INSTALLING THE VGA CARD

Video Card Upgrade Install Guide

Installing The Standard VGA Driver

The window changes to look like this to indicate that Windows is ready to install the driver. Click on the "Next" button.

The window changes to look like this to announce that Windows has installed the driver. Windows has not really installed the driver yet. It's got the computer set up to do the install. Click on the "Finish" button.

Click on the "Apply" button.

Click on the "Close" button.

Click on the "Yes" button and the computer will restart to actually, really install the selected drivers.

The screen goes black and the message "Windows is now restarting..." is displayed. If, during this reboot, the Hardware Wizard gives a message to the effect that new hardware has been detected and prompts to install the drivers then once again select the "Standard PCI Graphics Adapter (VGA)". When the computer boots back to the desktop, the colors and the display probably look very different than they did before. That's because the computer is now using the standard VGA adapter, which is very basic. Let GoBack settle down.

For replacing an NVIDIA based video card like I did, read the Driver Cleaner ReadMe file and follow the steps. There are not many steps and the step are not difficult, but there's no point in repeating them here. On the other hand, I found the text shown below from the Driver Cleaner help file quite helpful, so I've mentioned it here to make sure you see it. Execute Driver Cleaner to remove any remaining remnants of the NVIDIA video card drivers. The steps for Driver Cleaner require that the computer be restarted in "Safe Mode". See this How to Start a Windows 98-Based Computer in Safe Mode article from Microsoft if you're not sure how to do that. If, during the reboot, the Hardware Wizard gives a message to the effect that new hardware has been detected and prompts to install the drivers then once again select the "Standard PCI Graphics Adapter (VGA)".

For replacing an ATI based video card, execute CATALYST Uninstaller (cat-uninstaller.exe). Follow the prompts and restart the computer when prompted. If, during the reboot, the Hardware Wizard gives a message to the effect that new hardware has been detected and prompts to install the drivers then once again select the "Standard PCI Graphics Adapter (VGA)".

With the appropriate driver cleaner utitlity complete, if you used the System Configuration Utility to reach Safe Mode as the article describes (and like I did) then now is a fine to use it again to disable the startup menu since you'll no longer need the option of starting in Safe Mode.

If you're upgrading from an integrated graphics chipset, meaning a chipset built-into the motherboard, so that there is currently no video card in your computer then it's worth noting that some motherboards require a simple BIOS change in order for the installed video card to be recognized. Consult the documentation that came with your motherboard or computer for more information.