Please help - New Hardware Wizard won't check internet for drivers

Hello all,

I have an HP desktop running XP Pro SP3. I recently had to reinstall a backup image. The problem is that I upgraded the video card since I did the image (I admit I should back up more often). I no longer have the original video card.

After the reinstall of the backup image, I tried to install the video driver for my ATI Radeon HD3850 512MD3 card. It wouldn't install, saying that I needed to install a standard VGA driver first.

I went to Windows Update and spent several hours updating everything (I'm sure you all have been there!). But no video drivers were among the high priority or optional updates.

I tried Device Manager and tried the "Update Driver" option using the Add New Hardware Wizard. I tried to have it load a standard VGA driver itself. It couldn't find one in Windows, and it didn't give the option to search the internet for one. I was confused at this, because I thought XP's Hardware Wizard automatically searched the internet for drivers.

I don't remember doing anything to configure it this way. I've worked my way through the Device Manager options, and I can't find any way to force it to check the internet. Does anyone know how to get the New Hardware Wizard to look for drivers on the internet?

Thanks for reading.

 

need the make model and model number of pc so I can search online for the original driver, and need the info on your new video card.

 

You do not want to download any hardware drivers from Microsoft updates, unless they are in the high priority section only. !!!