Windows 7 keeps restarting the machine after clean install

[KoMoDo]

edit: i brought the recovery partition back and started from factory settings.

i do have a question though, since i dont want my computer to mess up again - how do i properly update my ati drivers to the latest ones? i have a 5730 (ASUS N61JQ) - it has the default drivers now but i do want them updated.

Thanks

[Nuclear Krusader]

By default drivers you mean the ones that came on the VC's CD or Windows' generic ones?

[KoMoDo]

no, it came with ATI drivers, i have the catalyst control center and everything - i just think they're old but i dont know for sure, they're definitely not the latest ones..

Graphics Drivers & Software

[rwest]

I like ATI cards, but I hate thier drivers. It seems you just can't install newer ones over old ones. You have to completely remove all traces of the old ati drivers before updating. Huge PITA!

My last install, as soon as I was able to get on the net I went to ATI and got thier latest suite for my card. After that I continued updating other drivers. No probs whatsoever after that.

I fully reccomend getting thier full suite and not just the driver, that is unless your well versed in updating drivers and software. The full suite will install any and all things neccassary for the card to run. No going "Damn, ..now what!?"

I refuse to update ATI drivers untill something tells me I have to. I can never seem to get it right the first time. When I do finally get my update working, I feel like I went to the redlight district and got scr_wd. And not in the fun way! I always feel like I messed up my system somehow, cuz it just never goes smooth for me. I hate ATI. But I like thier cards and I like the interface for thier drivers. They just don't make it frickn' easy!

This is the program I had to use to get rid of all traces of ATI software before updating with new ATI drivers:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Windows_In...ity_d4459.html

I don't belive it's supported by M$ so use it carefully. It is considered last resort.

[KoMoDo]

That's horrible - I rather not use random software. The thing is SC2 install told me my drivers are too old - what am I supposed to do ? I can hopefully make the game run but I really want to make the best out of my graphics card.. This is pathetic.. No wonder I loved nvidia for so long, that's another reason i dislike laptops - It was time to get one, me going to school in the future etc.

[rwest]

The problem is: You have to uninstall all of the old ATi software. Some times ATI's remover works-sometimes it doesn't.
If you don't get the old stuff properly** removed, the new install will crap out.

Try ATI's catalyst remover tool first. Sometimes it works. I think the removal tool comes with most of the newer versions. But you had to install the suite, not just the driver.

1.If you loaded off the disk that came with your card, try reinstalling the suite. The suite will install over the matched driver. But the installed driver has to be the driver that 's on the disk.

2.Try getting it from ATI. ATI does have a contol manager for catalyst software.(I don't remember what its called exactly.) But I was able to download it seperately once. It didn't work for me though. I think it was because it was not the correct version for the installed driver.

**properly removed
1-ATI's remover tool worked(if it runs, it worked) ATI will still leave its own folder and a few registry entries.
New install will work.

2-add remove programs finds it and the windows uninstaller package runs with out problems. In this case you may or may not have to still manually remove the left over ATI traces. Do a search and delete any ATI files and folders found. Try installing.
It may work

3-Delete ATI files and folders. Edit the registry and remove any traces of ATI.
PITA but it usually works. If it doesn't, you probably missed a registry entry.


The 'windows installer cleanup utility' basically does that last option for you. It doesn't miss any reg entries, but you run a small risk of having to reinstall part or all of the .net framework. It can also mess up the windows installer, but I never had that probelm personally.

[KoMoDo]

I rather not trust "sometimes works" then, thats the problem.
I'm running a version that came with the laptop, I would get the latest driver off ati.com no problem but if its risky... either way I would get the full suite I don't mind, control center (useless if you ask me) and driver - would love if its just the driver, but whatever.
I have spent too much time reinstalling software on this laptop already, including 2 formats, recovery etc.. I don't want to do it again, AGAIN because of the graphics driver.

[rwest]

Boy, I feel ya', Been thru it too many times.

But if you can install the suite, you should get the catalyst removal tool.

If the tool runs, then your set for the updated install.

But yeh, I got another system runnng a 3870 with the orignal drivers off the disk. For that exact reason. I don't want to mess with it.

[Nuclear Krusader]

If the current drivers work, why update them? If it ain't broken, why fix it?

[glc]

Is this where you are getting the drivers from?

ATI Catalyst

[KoMoDo]

yep, catalyst driver suite the 1.1 mb file, then it downloads a 72.4 mb file.

[rwest]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader If the current drivers work, why update them? If it ain't broken, why fix it?

The driver that's working for him is the one off the original install disk. The game he wants to play (SC2) requires later drivers. Most of the time with ATI drivers they just don't update by running the install program.

ATI onboard has never givin me a problem, but every ATI card I've owned hates being updated with new drivers.

Komodo I personally haven't any experience with mobility drivers from ATI. But like I just noted, onboard graphic always seem to update with ATI's executable files. I don't hink it would hurt to dowmload the newer version and just try writing over the installed version. Or is this when you started having restart problems?

[Nuclear Krusader]

No choice but to install the newer version then. It used to be that you had to uninstall everything (going back to Windows generic VGA driver) before installing the latest version of the drivers. Maybe now you can just run the newest executable and it'll be fine. At least this is the way I do it with nVidia drivers; I haven't used ATi since AD 2007.

[KoMoDo]

actually with nvidia what i always did was start new.

im a little fearful of the fact that you guys are on the same boat as me in regards to the risks i mean, "maybe now you can just run..." seems a little risky, ill leave it as it is for the time being until i honestly will have no other option - maybe SC2 will run without the need to update the driver, although i wont really use my graphics card to its full extent at the moment either.

[Nuclear Krusader]

One funny thing that I got with the latest nVidia drivers is that they require the OS service packs to be installed. Ran into a problem in which the installation program for the latest Detonators was crashing repeatedly in a fresh install of XP. Installing SP2 solved the problem. May not be the case with Win 7, but just a word of warning case problems arise that make you scratch your head.

I'm running a 5970 and new updates just install over the old, no need to uninstall.

[KoMoDo]

meh are you positive?
i just emailed ATI (its AMD support) and they said i need to remove the older ones and then install the new ones - that's still risky as well.
are you positive i can just install over the old, have you had plenty of experience with that? cause it will just stack up one day with newer and newer versions every time

[Nuclear Krusader]

I'd follow ATi's recommendation. They know best, and if they don't you can always tell them that you did it as they said it, so now they better fix it.