The key to making sure a game will work on your computer involves confirming that your computer hardware and software meet the game's minimum requirements. In this vein, the software drivers used to operate your video and sound cards must be up-to-date.
Follow these instructions to check for, download, and install new or updated drivers:
Part One - Launch the DirectX Diagnostic tool.
Note: This will bring up the DirectX Diagnostic tool, which will give you a comprehensive report of the hardware and drivers in your computer.
If you have Microsoft Windows XP:
- Click the Start button on the Windows Taskbar.
- Select Run.
- Type dxdiag in the available text field.
- Click OK.
- Go to Part Two below.
If you have Windows Vista and do not have a Run selection:
- Right click the menu bar and select Properties.
- Click the Start Menu tab.
- Click the Customize Button.
- In the upper window, scroll down until you see the Run command and click the correlating check box.
- Click OK.
- Click Start.
- Click Run.
- Type dxdiag into the text field and click OK.
- Go to Part Two below.
Part Two - Identify your hardware.
System - you can determine the following basic computer information by clicking on the System tab.
- Processor - The type of processor you have, as well as its speed, listed in megahertz or gigahertz.
- Memory - The amount of RAM (random access memory) in megabytes or gigabytes.
- DirectX Version - Shows the current version of DirectX on your computer (the version of DirectX is a key requirement in making sure all in-game features are enabled).
Display - you can determine your device, driver, and features by clicking on the Display tab.
Device
Driver
- Version - The version number and language of the driver installed for your video card. This is important in determining if you have the most up-to-date drivers installed.
- Date - Not necessarily an important field. However, it's a good indicator for determining if it's time to update your drivers.
DirectX Features- DirectDraw Acceleration - This feature controls your 2d graphics abilities and needs to be enabled for any game to run on your computer.
- Direct3D Acceleration - This feature controls your 3d graphics abilities and needs to be enabled for games requiring a 3d graphics card to run.
- AGP Texture Acceleration - This feature may not be available if you do not have an AGP video card (PCI or PCIe cards, etc.). Regardless, it is not essential to proper operation.
Sound - you can determine your sound device, driver, and features on the Sound tab
- Device Name - The common name for your audio device, most commonly the name of the device as it is sold in stores.
- Default Device - If more than one audio device is installed in your computer, this will allow you to determine if the one you are looking at is the one being used by games.
- Driver Version - The version number and language of the driver installed for your sound card. This is important in determining whether you have the most recent drivers installed.
- Date - Not necessarily an important field; however, it's a good indicator for determining if it's time to update your drivers.
- Features Hardware Sound Acceleration Level -The hardware acceleration slider will determine if advanced audio features are used when launching a DirectX application.
Find and download the latest drivers.
It's a good idea to always make sure your drivers are up to date. Now that you are aware of how to check your drivers and their status, you will want to do a comparison against the manufacturer's website and what the DirectX Diagnostic tool shows you. Once you've done that comparison, you'll be able to quickly download and verify that you've updated your drivers correctly.
Identify - The first thing you want to do is identify your Video and Sound card from the DirectX Diagnostic tool.
- Type & Name
- On the Display and Sound Tab, you will want to use the Chip Type area to determine the manufacturer of the chip, as their drivers are the most commonly supported and tested throughout the industry.
- Should that field not have anything listed, you can use the Name field to determine the common card name which is the next best thing.
- Once you've identified the card, you'll want to check if there are any updates available.
- Select the driver page for your video and sound card manufacturer from the lists provided below.
Note: The links below should take you directly to the driver page; all you need to do is find the correct driver for your video card and operating system.
Compare
- On the driver page, every driver should be marked by a date; you will want to compare this date to the date listed on the Display and Sound tab in the DirectX Diagnostic tool.
- If the date on the driver page is more recent than what DirectX shows, you'll want to update your drivers.
Note: Should no driver date be listed on the web site, it's best to download the latest drivers available from the web site to make sure you have the newest software installed.
- Download - Now that you're ready to download and install the new drivers, there are a few things you want to be aware of:
- Make sure that when you click on the link to initiate the download that you choose 'Save' rather than 'Open' when presented with the option.
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Warning: Choosing 'Open' will attempt to install the driver directly from the driver website; should your Internet connection be interrupted during the install, your drivers will not install properly and can cause you other system issues.
- Once you've chosen ' Save', you'll want to designate an easy-to-find location to download the driver to.
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Note: A good idea is to save the driver to your Desktop so that you an easily install it and delete it once the install is completed.
- Now that the driver is downloaded, you'll want to install it. Most drivers are simple executables, requiring you to only double-click on the file to start the installation.
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Note: Should the driver not be an executable, please refer to the driver page for instructions on how to install them.
Common Video Manufacturer Sites:
Common Sound Manufacturer Sites:
Install and verify your new drivers.
Now that your drivers are installed, you'll want to verify that the system is recognizing them properly. To verify that the driver has been installed, compare the date listed on the Display and Sound tab in the DirectX Diagnostic tool to the date listed on the driver website.
- If they match, your drivers are updated.
- If they do not match, you will want to repeat the previous section until the date displays correctly. If you have to install drivers again, be sure to uninstall the previous installation before beginning another.
