Please verify GOOD or BAD advice to delete driver

Though I make my living on my PC, my tech knowledge is very limited, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Windows XP is my OS.

My pc reboots, goes to black screen, or hangs up at random times.
Microsoft messages says it is caused by my video driver, and I need to update it.

I finally found out what type video card I have, found the updated driver, downloaded it and am ready to install it.

Here's my question: I was told to delete the other driver first and disable my virus protection before installing the new driver. Is that good advice?
 If I delete the other driver first, won't my monitor screen go blank?
Forgive me if that's a stupid question, but as I said my tech knowledge is very limited.

My sincere thanks for any help.

No, you can safely remove the previous driver installed. Windows will automatically switch to a default driver that can be used until you install the proper Windows drivers.

Make certain all your fans are in working order and that dust isn't clogging air-intake.

WOW! That was QUICK!!
Thank you very much Raptor!

I know you guys don't get anywhere near the amount of praise you deserve, so let me say:

The world needs MORE people like YOU and the others here, who freely give of themselves unselfishly to help others.

I raise my glass in a toast to you, and all the others!

Be assured I will praise Computerhope at every opportunity.


Joe A. Nesbitt  AKA: XP_Fatal_Error
CEO Nesco Enterprises

No problem, Joe. You're welcome to post back anytime when you've got troubles.  

[Moderator]

And keep in mind that whenever you are required to disable your protection in order to properly install something make sure the machine is dis-connected from the web...

patio.  8-)

Thanks Patio, Good Advice!

[size=16]IT DIDN'T WORK!!! [/size]

I installed the updated driver, NO CHANGE!

I'm ready to hurl this S.O.B. out the window!

The restarts, black screens, screen freezes, lost work, MORE LOST WORK, save work, STILL wind up LOOSING IT, unable to produce any income for TWO MONTHS NOW, it"s driving me crazy!!

Will somebody, PLEASE, JUST SHOOT ME! Put me out of this misery!

OK....I feel better now. Nothing better than a little screaming, whining and ranting to clear the head before getting down to business.

It seems that Microsoft was WRONG! I really hope one of you guys can help.

My OS is Windows XP
A couple of months ago my pc began restarting from time to time. After a while, in addition to restarts, the screen started just going black with no restart, forcing me to press restart button.

Each time upon rebooting I got a microsoft message saying something like:
"The system has recovered from a serious error". "A report of this has been made..blah blah..." Send Report   Do Not Send Report.
I sent the report each time. Got message: "Error caused by a device driver", "No further info available". "Check newly installed hardware driver."
I had not installed any new hardware.

As time went on restarts became more and more frequent. Then after sending hundreds of these reports to Microsoft, one day instead of getting message that said: "Error caused by a Device Driver", It said: "Error caused by a VIDEO DRIVER"

It gave two fixes. #1:Install updated video driver.
#2. Move hardware acceleration to "NONE"
I opted for #2. and moved the hardware acceleration to none.
No change.

I began trying to find out who made my video card. After weeks of dead ends and much frustration trying to learn what chip set is and "North and South" and downloaded SIS SANDRA program which said it was made by VIA, went to VIA website, but driver KMM400 was not listed, told to download VIA "Driver Package"  did that, installed "Driver Package" That didn't help! Checked Windows Updates several times, no video driver but Updated driver for Printer and cable modem. That didn't help.

Then I learned that the video driver is listed in Device Manager under display adapter. Found out that driver is VIA/S3G Unichrome ??something. Couldn't find it on VIA website. Finally found updated driver on HP site. Downloaded it, installed it yesterday. DIDN"T HELP!!!

I noticed a very strange thing a week or so ago. When I log on to Windows under MY NAME, and try to work. restarts, black screens and hang ups are almost continuos. Sometimes as many as 8-10 in 20 mins. time. HOWEVER, my wife logs on to Windows under HER NAME, and plays silly games UNINTERRUPTED for 2 or 3 HOURS!! Not a single restart! Not just sometimes, EVERYTIME! I started using HER name, for a while the restarts weren't as numerous, but now they are increasing, and are almost as bad as when I use my name.

I update and run AVG virus scan daily. I run SPYBOT and Ad-Aware on a regular basis. I have cookies set on "custom" to prompt before allowing, and always select DO NOT ALLOW. I delete temporary internet files regulary. I run microsofts MALWARE prorgam each time a new version comes out. I have Windows Updates set on Auto. I've got TONS of free ram, dram, memory, disc space.....  both hands are now full of hair and my head hurts ........  a LOT!

ANYONE have ANY ideas? If not, anyone got a gun I can borrow!?

[Moderator]

1) Turn off 'Automatic restart on system failure'.

2) Download, unzip, install and run Everest Home Edition
http://www.comcen.com.au/~fed/everest.zip

Select Computer>Summary from the left hand screen.
Right click in the right hand screen & select Copy All
Paste the details in here.

3) Does it restart in 'Safe Mode'?

