Do Driver Scan Programs Actually Work?

DY357LXDY357LX Playing since day 1. Still can't Comm.England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Having A Hard Time Finding Some VIA Drivers</div>Today I was helping a friend format her laptop after a rather nasty virus. (Ramnit.A)

We went through the usual process and got Windows (XP, old laptop) back up and running.

We visited the laptop manufacturers' website and started getting the drivers for soundcard, cardreader, chipset, etc.

But for some reason the onboard graphics card drivers weren't there. (They had nVidia drivers listed but they refused to install.)
After some browsing around on PCIDatabase I found out that the onboard graphics were provided by VIA.

Every search for "Medion 2210 VIA drivers" resulted in old results, no download links and a crap-load of programs that claim to scan and update drivers.
Seems like a nice way to get malware. I was also surprised at how many sites wanted $5 for a single file.

Anyone aware of a legit program/website for finding drivers (especially generic ones such as AC97 audio, onboard graphics, etc)?

Thanks.
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Comments

  • SpoogeSpooge Thunderbolt missile in your cheerios Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 67Members
    First thing I'd try is running <a href="http://www.piriform.com/speccy" target="_blank">Speccy</a> to see if you can get the specific chipset and model information to improve your search. Also, I'd want to know why the Nvidia drivers "refused" to install.
    Whatever you do, don't pay for drivers. Before you do that, contact the manufacturers customer support with the model and serial number.
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  • FaskaliaFaskalia Wechsellichtzeichenanlage Join Date: 2004-09-12 Member: 31651Members, Constellation
    edited November 2010
    Laptops often use customized graphics solution and customized drivers.

    If you want to use a recent nvidia driver you might need to add the device ID to the drivers inf file before installing.

    Example taking from a chipset driver:

    <!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->[Intel.Mfg.NTamd64]
    %iCNTG0% = iCNT0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A42
    %iCNTG1% = iCNT1, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A43
    %iEGLG0% = iEGL0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E02
    %iEGLG1% = iEGL1, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E03
    %iEGLQ4G0%  = iEGL0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E12
    %iEGLQ4G1%  = iEGL1, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E13
    %iEGLG4G0%  = iEGL0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E22
    %iEGLG4G1%  = iEGL1, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E23
    %iEGLGVG0%  = iEGL0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E32
    %iEGLGVG1%  = iEGL1, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E33
    %iEGLGB0%  = iEGL0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E42
    %iEGLGB1%  = iEGL1, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E43
    %iEGLGBU0%  = iEGL0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E92
    %iEGLGBU1%  = iEGL1, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2E93
    %iILKGM0% = iILKM0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0046
    %iILKG0%    = iILKD0, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0042<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->

    Just add the device info of the device you want to add and the driver should be installable.
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  • XythXyth Avatar Join Date: 2003-11-04 Member: 22312Members
    I would never pay for one of those programs.
    Unfortunately using the word "Driver" in your search is going to flood you results with crap (you'd think google would have solved this kind of issue by now). Your best bet is to go straight to the chip producers site www.via.com.tw
    If it's nowhere there, do like spooge said and contact customer support, both Medion and Via.
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  • DY357LXDY357LX Playing since day 1. Still can&#39;t Comm. England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
    Thanks for the info's.

    I don't have the laptop infront at the moment but I remember the device ID being 3371 (<a href="http://www.pcidatabase.com/search.php?device_search_str=3371&device_search=Search" target="_blank">which PCIDatabase tells me is a Chrome 9 or something</a>) so I'll go from there tomorrow.

    The nVidia drivers refused to install saying "These are not correct for your device/Operating System".
    (I tried all 3 downloads on the Medion site.)


    At the moment it's not a major problem, it just means the desktop display is locked at 800*600. I'll spend more time on it tomorrow and hopefully get it sorted.


    Thanks again for the info/tips
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  • SpoogeSpooge Thunderbolt missile in your cheerios Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 67Members
    You can also try getting the drivers directly from VIA. You'll need to know exactly which chipset you have then go to <a href="http://www.via.com.tw/en/support/drivers.jsp" target="_blank">this page</a> and enter your OS, Integrated Graphics, and your chipset.
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  • DY357LXDY357LX Playing since day 1. Still can&#39;t Comm. England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
    <!--quoteo(post=1805670:date=Nov 15 2010, 10:21 PM:name=Spooge)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Spooge @ Nov 15 2010, 10:21 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1805670"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You can also try getting the drivers directly from VIA. You'll need to know exactly which chipset you have then go to <a href="http://www.via.com.tw/en/support/drivers.jsp" target="_blank">this page</a> and enter your OS, Integrated Graphics, and your chipset.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Yeah, that's what I plan to do tomorrow. I'm pretty sure the last time I looked the VIA site had 5/6 downloads listed under "Chrome 9" so I guess I'll be trying them all :-P
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  • TykjenTykjen Join Date: 2003-01-21 Member: 12552Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    <a href="http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html" target="_blank">http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html</a>

    Extremely handy for quickly finding out what mobo and chipset you got.
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  • DY357LXDY357LX Playing since day 1. Still can&#39;t Comm. England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
    Ahh yeah I've used CPU-Z before, good program. Kinda like a lightweight version of SySoft Sandra.

    Thanks again for the words of wisdom all, the problem is now fixed. (On the VIA site I found a 12meg package of drivers that covered various areas and that worked fine.)
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