MS Downloads of Dell Graphics Drivers?

Guess you don't flash many BIOS do you? By the posts you have made here,
nearly all of which have been wrong, you fall squarely into the definition
of "incompetent".

Many competent users will not necessarily flash their BIOS just because a
later one is available. In many cases, BIOS updates merely add support for
processors made available since the last update. In that case, it would
make no sense to update if your BIOS supports the processor you have
installed.

Also, many technically competent people (a category in which you shall never
have membership) will adhere to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage.

You are a complete dolt and really should stop spewing your garbage and
simply go away.

The intent of these newsgroups is peer support, and since you are wrong 95%
of the time, you are doing those seeking help here a great disservice.

It is sad that a neophyte may find his way to this group seeking advice only
to have you give him totally bogus information.

Bobby

 

How long do you take to test AV updates? Being unprotected longer than a
couple of hours is very risky... I've been using PC's for over 20 years and
provided tech support for networks of over 200 users and more than a dozen
servers. I've only experienced a problem with a signature once in all that
time and only heard of a few situations like it. We use NAV CE and we check
for and apply updates every 4 hours, automatically. The incredibly minimal
risk of a problem is, IMHO, far outweighed by the risks of not applying
them. We got hit once by the slammer (luckily only a few workstations and no
servers) virus an hour before the (then) nightly signature updates. A year
ago (after the 4 hour update strategy was implemented), we got hit by
another virus an hour *after* the signature update. E-mail scanner caught
about 200 instances.... No impact whatsoever to the organization.....

Take the risk... update AV.....

Now, as to SP2, I agree with you.... We have two vendors who would not
officially support SP2. We had to roll it out slowly. No problems after 6
months on 1/2 dozen workstations. We are now in the process of completing
the rollout (along with WSUS)......

 

I must have missed the "automatically flash my BIOS to the latest
version before automatically applying Windows Updates" switch, is that
a registry entry I can set?

Most people who own a computer don't know a BIOS from a biopsy, and
IME setting WinUp to "fully automatic" is a recipie for (potential)
disaster.

 

I guess you didn't do too well in reading comprehension at school. If
you had read my post, you'd have noticed I said, "It ended up taking a
BIOS update released about a week later for the system to work with
SP2". Now let me make this a little clearer: When MS started pushing
SP2 through Windows Update, the latest BIOS still crashed. It wasn't
until, "a week later," that a working BIOS was available. Please
explain to me how I would have, "never seen the issue" when you take in
the fact that the latest non-crashing BIOS wasn't released yet. Also
you forgot to post a source for your 99% no problems claim.

 

Nicholas;

You are wasting your time..."fred" never answers any post that point out
his wrong answers, which happen to be every post he makes.

Bobby

 

I agree, time to update the killfile...

 

Which ever works best. Technically, that could be what is currently
being distributed by the chipset manufacturer, the board manufacturer,
the OEM, or Microsoft. My experience has been that that is normally
(a couple of times wasn't) what is currently available from the chipset
manufacturer.

Driver updating is supposed to work something like this: Vendors tag
their hardware with vendor unique and device [type] unique plug &
play identifiers. When they think it appropriate, they submit [updated]
drivers to MS for WHQL testing and distribution via WU. Windows
Update inspects the system's plug & play identifiers and existing drivers
and compares that to a database that contains latest driver and driver
update priority info for the various device IDs. For a more proper and
detailed description, you might start digging here:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winlogo/drvsign/WinUp.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/maintain/DrvUpdate.mspx

Maybe if you delve into things you'll be able to answer why 52.16 is
being offered to you. In any case, if the latest from NVIDIA is
working well for you, I'd be inclined to stick with it.

 

I know of no automatic BIOS update but one SHOULD always flash the latest
BIOS but not necessarily on the day it comes out. A more recent BIOS
generally is not critical security wise but has more to do with performance
and stability.

No, it's MS's recipe for improved security. The average user who "don't
know a BIOS from a biopsy" also has no ability to make an informed decision
about whether a "critical update" is important. As MS's initiative suggests
"It's strongly recommended that Automatic Updates be ENABLED!"

 

AH, somebody who actually has some real world experience.

The same goes for WinUp Automatic Updates in most situations.

Now there's a real clue.

The same applies to SP2. It increase security dramatically. Why go slow
and increase your vulnerability given that there is only a very small risk
of significant problems with SP2?

 

Liar, no new BIOSs for 865/875 chipset Abit mobos appeared in that time
frame. Better luck next time.

 

He's Back!

Can't someone put out some cockroach bait and maybe this "fred" will go
away?

Bobby

 

This is the last straw, after this post I am kill-filing you. The BIOS
update for my 865 mobo (Abit AI7 --
http://abit-usa.com/downloads/bios/bios_revision.php?categories=1&model=147)
to accept XP SP2 was released on 09-22-04 (in case you are too studpid
to understand, that's September), the previous BIOS update (which didn't
work with SP2) was released on 05-24-04 (May, ibid). XP SP2 was pushed
through Windows Update in August
(http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2aumng.mspx).
If anyone needed evidence this asshole is full of shit, please feel
free to quote this post.

 

Thanks for proving my case. YOU LIED and now have confirmed that. 8-6 to
9-22 HMM...."a week later"...HMMM

 

OK, Fred, I was going to point out that you had missed this update,
and ask you to confirm my choice of driver, but I've killfiled you, so
never mind.

What a Maroon!

 

<Plonk!>

 

A week later was relative to when I got my new mobo (somewhere around
9-15, after MS was pushing the update), Plonk.

 

CAUGHT!

 

CAUGHT!

 

Must be past "freds" bedtime.

Bobby

 

fred wrote:

It's across the board advice like this which confirms your status as a
Usenet slug.