Test the memory as well using Microsoft Memory Diagnostics(Click)

[Moderator]

After following the excellent advice above you can also try borrowing a known good video card from a friend, swap yours out and install the drivers for the borrowed one and see if the situation improves.

The one thing that jumps out at me though from your latest post is the fact that your wife can run it for hours with no problem...this leads me to believe you're profile on that machine might be corrupt...

Don't toss the machine out the window just yet...we'll get you there somehow.

patio.  8-)

Thanks Fed.

First to answer your question, yes, it does reboot in safe mode, eventhough [highlight]I turned off Automatic restart on system failure a while back[/highlight].

Raptor,
I'm currently trying to download Windows Memory Diagnostic, but stop errors are coming in bunches like bananas this morning! <chuckle>
Thanks, my friend, I'll post info from it once I get it.

Thanks Patio,
 Having the same thought, I created a new user account. It did fine for a few days, but now I'm getting stop errors with it the same as the others.

Fed,
Here's the information from EVEREST: Computer Summary, as requested above:

Field      Value
Computer      
Operating System      Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack      Service Pack 2
DirectX      4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name      SCREAMMACHINE (Joes Computer)
User Name      Administrator2
      
Motherboard      
CPU Type      AMD Athlon XP, 2083 MHz (12.5 x 167) 2600+
Motherboard Name      Epox EP-8KMM3I  (3 PCI, 1 AGP, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)
Motherboard Chipset      VIA VT8378 UniChrome KM400
System Memory      480 MB  (PC2100 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type      Award (08/05/03)
Communication Port      Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port      ECP Printer Port (LPT1)
      
Display      
Video Adapter      VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP  (32 MB)
Video Adapter      VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP  (32 MB)
3D Accelerator      VIA/S3 UniChrome
Monitor      ViewSonic A90  [19" CRT]  (NP93000089)
      
Multimedia      
Audio Adapter      C-Media CMI8738/C3DX Audio Device
      
Storage      
IDE Controller      VIA Bus Master IDE Controller - 0571
Floppy Drive      Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive      SAMSUNG SP1203N  (120 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Optical Drive      LITE-ON COMBO LTC-48161H  (DVD:16x, CD:48x/24x/48x DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status      OK
      
Partitions      
C: (NTFS)      114494 MB (103099 MB free)
      
Input      
Keyboard      Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse      PS/2 Compatible Mouse
      
Network      
Network Adapter      VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter  (72.242.36.147)
Network Adapter      WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface  (172.164.230.52)
Modem      Agere Systems PCI Soft Modem
      
Peripherals      
Printer      CAPTURE FAX BVRP
Printer      Lexmark X1100 Series
Printer      Quicken PDF Printer
USB1 Controller      VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller      VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller      VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB2 Controller      VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Device      Generic USB Hub
USB Device      Lexmark X1100 Series
USB Device      USB Printing Support

By the way, THANK YOU for Everest, what a GREAT PROGRAM! Wish I had it MONTHS AGO! It would have saved me a lot of work and much searching trying to find out specfics about my system.

ALL you guys are great! If nothing else comes of my time here, I'm truely grateful to you guys for the knowledge and education you're providing.

Health, wealth, and happiness to you and yours.

I'm currently trying to download Windows Memory Diagnostic, but stop errors are coming in bunches like bananas this morning! <chuckle>
Thanks, my friend, I'll post info from it once I get it.

You should really download it from a stable system to ensure data integrity.

What kind of errors are you seeing?

[Moderator]

Try this one.
http://display-and-video.free-driver-download.com/VIA/11913/VIA-VT8378-(KM400)-Display-Driver-16.94.32.11-Windows-2000-XP.html

I clicked on the link above and went to the site. I clicked on "Download it"
The Windows pop up box that ask: Do you want to RUN or SAVE appeared for a split second then was gone. I looked behind the page, behind the next one and then minimized my internet connection window, but it was nowhere to be found. I looked up at the top of the page on the website and it said: "Download in progress". Now, 48 minutes later, it STILL says Download in progress.
It's never taken 48 minutes to download ANYTHING!
Should I try the download again?

Use download location 2.

OK... Download done. How do I install it? I double clicked on it, it just opened the files. I don't see an "exe." file. I opened properties, where it says "TYPE" it says "FILE FOLDER", that doesn't seem right, shouldn't it say "APPLICATION"?

I'm really note sure on what drivers Fed is making you install, most S3 videocards I've had installed under Windows XP ran were auto-detected.

[Moderator]

What Raptor said is right, removing all your video drivers & rebooting should allow windows to detect & install its built in drivers drivers for you.
To update if there's no exe file to click then try using your Device Manager and pointing it to the driver .inf file in the directory you downloaded.
You can also use Add/Remove Hardware from your control panel and point it to the downloaded stuff.

I've spent several hours trying to find a KM400 driver to uninstall with no luck.

