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Larry's INFs for Dell 5150/5160


LSudlow

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Tip for EverQuest 2 on your 5150. You can load any texture as long as you put Complex Shader rendering to -1. The game still looks great, you just don't the shading or the specular lighting. For that, get a new laptop :)

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Guest Virtuoso

hey larry,

I used your modded infs and I have trouble using the nView mode.

btw. can you tell me how to uninstall your drivers?

everytime I go to system properties>device manager and try to uninstall the video drivers it always give the reply that the com cannot uninstall the drivers because it is required to boot up the system. what gives?

and I can't find the nvidia drivers uninstall in the control panel> add/remove programs tab as well.

Help!!!

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Hi... We need more details: Which driver and inf are you using? And what trouble are you having with nView?

Without anything else to go on, it sounds like you may have settings from multiple drivers conflicting with each other. Normally the solution is to uninstall via the Windows Control Panel, then reinstall with your preferred driver and inf, but if you can't do that, try the following:

First, double-check that you can't uninstall under Add/Remove Programs in the Windows Control Panel. The driver should show up as "NVIDIA Drivers" unless something has messed up the installation. If it's not there, then install Dell's latest 5150 driver. That should repair the Control Panel entry, which will allow you to uninstall it. Then just reboot and and install your choice of drivers.

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Since games are starting to nag about old drivers, I am curious if simply changing the driver version and date in the inf file, but still using the older drivers, will fool the game? I upgraded to 78.01 because of this but have been having problems with freezing during movie playback to TV. (Blue screen and nv4_disp error)

I am willing to experiment but would rather ask if it has already been tried b4 I go to the trouble.

Also, why does everyone down the go5200 as a gaming chip? I and two others use Inspirons with this chip at lan parties. We play BF1942, HL2 & Source, UT2004, QT3 and never have performance issues. It plays and looks as good as my FX5600 128 DDR on a 2.8 P4....

L8R!

Stephen in TN

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You can try changing the version number in the inf and see if it works. I suspect the game is looking for new functionality though, which is only available in the later drivers. See if you can get away with 72.14. It's a good driver for the 5150 and may be new enough for gaming.

The speed problem isn't with the 5200 itself. Running it at full speed with 128MB of RAM on a standalone card, it's a pretty good chip. But running it at 200mhz (because of heat and power requirements) with only 64MB of RAM, it's a total dog. 3DMark05 scores are only around 200 when today's DX9 games need at least 1200 or so.

Despite that, I still use it successfully for a lot of games. I just reduce the settings until I get a decent framerate.

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I dropped back to the 67.77 drivers to see if it would work. The games pull and report the version number from a file other than the inf. It has been a while since I moved up to 78.01 but I do recall two other issues that prompted me to upgrade from 67.77. I was getting artifacts in HL2 and when the LCD panel would blank out the only way to get it back on was to suspend/resume. I have since reinstalled the OS (Had to get a warranty replacement hard drive from Dell) and moved from XP Home to XP Pro, so I will see if 67.77 works for me now.

Thanks for taking the time to do this for all of us!

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  • 2 weeks later...

December 12, 2005 update:

- Removed SLI option that the Go5200 is incapable of.

- Using a much improved NV_Modes line that supplies all available resolutions with much less clutter.

- Minor updates throughout to keep current with the latest changes from nvidia.

As always, please let me know if anything doesn't work correctly.

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Guest DarthCake

Hi LSudlow,

I'm now using 77.77 whit Pieter's INF version 30.76. I would like to install 81.95, what INF file do i need for it?

Can i use your nv4_disp.inf and changing the version number of it?

(My pc specs are the same as yours.)

Thx,

DarthCake

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You should use the new nv4_80_disp.inf that I'm attaching to this post. I'm also adding it to the first post in this thread.

Let me know if you have any trouble with it.

nv4_80_disp.inf

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Guest DarthCake

Hi,

The installation of 81.95 whit your new INF .

I have run a few 3D Mark 03 tests:

Scores:

67.42 dell drivers (i think) score = 1237

77.70 with Pieter's INF version 30.76 (idd, 77.70 not 77.77 :) ) score = 1217

81.95 with nv4_80_disp.inf score = 1007

It seems i got a big preformance lose with the new drivers??

So i'm back using the 77.70 driver, but what driver version (+inf) can i use best for gaming?

