Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT compatibility issue to upgrading to Windows 7?

[indpatel]

Hi,

Has anyone resolved the upgrade compatibility issue for a "Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT" hardware to Windows 7 for a Sony VAIO VGC-RT1SU all-in-one desktop?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[rich912]

Hi indpatel,

Have you installed the Windows 7 upgrade driver from Sony Support?

Rich

[indpatel]

Hi Rich,

I did install it, but it still gave the same response through the 'Win 7 upgrade advisor' that the hardware is not compatible.

I even went ahead with upgrading to Win 7 a few times, but it stopped half way through with the hardware compatibility issue and rolled back to visa.

Thanks.

Indra

[rich912]

Hi Indra,

I'm afraid that I haven't come across this problem before. Are you aware of other users with the same problem?

Also, did you perform a clean install of Win7 or the upgrade route?

Rich

Edit forget the question re clean install or upgrade as it was obviously an upgrade...

Message was edited by: rich912

Message was edited by: rich912

[indpatel]

Hi Rich,

I am not aware of anyone else with the same problem!

I have tried both routes, clean install as well as upgrading to Win 7 and they both fail on hardware compatibility issue.

Win 7 advisor tool fails it on the 'Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT'  graphic card.

If I could resolve this hardware compatibility issue with this Sony VAIO VGC-RT1SU all-in-one desktop then I would be able to upgrade or clean install Windows 7.

I am afraid no solutions are available from either Sony or Microsoft.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Indra.

[rich912]

Hi Indra,

I have just run the W7 upgrade advisor on a Vista 32bit (Home Premium) notebook with the nVidia 9800M GT graphics chip and there are no warnings about hardware incompatibility for this device. It does advise that the current driver is incompatible. Even so Windows 7 should still install albeit with the standard VGA compatible driver that can be updated once the OS has installed.

I assume that the graphics are working correctly under Vista and that the 9800M GT is recognised correctly in Device Manager?

The only thing I can suggest is that you recover the machine to factory settings using your recovery media and then try the update once more. If this fails then you do possibly have a hardware problem, but why this should only be apparent under Win 7 install I have no clue.

BTW is your current OS 32 or 64bit and which version of Win 7 are you attempting to install?

Rich

[indpatel]

Hi Rich,

My current OS is 32 bit Vista Ultimate.

I had to replace one of the hard disk drive which failed, therefore had to do a clean install with a Winows Ultimate Dvd as the back up would not load.

Everything is working fine, the graphics are working correctly under Vista and the 98600M GT is recognised correctly in the Device Manager.  The installed driver is the factory default one at present, the new compatibility driver for Win 7 from the Sony web site does load up correctly with no issues, however, the only thing I can think of is that I have not loaded the Sony software/utility (as I do not know which one it is) that utilises the "speed mode" setting on the graphics hardware before upgrading the driver for Win 7 compatibility.

Would you happen to know which software/utiltiy from the Sony website would allow me to tweak this setting on the graphic card before I upgrade to the new driver?

Thanks.

Indra

P.S. I have also tried to clean install Win 7 but it failed on hardware issue.

[rich912]

Hi Indra,

As far as I am aware your model does not have Stamina/Speed Mode function. If it did there should be two graphics folders in the Support download section – one Stamina (Intel) and the other Speed (NVIDIA). There would also be a hardware switch, usually on the keyboard.

As a fresh (Custom) install of Windows 7 also fails it can only be a hardware issue as all existing drivers are removed when the drive is formatted prior to install.

BTW if you have Vista Ultimate 32-bit then you can only ‘upgrade’ using the Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit version. Any other version requires the Custom Option install.

Rich

[indpatel]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for the info.

Why is the Sony website for Sony Vaio VGC-RT1SU offering this update for the graphic card driver for Win 7 compatibility but with the proviso that you need to set the card to SPEED mode in the notes for downloading this particular driver?

This new driver for Win 7 compatibility installs perfectly, except the Win 7 advisor tool throws it out and considers it an unknown device.

It is a bit frustrating as this hardware entry is the only one if fails on.

I have the window 7 ultimate version therefore should be able to upgrade in theory.

Thanks anyway, if you do think of something else please let me know.

Regards,

Indra

[rich912]

Hi Indra,

I can ony assume that the instructions on the Support site cover a number of models that have this graphics chip - but very missleading IMO. I assume that you do not have a hardware switch? Perhaps someone with this model will confirm whether or not it supports Stamina/Speed. This feature is usually limited to notebooks for power saving purposes.

Is it possible for you to post a copy of the Windows Update Advisor report? this should be no more than 70KB in size.

Rich