I highly recommend using the "Recovery CD-ROM" that came with the computer to do a fresh install. These will always contain all the proper drivers for the computer hardware, and then once you have them you can update them at your leisure in the Devices list. OEM installations of operating systems only have very generic drivers on them that will probably not work with all computer types. I experienced the same symptoms when I did an OEM install of Windows 98 on an old computer, but when I used the "Recovery Disk" to restore the machine to its original out-of-the-box state, it worked fine.

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You didn't actually say whether it was a brand name PC (Gateway, Dell, HP, etc) or not...if it's a generic PC (custom build), you'll have to find out the make/model of each hardware device, then go to the manufacturer's website & download the latest drivers. You'll need drivers for your video, sound, modem, IDE controller, printer, webcam, etc. It's too late now, but you should have checked the "device manager" before formatting the drive & made note of your devices. If you have trouble locating the necessary drivers, look at the column on the left side of this screen...if you click on "Drivers", you'll be taken to driverguide.com...for the login name use "drivers", password is "all" And make sure to connect to the internet & run "Windows Update" from the Start Menu...you have a LOT of work ahead of you... Good luck!

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Also the manufactors website will contain all of the drivers and updates there. OR you could install your OEM cd and use the recovery to just install the drivers not the whole package. Do you know how to add/remove hardware? And how to look at the devices that are already installed? Go to control panel, then SYSTEM. Expand the lists that relate to your problem, EXAMPLE if it says DISPLAY, and you are obviously having display problems, expand that list. If there is a YELLOW dot or explaination point by it, it means you need to install the RIGHT driver, so delete the yellow ones, then do as I have already said to download the right ones. Do you have a recovery CD?

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Go to the link below and download and install Aida32.exe. Run this program after you install it, it will tell you exactly what you've got for hardware, among other things. The 2 things you obviously care about is, your sound card make and model and video card make and model. Aida32 bronson

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Hi, and apologies if I should have started a new message on the forum with this question. I also have the option of only 2 or 16 colors, but my situation is different. I have an AMD computer that recently went through a virus problem and had Win98se (re?)installed. It worked fine up until a few days ago when apparently I deleted something I shouldn't have. I have looked online to try and solve this problem, and have tried the solutions I found (ie, finding correct drivers and reinstalling) but with no luck. I have a 'Standard PCI Graphics Adapter (VGA)' with the vga.drv driver on a [NoDB] Plug and Play Monitor (according to Aida32). I also tried dling from driverguide.com another vga.drv and copying that onto the original one with again no luck. When I try to reinstall the adapter/monitor it just reverts to the msdisp.inf file I have which in turn reverts to the original vga.drv that may be messing up my colors. Is there anything else I can do here?

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Yes, a new is thread is preferable - otherwise you're 'hijacking' the original. New threads start at the top of the page, allowing more folks to read your question. There is some question as to whether Aida and other system analyzers report on the actual hardware or merely on installed drivers. Might try Belarc Advisor (same idea) or even Scitech Display Doctor (now *free*) Vga.drv is the basic display driver, what you need is the specific high res driver for your video chipset. You could try deleting the display entry from device manager and restarting in the hopes that Windows will 'see' the video card and select the appropriate driver - but if your computer is newer than the operating system, then Windows won't recognize it. If the video is integrated with the motherboard you could check out the manufacturer's site online and determine the video from there. If all else fails, you could peer inside and try and determine the video chipset.

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Well, If i was you. I think the easiest thing to do would be to save all important information to CD. Then go online, to the manufacturers website. Hp.com Dell.com, or whoever. Then, search there driver download and support page. Download the drivers specific to your OS, if you don't find them, search for the driver under your computer model. So if you dont see your video card on the website, then, you could match drivers for 98 and ME and maybe 95. This is only a hypothosis though. I have got it to work about 3 or 4 times out of 5. If you built this computer, then you have some work ahead of you. You could download the programs listed, however these typically only report on the driver that is installed and not the hardware. So if you REALLY want to know, open the case, look at the video card (if it is PCI or AGP or ISA) then on this card are several numbers, right them all down. Search for each number individually on either driversguide.com or the web. I have had a 100% success rate by doing this. If it is an onboard video card (built into the motherboard) then look for the specific motherboard type and numbers, and search the web for the drivers for it. If you can't figure it out, post me the numbers and motherboard information, and I will search and post where to download them, also include the Computer name, is it a Presario 500a or Pavilon a350y or what?

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