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You've discovered the problem with recent drivers. Everything in the 7x and 8x range runs much slower on the i5150 and i5160 than drivers in the 6x series do. I use driver 67.66 and highly recommend it. In fact, it almost seems designed for the Go5200. Unless you need a newer driver to solve a game compatibility problem, give it a try.

If you do need something more recent, try 72.14. It's the last driver to fully support the PowerMizer features of the Go5200 and is a pretty nice driver - just not as fast as 67.66.

Use my nv4_disp.inf with it, not the nv4_80_disp you used with 81.95.

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Tried 81.95 and 72.14 with Vista 5270 and modded INFs. The drivers installed fine, but the glass effects never showed up. Do you know if you have to do anything funny to enable the glass effects? Maybe there is something different with the new build, too.

Thanks!

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All you can do is make sure "Glass Effects" is enabled in Display Properties\Appearance. If that doesn't work, then 5270 may be different.

I won't get a chance to install it until next week, but when I do I'll try to figure out what we can do.

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*PROBLEM*

Hello,

The only drivers I've found are the 81.98 ones and have used those in conjuction with two of the INFs' you've made. (nv4_PMX_disp.inf and NV_80_Disp.inf) (tried them seperatly of course, I reinstalled the drivers twice)

I have a big problem though. Whenever I'm playing video, and I mouse over something or right click to see a menu, the system lags and eventually crashes. I have an Inspiron 5150. I just formatted my PC and was hoping to use these drivers.

Playing back video is fine, and I don't have any problems for general computing. I DID notice something though; I went and disabled all of the "apperance" effects (Control Pannel, System, Advanced Tab, Visual effects) and when I played back a video right clicking for a menu DID NOT cause lag.

Other than that, I ran Windows Update a couple of times (prior to installing the drivers) and there shoudn't be any conflicts with other drivers. I will install DELL drivers for the moment and await your answer.

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Does this only happen with the 8x drivers? (Try 72.14 with nv4_HV_disp.inf and see if it behaves differently.)

Also, are you using Windows Media Player, or is this with a different video player? Thanks!

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Does this only happen with the 8x drivers? (Try 72.14 with nv4_HV_disp.inf and see if it behaves differently.)

Also, are you using Windows Media Player, or is this with a different video player? Thanks!

I installed the drivers above and have the exact same problem. The good news? I found out why. I don't know how to fix it, but here are my findings:

1-I opened a VOB file in Nero Showtime and it slows down when you mouse over or right click menu..

2-Then I cracked open an XviD in WMP, and it worked. BUT WAIT! In WMP, I go Tools--> Options--> Performance --> Advanced. If Use Video Mixer Renderer is checked with Use Overlays, no problem. However, if Use High Quality Mode is checked, that's when the problems start. Nero Showtime must automatically use this High Quality mode... and there is no way to disable it.

3-On a non-driver related note, when using VMR the videos seem "washed-out" and blacks turn to greys, which is especially noticable when viewing letterboxed material.

4-About the resolutions issue we discussed over PM's, I'm not sure where to add 1280x720 and 1366x768 (and optionally 1360x768) in the INF. Can these be outputted via the VGA connector on the back of my 5150? If you could offer some guidance as to where to add the info (as well as how)? It would be most appreciated.

If you need any paticular clarifications, feel free to ask.

Regards and happy holidays,

Chris

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Good detective work! It sounds like VMR isn't working correctly on your machine for some reason. (All the problems you mention are VMR related.) I would just uncheck the VMR box in the Overlay settings and use Hardware Overlay. It's perfectly fine for most purposes and is less CPU-demanding.

On the other hand, since VMR is pretty much the wave of the future, it may be worth experimenting a bit more to try to get it to work. Give driver 67.66 a try, with my nv4_disp.inf, and see if it helps. It handles VMR differently from the 7x and 8x drivers and may be better suited to your machine. It's the driver I use for most purposes and is probably the best driver ever produced for the i5150.

For what it's worth, the washed out look of VMR is probably due to your color settings. VMR uses your desktop gamma setting, while Overlay has its own setting (on the Color Correction page of the nvidia control panel). Try reducing Gamma to 75% and see if it helps, and make sure Contrast is set at 100%.

You can add custom resolutions on the Screen Resolutions page of the nvidia control panel. It's near the bottom. You may find you need to adjust the number of pixels one way or another to achieve a ratio that will work, but those ranges are well within the Go5200's capability. 1280x720 should be no problem. I suspect only one or the other of the 13xx resolutions will work. Let me know your results and I'll include them in my next inf update!

