Being as most people who write threads about their problems tend to leave out information which could be useful for those who are trying to help out, I'll try to write a post that includes what you need and then some instead of too little..
Hardware Specs
Background Story
Well, about 3 months ago, I exchanged my old and outdated GeForce 2 GTS Graphics Card with the new and better (I thought) Radeon. Being the CS-gamer I was back then, I did this in hope of increasing my FPS-count (not a lot, just a little), but was fairly disappointed when I experienced an all-time record low FPS of 5-10 (no matter what was going on).. Also, being lazy, I decided to take this as a chance to lay off the CS-scene for some time, perhaps focusing on some other aspects of gaming and general usage of the computer.. It was just now, today, that I got the craving for fragging again…
After doing some reading, I realized that I was not the only one with problems regarding Counter-Strike 1.6, ATI and FPS. After some more reading, I decided to downgrade to Catalyst 3.6. Since I'm not the most experienced person when it comes to messing around with drivers, hardware-settings, software-this and that, I read around some more and went with the information given in this thread. I followed the advice written by BrownPaper, using DriverCleaner to remove any remains of the ATI drivers after uninstalling them.
How the problem came to exist
When downgrading to Catalyst 3.6, I followed the “readme.txt” that came with DriverCleaner on how to proceed:
What I think I did wrong, is that when I ran “DriverCleaner” and cleaned out everything connected to “ATI”, I cleaned out “3Dfx” as well. I’m not quite sure why I did this, don’t have the wildest clue what I was thinking, but I believe this is what went wrong.
Exactly what is the problem?
Well, when I tried to install the Catalyst 3.6 drivers (step “10” in “DriverCleaner readme”), I got two error messages:
Hardware Specs
- ASUS CUV 4X-E, Celeron/PIII, ATX (Motherboard)
- Intel Pentium III 1 GHz Coppermine (CPU)
- Radeon 9600SE (Graphics Card) - Not sure of the "mark" of this one..PowerColor or ASUS
Background Story
Well, about 3 months ago, I exchanged my old and outdated GeForce 2 GTS Graphics Card with the new and better (I thought) Radeon. Being the CS-gamer I was back then, I did this in hope of increasing my FPS-count (not a lot, just a little), but was fairly disappointed when I experienced an all-time record low FPS of 5-10 (no matter what was going on).. Also, being lazy, I decided to take this as a chance to lay off the CS-scene for some time, perhaps focusing on some other aspects of gaming and general usage of the computer.. It was just now, today, that I got the craving for fragging again…
After doing some reading, I realized that I was not the only one with problems regarding Counter-Strike 1.6, ATI and FPS. After some more reading, I decided to downgrade to Catalyst 3.6. Since I'm not the most experienced person when it comes to messing around with drivers, hardware-settings, software-this and that, I read around some more and went with the information given in this thread. I followed the advice written by BrownPaper, using DriverCleaner to remove any remains of the ATI drivers after uninstalling them.
How the problem came to exist
When downgrading to Catalyst 3.6, I followed the “readme.txt” that came with DriverCleaner on how to proceed:
ATI:
1. Unplug nic card or modem from net or disconnect
2. Remove ATI driver from add/remove programs then remove the control panel from add/remove programs
3. Reboot into safe mode (F8 during boot up)
4. On reboot into safe mode WinXP SP1/SP2 will auto detect and install drivers. Just let it do its thing. If you can cancel out of the auto install hardware wizard then skip the rest and run Driver Cleaner! If you can NOT cancel out of auto detect wizard then...
5. Navigate to device mgr->display adapter->uninstall and/or remove ATI display adapter but do not reboot
6. Disable any AntiVirus Software (If you don't disable is than it could give trouble)
7. Run Cab Cleaner (not needed, but recommended)
8. Run Driver Cleaner
9. Empty recycle bin and reboot
10. Install the new drivers and control panel
What I think I did wrong, is that when I ran “DriverCleaner” and cleaned out everything connected to “ATI”, I cleaned out “3Dfx” as well. I’m not quite sure why I did this, don’t have the wildest clue what I was thinking, but I believe this is what went wrong.
Exactly what is the problem?
Well, when I tried to install the Catalyst 3.6 drivers (step “10” in “DriverCleaner readme”), I got two error messages:
- INF error. Video driver not found.
- Setup was unable to complete the installation. Try to setup your display adapter with a standard VGA driver before running setup.
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Picture 1 – Picture 2
Since the old Catalyst drivers are uninstalled and new can’t be installed, I find myself in a rather unpleasant situation…
I have tried installing both in normal and safe-mode.
A friend of mine, whom tried to help, asked me to go to “Control Panel --> Display --> Settings --> Advanced --> Adapter” and tell him what was there (or something), but the problem is, there’s nothing there. When I used DriverCleaner, I remember to INF-files being removed when I used “3Dfx”.
Picture of empty Display Properties
What I’ve tried to fix this
I have:- Installed this driver HotFix from ATI for Radeon7000/7200 series where the same error message has appeared. I figured I’d install this, hoping the “Standard VGA Graphics Adapter” would tag along with it, uninstall it and install the Catalyst-drivers. I successfully installed this HotFix, but Catalyst could still not be installed (neither prior or after I uninstalled the HotFix).
- Installed the latest VIA Hyperion drivers, which was recommended to me by a friend as my motherboard is a VIA-chipset (what he said, I don’t know…)
- All sorts of little things I “know of”, but who apparently does not work…
Final notes
Well, obviously, I would love some help with this as it has driven me and my friend mad. I would just like to play some Counter-Strike again, and use my graphics-card to it’s fullest (well, I know I can’t with the CPU and all the other things I have backing it up, but with this setup) without spending hours to do so… If anyone knows what to do, I’d appreciate some help. Also, I tried searching for the “Standard VGA Graphics Adapter” so I could download the driver. I was unable to find a download-location, so if your tip is to download this one, I’ve tried it and can’t find it so I need someone to upload/send it to me.
All help is more than welcome.
I’ll be going to bed now, tired and a tad pissed off (mainly at myself).
In advance, thanks!