AkinsTech

In this article, I’ll show you the proper way to upgrade video drivers on your system, as well explain the difference between the various driver options. I’ll also show you a handy tool to assist you in cleaning up old video drivers.

If you have a high performance video card (whether you’re a gamer, graphics designer, Home Theater PC builder, etc) you know how important it is to have the latest video drivers for your specific video card. But HOW you install those drivers can be just as important. Many lockups, crashes, freezes, or other anomalies can be attributed to lazy and sloppy driver installation. I’m going to show you the method I use which has proven to reduce and almost eliminate video driver-related problems on my systems.
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Have you ever had a situation where your Internet connection drops for a few seconds, then comes back, then drops again, then comes back, and repeats randomly with no rhyme or reason? Getting your ISP to see the problem can be a real hassle as Murphy’s Law dictates that the problem will ALWAYS go away once you finally get them on the phone. You’ll usually get the standard “looks good on our end” with no actual resolution of the problem. Well, this script will allow you to monitor the line for hours, days, even weeks, and provide you with a timestamped activity log of exactly what was happening over that period. Armed with this type of information, you can usually get your ISP to take notice.

I actually wrote this script a few years ago when one of my clients was having these very problems. Using the log it generates, I was able to provide the ISP with meaningful numbers and exact times, and eventually they were able to correct the problem. Since then, I’ve used it many times to check the stability of a connection. Anyway, today on one of the tech forums, somebody asked how to monitor a flakey line. It got me thinking about this script, so I dusted it off and posted it to the forum. I figured while I was at it, I’d post it here as well.

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Got me a new monitor and I must say that I am now jaded!  I got the Samsung 245BW 24" LCD, 1920×1200 resolution.  More information here.

Here it is on my desktop.  I set my IBM Lenovo 15.4" laptop next to it for reference.

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