Remove or install programs doesn't give me the option of pointing to the new driver. Only options are: install from CD, or install from Windows update site.

In device manager, there is no driver named KM400.
The display adapter driver is VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP, which I've already replaced. (Didn't help)

I did a search for KM400, only results were websites I visited, and the download it's self.

It's alright to go ahead and have a good laugh at my being "Dumb as a stump" , I'm laughing too!
Then could somebody walk me through it, like I'm a six year old?

[Moderator]

Use your Device Manager to uninstall the VIA drivers, reboot and let XP do its thing, then come back here and let us know what's happened.

BTW, I said Add/Remove Hardware, you said Add/Remove Programs, there's a huge difference.

Yep, your right about a huge difference. Guess I was tired when I read that post.

OK.. went to device manager, uninstalled display adapter driver, went to add hardware clicked on driver, rebooted.
On reboot got message: "New hardware found"- Install Wizard installed new driver. Got message: "Install Completed"
Before Install Wizard message came up telling me to restart my computer, the screen froze. Pressed RESET button.

When rebooted, all Icons were very small and elongated, "START" was completly off the screen. Screen resolution had been changed.
Changed it back to where it was. Checked hardware acclerator, it had been moved to full, moved it back to none. Checked device manager to see if video adapter driver had changed in any way, it looked the same. Then machine RESTARTED.

 I logged on to windows, all Icons came up and then the screen went black. Pressed RESET button again.

After rebooting, I checked Event Viewer, nothing showed up.

I came here to post results, but half way through typing results, it RESTARTED again. Just before Windows logon screen came up
the screen froze with nothing but the pointer on a black screen. Pressed RESET button.

Logged on to windows, all icons came up, clicked on ISP logo to connect to Internet, nothing happened. Clicked it again...nothing.
clicked another icon, nothing. Clicked "START", nothing happened. Waited a few minutes and tried again, nothing. Pressed RESET button.

Logged on to Windows, icons came up, clicked on wordpad, screen froze. Quitely screamed a few words that I can't print here and  pressed the RESET button again. Feeling a strong urge to put my foot thru the monitor, I opted instead, to turn the evil machine off and walk away.

An hour later, logged back on, went to wordpad and wrote this post, saving my work after each line. Got online, came here and did a cut and paste.

Just realized I've been up all night, ...... again, it's 5:30 AM here!

Everyone should "BELIEVE" SOMETHING....
I believe, I'll catch a nap and get back with you later.  

My computer was behaving in a similar way a few months back, i posted here about it, GX_man Reckoned it might have been my power supply.

Like your computer it would some times Run for a few hours, but more often than not it would reboot in a matter of minutes, i never did fix it, i bought a new comp instead.

Also i think it could be A Hard Drive problem in your Machine ,

But to rule out the Video Card , you might want to borrow a Video Card from some one , and try it in your machine, also i think you should try a Different Power Supply

[Moderator]

Although Microsoft said the problem was video drivers I believe that's incorrect as the problem still exists when you're in safe mode.

Did you test your RAM yet?

No, I haven't tested RAM. I don't have that kind of knowledge. Can you walk me through it, please.

[Moderator]

Some people seem to have a lot of trouble with this but I'll try and put it in simple terms for you.

Go to http://www.memtest86.com/
and download - [highlight]Pre-Compiled Memtest86 v3.2 installable from Windows and DOS[/highlight]
to your desktop.
Put a formatted blank floppy in your A Drive.
Double click on the file you downloaded.
Double click on the install.bat.
Reboot your computer, enter bios and set your A drive (floppy) as the 1st boot device (Note the original order)
Save your changes as you exit.
Your computer will then boot to the floppy and memtest will run.
Let it run for a couple of hours and see if any errors show up.
Reboot your computer, enter bios and set your boot priority back to how it was, save your changes on exit.
After it boots, remove all the crap memtest left on your desktop.
Keep the memtest floppy for use some other time.

This may all sound a bit daunting but it's really quite simple.

[Moderator]

Nice instructions Fed...save those to the Vault.

patio.  8-)

It finally became more than I could bare! I bought a new computer.
I came back to thank all of you for your help.

What you folks do here is something you should be proud of. Any kind of volunteer work speaks volumes about the soundness of ones character. For me personally, it tells me your hearts are in the right place.
Bless you.

"For he amoung us, who serves his brother, is the greatest amoung us all"
                                                             The Mighty Chief Allowatsakema

Now I'm off to another forum to ask a question about my NEW computer.

Joe

[Moderator]

Now I'm off to another forum to ask a question about my NEW computer.

Why not here ? ?  

 

[Moderator]

Thanks for your encouraging words. We're not here for the big bucks, that's for sure.  

I personally prefer helpers who are not trying to sell me anything.

Patio,
   I didn't mean another Computer Help site, my friend, I meant in the NETWORK forum here.
Why would I go elsewhere when :




[size=36]YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!![/size]

[Moderator]

Gotcha...and Welcome Aboard !