I have a PC that dual-boots XP and Win 7. It’s been crashing in ways that lead me to suspect the video card is going.
It’s been a while since I shopped for a new video card. If I get a new mid-range ATI, will it still have solid XP drivers (at least up to DirectX 9). Or are new video cards dropping support for such “legacy” systems?
Upgrade to 7 at the same time? What are your specs?
No, I already dual-boot 7. (I can’t use 7 now, because it stresses the video card and crashes quicker then XP).
I need to continue to use XP on this machine for the forseeable future for legacy work application that has its own device driver-- want to make sure video-card upgrade won’t preclude this.
Only one pitfall; You need to burn the existing drivers WITH FIRE, especially if you switch between Nvidia and ATI.
(edit: I mean use a driver sweeper, after uninstalling them and rebooting)
The drivers still support XP itself just fine.
Any mid-range ATI or Nvidia card on the market right now should support Direct X 9.0c and Windows XP. As Dawn Falcon mentions, you will need to uninstall the drivers on the system before upgrading. Grab the latest NVidia or Catalyst drivers from the appropriate website and reinstall not only for XP, but for your Win7 as well.
Also check if your power supply is adequate to power the new card (or the old one)