Computer Problem

[Blunt Object]

I recently did a system restore on my computer by accident and now I dont have drivers for my ethernet or my video card. This is a problem because I cant go through the "system resources" to find out what type of video card and ethernet card I have. I tried opening the case and looking at the hardware its self but they didn't have the model numbers on them. Does anyone know how I might be able to fix this problem other then taking it into where I bought it and having them fix it?

Cheers Blunt O

 

[TheFITZ]

Try Tune Up Utilities, it may work for this problem.  Also if your computer is a Dell or HP or any brand name computer go to there website.  You may be able to get the drivers there.  Or you can hit either F12 or F8 to go into advanced boot options.  This will let you boot from last known good configuration.  As long as it has not taken your restore as it.

 

[George Wallace]

Are you running Windows XP?  Did you just download SP3?

I have had some really odd things happen since I did so.  I couldn't get my cordless mouse to work, and then suddenly it did.  Last night I tried to look at something on You Tube and I had no sound.  I looked in my Control Panel and under System Hardware found that everything was supposedly operating correctly, but when I tried to open Windows Media Player, it said I had NO AUDIO Devices....... :-\

I suddenly got my sound back right out of the blue. 

So there are several glitches in that update.

 

[TN2IC]

Windows XP is a curse...

Did you try the "Any" key?


When stuck, Alt + Ctrl + Delete, solves all the problems.

Sometimes I just turn off the big screen and walk away. Seems to work at times.

 

[SigOp_Geek]

are the devices listed in Device Mangler?  possibly under something like "unknown device"?

if so, then you get get info by going to the Details tab of the Properties for the unknown device.  the information listed under "Device Instance ID" can be googled in order to find drivers for the device.

for example, the "device Instance id" for my video card contains this:  "PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5B62&SUBSYS_0F021002&REV_00\4&1603E009&0&0008" - if you google the "VEN" and "DEV" parts, in the example:  "VEN_1002&DEV_5B62" you will get results leading you to the correct drivers.

 

[Kyu]

Unless you disposed of them, you should have a CD with those drivers. If you have an onboard (IE directly on the motherboard) NIC (Network Interface Card or ethernet card) or video card, the driver for those devices are supposed to be on the motherboard drivers disk.

Usually if the NIC works, you don't really need to have the specific driver of your card. Windows XP generic network card driver is usually good enough. Since you have Windows XP you should have a Video Card with a BIOS, or else you wouldn't be able to install XP. Many video card BIOS show the maker's name and the card's model at boot time. With this info you should be able to fetch your video card driver on the manufacturer website. The 3 more common makers of video cards are :

Nvidia
ATI
Matrox

If you still can't find a driver for your Network Card or for your Video Card, I suggest that you install Sisoft Sandra. It's a diagnostic program that will list every single piece of hardware on your computer even if Windows doesn't recognise them. With that program you should be able to get the manufacturer's name and model name of your card.

I hope this can be helpful...

 

[c_canuk]

since you seem to have access to the internet, check out the vender's website...

ie if it's a dell you can search for drivers by service tag, and it will give you a driver based on your system build, or if it's out of warranty all the drivers applicable to that model. all venders provide this service.

Sig Op Geeks  method should work as well, I've used it for some pretty obscure hardware in the past.

 

[DarkFire]

If you still can't figure out your video card try using the gpu-z program. (just run a google search, also only NVIDIA and ATI cards are compatable) It'll run a quick auto-detect and it will tell you in detail what kind of video card you have. Just ignore most of the numbers and look for what brand the video card is. Then just follow one of the links that Kyu provided and you'll get the driver you need for the video card.

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Here are the steps to reverse a "system restore"

Reversing Restoration

  Boot into safe mode, go to help and follow the help screen and choose, "Fixing problems"
When you come to the new window choose "Using system restore to undo changes" then choose  "Undo my last restoration"  and follow the process. Once you finished this reboot your system and your system should have reverted back to your original configuration before you restored and everything should work again.

A note: If you want to build a restore point that will work use the "restore point wizard" in XP help. Its a good habit to get into.

Note:  If you have chosen the wrong restore date or have accidently restored, follow the steps under, "Undoing a Restoration".

 

[katawan]

If you still want to search online yourself try a program called Everest at Home by Lavalys. It will tell you exactly what you have set up in your computer for hardware.