Hi, My current graphics card as a nVida model. When I upgrade sometime next year, I will probably choose an ATI card. My question is - Will I need to just uninstall the nVidia Graphics drivers before installing the ATI drivers, or will I need to do a full system re-install? I'm asking this as I am wondering how good the nvidia graphics driver uninstall routine is and will whatever is - inevitably - left behind after the uninstall cause conflicts with the ATI driver?
Yes, just a nVidia graphics uninstall. I'm not sure how, since I don't have an nVidia, but I think its just start>control panel > add/remove programs > remove nVidia drivers. I'm sure theres more info on the nvidia site.
It is worth using something like Nasty File Remover or Driver Cleaner Pro to remove any files left over after the uninstall aswell. Unfortunately drivers tend to hang around like a bad smell if you just uninstall them.
It all depends on how thorough you want to be. You can just turn the machine off, swap cards, turn the machine on, install ati drivers, reboot, and be done - and everything will work fine. You can also do a full system rebuild and have everything clean. If you are very concerned about this sort of thing, then go ahead and do the rebuild. If you want to be somewhere in the middle, go ahead and uninstall as much as you can. Also, the hardware you see as 'connected' to your machine is different in safe mode.
I would recommend a total system re-install. Some people have problems after they remove JUST the drivers, such as 3D games don't run correctly, or a blank screen...etc.
Of course, there's no substitute for a full reinstall, but I regularly change drivers to and from without issue. Older drivers might cause a problem, but if you've got drivers from within the last 6-12 months, I don't think you'll have a problem.
If you've not screwed up your system enough to warrent a full re-install of windows at least once a year then you're not trying hard enough in my book joking aside, it always helps clear out the cruft, and windows will load in half the time...
I've swapped with just an uninstall and it's not a problem. Yes, a full reformat is best, but hardly necessary. Maybe it used to be a lot worse, but when I switched *quite* some time ago, it wasn't the slighest bit problematic. Though, on a different note... why? nVidia has a good lead right now. (please, just the starter of the thread answer this one, we hardly need another flamewar on the subject)
