Aspire 5935g graphics upgrade - driver problems

Hi folks.

I recently bought a GTS 250M from MXM-Upgrade to replace the ATI 4570 in my laptop but now I'm unable to get it installed properly. I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate x64. The bios is set to AHCI & discrete graphics mode, if I set it to IDE I get a bluescreen & insta-reboot before Windows starts up.

The guide reccommends using modded drivers from laptopvideo2go.com. First I tried installing a few official Nvidia drivers but they hit a brick wall at the start of installation because they don't detect/recognise the card. Using a modded .INF file lets the installer work.

Once a driver is installed Windows will boot up to the desktop fine, but it freezes as soon as I try to open anything, goes to a black screen, then BSODs. Everything looks fine - 1480x700, Aero theme, etc - but it dies when I try to run any programs or open explorer.

Right now I'm running in low-res VGA mode (default display drivers, I uninstalled the Nvidia drivers) on the Nvidia card, not the Intel adapter, so it does seem to be physically OK. Is it just a case of trying every driver til one works, or is there something else I need to do before it'll work?

 

Hey man, it can be tricky to get it set up at first.

You need to clear all drivers in safe mode and try fresh.

IDE mode will be crashing because your OS in installed in AHCI mode. If you swap over then it will always just blue screen.

 

Ah just the man I was hoping would reply! I'll give that a shot, cheers.

Thanks very much for your work on the guide btw, I'd have been too anxious to crack open the laptop without it.

 

Heh man, I got it to work.

I am having difficulty remembering exactly what to do. But it did all kick off.

 

Aaaaargh.

Right, I've just done a fresh install of Windows 7, installed the latest modded Nvidia drivers, and I'm still getting BSOD when I open any windows. Any ideas?

Could it be a broken card? It was packed astonishingly badly for an expensive bit of electronics - stuffed in a thin bubblewrap sleeve in an unsealed cardboard envelope.

 

So you have the drivers installed and it boots up fine, but when you try and open a 3d window it crashes? Or even just open a folder? That sounds like a dodgy card to me.

 

Update - just tried installing Win7 32 bit instead of 64 bit, downloaded 260.99 from Nvidia's website & applied the .INF patch - success!

Now to see if 260.99 works on 64 bit...

 

Ah that's good.

I want benches when it's all up and running!

=)