Corrupt Display Driver

My old (6 or 7 y/o) computer is on its last legs and I'd like to make it last until I return to USA this summer. It's a HP running Win XP and the NVIDIA Display Driver is currupt. About once every 2 or 3 days it has a system failure, runs okay after reboot. Maybe too much junk on the hard drive as well taking up too much RAM? I tried downloading a new Display Driver from the web site and it froze the computer. Any other suggestions, besides make sure I have a good backup? Also, assuming I end up having to purchahse a new comp in next few weeks, what do you recommend right now? Need something very much on a budget, only run basic office software at home (PP, excel, MS Word, picture editing, common internet browsers). But would like to upgrade to CD-RW. Assume also I should purchase new peripherals even though the ones I have work fine w/ this comp???

have someone else download the new driver for you then all you need to do is install - I got a Sony DVD-RW that handles the various DVD formats "out there"

In the short term, have you tried clearing some of the junk off your hard drive and checking the disk for errors? As a last resort, you may be able to use one of the generic Windows video drivers just to keep you going.


If you do need to buy a new computer, my recommendation would be to spend as much money as you can possibly afford. The more you spend now, the longer it will be before you need to spend more money upgrading. Don't try to reuse the peripherals - they may not work properly with your new motherboard and you will spend lots of time pulling your hair out. Try to think ahead - what might you be doing with the computer next year? The new version of Windows will be out sometime soon (ha ha) - if you think you may want to upgrade, make sure your computer will be able to handle it. Picture editing - I use Photoshop to edit my pictures, and they're 6MB files, so RAM and disk space are a consideration. Backups - if you take a lot of digital photos you will want to back up to DVD as CD-ROMs will be too small. Also, some software comes on DVD these days. Do you plan to play any games - you will need a good video card and sound card. Sorry I can't recommend any specific brands, I don't know what's available in Guangzhou, and I generally don't buy brand-name computers anyway.


Hope this helps.

Yes, very helpful, both of you! Will do everything you suggest! When I bought this comp it was the latest and greatest and that really worked well. I mean the fact that it's about seven years old and still runs new programs etc. The display driver is the first problem it's ever had. I did mean to say DVD-RW -- am showing my age there to say I needed CD-RW (which this comp has!). Right now I'm backing up to an external hard drive. Actually, I only keep copies of data files since I purchase all legal programs and can reload those any time.