Crappy ATI drivers.

[The PIT]

Job replace broken video card.
The PIT this will take about ten minutes.
Removes old ATI drivers and then checks in safe mode and the Video card isn't installed.
Reboot detects new card and sets it as a standard vga card. Install driver and reboot. Everything looks okay. Bangs up to 800 x 600 32 bit colour black screen on reboot.
Bastard pc maint have given me the wrong driver CD. Theres no model number on the CD so I'll let them off.
Reboot safe mode uninstall the multimedia centre okay. Uninstall the driver. No go an error msg.
Reboot force it back to standard vga. Haha I think, I noted down the model number of the card. One label says Expert 2000 Pro and the other says Rage Pro 128. I try the Expert 2000 Pro drivers incorrect card drivers.
Check under device manager and try manual update. Machine hangs. Reboot card is detected as a Rage 128. Thats the old card. Ah well try to update it too Rage 128 pro from device manager. Machine hangs.
Hack the registry force the card back to standard VGA on redetect. Use regcleaner. Back to ATI website try referance Rage 128 Pro driver.
Machine chugs away to itself. You're copying a file thats older. Well since the newer ones don't work get on with it. It can't of course as the no to all button is greyed out. A lot clicks later bingo it works.
All becuase ATI don't do a proper uninstaller and leave crap all over the place.

[Paddy]

yup. I hate their drivers.

I did a reinstall a few weeks ago. I am using the defaul SP1 drivers and I wont update until the cat 3.3's are released in a few days.

[The PIT]

The cat 3.3's have been canceled due to problems. The 3.4's should be out shortly anytime soon.

The 9xxx/8500 series of drivers are much better but still cry out for a proper uninstaller. ATI may have hired a few people to do this. Something they should have done from the start.

The earlier cards suffer from a massive version lettering and numbering confusion. I mean one card has two different labels on it. One on the silk screen and another on the printed serial number and only one drivers works. That sucks.

A few months ago our Access controller server died. On a Friday of course just before hometime. Luckily the card readers can run by themselfs for forty eight hours. So I had get a new machine up asap on Monday morning ready for that night.
That mean't I had to ghost the old NT4 across onto a new motherboard since the company who orginally installed the software couldn't get across. The old NT machine had an onboard rage xl card. This stopped any further ATI cards from being installed since the the old driver uninstaller failed to remove all the driver files. I didn't have time to sit down and trace all the old files etc so the server was stuck in 640 x 480 mode and complained about incorrect drivers installed.
Anyway since the machine was so corrupted by the crash my boss decided we needed a new one.

[Sethos]

Yeah drivers are where ATi generally falls short of the mark....they generally have some great hardware though...and praise the lord they got it right with the radeon 9800

~Sethos

[DGhost]

not too sure on the great hardware part either... but... it certainly isn't bad... they at least put effort into places where other companies don't...

[Gurm]

Well, the drivers REALLY just need an uninstaller. Some of us know how to do it (I helped write a howto on Driver Heaven), but it's just ugly.

- Gurm

[Paddy]

yeah I meant the 3.4's

Uninstalling is straightforward but tiresome

[The PIT]

Well what I like to know is why ATI, Creative, Novell write proper uninstallers. They must know what files they're dropping all over the place or do they have so many they don't have a proper record of what files they install or modify.
Unc32.exe by Novell and the Creative uninstallers leave half the registry entries and folders behind plus god knows how many files. Ati haven't even bothered so far.

[BuddMan]

Yeah, ATI drivers can be a pain. But at least they are no where near the quality they were in the Rage Pro times. I did so many uninstalls and installs with those that my laptop nearly blew up.

Since the 8500 they have improved drastically. Can't wait for those 3.4's. Should be out tomorrow.

[Gurm]

ATI has actually petitioned its fans (at Rage3D and Driver Heaven) to write an uninstaller for inclusion into the driver package! WTF?!?!?

- Gurm

[Chrono_Wanderer]

LOL... I can't believe ATI don't even bother to hire an extra employee to do this... cheap corporations lol...

Can't wait to see an ATI driver that uninstalls CORRECTLY

[The PIT]

Originally posted by Gurm
ATI has actually petitioned its fans (at Rage3D and Driver Heaven) to write an uninstaller for inclusion into the driver package! WTF?!?!?

- Gurm

I know bit embarrassing really isn't it. Still we may get a proper one at some time.

[Technoid]

Gurm, don't forget the HDD erasing ATI drivers