Forceware 91.31 minor flaws

oracle128 · #1 August 1st, 2006, 10:36 AM

Forceware 91.31, released June 23 2006, for Windows XP/2000 32 bit. It has several minor, but common flaws, and should be avoided unless you absolutely must upgrade from 91.28 or lower.

The ones I've encountered are:
-"SLI rendering is disabled" tray balloon pops up when loading Windows cold (from shutdown or reboot), appearing despite lack of a second GPU
-Red tint on all hardware-accelerated video output (including video from media players, DVD playing software, and TV viewing on media centre/home theatre PCs)
I've also seen these issues occur to many others online.

For those that have already installed it and are experiencing these problems, there are some possible workarounds:
SLI balloon issue
Removing the NVIDIA Control Panel from starting up with the system is a brute-force method to work around the issue. This can be with combinations of msconfig and registry editing, startup eliminators such as HijackThis. There is also an official fix from nVidia, since it's a recognized issue.

Red Tint problem
The problem is caused simply by incorrect settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel, which can be easily changed. To make matters worse though, the settings don't save properly, meaning the problem reoccurs when rebooting the PC. As of now, the only resolution I know of is to keep readjusting the settings on each boot.
You can change setting with this method: open up the new NVIDIA Control Panel, go to 'Video & Television', and choose 'Adjust video color settings' (it should be the only option there). Once there, click Restore Defaults up the top right, and apply.
More info here.

Additionally, if running Forceware lower than Release 90, avoid upgrading. The new NVIDIA Control Panel is not only shameful by design, but is also known to crash on some systems.

**smurfy** · #2 August 1st, 2006, 10:46 AM

I've been running the 91.31 on my W2k Pro system with a GeForce4Ti4600 with none of these errors. Have installed it on an XP Home system with a GeForce4MX card with none of these problems.

Could it be only affecting latter (DX9) GPUs?

oracle128 · #3 August 1st, 2006, 12:13 PM

Possible. Of all the problems I've seen, they've primarily been affecting Series 6 and 7 GPUs.

Metr01973 · #4 August 1st, 2006, 03:20 PM

I've got it installed and haven't had any problems with it at all. I used the beta version a while ago and that had quite a few bugs so I was in 2 minds whether to install it again. But after installing it I noticed that all the bugs I had found were gone. The balloon problem is hardly reason NOT to install it, it's really easy to get rid of.

oracle128 · #5 August 2nd, 2006, 05:16 AM

The balloon problem alone, no, is not a great reason to avoid 91.31. But those who would be most affected by the video overlay issue (or already are experiencing it) would be best to avoid it (or roll back to a previous driver).

Metr01973 · #6 August 2nd, 2006, 12:32 PM

^but you don't know till you've tried it. If you are getting those issues then the best "fix" is rolling back to a previous driver, I agree. How did you like the new console with the temperature monitor etc? I thought this addition was well needed, especially for ppl like me that want to overclock their GPU. btw I'm flaming you on your thread and I agree that 91.31 does have some minor flaws but not enough to stop giving it a try. But like you said if you are having problems then rollback.

oracle128 · #7 August 2nd, 2006, 02:40 PM

Temperature monitor? Overclockers should already be using Speedfan or MBM anyway. The one in the new CP is hardly a replacement. That, and the fact that the whole CP is poorly laid out anyway, the old style dialog was much neater and more powerful.

Metr01973 · #8 August 3rd, 2006, 12:18 PM

I use MBM when OC but I did like the ease of use of the Nvidia GPU temp monitor. The only thing I didn't like about the new CP is it's too bare. When it opens up you have just 3 icons and a menu on the left. I agree the old CP was better, here's hoping that they keep the new additions but display it like the old one, which was far more easier to navigate. Has you tried the 91.33 beta yet? I was thinking of giving it a try but after the bugs of the 91.31 beta I'm not sure.

oracle128 · #9 August 3rd, 2006, 01:40 PM

Haven't tried them. I avoid betas like the plague, especially when they're drivers.

Metr01973 · #10 August 4th, 2006, 07:53 PM

The first beta I tried from Nvidia was a little while ago when Oblivion burst onto the scene and the reviews that were coming said that, this beta driver gave you a few extra fps. I can't remember which one it was but it did work and without any bugs. But then like I said, I tried the beta of 91.31 and it was buggy as hell and this has put me off trying any more. Mind you that's the whole point of beta ,to find the bugs but I'm not risking it again.