Updating Drivers

The key to making sure a game will work on your computer is making sure your computer meets the minimum requirements. This means not only meeting the physical hardware requirements, but the software requirements as well. The software drivers used to operate your video and sound cards must be up to date, and more importantly installed for a game to work properly. Follow these instructions to check your drivers, as well as to download and install the newest ones for your computer.

Launch the DirectX Diagnostic tool.

For Windows Vista:

1. Click the Windows button on the Windows Taskbar.

2. Click All Programs.

3. Click Accessories.

4. Click Run.

5. Type dxdiag in the available text field and click OK.

For Windows XP, 2000, ME, and 98:

1. Click Start.

2. Click Run.

3. Type dxdiag in the available text field and click OK.

Identify your hardware.

• On the System tab, you can determine the following basic computer information:

• System Information

• Processor
  The type of processor you have, as well as the speed listed in megahertz or gigahertz depending on its speed.

• Memory
  The amount of RAM (random access memory) in megabytes or gigabytes depending on the amount.

• DirectX Version
  Self explanatory; however the version of DirectX is a key requirement in making sure all in-game features are enabled.

• On the Display tab, you can determine your display device, driver, and features:

• Device

• Name
  The common name for your graphical device, most commonly the name of the device sold in stores.

• Manufacturer
  The Company who manufactured your video card.

• Chip Type
  The name of the graphical chip on your video card. This is important, because often times third party companies will sell a video card with an odd name, but the same chipset as a commonly sold video card.
  Example: A Hercules 3D Prophet 9800 XT has an ATI Radeon 9800 XT chip on the card.

• Approx. Total Memory
  The amount of video memory available. This may be misleading if you have an integrated video card, as they use System RAM to mimic video memory.

• Current Display Mode
  The current screen resolution, color depth, and video refresh rate in hertz.

• Monitor
  The name of the monitor driver currently installed.

• Drivers

• Version
  The version number and language of the driver installed for your video card. This is important in determining if you have the most recent drivers installed.

• Date
  Not necessarily an important field; however it's a good indicator for determining if it's time to update your drivers.

• DirectX Features

• DirectDraw Acceleration
  This feature controls your 2d graphics abilities, and needs to be enabled for any game to run on your computer.

• Direct3D Acceleration
  This feature controls your 3d graphical abilities, and needs to be enabled for games requiring a 3d graphs card to run.

• AGP Texture Acceleration
  This feature may not be available if you do not have an AGP video card, but is not required.

• On the Sound tab, you can determine your sound device, driver, and features:

• Device

• Name
  The common name for your audio device, most commonly the name of the device sold in stores.

• Default Device
  If more than one audio device is installed in this computer, this will allow you to determine if the one you are looking at is the one being used by games.

• Drivers

• Version
  The version number and language of the driver installed for your sound card. This is important in determining if you have the most recent drivers installed.

• Date
  Not necessarily an important field, however it's a good indicator for determining if it's time to update your drivers.

• Features

• Hardware Sound Acceleration Level
  The hardware acceleration slider will determine if advanced audio features are used when launching a DirectX application. (Note: This does not apply to Windows Vista.)

Find and download the latest drivers.

It's a good idea to always make sure your drivers are up to date. Now that you are aware of how to check, you'll want to do a comparison against the manufacturer's website, and what the DirectX Diagnostic tool shows you. Once you've done that comparison, you'll be able to quickly download and verify that you've updated your drivers.

• The first thing you want to do is identify your Video and Sound card from the DirectX Diagnostic tool.

• On the Display and Sound Tab, you will want to use the Chip Type area to determine the manufacturer of the chip as their drivers are the most commonly supported and tested throughout the industry.

• Should that field not have anything listed, you can use the Name field to determine the common card name which is the next best thing.

• Once you've identified the card, you'll want to check if there are any updates available.

• Select the manufacturers' page for your video and sound card from the lists provided below.

• Navigate to the download or driver section on the manufacturers site.

• Note: The driver location changes between manufacturers, and the site location may change depending on their site maintenance, so look for related words such as firmware, download, or update drivers on their home page.

• Once on the driver download page identify your driver version date, every driver should be marked by a date; you will want to compare this date to the date listed on the Display and Sound tab in the DirectX diagnostic tool. If the date on the driver page is more recent than what DirectX shows, you'll want to update your drivers.

• Note: Should no driver date be listed on the website, it's  best to download the latest drivers available from the website to make sure you have the newest software installed.

• Now that your ready to download and install the new drivers, there are a few things you want to be aware of:

• Make sure that when you click on the link to initiate the download that you choose Save rather than Open when presented with the option.

• Warning: Choosing Open will attempt to install the driver directly from the driver website; should your internet connection be interrupted during the install, your drivers will not install properly and can cause you other system issues.

• Once you've chosen Save, you'll want to designate an easy to find location to download the driver.

• Note: A good idea is to save the driver to your desktop so that you an easily install it and delete it once it's completed.

• Now that the driver is downloaded, you'll want to install it. Most drivers are simple executables, requiring you to only double-click on the file to start the installation.

• Note: Should the driver not be an executable, please refer to the driver page for instructions on how to install them.

Common Video Manufacturer Sites

• ATI Technologies Inc.
  http://www.atitech.com

• Intel
  http://intel.com/

• Matrox
  http://www.matrox.com

• Nvidia
  http://www.nvidia.com

• S3 Graphics
  http://www.s3graphics.com

• SiS
  http://www.sis.com

Common Sound Manufacturer Sites

• Creative Labs
  http://creative.com/

• Yamaha LSI
  http://www.yamaha.com

• Realtek
  http://www.realtek.com.tw

• Sound MAX
  http://www.soundmax.com

Install and verify your new drivers.

Now that your drivers are installed, you'll want to verify that the installation went properly.

• To verify that the driver has been installed, compare the date listed on the Display and Sound tab in the DirectX Diagnostic tool to the date listed on the driver website.

• If they match, your drivers are updated and your system is prepared to play.

• If they do not match, you will want to repeat the previous section until the date displays correctly.