Battlefield 3 install said that I needed to update video drivers.

Everything was fine. I bought Battlefield 3, Premium online. It seems to have installed okay, but throws up a warning box when I try to start it up that my video drivers need to be updated from Ver. 11.5 to 11.7 or later. (Radeon HD6870)

I went to AMD and downloaded their 'automatic detector' for needed driver updates. This did nothing that I could tell. I then downloaded the current release of the Catalyst Software Suite and now I can't do anything with opening the Control Center or updating drivers.

Below is my inquiry to them and their response. I don't pretend to be a tech guy, so the water is getting really deep. I don't want things to go from bad to worse or worst. Is it safe for me to follow their instructions? Are there any steps where I could blow something up? I really don't know how to do this stuff. Except for not being able to use Battlefield 3, and not being able to get into the Control Center, the computer is otherwise functioning normally. (Dell Studio XPS 9100)

Advise would surely be appreciated. I have a couple of problems, but don't want to create more problems while trying fix them.
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My inquiry to AMD:

I installed Battlefield 3 and was prompted that the video drivers were not up to date. I came to your website and downloaded amddriverdownloader.exe for autodetecting needed drivers. This did not do anything. It 'apparently' installed, but was of no help.? I then downloaded Catalyst Software Suite ( 12-4-vista_win7_64_dd_ccc.exe ). Now I cannot open Catalyst at all. 1. I need specific instructions on how to fix the Catalyst Control Center (Software Suite). I did a search on how to do this and mostly found that a lot of people have trouble with this software. 2. I need to get, or confirm that I have, current drivers. Battlefield 3 is throwing up a screen that says the drivers are not current.
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Their response:
I understand that after installing catalyst version 12.4 ,Catalyst software is not opening up.
There are issues been reported to us with Catalyst version 12.4
AMD has released the Catalyst version 12.6 Beta driver.I would suggest to follow the steps below and do a clean uninstall of the current drivers and th install 12.6 Beta driver:
1. Uninstall all ATI drivers and any other video card software from the Add
or Remove Programs and Features in Microsoft, Control Panel
2. Try using a driver cleaner program to make sure the drivers are removed:
Please keep in mind that the (Driver Cleaner / Driver Sweeper are 3rd party
software and not supported by AMD) please refer to their websites for
instruction and guidance.
a. Driver Cleaner Professional
http://www.afterdawn.com/software/desktop_software/other_tools/driver_cleaner_pro.cfm
b. Driver Sweeper:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1655
3. Disable any running background software such as firewalls and antivirus.
4. Make sure your operating System has the latest Service Packs and patches
/ updates.
5. Make sure your motherboard has the latest BIOS and CHIPSET (you can get these updates directly from the manufacturer of the motherboard).
6. Make sure you have enough power supply for the system to run properly.500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power
connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode).
7.Install the drivers from the link below:
http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/AMDCatalyst126beta.aspx

If AMD does not get a response back from you in 10 days, the ticket will be
closed, and you will need to open a new ticket if your issue is not yet
resolved.

Hi D_Blackwell

The information from AMD is mostly straightforward and not likely to worsen your situation, with one possible exception ! Item 5 :-"Latest BIOS and Chipset". This is correct advice, but you might want to get help from someone with more experience than yourself.

The nice thing is you say your computer is a Dell. Somewhere on the casing you will find a bar-code - copy the number, it is really useful ! I will come back to it.

The first thing I would do is download and install a small utility called 'Speccy' ( www.piriform.com/speccy ). If you run it, it will tell you what BIOS and chipset versions you have both for your motherboard and your graphics card. Make a note of these, and now we come back to that Dell number.

If you go onto the Dell web-site and go to support, you will find a space to enter that number which will take you directly to the page for your computer. Here they list, among other things, the up to date driver set for your computer and you can check these against the versions 'Speccy' says you have installed. If the numbers from 'Speccy' match the version numbers on the Dell site, your BIOS and chipset are up to date, no further action necessary. If they don't, you have the option to update them.

Start by downloading the updated drivers and save them into some convenient folder, preferably by themselves - they are easier to find. Then turn your computer off.

Re-boot, and at the first start-up screen, where it says 'BIOS set-up' among other things, press the 'Delete' key and this should take you into 'BIOS set-up'. You need to be fairly quick - if you miss, just let your computer start up and then re-boot it. If 'Delete' doesn't open up 'BIOS set-up'it may be the F2 key, the start-up screen will tell you.

Once you are in 'BIOS set-up' then use the arrow keys to get to the page to update the BIOS and follow the instructions as they turn up.

IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY IN THE BIOS SYSTEM, LEAVE IT ALONE and get someone with more experience to do it. BIOS stands for Basic Input Output System, and it is exactly that - Basic. If it doesn't work, your computer won't run !

As for the rest of their advice, start off by downloadng the newest drivers for your video card and saving them, again, somewhere convenient. Uninstall the Catalyst 12.4 version and install the 12.6 version and run that. If you have any doubt about the drivers being fully uninstalled, use one of the driver cleaners they suggest, then install your new drivers and you should be good to go.

You should have your operating system fully patched in any case, this is just good security practice, and all you can do with the power supply is look at the numbers on the casing. If it says 500W you should be OK, 400W will probably do, less than that probably won't. But all you can do is change the power supply - you can't adjust the output.

Hope this helps,

Chris Cosgrove