Following my initial setup of Vista an optional video driver appeared in the
automatic update. I installed it and upon restart my computer would not make
it past POST. I tried booting from the Vista disc, then the system repair and
finally the system restore. Nothing worked. I had to do a fresh install of
everything.

Is this normal? I want to update the video drivers obviously, but at the
same time I don't want to risk having to reinstall Vista again.

XeroMan wrote:
> Following my initial setup of Vista an optional video driver appeared in the
> automatic update. I installed it and upon restart my computer would not make
> it past POST. I tried booting from the Vista disc, then the system repair and
> finally the system restore. Nothing worked. I had to do a fresh install of
> everything.
>
> Is this normal? I want to update the video drivers obviously, but at the
> same time I don't want to risk having to reinstall Vista again.

It is not uncommon for drivers from Windows Update to cause issues,
although your case was pretty extreme. This is why I - and other
knowledgeable people - recommend that you *never* install drivers from
Windows Update. Also, the First Rule of Driver Updates is "if it ain't
broke, don't fix it". Normally if everything is working you want to
leave things as they are. The exception is that heavy-duty gamers will
usually want to update their video and sound drivers to squeeze every
last bit of performance out of the hardware to get the fastest frame
rates. If you're not one of those people, you don't need to update your
drivers. See general drivers information below:

Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:

1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM
computer (HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).

Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the drivers.

To find out what hardware is in your computer:

1. Read any documentation you got when you bought the computer.
2. If the computer is OEM, go to the OEM's website for your specific
model machine and look at the specs (you'll be there to get the drivers
anyway)
3. Download, install and run a free system inventory program like Belarc
Advisor or System Information for Windows.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows

If you have installed drivers from Windows Update, you can roll them back:

How to Roll Back a Device Driver in Windows XP - http://tinyurl.com/86yb6
Roll Back Troublesome Device Drivers in Windows Vista from the How-To
Geek - http://tinyurl.com/346lox


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

If this is a laptop, get any video drivers from the laptop maker site.
If this is a desktop, and the video is on the motherboard, go to the desktop
maker site for hardware drivers.
If this is a desktop, and a video card, go to the site for the video card
maker for the update.
In my experience, updating hardware drivers from the Microsoft update site
(except for Microsoft devices) has usually caused me grief.


If your system could not get beyond POST, how were you able to reinstall
Vista??

Michael
Vista Home Premium


"XeroMan" <XeroMan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:CF8BCE49-06E1-4099-8CF7-821CAA00A84F@microsoft.com...
> Following my initial setup of Vista an optional video driver appeared in
> the
> automatic update. I installed it and upon restart my computer would not
> make
> it past POST. I tried booting from the Vista disc, then the system repair
> and
> finally the system restore. Nothing worked. I had to do a fresh install of
> everything.
>
> Is this normal? I want to update the video drivers obviously, but at the
> same time I don't want to risk having to reinstall Vista again.

Thanks for the responses. I am a gamer, hence my desire to update. I'll try
the drivers directly from mfr. Sorry I wasn't clear in my original post: it
would complete the POST but did not make it past.
Again, thanks for the help.


"Michael Walraven" wrote:

> If this is a laptop, get any video drivers from the laptop maker site.
> If this is a desktop, and the video is on the motherboard, go to the desktop
> maker site for hardware drivers.
> If this is a desktop, and a video card, go to the site for the video card
> maker for the update.
> In my experience, updating hardware drivers from the Microsoft update site
> (except for Microsoft devices) has usually caused me grief.
>
>
> If your system could not get beyond POST, how were you able to reinstall
> Vista??
>
> Michael
> Vista Home Premium
>
>
> "XeroMan" <XeroMan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:CF8BCE49-06E1-4099-8CF7-821CAA00A84F@microsoft.com...
> > Following my initial setup of Vista an optional video driver appeared in
> > the
> > automatic update. I installed it and upon restart my computer would not
> > make
> > it past POST. I tried booting from the Vista disc, then the system repair
> > and
> > finally the system restore. Nothing worked. I had to do a fresh install of
> > everything.
> >
> > Is this normal? I want to update the video drivers obviously, but at the
> > same time I don't want to risk having to reinstall Vista again.
>