Updating Drivers

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Important:

You must uninstall the old drivers before installing updated drivers to avoid driver conflicts.

Steam Support assumes no responsibility for the effects that changing the driver for your video or sound card may have on your system - it is your responsibility to follow the instructions provided by the video card manufacturer to ensure the proper removal of old drivers and installation of updated drivers.

Check the Versions of Installed Drivers

It is recommended that you check the versions of the drivers currently installed on your system before looking for updates - please follow the instructions below to see which drivers are installed:

Go to the Start button and select Run...
Enter dxdiag and click OK to run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
The tool will start on the System tab - check the System Information box for the Operating System
Switch to the Display tab. In the upper left corner is a box named Device. The first three lines are the Name, Manufacturer, and Chip Type of your video hardware.
Check the upper right-hand corner of this tab for a box named Drivers.
The second line is the video driver Version number, and the third is the Date of release.
Click "Exit" in the lower right hand corner of the window to close the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.

Use the Operating System, video card name & manufacturer, and driver version information to search your video card or computer manufacturer's site for updated drivers which will be compatible with your system.

Pre-Built System Vendors

If your machine was assembled as a complete system and you have not upgraded or modified the video card, it is recommended that you visit the system assembler's website. Listed below are some common computer manufacturers:

Acer America - http://www.acer.com/
Alienware - http://www.alienware.com/
Compaq - http://www.compaq.com/
Dell - http://www.dell.com/
eMachines - http://www.emachines.com/
Gateway - http://www.gateway.com/
Hewlett Packard (HP) - http://www.hp.com/
IBM Corp. - http://www.ibm.com/
NEC - http://www.nec.com/
Sony - http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/
Toshiba - http://www.toshiba.com/

Video Card Manufacturers

If you purchased a separate video card or cannot obtain the appropriate drivers through the computer manufacturer you may be able to obtain updated drivers from the manufacturer of your video card.

Please consult your video card manufacturer or computer assembler if you have any questions regarding the installation of updated drivers.

Sound Card Manufacturers

Audiotrak USA - http://audiotrak.net/international.htm
Creative Technology - http://www.creative.com/
Hercules/Guillemot - http://www.hercules.com/
M-Audio - http://www.m-audio.com/
Philips Electronics - http://www.philips.com/
Terratec Promedia - http://www.terratec.net/
Turtle Beach - http://www.turtlebeach.com/

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