Windows 7 Standard VGA Graphics Adapter problem.

[redsunrising]

hi.
my laptop was running windows xp, and a few weeks ago it died (got blue screen of death/whatever) today i wiped it clean and installed windows 7 ultimate. a game i used to play that used to work fine, no longer works and gives me the error message "Error, Your graphics card or driver does not support shader model 2.0. Please make sureyour video card supports shader model 2.0 and that it is using the drivers from the manufacture."
i found this strange cause i used to play the game fine without a hitch. i dont know how to update my drivers or find out what i was using with xp before i updated to win7. if anyone could help me it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mike]

First you must identify what video card you have. Chances are it is either an integrated Intel video card (on-board), ATI card, or NVIDIA card. Almost certainly you are using Microsoft Compatibility Drivers and not the drivers you need from the manufacturer.

To find out for certain what graphics card you are running, download and run GPU-Z: GPU-Z Video card GPU Information Utility

If you can get this information and post the name, model, make of the card from the first line of the program I can get you a direct link to the latest drivers for your video card.

Video card drivers are being released on a practically bi-weekly to monthly basis for NVIDIA and ATI cards to improve performance on many games. A clean install of Windows will usually include only basic drivers.

 

[redsunrising]

thanks, i downloaded and installed the program like you said but the first line just says standard vga graphics adapter? i screencapped cause im not sure exactly what you are looking for, so yeah. attached is the screencap

 

[Mike]

You most likely require ATI Catalyst software/Radeon drivers. Depending on your version of Windows they can be found here:

64-bit: Link Removed
32-bit: Link Removed

Best of luck. I am sure it is an ATI card from the driver version listed there. It is probably a 4xxx series card.

 

[redsunrising]

im using 32 bit. so if i just dl any of the drivers from there it should work? or is there a specific one i need to find that works for my card?
thanks.

 

[Mike]

Download the Catalyst software from the 32-bit link. Use the entire software suite. "Catalyst Software Suite (32 bit) English Only". If it does not work (incompatible) it will not install the drivers and tell you right away. It is a very good installer and the result of literally years and years of development. Chances are, it will very much work. The Catalyst software suite for ATI cards is actually the only driver package that really exists for ATI video cards dating back years. It is probably the only one that will work in your instance. Please post if this works for you and I will mark the thread as solved.

 

[redsunrising]

ok, so i installed it, and rebooted my laptop like it said. ive noticed no change, i still cant play the game, and when i ran that GPU-Z or whatever program it looked the same as it did before. im confused

 

[Mike]

Can you please go to the system tray and launch CCC (Catalyst Control Panel) and go to "Information Center". Go to "Graphics Hardware" and see what it says.

You need to know what video card you have. Do you have any invoice when you bought the laptop or any specifications from when you purchased it? Can you give an indication as to what kind of laptop it is? Can you tell what game you are even trying to run? You will be able to gleam some information from GPU-Z and CCC, but we will need more info (Like what computer you bought)

 

[redsunrising]

i cannot find CCC on my computer anywhere. i searched the whole computer for "CCC" and "Catalyst Control Panel" both turned up no results.
i ran dxdiag and it said ATI RAEDON XPRESS 200M SERIES for chip type. i dont know if thats what youre looking for, just a shot in the dark. the system model of my laptop is Toshiba Satellite A100. the game i am trying to run is League Of Legends. its a game i have played regularily up until i upgraded my OS today. so i know i meet the system requirements.

 

[Mike]

Based on the device id and the information you have provided please check this information:

Link Removed

1. open the control panel
2.click on appearance and personalization
3. click on display
4. Click on screen resolution
5 click on the advanced settings tab
6. click on the adapter tab
7. Click on properties
8. click on drivers tab
9 . click update driver
10 Click search automatically
11. Windows 7 will find and install a driver for your ati xpress 200
12 restart computer when prompted
13 back in business

This is the ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M SERIES Video Card. Because it is a DirectX 9 card there is no direct support from ATI/AMD anymore, but you have a good chance of getting it recognized with its proper drivers under Windows 7 using the above method.

 

[redsunrising]

i tried that earlier today, before posting in this forum, and it said that the driver was up to date. i just tried it again and it said the same thing.

 

[Mike]

You can try here:

Free Driver Update Software - Device Doctor

This is good software for repairing obscure device driver problems.

However, you may still run into an issue with this game. I am going to assume you have tried running it in Windows XP Compatibility Mode. I would try Device Doctor as a last resort for your issue. It is 100% freeware.

 

[redsunrising]

device doctor turned up a few updates, but they are for keyboard, mouse and audio.
i havent tried windows xp compatibility mode, i dont know what that is!

 

[Mike]

Right-click on the icon for the game
Go to Properties
Go to the Compatibility tab
Check "Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP"

Chances are this may not solve the issue. It seems you are unable to use the right shader version for the card and this is because the right drivers don't exist for this functionality. But it's worth a shot.

 

[redsunrising]

nope, didnt solve anything. i tried with compatability set to windows xp sp2 and sp3, neither worked.
i read this in a thread about updating drivers for Ati radeon xpress 200 series: "In short there is no driver support for older DX9 or older ATI cards for Win 7. You can either downgrade to XP or Vista for legacy support but that is all since your options are limited beyond trying vista drivers that might not even work."
do you agree, should i downgrade my OS? or do you have any other possible solutions in mind.

 

[Mike]

Unfortunately, on older laptops your options are extremely limited. If it was an old desktop, you could just go out and buy an old graphics card that is compatible. Unfortunately it looks like you are stuck. Windows 7 will likely work fine, but you will have trouble using the video card. What games you will be able to run now on that card right now anyway are extremely limited. So it is up to you on what you think you should do. I had the same problem with the Dell 700M laptop when Windows 7 first came out. It worked, but some things didn't. I ended up selling it and buying a better laptop from Dell Outlet. From here on out it is really your call, but we isolated the issue to this hardware. Microsoft can provide compatibility drivers, but it is up to the manufacturer to provide support for their older products. There are many new games you won't be able to use the card on, so you may choose to stay with the new functionality of Windows 7 or go back to Windows XP to run old games. If the game is a *must* for you then you may want to downgrade and look into a newer laptop down the road. I am sorry I could not help you further, but in this case, it is really up to ATI to provide driver support.

 

[redsunrising]

oh well, i guess ill be going back to windows xp, then. not the end of the world. thanks for all of your help, you really know your stuff. have a good night