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[®®®]

As of December 2004 we offer a seperate downloadable .NFO file to every driver release. I thought a short explanation of this file and the driver threads generally might be important for new members or passive readers:

Since early 2004 we list, describe and offer a discussion platform for every driver release in THIS SECTION of the forum. Each thread in here gives you an overview and details to a driver. This was done manually by us before: The driver files and the INF were analysed and important information was collected and posted in the driver thread. So it was and still is not a he-say-she-say or copy and paste, but driver information from the original source. Alternatively you can use the frontpage LaptopVideo2Go.com/drivers to get a 'quick and dirty' overview.

As of February 2006, we did a design change in our driver posting threads and following an updated template for new posts. We also updated some of the old posts.


Driver Thread Version Changelog
v2.0.0
- Removed scheme support
- Added MD5 numbers (this could get inaccurate)
- Changed main header (quickstart to bottom, added physx)
- Added languages and counts
- Added individual inf names and counts
- Removed comments section as was rarely used except in older drivers
- Moved NVIDIA release log and changes to information and listed as true/false (against rarely used).

v1.5.4
- Added preliminary ForceWare X scheme support.
- Moved thread version info back to left.
- Added Have-Disk method link next to setup files field if it is crossed.
- Removed benchmarks section.

v1.5.3
- Removed Mobile Support field.
- Removed New Control Panel field.
- Added (YYYY-MM-DD) info next to date.
- Links for have-disk method changed for Vista drivers.
- Renamed "Instructions on how to install drivers" in FAQ to "Have-disk method to install drivers".
- Modified titlebar scheme. Now XP drivers also have "XP" in the title.
- Modified ForceWare title to include operating system as well and changed colour.
- Thread version info moved to right.

v1.5.2
- Internal changes/fixes.

v1.5
- Added DoZe's HP Tablet PC INF.
- Added General FAQ link.
- Modified title bar scheme.
- Added Changelog/Release Notes field.
- Mobility icons also link to FMS thread.

v1.4.1
- Date format is changed from MM/DD/YYYY to YYYY-MM-DD.

v1.4
- Initial driver thread version numbering.
- Added LV2Go Recommended Drivers FAQ.
- Added Mobile Support field.
- Made some cleanup to Benchmarks section.


In a driver release thread, the first thing you will see at the top is driver version in the title. Right beneath it you can have access to driver-related links. They are as follows and one or more may not be available depending on the driver;

Driver : This is the link to the unmodified driver pack on our server and is the same you'll find at the frontpage of LaptopVideo2Go.com. Sometimes we have the impression that people think we host different drivers at the frontpage and in here. That's not the case. We are hosting and packing each driver we find with the best compression methods to keep your (and ours as well) bandwidth happy. Just click the link to download driver files, in 7-Zip compressed .exe format. They are self-extracting archive so you do not need any other software to extract them.

Modded INF : This is the Modded INF by Pieter. If you want to learn more about Modded INFs, read this thread. New design does not offer you tweaked INFs for performance or quality since they can be obtained by using Enhancer (explained below). This is what you need to modify drivers. If your browser opens it instead of asking you to save, just right click and select 'Save Target As..' or similiar options to save it on your computer.

Driver NFO : The new .NFO file further improves our effort to bring you all and every NVIDIA driver officially released, leaked or found by us in other ways. It provides detailed information about each driver release which is recorded in one single, small .NFO file (usually around 5kb). Use the attached ###### NFO Viewer to view generally all .NFO files as they are intended to be shown. This small little tool has 3 built in fonts which support the correct display of .NFO files and besides that show the links to the Original INF and 7-Zipped driver we added to the NFO file like in a browser and clickable. As we did not include any graphics the .NFO file can alternatively also be opened and read with Notepad (use fixed font size like Courier or Fixedays), however you can't click on the links and don't have customizable color). Example NFO is shown below.

INF Enhancer : There are some solutions to common problems and some more tweaks available by using INF Enhancer (only for XP/2000 32bit drivers) which can be accessed by clicking the INF Enhancer link. Clicking this will take you to Enhancer page and select the appropriate driver, but if driver is not in the database it will select latest added file. Performance and Quality INFs are also offered here.

3D Stereo Drivers : If there is 3D Stereo Driver released for this driver, it will be posted under this link.

Quickstart Guide : If you are here to update your nVidia-based graphics card but do not know where/how to start, this Forceware Updater's Quickstart Installation Guide is to help you.


