.sis.com/download/agreement.php?url=/download/
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For Mac OS X 10.4.0 and later computers:
1. Click on the Apple in the upper left hand corner of the window, then select 'Software Update' from the menu that drops down
2. Open 'Preferences', select 'Energy Saver' then look for an "Automatic Graphics Switching" option. If you see an "Automatic Graphics Switching" option, uncheck that option.
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