How to Work Around Compatible Graphics Card in Windows

Graphics card compatibility issues can prevent you from accessing some of the advanced system display options in Windows Vista. Working around this issue is possible by "fooling" the operating system into thinking that you have a compliant graphics card, enabling you to activate these settings regardless of your card's actual ability.

Step 1

Right click "Start," and click "Explore."

Step 2

Type "X:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore" into the address bar, and press "Enter," replacing "X" with the letter of the drive containing Vista.

Step 3

Scroll to the bottom of the list and right click the last entry on the page. Select "Open with," and choose "Wordpad."

Step 4

Press "Ctrl" and "F" together. Type "SystemScore" into the "Find" box, and press "Enter." Highlight the number listed under system score and change it to "7.9."

Step 5

Scroll through the rest of the document, and change all lines containing a numerical score to "7.9."

Step 6

Click "File," and select "Save."

Step 7

Open "Start," and type "Windows Experience Index" into the "Search" box. Press "Enter." This will convince the computer that your graphics card is compatible with all advanced options, allowing you to enable them within the OS.

About the Author

TS Jordan is an Ohio licensed attorney living and practicing out of the Cleveland area. In addition to his Juris Doctorate, he holds a Bachelors' Degree in Information Systems. He has been writing professionally for less than a year.