Wierd issue with new graphics card (for Battlefield)

[gulhare]

My partners computer didnt handle Battlefield too well, mostly due to the graphics card. He bought a new one, updated drivers and Battlefield began to...crash, give odd error messages (your graphics card has no memory and such) and generally make him miserable and unable to play.

Recently he discovered that the driver doesnt "save". So in order to play, he have to download the drivers every single time he start his PC!
He refuse to send it to the excellent (pricey) shop I use, because it "works now"....
I thought, hey maybeee some computer-literate superperson will have an idea about what is going on with his machine?

So Im asking, does anyone have any idea about what might be the issue? Or will I have to steal his PC and ship it to my buddies :rolleyes: at the shop?

Edit: He bought a GeForce GTX570 if thats needed info ;)

[ellacharmed]

Is this a Desktop or Laptop with switchable graphics?
Is the replaced card the exact same brand & model? Cleared the games caches and whatnot?

How was the driver update done? Via Nvidia Control Panel, Windows Updates, manual download from Nvidia site; and beta or official release version...what?

Is the version changed at all?
Try uninstalling the driver first manually in Control Panel and then rebooting into Safe Mode and double-clicking the executable from there (download it first obviously while not in Safe Mode).
Don't ever use Windows Updates to update drivers.
And the Nvidia Control Panel actually has the option to restore to default drivers - just like doing it in Safe Mode. But if that was the way it was done before, means that is also all corrupted now (maybe) and a manual Safe Mode is the next thing to try.

[gulhare]

Thank you!

Its a desktop (3 year old gaming computer from Komplett.se) and the old graphics card was nVidia GeForce8800GTX.
He put in the new card and installed, then I think he updated through windows update the first time, but now he use nvidias homepage and download the update "for battlefield" every day. Im fairly sure its the official version.
I think it was the third time that he had the "there is a new update for your card" message (at nvidias place) that he became suspicious, so he noted the number and his current driver when the PC is started is always the original one (shipped with the card).
I doubt very much that he uninstalled the old card drivers before he put in the new, could this be a problem?

I wonder what Safe-Mode is?
He will ask so I need to be able to explain this uninstalling business.He is on Vista and as I stubbornly use XP I cant really help him with his computer that much. Should he save the download from nvidia and then install it after a restart? Not install directly?
I dont think he have used the restore default drivers option, perhaps we can try that first. I just need him to be in a good mood so he wont explode on me :D

[ajaxsirius]

Yes, not uninstalling old drivers can still cause problems. I think this changing, but I would definitely recommend doing so.

Safe-Mode is windows loading without a bunch of components such as networking and drivers. Generally there are a few system components that you can't uninstall while windows is running because they are in-use. So starting in safe-mode will allow you to uninstall them because they aren't loaded.

To start safe-mode in Vista, press the F8 key once after you hear the first beep or beeps but before you see the windows logo. (source (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Start-your-computer-in-safe-mode))

If he already downloaded the Nvidia drivers then he might not need to redownload them. They should be located at C:\Nvidia\. If you're unsure, just re-download them.

I read the release notes for the latest nvidia official drivers (285.62), and they say NOT to use windows rollback for graphic drivers. "Instead, use the Windows Add and Remove programs to remove the current driver, and the install the older driver using setup.exe"

Also, as far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with battlefield 3 + driver 285.62, so I'd recommed using the official release instead of beta drivers.

So try what ellacharm3d said, download appropriate drivers first, go into safe-mode, uninstall old drivers using Add or Remove Programs in the control panel (not device manager), then install new drivers, then reboot into normal mode. Post back if anything doesn't work like you expect it to.