Video Card Drivers

So I got this error message when trying to start second life. I got an error message that reads.

"Second life is unable to run because your video card drivers did not install properly, are out of date, or are for unsupported hardware. Please make sure you have the latest video card drivers and even if you do have the latest, try re-installing them."

Now I have no idea what this means are what to do.I DID look into the FAQ section and found a solution to this, but all it said was to re-install which I have tried multiple times already.

Please help.

What's your video card & what drivers are you using?

Uh, I have no idea o_o

Apparently, from what I've read, people with NIVIDIA or something get these errors.

So that I'm assuming.

Try the site http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest for some basic info on your system.

On Windows XP, you can do Start Run, type "dxdiag", press enter, and get a boatload of system info, or do start, programs, accessories, system tools, system info, or do start run msinfo32 .

the newest video drivers for nvida dont work well, pre 175.xx drivers work best

Ya, but is there a way to fix it? >_>

If it's a video card driver issue, then the answer is very definitely YES. Go to nVidia's website and do a search of the archived drivers for 175.19. Don't use the latest since there have been complaints about it having issues with SL. Download the driver to your desktop (or where ever you download stuff to). Then shut down everything and uninstall your current video driver. Windows will require a restart for the uninstall to complete....do it. When Windows boots back up it will "find new hardware" and ask to search and install a driver (the uninstalling of your driver causes Windows to see your video card as new hardware). Don't allow Windows to do that......just close the dialog box and then go to where you downloaded your new driver and install it. You'll have to restart again once the installation is complete.

Once you have your driver installed find your nVidia Control Panel (it may be on your quick launch bar........if not find it in your "Computer" shortcut. Open it and on the performance tab check "Performance" to start with. If everything works fine then you can later come back and check "Appearance".

Try SL again.

Before you follow any of the above advice (none of which is necessarily wrong, but it MIGHT be), first identify what video card you have. Here's how:

For Windows XP:

1. Right-click on My Computer, and in the menu that pops up, click on Properties. The System Properties window will open.

2. You'll see a bunch of tabs at the top of the System Properties window. Click on the Hardware tab.

3. On the Hardware tab, you'll see a button labeled Device Manager. Click on it. The Device Manager window will open.

4. In the Device Manager window, you'll see a bunch of little boxes with plus signs in them. Click on the one next to the words "Display Adapter". The make and model of your graphics card will now be displayed.


For Windows Vista:

1. Right-click on My Computer, and in the menu that pops up, click on Properties. The System Properties window will open.

2. In the System Properties window, near the top left corner, you'll see a link labeled "Device Manager". Click on it. The Device Manager window will open.

(Note: If you've got User Account Control activated, the OS will ask you if it's OK to open the Device Manager window. If that happens, just click Continue. It's just asking to make sure it was really you who initiated the launch of Device Manager. So you know, this minor annoyance is a safety feature, designed to alert you if an outside user tries to hijack certain functions of your computer. If you find it to be overly annoying, you can always disable. But for now, just click Continue if you need to, and don't worry about it.)

4. In the Device Manager window, you'll see a bunch of little boxes with plus signs in them. Click on the one next to the words "Display Adapter". The make and model of your graphics card will now be displayed.


For Mac OSX:

1. Click the Apple menu and choose "About this Mac..."

2. Click the button labeled "More Info" to open the System Profiler.

3. In the System Profiler window, in the Contents pane on the left hand side, click where it says Graphics/Displays. The make and model of your graphics card will be displayed in the pane on the right.



Now, before you do anything else, report back here with your video card info, and we can tell you where to go from there. If you've got a relatively modern nVidia card, then installing the 175 series drivers would be a good idea, as others have already mentioned. If it's too new or too old, though, then 175 might not be an option. And of course, if it's not an nVidia card, then you absolutely do NOT want to install an nVidia graphics driver on your system. Installing the wrong make of driver can cause physical damage to your card. Never, ever, ever install a driver for anything unless you're absolutely certain you know that the driver and the device are a match.

I wonder why Linden Labs hates nVidia so much... ATI Sucks in any other game I play, and nVidia is always better in gaming industries.

Just stick to the old drivers. If that doesn't work, then wait until Linden Lab fixes the problem.
(If they intend to do that is.)

yes, still waiting on the "fix" .. nvidia or sl someone do something

SOME people report that the new Release Candidate fixes the NVIDIA palletized textures bug. Others report they still have black avatars. Try it and see.

A bug here and there hardly constitutes "hate". Be careful how you phrase things. From what (little) I know of it, the folks at LL actually have a very positive relationship with their counterparts at nVidia. They work together on problems all the time.

Even with this particular bug, SL still runs a lot better on nVidia card than on ATI cards. So if you're an nVidia fan, you can remain one, and still use SL.