Windows 7: Windows 7 Doesn't Recognize NVIDIA Graphics Card

technomann · 30 Jan 2011

I have been looking for a Windows 7 driver for a NVIDIA Geforce Go 6800
for an Alienware Area-51 M7700 laptop. Every driver that I download from NVIDIA's website gives me the error message during the installation that it cannot find a
driver compatible with my hardware. Windows 7 has installed a generic "standard VGA adapter" which does not allow for aero functionality. Any suggestions as to how I could resolve this issue would be GREATLY appreciated!

Tews · 30 Jan 2011

This driver is a 32bit only driver, for windows XP, and will not install on a 64bit OS ...

bobkn · 30 Jan 2011

You'd best check with Alienware. Graphics devices in laptop PCs often have custom device IDs, which may cause the generic nVidia installer to fail to recognize your hardware.

Unfortunately, Alienware doesn't list any drivers for Vist X64 or Windows 7. The Go 6800 ought to be able to support Windows 7, but that doesn't mean that compatible drivers exist.

stormy13 · 30 Jan 2011

Modded to work with almost all Nvidia laptop GPU's,

Drivers | drivers for mobile cards and laptops | laptopvideo2go.com

For something as old as the 6800 series I would probably go for a slightly older driver than the latest, probably somthing from the 19x.xx series,

19x Series GeForce Driver Releases - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

technomann · 31 Jan 2011

Quote: Originally Posted by stormy13

Modded to work with almost all Nvidia laptop GPU's,

Drivers | drivers for mobile cards and laptops | laptopvideo2go.com

For something as old as the 6800 series I would probably go for a slightly older driver than the latest, probably somthing from the 19x.xx series,

19x Series GeForce Driver Releases - LaptopVideo2Go Forums

Thanks so much for the link to this site. I have downloaded several possible candidates for the NVIDIA graphics card on my Alienware M7700 machine, but upon attempted installation I always get the same error message: "The NVIDIA setup program could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your current hardware."

This is driving me nuts! Does ANYBODY have a clue as to why Windows 7 will not recognize my NVIDIA graphics card???

technomann · 31 Jan 2011

Quote: Originally Posted by bobkn

You'd best check with Alienware. Graphics devices in laptop PCs often have custom device IDs, which may cause the generic nVidia installer to fail to recognize your hardware.

Unfortunately, Alienware doesn't list any drivers for Vist X64 or Windows 7. The Go 6800 ought to be able to support Windows 7, but that doesn't mean that compatible drivers exist.

The Alienware site doesn't seem to have ANY graphics drivers for either Vista or Win 7. So I tried a couple of drivers for my specific NVIDIA card that were intended for Windows XP or Windows 2000. Much to my surprise-- it worked! I get better screen resolution, but I am still getting the error message that the video card driver does not support aero effects...

I would really like to enable aero on this Alienware machine, but it doesn't look like the hardware will support it...

technomann · 12 Feb 2011

Quote: Originally Posted by technomann

Quote: Originally Posted by bobkn

You'd best check with Alienware. Graphics devices in laptop PCs often have custom device IDs, which may cause the generic nVidia installer to fail to recognize your hardware.

Unfortunately, Alienware doesn't list any drivers for Vist X64 or Windows 7. The Go 6800 ought to be able to support Windows 7, but that doesn't mean that compatible drivers exist.

The Alienware site doesn't seem to have ANY graphics drivers for either Vista or Win 7. So I tried a couple of drivers for my specific NVIDIA card that were intended for Windows XP or Windows 2000. Much to my surprise-- it worked! I get better screen resolution, but I am still getting the error message that the video card driver does not support aero effects...

I would really like to enable aero on this Alienware machine, but it doesn't look like the hardware will support it...

I would like to upgrade the NVIDIA graphics card in this Alienware M7700 laptop PC. Can anyone suggest a graphics card that would be a compatible upgrade for this machine? Thanks!

bobkn · 14 Feb 2011

I know nothing about Alienware laptops. I see that the M7700 was expensive in its day. I see that it uses a discrete graphics card.

A little Googling found:

http://www.ztronics.com/video-cards.html

I have never done business with this outfit, but they list a number of Geforce 7 cards as compatible with the M7700. They're generations old, but at least you may get Windows 7 driver support.

technomann · 15 Feb 2011

Quote: Originally Posted by bobkn

I know nothing about Alienware laptops. I see that the M7700 was expensive in its day. I see that it uses a discrete graphics card.

A little Googling found:

http://www.ztronics.com/video-cards.html

I have never done business with this outfit, but they list a number of Geforce 7 cards as compatible with the M7700. They're generations old, but at least you may get Windows 7 driver support.

Wow! Great Googling! Great site! Thanks for the info-- much appreciated!

Aravaipa · 16 May 2011

Technomann.....I also have an Alienware M7700 that I installed Windows 7 on. Like you did, I am also searching for a driver that will work with the Nividia 6800Go graphics card. Evidently,you found a driver that will work (albeit without aero effects). Which specific driver did you use? Your help and direction are greatly appreciated.

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