Driver and Browser Information
Tips on Improving Your Computer's Performance
Make Your old computer behave like a new one.
All computers have video cards - your monitor plugs into your video card (in the back of your computer), and the video card plugs into your computers motherboard. What is a video driver? Windows uses a video driver to tell the video card to draw things on the screen. Different video cards have different methods of doing the same thing (Eg: draw a box), which is why some video cards are "faster" than other ones. A video driver tells the card which methods to use to get the best performance possible. Eg: Windows tells the video driver "Draw a Box". The video driver tells the video card "Use special method XYZ to draw the box". The video card then displays the box on the screen for you to see. Without a video driver, windows wouldn't know how to tell your video card how to draw anything. What is a video driver conflict? Sometimes when windows tells the driver to draw something complicated, the driver gets confused. When the driver gets confused it can crash (Often also crashing the program that is talking to it), or tell the card the wrong information (You will see junk on your screen). How do I fix a video driver conflict? There are a number of options, which one works depends on the exact problem: (1) Turn down hardware acceleration. Windows will then ask the driver to do less complicated things, so the driver doesn't get confused. This may mean performance (drawing things) is slightly slower, but may stop any problem you're having. (2) Change your video driver. Video card manufacturers are always fixing problems with their drivers, and improving their performance. Usually a newer (and sometimes older!) driver will fix the problem. (3) Change the video mode. Often a driver will get confused by a certain video mode. By changing the video mode you may fix the problem. In detail : (1) How to change your HARDWARE ACCELERATION: You can do this by clicking on the [Start] menu, and selecting [Settings] then [Control Panel]. Click on the [System] icon from the control panel window, then click on the [Performance] tab to bring up the performance status. Goto the Advanced Settings (near bottom of page) and select the Graphics button. Change the HARDWARE ACCELERATION to a slower speed. If you still have problems then select a slower speed. You will most probably need to restart windows for the change to take effect. (2) How to change your VIDEO DRIVER: Find out what kind of Video Card you have. You can do this by clicking on the [Start] menu, and selecting [Settings] then [Control Panel]. Click on the [System] icon from the control panel window, click on the [Device Manager] tab, then click on [Display Adapters]. Your video card type should be listed under this. Click on the video card icon, then click the [Properties] button. There should be a field marked "Manufacturer" - go to their website (Usually www.(manufacturer name).com) to get the latest drivers for your card. (3) How to change your VIDEO MODE: You can do this by clicking on the [Start] menu, and selecting [Settings] then [Control Panel]. Click on the [Display] icon from the control panel window, then click on the [Settings] tab to bring up the windows graphics menu. Cycle through the available DESKTOP AREA's to see if you can find one which makes the program behave. You might have to restart windows each time so that it takes effect. If this doesn't help then change the NUMBER OF COLORS (in the same panel). Again, you might need to restart windows to have an effect. |
| Why doesn't your computer manufacturer notify you when upgraded drivers become available for download? I suspect it is related to the fact that they would sell far fewer new computers if everyone knew how easy and cost-free it is to modernize their older computers. Even hardware items, such as memory chips and hard drives, that do have a cost associated with them are relatively cheap compared with purchasing a whole new computer. And they can be installed in less time than it would take to connect and set up a new system. |
Click on your browser Help menu, then on "about" to see what version you are using. Then go to Netscape at http://www.netscape.com/ or Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/ to see what the latest available version is. If it is newer than the one you are using, download it. The newest versions of both Netscape and Microsoft browsers should work well with anything you encounter on the Internet today. Personally, however, I think that Netscape is slightly better and faster at processing JavaScript and Java applets. JavaScript was originally designed for Netscape and it seems that Microsoft is still playing catch-up. Java (which is not in any way related to JavaScript) is a product of Sun Microsystems which is now part of the same corporate structure as Netscape, so it makes sense to me that there should be some degree of cooperation in a symbiotic relationship. (Or maybe I just resent those little messages at the bottom of Internet Explorer that say "error on page" on some of my web pages, when there is no error there, only valid script that Microsoft doesn't understand.) I also think that the visual display presented by Netscape is more appealing than that of Microsoft, but I admit that Microsoft has shown some improvements in that area recently. If you want to shell out 35 bucks, however, the Opera browser puts them both to shame in speed and visual presentation. It is the one I usually use and, personally, I think it is the best. |
Write to Dick Casaly at 
rcasaly@albany.net