Updating NVidia display drivers for your Toshiba M200 Tablet PC
I’ve had a Toshiba Portege M200 tabletPC for about 2 years now and one of the most frustrating things is that Toshiba hasn’t updated the display drivers so I’ve been trapped with v46.44 even though Nvidia’s latest release is up to v84.21!
With the officially released Toshiba supported version of the driver, there are tons of perf issues and bugs around different refresh rates when you use a docking station. Specifically, when the M200 is in the docking station, it’s not possible to save a refresh rate as part of the display “profile” in the nVidia advanced configuration. Thus, everytime I docked my laptop, I felt as if I was going to have a seizure because it was defaulting to 60hz refresh rate for my external monitor. I had to manually change the display properties every single time I docked my laptop. Ack!
In the past I’ve tried to update the drivers on my M200 with the direct download from NVidia.com, but I was always given an error during setup telling me that my graphic card was not supported.
Good news is that there is a solution! I stumbled upon this page which details how to update the drivers, but the instructions were all spread out in the comments, so here is a coherent set of instructions:
1. First download this ZIP file which contains a modified INF file.
2. Next, download the latest WHQL certified NVidia drivers. v84.21 for XP is here.
3. Run the Nvidia exe from step #2.
4. During setup, it will ask you where to extract the files to. It will default to C:\Nvidia\Win2kXP\84.21. You can use this or choose a different location. Remember this location!
5. After that, proceed with the setup wizard. At this point you’ll be given an error message saying your hardware is not supported. Do not hit the OK button yet.
6. Go to the directory from step #4 (eg. C:\Nvidia\Win2kXP\84.21\) and copy all the files to a new location (eg. C:\NewLocation).
7. Hit OK in the Nvidia setup to get it out of the way.
8. Extract nv4_disp.inf from the zip file you got in step #1 to the new location in Step #6 (eg. c:\NewLocation). You will be asked to overwrite the existing nv4_disp.inf – say Yes.
9. Open up Control Panel now, and go to System, choose the Hardware tab, then select Device Manager.
10. Expand display adapters, then right click on NVidia GeForce FX Go5200. Select Update Driver which will launch the Hardware Update Wizard.
11. Choose “No, not at this time”, then hit Next. Now choose “Install from a list or a specific location” and hit Next.
12. Now select “Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install“, and hit Next. Select Have Disk, then navigate to the location in step #6 (eg. C:\NewLocation) and select the nv4_disp.inf that you copied there.
13. Your in the home stretch now. When given the list of video cards, just scroll down and select Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 (there will be 2 listed, just choose the first one).
14. Answer yes to all the warning dialogs, and after all the files are installed for the new drivers, reboot your machine.
Presto change-o, you now are running the latest Nvidia drivers with all the goodness it has to offer. Enjoy!
PS — this same process will work on other Toshiba tabletPCs, like the Tecra M4.
excellent instructions. i completed the steps successfully but couldn’t see support for 1920×1080 resolution. i had started the whole upgrade process in hope of being able to get my M200 to display on a 1080p LCD monitor in native resolution. i haven’t been able to get it to work so far. while trying to add a custom resolution through NVidia’s management console, i kept getting ‘cannot add this setting’ for 1920×1080. thought you (or someone reading this) might have some insight..
Thanks for the tip!!
Just like Ravi, i had the same problem with customizing resolutions. I wasnt aloud to add 1680×1050 60Hz which is amazingly irritating. But i was aloud to add 1680×1051 @ 60Hz….???????! So Ravi, maybe try running 1920×1081. But if anyone has any info on how too add 1600×1050 gives a shout on mats(dot)vold(at)gmail(dot)com.
Another problem, i cant use my 22″ monitor as primary display when i extend my desktop? Cause i want to have my external monitor as primary and laptop screen as secondary. Any ideas??
If I wanted to update to the latest drivers today (ForceWare 175.32), would all I have to do is change some lines in the .INF file?
Thank you! I struggled with this for quite some time until a Google search found your page. It worked great, for my Toshiba Tecra M2 (not even a Tablet PC). It’s worth saying again — thank you!
Chip