wtf? No graphics or network drivers by default!?

[Hades]

I've just installed Vista after a bit of an upgrade. It's the first time I've installed Windows for several years. I was frankly gobsmacked that it didn't even install drivers for my Nvidia graphics card and Netgear wireless card.

I love Linux but wouldn't call myself an evangelist. But after all the complaints about how Linux doesn't work "out of the box" I can honestly say I'm disappointed with the Windows default installation. Ubuntu set all this up straight out of the box (or at least with a couple of clicks after installing).

Oh and what's with the 119mb download for Nvidia drivers????? That's just insane.

 

[Craig321]

Drivers from the manufacturer are always (well, maybe not in some cases) better than the Microsoft ones so it's probably best if you just get the relevant, latest drivers from the internet.

Also make sure you get the proper audio drivers for your motherboard, I've found Vista's default audio drivers are always a bit dodgy for me.

 

[Indy500]

ATI's Catalyst 8.11 without the extras is 23MB, or 35MB if I count Ati Tray Tools. Even if I downloaded the CCC version its about 58MB. I'm sure Nvidia's drivers were comparable in size last time I checked, perhaps the Cuda\PhysX\etc caused a bloating of the install recently?

Devices like cardbus controllers do not have seperate drivers, they're only integrated into Windows.

 

[Craig321]

ATI's Catalyst 8.11 without the extras is 23MB, or 35MB if I count Ati Tray Tools. Even if I downloaded the CCC version its about 58MB. I'm sure Nvidia's drivers were comparable in size last time I checked, perhaps the Cuda\PhysX\etc caused a bloating of the install recently?

Devices like cardbus controllers do not have seperate drivers, they're only integrated into Windows.

Yep, the Physx drivers increase the size of the drivers to over 100MB, then they included CUDA etc. which made it up to 120MB.

I'm really surprised NVIDIA don't just do a plain on driver package (no control panel etc.) like ATI do.

Files are always going to get bigger. With the amount of hard drive space available and the average speed of people's internet connection increasing, file sizes don't really need to be that small anymore.

 

[Indy500]

Yep, the Physx drivers increase the size of the drivers to over 100MB, then they included CUDA etc. which made it up to 120MB.

I'm really surprised NVIDIA don't just do a plain on driver package (no control panel etc.) like ATI do.

Files are always going to get bigger. With the amount of hard drive space available and the average speed of people's internet connection increasing, file sizes don't really need to be that small anymore.

Millions of web users are still on 56k, or 1-2Mbit, I don't think many people have fast connections. I only have access to 2Mbit myself (although I could probably get more if I was allowed my own phoneline).

Regardless of connection speed, I'd still prefer a seperate option for drivers only.