How to Upgrade the Video Driver for My Windows XP

A video card is a device which enables a computer to display images and graphics on a monitor. A video driver is the software component of a video card, which must be installed on a computer's hard drive so that the operating system can properly utilize a video card. Video card manufacturers periodically create new drivers for their hardware to resolve problems and optimize the video cards for the most current applications. Therefore, updating video drivers from time to time is important to ensure superior video card performance.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Identify your video card. Your computer's manual should have the video card listed, but you can also identify your card within Windows XP. Click "Start," "Run," type dxdiag in the run field, and click "OK." In the diagnostic pop-up, click on the "Display" tab, which will list your video card's name and other information.

2. Download new driver software from your video card's manufacturer. Nvidia and ATI are two popular video card manufacturers (see Resources). The manufacturer of your computer may also host video driver downloads specific to your type of computer. Before downloading a driver, make sure that your specific video card model is included in the driver's list of compatible video cards.

3. Install the new driver. The driver download will be an executable install file which will begin an automatic installation process. Double-click the installer to begin the process.

4. Restart your computer. The changes to your drivers will not take effect until Windows XP has been shut down or restarted.

Tips & Warnings

• If you experience crashing or display issues soon after installing a new video driver, the driver is a likely cause of the problem. Either revert back to your original driver, or install a different one.

Resources

• Info on updating drivers
• ATI driver downloads
• Nvidia driver downloads