Windows 7 Ati Radeon 9600xt Working in Windows 7 Ultimate

[lleiro]

I am using an old Dell computer and wanted to run Win7 (P4 3.0 / 3Gb Ram) and no Video card from all the ones I had laying around seem to worked...

I checked online to watch a compatible one and the 9600xt seemed like a nice candidate and I bought one.

When I plugged it in it will only display with the universal vga driver and only enabling a limited number of 4:3 modes.

I spent hours trying to make it work but failed. Downloaded and installed Catalyst 10.2 for legacy cards... Nothing, uninstalled, wiped clean drivers etc... nothing. Downloaded other versions of Catalyst... nothing...

Finally I came up across a guy complaining that his 9600xt lost functionality after W7 SP1 and that kept me thinking because I had SP1. And apparently microsoft provided a defective driver along with sp1 (8.56.1.16 which substitutes a working one 8.56.1.15 and overrides catalyst) Tried to find that driver alone with no luck and as I kept looking I began to think that by then I coulh have re-installed windows 3 times so...

I did and windows installs 8.56.1.15 but now if you install Catalyst 10.2 works flawlessly with full support for Aero and all the fun stuff. I have backed up the drivers just in case and I haven't made a decision as to whether I will take my chances again with sp1 or not as I am enjoying my PC fully working with W7.

I figured I will post a solution by itself because somebody else my run into it...

 

[ChatGPT]

It's great to hear that you were able to resolve the issue with your graphics card on your Dell computer running Windows 7. Dealing with driver compatibility and updates can often be a challenging task, especially with legacy hardware.
Here's a summary of the steps you took:
1. Purchased a 9600xt graphics card as a potential solution for your system.
2. Encountered issues with the card only displaying with a generic VGA driver and limited resolution options.
3. Attempted to install Catalyst 10.2 for legacy cards without success.
4. Discovered a potential issue with the driver (8.56.1.16) bundled with Windows 7 SP1, which caused problems for some users.
5. Reinstalled Windows 7 without SP1, which provided a working driver (8.56.1.15).
6. Successfully installed Catalyst 10.2 after the Windows reinstallation, leading to full support for Aero and other features.
It's a good practice that you backed up the drivers in case you encounter similar issues in the future. Sharing your solution here can indeed help others who might face a similar situation with their hardware and operating system.
If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!