Right under this menu, you will see information about driver as follows;

Operating System: Operating system that driver is for. Usually they are; Windows XP / 2000
Windows XP (x64)
Windows Vista / LH
Windows Vista / LH (x64)
Windows NT4 SP6
Windows 9x / ME
Linux
Linux (x64)
Driver Version: Version of the driver.
Driver Date: Date of the driver as stated in default INF.
Driver Size: Size of the compressed driver pack we host.
Driver Released by: Brand that released/leaked the driver. It could be either nVidia itself or other manufacturers like MSI, Leadtek, Dell ...
MS WHQL Certificate: A tick is shown if default drivers have MS WHQL Certificate. Otherwise, there will be cross.
Setup Files Included: A tick is shown if drivers have Setup files for easy driver installation. Otherwise, there will be cross and you will need to install the driver manually by using 'Have Disk...' method.
International Files: A tick is shown if drivers support multilanguage installation. Otherwise, there will be cross.
New Control Panel: A tick is shown if drivers have new Control Panel. Otherwise, there will be cross.
Mobile Support: A related icon is shown if driver supports PowerMizer, MultiView or TV-Out for the most of the laptop. If the field is n/a driver either doesn't support them or its yet unknown/undecided.

You can find most of those information in NFO file.

Changelog/Release Notes field lists any known changelog and release notes for the driver.

Documents field lists any pdf documents released for the driver.

Support field lists links to common FAQ about driver/INF/installation and links to INFs for specific computers.

Benchmarks field lists some bechmarks of drivers with different computers.



- Here's an example NFO of driver v71.22:

 _linenums:0'>[font="Courier"][size=1]::                               ::   <a href="http://www.LaptopVideo2Go.com" target="_blank">http://www.LaptopVideo2Go.com</a>   LV2Go Driver Information file:: ----------------------------- ::   version: v71.22   date   : 10.01.2005   time   : 14:26:13,82::                               ::=================================== [Check for odd files inside driver]===================================memtest.dllmsicpl.dllmsicpl.sysmsiuins.exenvapi9x.dllnvclock.dllnvgpio.dllvgauti.syswinsys.exe::=================================== [NVIDIA Driver detail (YYYYMMDD)]===================================[WHQL certification]not certified::[INF details]nv4_disp.inf    * filedate 20041216nvam.inf        * filedate 20041209nvan.inf        * filedate 20041209nvat.inf        * filedate 20041209nvch.inf        * filedate 20041209nvcp.inf        * filedate 20041209nvct.inf        * filedate 20041209nvdm.inf        * filedate 20041209nvec.inf        * filedate 20041209nvfl.inf        * filedate 20041209nvfm.inf        * filedate 20041209nvgm.inf        * filedate 20041209nvhb.inf        * filedate 20041209nvhm.inf        * filedate 20041209nvil.inf        * filedate 20041209nviv.inf        * filedate 20041209nvlm.inf        * filedate 20041209nvmm.inf        * filedate 20041209nvmt.inf        * filedate 20041209nvmv.inf        * filedate 20041209nvmy.inf        * filedate 20041209nvqu.inf        * filedate 20041209nvsh.inf        * filedate 20041209nvsm.inf        * filedate 20041209nvsz.inf        * filedate 20041209nvtq.inf        * filedate 20041209nvts.inf        * filedate 20041209nvtw.inf        * filedate 20041209nvuw.inf        * filedate 20041209nvwi.inf        * filedate 20041209::[nv4_disp.dll details]filetime 71100 * filedate 20041209::[nvoglnt.dll details]filetime 180204 * filedate 20041213::[NVIDIA Driver Setup included?]YES::[MultiLanguage/languages supported]- English                *default*- Arabic                 supported- Czech                  supported- Danish                 supported- German                 supported- Greek                  supported- UK English             supported- Spanish                supported- Latin American Spanish supported- Finnish                supported- French                 supported- Hewbrew                supported- Hungarian              supported- Italian                supported- Japanese               supported- Korean                 supported- Dutch                  supported- Norwegian              supported- Polish                 supported- Iberian Portuguese     supported- Portuguese Brazilian   supported- Russian                supported- Slovak                 supported- Slovenian              supported- Swedish                supported- Thai                   supported- Turkish                supported- Simplified Chinese     supported- Traditional Chinese       ---   ::===================================     [Driver packing details]===================================7-ZIP pack start time:  14:26:42,417-ZIP pack end time  :  14:31:29,39::7-ZIP test start time:  14:31:29,457-ZIP test end time  :  14:31:39,83::===================================    [Driver Uploading details]===================================FTP Upload start time:  14:31:46,77FTP Upload end   time:  14:31:46,77::===================================      [INF Uploading details]      ===================================FTP Upload start time:  14:31:57,47FTP Upload end   time:  14:31:57,47::===================================  [Driver Size / Download Links]===================================[Original driver]200 files, 31833504 bytes::[7-ZIPPED driver]7122.exe = 14965931 bytes<a href="http://download.laptopvideo2go.com/nvidia/70series/7122.exe" target="_blank">http://download.laptopvideo2go.com/nvidia/70series/7122.exe</a><a href="http://download.laptopvideo2go.com/nvidia/70series/7122.nfo" target="_blank">http://download.laptopvideo2go.com/nvidia/70series/7122.nfo</a>::[Original INF(s)]<a href="http://laptopvideo2go.com/infs/70series/7122inf/ori...7122_inf(s).zip" target="_blank">http://laptopvideo2g...71...7122_inf(s).zip</a>::===================================::                               ::   driver processed and uploaded:: ----------------------------- ::   done by NVAIO v3.070/®®®::                               ::eof