Happy Holidays to you, too (and to everyone here)! We're away for the next couple of days. We'll see you when we return!

:)

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Ok, so I tried installing the driver and used the INF you recommended above. It works great but still have to disable VMR. I did a fresh install of windows xp pro and updated DirectX accordingly. As you had mentionned, using overlays isn't the end of the world, but it would have been nice to be as up to date as possible.

Do you have any thoughts? I've been reading around the Net and some people do experience "choppiness" with VMR (much like myself).

P.S. I have yet to try the widesceen resolutions above, but will look into it soon.

Regards,

Chris

*EDIT* Is High Definiton Video out of the 5200 Go's capabilities? I've just downloaded a HD-WMV file (3 minutes and 250MB) and playback is anything but smooth.

Happy holidays,

Chris

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I can play 720p Hi-Def but not 1024p. I get very occasional lag, but not enough to be a problem.

Both the VMR problem and the Hi-Def problem stem from the Go5200's poor throughput rate. It's also the reason for the choppiness others report when using VMR, which is much more processor intensive than Hardware Overlay. That's why it's been an optional feature prior to the 6x series GPUs, which finally have the horsepower to make it mandatory. (The Dell drivers hide VMR entirely on the 5150 and 5160.)

Do you maybe have the 32MB version of the G05200? It's much slower than the 64MB version.

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I can play 720p Hi-Def but not 1024p. I get very occasional lag, but not enough to be a problem.

Both the VMR problem and the Hi-Def problem stem from the Go5200's poor throughput rate. It's also the reason for the choppiness others report when using VMR, which is much more processor intensive than Hardware Overlay. That's why it's been an optional feature prior to the 6x series GPUs, which finally have the horsepower to make it mandatory. (The Dell drivers hide VMR entirely on the 5150 and 5160.)

Do you maybe have the 32MB version of the G05200? It's much slower than the 64MB version.

No I have the 64MB Version. As far as I know, my laptop should have plenty of power too:

Pentium 4 @ 3.06GHZ w/ HT Technology

512MB Ram

7200 RPM 60GB disk Drive

...

The HD clip says it had a bitrate of 15000Kbps, which might be too much for the HD to handle, though the HD light wasn't really blinking.

So bottom line my VMR is broken and there isn't anything to do about it?

Regards,

Chris

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We have nearly identical machines, so we sould be able to solve this unless there is some kind of hardware problem. Make sure you have both FastWrites and Sideband Addressing enabled. FastWrites definitely must be enabled for smooth video.

I did have symptoms similar to yours once and it turned out to be caused by remnants of old drivers or settings that were still hanging around in the system. To cure it, I had to completely uninstall my video drivers under Add/Remove Programs in the Windows Control Panel, then use a driver cleaner like Detonator RIP (or something similar).

Also go into the Windows\Inf folder and remove all OEM infs from nvidia drivers. You'll have too look at OEM1.INF, OEM2.INF, etc to catch them all. When you delete one, be sure to also delete the PNF file that goes with it. (OEM1.PNF, etc.)

Reboot and when prompted for a new driver, point it to the folder that contains driver 67.66 and my nv4_disp.inf. And, although you aren't prompted to, you'll need to reboot after the driver installs.

Give that a try and keep your fingers crossed. Let me know if it helps.

Good luck!

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Ok, I've been playing around with this over the week and ended up reinstalling as per the instructions you gave above. No luck. VMR simply kills video playback.

And in Overlay mode I can't play back 2 videos at the same time.

Any thoughts? In any case I don't use this PC for gaming... but it's always nice to have things working as they should.

Regards,

Chris

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You're right that overlay mode only supports one video stream at a time. It's one of the many reasons to try to get VMR working properly. Since we do have virtually identical machines, and since it happens with both 67.66 and 72.14, which handle VMR in different ways, there's either a hardware glitch or a software conflict of some kind that's prevting VMR from working properly.

Just out of curiosity, have you tried other video players? A lot of people have good luck with Media Player Classic, which has lots of configuration options that might solve your problem.

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Hello, I'm really confused here. I like the 67.66 drivers that everyone seems to praise for my i5150, but no seems to have said anything about thier total lack of opengl support. Maybe I've installed the drivers wrong though, but if opengl isn't supported why are a lot of people saying that version is so good? What's the fastest version to use with opengl support?

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