Updating NVIDIA Driver Fixed GoPets and Second Life Problem

When I updated the driver for the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE video adapter in a Windows XP PC earlier today from version 8.2.08 (driver date: 5/9/2006) to version 6.14.10.9371 (driver date: 10/22/2006), the update corrected a problem with GoPets and a problem with Second Life.

A family member has many fruit trees on GoPets from which she harvests fruit regularly. However, whenever she put the fruit in her inventory, GoPets would randomly crash. Sometimes it would crash after she put only 1 piece of fruit in her inventory. At other times, she could put 3 or 4 pieces of fruit in her inventory before it crashed. And sometimes even 10 or more pieces of fruit in her inventory. Upgrading the driver for the NVIDIA video card stopped those crashes altogether.

When she was in Second Life, her avatar would continually turn to the right, as if she was clicking the arrow to turn to the right. The only way she could stop the behavior was to switch to full-screen mode, which she preferred not to do. Updating the video driver resolved that problem, also.

For anyone experiencing either problem, you can check the version of the driver for the video adapter in your system by the following steps on a Windows XP system:

1. Click on Start.


2. Click on Settings. If you don't see Settings, look for Control Panel instead.


3. Click on Control Panel.


4. Within the Control Panel, double-click on System.


5. Click on the Hardware tab.


6. Click on the Device Manager button.


7. Double-click on Display Adapters to expand the list of display adapters.


8. Right-click on a display adapter (for most systems there will be only 1) and choose Properties.


9. Click on the Driver tab. You should then see the driver provider, driver date, and driver version listed.


10. You can then click on Cancel and close the window.

If you are experiencing any of the above problems a driver update may help. If your system has an NVIDIA adapter, you can get the latest drvier from the NVIDIA software download webpage.

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GoPets and Second Life Won't Run After Nvidia Hardware Acceleration Turned Off

I turned off hardware acceleration for an Nvidia GeForce 6150 LE video adapter in a Windows XP Media Center PC, but then the family member using the system found that neither GoPets nor Second Life would start. For GoPets, the following window appeared.

Initialize Error

Your video card could not support the requested 3D function. This error may occur if your video card is not supported by GoPets. Please view the Download page at the GoPets website for a list of unsupported video cards. OK

When she clicked on OK, another error window appeared.

Error

Failed to initialize the rendering engine.: 0 OK

Clicking OK on that window closed the application.

When she started Second Life the message "detecting hardware" appeared followed by the error window below.

Error

Second Life is unable to run because your video card drivers are out of date or unsupported. Please make sure you have the latest video card drivers installed. If you continue to receive this message, contact customer service. OK

I had turned video acceleration off for the Nvidia graphics adapter when Paint Shop Pro 9 would not start with it turned on. To turn it back on I tried the following steps.

1. Right-click on desktop.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click on Settings.
4. Click on the Advanced button.

But then the following message appeared.

NVIDIA Display

The NVIDIA Display Panel extension cannot be created. Possible reasons include: Disabled graphics hardware acceleration. To enable Hardware Acceleration: Right click on your desktop, select Properties, the Settings tab, and click Advanced. Click the Troubleshoot tab and move the 'Hardware acceleration' slider all the way to Full. Click OK. If prompted, restart your computer. OK

I clicked on the Troubleshoot tab instead, clicked on the hardware acceleration slider and dragged it down to the "Full" end. GoPets and Second Life then started when I tried to open them. Paint Shop Pro 9 wouldn't start again, though. It hung while starting up (see Paint Shop Pro Hangs at Startup).

I checked the version of the driver installed for the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE through the device manager. I saw the following.

Driver Provider:	NVIDIA
Driver Date:	5/9/2006
Driver Version:	8.2.0.8
Digital Signer:	Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher

I went to the NVIDIA software download page. I didn't find a driver listed specifically for the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE adapter, but I found that the GeForce 6 Series driver supports the GeForce 6150 LE adapter.

The "Driver Installation Hints" for the new driver stated the following.

Before installing new drivers make sure you uninstall all NVIDIA display drivers from the Windows Control Panel. Browse to the Start Menu > Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and search for "NVIDIA Windows Display Drivers" or "NVIDIA Display Drivers" and select remove.

I removed the existing NVIDIA drivers through "Add or Remove Programs". I chose to "Remove all NVIDIA drivers, including Display". I also opted to remove the nView profiles. After rebooting, GoPets, Second Life, and Paint Shop Pro 9 all started without problems.

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