How to Install Video Drivers on Windows 7?

If you have installed Windows 7 and your screen resolution is not right, or video is otherwise not working or the upgrade software has failed to detect and download drivers for your machine’s video card, then you are here to get a solution out.

The fix should be fairly easy and you should follow these simple steps:

• Open your device manager from the Start menu or control panel.
• Expand the tree for Display Adapters.  There should be an entry for your video card such as VGA, AMD, or Nvidia.  Right click that file and then click “Update Driver Software.”
• Click “Search automatically for updated driver software.” Windows should find, download and install the drivers for your video card.  Then reboot.

If this does not work for you, there are other options.

Remove the Old Stock

Before installing new video drivers in Windows 7/XP, it may be necessary to delete the old drivers.

• Begin in the control panel, using Programs and Features in Windows 7.  The files will be VGA, AMD Cayalyst Install Manager or Nvidia Display Drivers, for example.  Uninstall it and restart the system.

This may be enough to allow new drivers to work.  If they don’t, it is probably because the old ones have not been completely removed.  For AMD, remove the CAP from the control panel.  You may have to restart again.  Check for one another time whether any kind of driver files still exists.

Next remove the driver files from the registry.

• Open the registry editor by clicking Start > Run.  Type regedit.
• Click File > Export and save to your desktop to backup your registry.
• Expand the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER, then expand Software.  Delete any files pertaining to old video drivers in the Windows folder and Program files.
• Do the same in the folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.  Be careful not to remove any chipset files or folders.  Click File > Exit.
• Next delete the Ati/Nvidia folder on the system drive.  Double click on the Windows folder and delete everything in the Temp and Prefetch folders.  Use the “search for files tool” to find any other files labeled ATI, including hidden files, and delete them.
• Now run Driver Sweeper (now Driver Fusion).  Empty the Recycle Bin, and restart the computer.  You can now install new drivers.  On an AMD chipset/CPU you will need to reinstall SB drivers as well.

Find and Install the Drivers

If Windows cannot find a driver for your hardware, you may need to go to your computer maker’s Web site to search for the driver.  You should be able to download it to your desktop, and install it from there.

If there is a compatibility problem, say the driver is for XP and you need to run it in Windows 7, right click on the driver installation file and choose the Properties/Compatibility tab.  Choose your options from the list. Click on Apply and OK.  Again right click on the file, and choose “Run as Administrator” to install the driver.  Reboot the system and you are done.