Any question or suggestion are welcome.

(120+17DLs)

Attached Files

•  DAMN_NFO_Viewer_v2.10.zip   129.25K   1881 downloads

Edited by Teraphy, 26 July 2009 - 06:29 PM.
updated link to frontpage driver page (due to revamp)

[sn0wl]

Template used for most of 70 series and below;

A unique feature are the Known Issues and Issues Resolved paragraphs. It's kind of a changelog to each driver, collected from the official NVIDIA release notes or researched by us.

The Opinion and Benchmark part is naturally the most important part to each driver release as it provides a comparison chart to get an impression of how each driver is performing generally. This is done by Larry, veteran member and moderator here at LaptopVideo2go and creator of a highly specialized DELL 5150/60 INF. Of course the benchmarks were done on the same machine to have an exact comparison.
Reading Larry's opinion would be the next step and is a must in my opinion as it's not a copy and pasted text from other websites, but unique words of wisdom.

The last part of each driver thread is the download section, where after reading and deciding that this driver is great or better be left alone you'll find all links you need to install the driver on your Laptop or Desktop PC:
- The driver link (Black) links to the xxxx.exe on our server and is the same you'll find at the frontpage of laptopvideo2go.com. Sometimes i have the impression, that people think we host different drivers at the frontpage and in here. That's not the case.
- Next you'll see Pieter's mobile INF (this is the regular INF which support all Laptops and additionally also has all Desktop card support, i choose color green, because it gives hope to Laptop users ). Sometimes a "Performance INF" and a "NoTweaks" is offered. The "Performance INF" should be used by the fearless and OC or generally people who know how to troubleshoot their computer. The "NoTweaks INF" is another service we offer, and might be interesting to use for those people who suffer issues with the regular mobile INF. By using the "NoTweaks INF", it should be possible to determine if the Driver itself lacks of support or if a hard to find special setting is needed for the Laptop.
- Last but not least are some more usefull links like Teraphy's PHP INF (black) enhancement page, which is based on Pieter's mobile INF, but you can add seperate selectable Tweaks and Fixes (originally the Toshiba BlackBar issues could be solved here, that's why color black ).
A link to Larry's DELL optimized INF (blue) should not be forgotten and also not to NVLiTE (for advanced users), which is a tool that rips out NVIDIA Setup files, miscelleanous unneeded files and all languages except the one you use. This saves quite some space at international driver releases (50MB->10MB) in your System32 and Help directory as only the files will get installed you really need. You can select what you want to rip out and after that a compression (Setup or Windows DeviceManager will still be able to install the files without further user intervention) of the drivers is offered.

The copy & pasting of supported GPUs from the INF (as seen in most other forums) to a driver thread is not needed and we stopped that in the middle of 2004 as we offer an INF which supports all GPUs thanks to Pieter. However sometimes when a mobile driver is released i will paste the supported mobile GPUs for search engine reasons. All really important information about a driver is not found in the long list of DeviceIDs and GPU names, so i see no reason why to do that. Besides that it makes the thread ugly and unreadable

The new .NFO file further improves our effort to bring you all and every NVIDIA driver officially released, leaked or found by us in other ways. It provides detailed informations about each driver release which is recorded in one single, small .NFO file (usually around 5kb). Use the attached ###### NFO Viewer to view generally all .NFO files as they are intended to be shown. This small little tool has 3 built in fonts which support the correct display of .NFO files and besides that show the links to the Original INF and 7-Zipped driver we added to the NFO file like in a browser and clickable. As i did not include any graphics the .NFO file can alternatively also be opened and read with Notepad (use fixed font size like Courier or Fixedsys), however you can't click on the links and don't have custumizable color ).