Tip: Reinstalling a video driver

1. Create a system restore point before changing or updating a video card driver.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows7/create-a-restore-point

2. Find and download the correct video driver. If you are running a laptop, make sure that you have the one from the manufacturer first to test out and download the latest one from the vendor.

3. Reboot in safe mode.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/start-computer-safe-mode#start-computer-safe-mode=windows-7

4. Uninstall the video driver from the Control Panel.

5. Reboot and test Autodesk software using a generic Windows driver.

6. Install the driver from the manufacturer.

7. Go to Start > run > Type: cmd. In the Command prompt, type: Winsat formal -restart

And now the interesting story....

The user had Mudbox 2014 and was running on a Quadro 2000M video card. Technically, the graphics hardware is certified but the Lenovo W520 was not system hardware that we have tested. There was a Lenovo W530 system in the list which was close. What made this case interesting is that when you started Mudbox, it would have this error:

Mudbox application file has stopped working

We downloaded the video driver noted here:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert/card?siteID=123112&catID=18254205&id=18844534&product=97&os=8192&hw=215

If you google the downloaded file: sp61076.exe, you will notice that this driver was created for HP Elite Mobile Workstations so even before trying to install it, it may not work with a Lenovo Workstation. After some googling a bit more, we were able to find the driver for the system here:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_CA/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&DocID=HT063273

Mudbox 2014 was still not functioning but after a second reboot, the system automatically when into Windows System Assessment Tool and after the assessment, Mudbox 2014 started to work. I did a bit of googling afterwards and found the command below will force the test:

Winsat formal -restart

My guess is that during this test, the system will automatically set the computer settings to highest performance mode. The added side effect was that caused Mudbox to start up.

I would like to thank Lynda Bohager for sharing her experience with the community.