How To Update ATi / Nvidia Mobility Driver
Years before, I use to have a workstation laptop (ASUS) that doesn’t get driver updates / firmware support anymore – especially the system GPUs. So, I have to look for alternatives and update my ‘ATi Mobility GPU’ to the latest version. For more details, please follow my tutorial and keep your system kicking!
What You NEED!
- MSXML 6.0 Service Pack 1 (Core XML Services) – Important!
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=6276
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=3988
- Net.Framework 3.5 (SP1 + Full Package)
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=25150
- Net.Framework 4 (Standalone) – Recommended for Windows7 64bit / 32bit
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17718
Notes: if you are using Windows XP, Vista OR Windows 7, you must install “Net.Framework & MSXML Services” first!
1.] Disable UAC (User Account Control Settings)
- Click Start >> Search >> Type: UAC >> Select: “Change User Account Control Settings”.
2.] Move the slider towards: “Never notify” and hit OK!
3.] Reboot Your System!
4.] Direct yourself to Nvidia / ATi website (official) and select your desire driver that provides similar functions to your Mobility GPUs.
ATi – http://amd.com
Nvidia – http://nvidia.com
5.] Direct yourself to “Hardware Heaven” website and select Nvidia / ATi Mod Tool.
However, please download ‘Net.Framework & MSXML Services’ first if you haven’t done it yet!
Driver Heaven ATi MOD - http://www.hardwareheaven.com/modtool.php
Driver Heaven Nvidia MOD - http://www.hardwareheaven.com/nvmodtool.php
6.] Create a separate directory and extract your “Mod Tools” for installation OR execution.
7.] Execute ATi / Nvidia drivers (compressed package) and let it extract the contents.
However, please avoid installing the official driver!
8.] Execute ‘Mod Tools’ and direct yourself to these directories…
ATi Driver: “C:\ATI\SUPPORT\*Driver Version*”
Nvidia Driver: “C:\NVIDIA\*Windows Version*\*Driver Version*”
- If you are running Windows 7, please modify that directory only!
9.] Modify the official driver and execute ‘Setup.exe’ as admin rights. But, please ignore “WHQL Certified” (Warning) and continue normally.
10.] Reboot Your System!
How to create ‘Elevated Command Prompt’ Shortcut
This tutorial will show you how to create a shortcut (elevated command prompt) with administrator rights. However, you must be logged in as an ADMIN to use this shortcut!
1.] Right click on your desktop and create a NEW shortcut.
2.] Type this ‘source’ (location) and continue.
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe
Notes: change the drive’s letter if your “OS Partition” is located somewhere else!
3.] Give your NEW shortcut a name, for example: “elevated cmd” and hit Finish.
4.] Now, right click on your shortcut, select “Properties” and look for “Shortcut” tabs.
You should find this button pretty easily: “Advanced”.
5.] Select this box: “Run as administrator” and hit OK.
From now on, you can use “Elevated Command Prompt” with Administrative rights, instead of using Windows default CMD.
Copyrighted By Lair360
Vol 12 – Optimizing SSD Drive
For those who make use of SSD technology (Solid State Drive), then please read this article carefully to avoid performance issue and frustration.
Disable MS Defrag – Auto Schedule
SSD technology doesn’t require defragmentation. They can also allocate files by themselves pretty well. This is because, they are designed like ‘USB Memory’ which doesn’t have rotational – spin and move like crazy at 7200 RPM. Even worse, you may upset your “indexing system’ and wearing its lifespan without notice.
1.] Click Start >> Search: Run >> Type: dfrgui.exe and hit ENTER.
2.] Wait for ‘MS Defrag’ to appear and select: “Configure Schedule” OR “Modify Schedule”.
3.] Deselect this box: “Run on a schedule (Recommended)”, accept the changes and close “MS Disk Defragment”.
SSD drive doesn’t even need defragment!
Set Disk Defragment (Services) to Manual
Disabling ‘disk defragment’ is NOT a good approach, as it may spit back errors and cause problems after reboot. So, to solve this issue, you will need to set “Disk Defragmenter (Services)” to Manual.
1.] Click Start >> Right Click: My Computer >> Manage >> Services and Applications >> Services
2.] Locate this process and set it to ‘Manual’ operation.
Services (process): Disk Defragmenter
3.] Reboot your system!
Disable Hibernation (CMD Prompt)
This option will deactivate system hibernation, remove “hiberfil.sys” and prevent Hybrid Sleep (Power Option).
1.] Execute CMD Console (Elevated Command Console).
2.] Type this command and hit ENTER. If you want to flip the switch, just do the opposite. (See my thumbnail below)
powercfg -h off (Disable Hibernation)
powercfg -h on (Enable Hibernation)
3.] Exit CMD Console.
Disable Hibernation (Registry MOD)
This procedure will disable hibernation by editing your system ‘registry’. However, to perform this task properly, you will need ‘Administrator’ credential to modify any registry profile.
1.] Click Start >> Search: Run >> Type: regedit
2.] Locate this directory, look for ‘HibernateEnabled’ and deactivate it. However, please don’t remove it from your registry!
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power
String Type: DWORD
Value Name: HibernateEnabled
Value (disable): 0
Value (enable): 1
3.] Reboot your system!
Disable ‘Superfetch’ (Windows 7 / Vista)
Superfetch does look great and helpful if you are NOT a heavy user like me. But, it sure does KNOW HOW to strangle system memory!
1.] Click Start >> Right Click: My Computer >> Manage >> Services and Applications >> Services
2.] Locate this process and “Disable” it – celetape it against the wall if you want…
Services (process): Superfetch
3.] Reboot your system!
Copyrighted By Lair360
How to Update Bios (Gigabyte) using Q-FLASH!
For those who use Gigabyte motherboard, please take a look at this tutorial and read carefully. But, for those who are not familiar with the procedure. STOP and consult your problems with a professional!
1.] Direct yourself to Gigabyte’s official website and download the correct ‘Bios Revision’ for your motherboard.
2.] Extract the latest ‘Bios’ into a NEW folder. After that, you must reformat your USB devices as ‘FAT32 / FAT16’ and transfer everything to the root directory (USB Drive).
Download: HP Reformat Tool (USB)
3.] Reboot your system and hit ‘DEL’ to access Bios Menu. From this point, you must reset everything as default.
Notes: updating your Bios with a configured / over-clocked settings, you could end-up with a dead system or corrupted Bios! So, please listen to me and reset everything as default!
4.] Save & Exit Bios configuration.
5.] At boot sequence (Post), please hit ‘END’ to access ‘Q-Flash’. When you see a blue dialogue box, you may also want to backup your current Bios file.
It’s your computer, your decision! Don’t blame me!
6.] Locate the latest ‘Bios’ from a USB drive and hit ENTER to Flash your Bios to the latest revision. However, please don’t touch your keyboard / mouse or switch off your computer! It may brick your motherboard!
7.] When you are finish, reboot your computer and press ‘DEL’ to load optimized configuration (Load Optimized Defaults).
8.] You are Done!
Notes: if you are an over-clocker / heavy gamer, please write down your current ‘Bios’ configuration and keep it safe. You will need it…
What is bootsqm.dat?
This file will only appear on your system if you are running any application that requires “chkdsk (Disk Check)”. After the initial task, you may delete ‘bootsqm.dat’ from your system. Nevertheless, it would be better if you hide this file from view. It’s safer and you don’t have to remove it from your system.
Notes: this file doesn’t duplicate itself after deletion, because, it’s not required by the system. But, it will only appear when you are running another application which requires “chkdsk (Disk Check)”.
Copyrighted By Lair360
