How to Troubleshoot an AGP Graphics Card

An Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) graphics card is used to boost the performance of video computer graphics. AGP cards are popular among computer gamers as well as professional video graphic designers. It is not difficult to troubleshoot an AGP graphics card to pinpoint any problems you may be experiencing.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Restart your computer. Click the Start menu, located in the lower left-hand corner of the screen, and select Run.

2. Type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks). This launches the graphics card diagnosis utility. It will list the type of AGP graphics card you have installed in your computer as well as the driver software version.

3. Visit the website for the manufacturer of the graphics card as noted in the diagnosis utility (e.g. Nvidia or ATI). Download any updates to the AGP graphics card's software drivers. Such updates typically resolve any bugs or errors that are being commonly experienced by consumers. Do not install the downloaded drivers yet.

4. Download a driver-cleaning software such as Driver Cleaner (see Resources). Double-click the installation file to install the cleaning utility, but do not run the actual program yet. These utilities scan your graphics card drivers to ensure that they are correctly installed and running properly.

5. Click the Start menu and open the Control Panel. Double-click "Add/Remove Software" and uninstall the current drivers for your graphics card. Restart your computer after uninstalling the old drivers.

6. Restart your computer and hold down the F8 key on your keyboard while restarting. This launches the Windows operating system in Windows Safe Mode.

7. Launch the driver-cleaning utility you downloaded and installed in step 4. Follow the on-screen prompts to scan and clean out any remnants of the old driver. Restart Windows in regular mode upon completion.

8. Double-click the new driver installation package downloaded in step 3. The drivers will automatically be installed. Restart your computer again.

9. Right-click on your desktop and select "Properties." Check your screen's resolutions. Boost the resolution to the highest quality setting that is available. Close the settings window.

10. Launch a graphics-heavy computer game or your favorite video editing software to test that the AGP graphics card is working properly.

Tips & Warnings

• Most errors result from driver problems. Uninstalling and cleaning the drivers, then installing an updated version typically resolves any issues you may have experienced.

References

• AGP Interface Specifications

Resources

• Download Nvidia Drivers
• Download ATI Drivers
• Download Driver Cleaner Utility