can't update nvidia drivers on macbook

I tried downloading the latest Nvidia notebook drivers for x64 and installing on vista x64 and i get this error message

"The Nvidia Setup program could not locate any drivers that are compatible with your current hardware. Setup will now exit."

my macbook has a Nvidia 9400m

How do i install the latest nvidia drivers on my macbook. the ones that came with my are from 12/24/08 (driver ver 7.15.11.7753). And im trying to install 179.48_notebook_winvista_64bit_beta.exe.

can unpack the driver exe and force and update through device manager?

has anyone done that before? or is there another way to get updated nvidia drivers to work on my macbook.

 

1. Download the new drivers, but do not install yet.

2. Uninstall the old display drivers via Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

3. Restart.

4. Install the new drivers.

5. Restart.

That should work as the general way to do it. I did that, and they work flawlessly. No problems here!

 

If the above method does not work, go to www.laptopvideo2go.com, then download 179.48 and then download it's modded inf. Extract the drivers to your desktop. Paste the modded inf into your driver extracted driver's folder.

1. Download the new drivers, but do not install yet.

2. Uninstall the old display drivers via Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

3. Restart.

4. Install the setup file from the driver's folder on your desktop.

5. Restart.

 

thanks guys.

i tried uninstalling just the nvidia display drivers. it asked me to restart and i did, but now its been hanging at the shutting down screen for 20 minutes.

how long should i wait for it to restart?

edit: i turned the computer off. restarted. tried installing the 179.48 driver. got the same hardware error.

then i tried putting the modified nvac file in the display folder for the 179.48 drivers. installed without error. rebooted and the nvidia driver didnt install. device manager still lists the driver as VGA.

is there something i did wrong. maybe i got the wrong nvac file?

i got it from here http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/enhancer. I didnt enter any additional options, just entered 179.48.

so for now i reinstalled the apple nvidia x64 drivers my restore dvd and i got aero working again and the display device is listed as 9400m again.

 

It's because apple hardware is locked out of the drivers (seriously). Apple doesn't want you using drivers not officially from apple (as I understand it). Though you have the 9400m, they will refuse to install every time. I tried to yesterday and the same exact thing happened to me, and I was reading about this on the net.
Is there any reason you don't want to use the bootcamp drivers? Are you having issues?

 

talin, im not having any major problem with them. However, i think their performance is bad. I ran 3dmark06 and got a pretty low score (around 1800) compared to about 2100 shown here http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9400M-G.11949.0.html

btw i have similar specs to you talin. except i put a 320gb hd in my white macbook.

 

Well, to be honest, I'd learn to live with it. Although the 9400m is a huge step up in performance from the intel x3100, it's still just integrated graphics. I wouldn't put too much faith in 3dmark anyway, it's a synthetic benchmark, and not exactly accurate.
If you're happy with the performance in games, then be happy. It's a nice notebook, but without dedicated graphics, you wont get super uber ultra performance or anything in new, demanding games.
So it's a 300 point difference, big deal. Try some games and see how it plays.

 

That is not a correct statement.

 

Could you elaborate?

 

Colton, is there another way i can get these drivers working? replacing the nvac file lets me install the drivers, but after rebooting their not installed. and device manager lists the device as vga.

I played some HL2, CS source, and L4D. L4D runs great on medium. the performance of the apple nvidia drivers are not too bad in the end i guess.

 

Don't worry about it. If he continues to troll the forums, please report him so we can deal with it properly.

 

Snookie banned!! BTW, the official nvidia drivers do not support mac but the unofficial ones at laptopvideo2go do. I tried dox's drivers but i preferred the stock 179.48 with the modded inf so as to support my 9600m gt. Hope it helps. If you can't still work out how to install your drivers, there is a tutorial at laptopvideo2g which explains in detail what steps you need to follow.

 

I used drivers directly from the Nvidia website, and followed the process that I posted earlier, and it works great for me! I don't really see that much of a difference between 179.48 and Boot Camp drivers, so I wouldn't really worry about it if you're not a hard gamer.

 

Sry for the bump but I have to say I love you man!!!!!

Been sittin online constantly for 5-6hours only to find out that you were the only one who could help me!(And I'm a good googleler )

Totaly fixed the problem =) HUGE KUDOS FOR YOU!!

 

Thanks bro!

 

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/23072-v17948-windows-vista-64bit-nvidia/

get your drivers & INF from that link. Put the inf in the same folder as all the files after you run the exe file.

 

ermm, it's explained more in detail above....

 

Tell you what it is not the matter of unofficial or official drivers it is whether the device id for 9400M G can be found in the .inf.
you can use any driver that has the device id in the .inf file.

 

yes, exactly!!any driver will work provided you have the inf which supports your gpu...