Silver
07-26-2002, 06:10 PM
Could not link directly to the article so here it is.
ATi Clarifies Win9x & WinNT Driver Support - Thursday, July 25 | Solomon
We never posted any of the lame stories saying that ATi's Radeon 9000 and 9000 pro won't work on Windows 9x or Windows NT machines. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that isn't even correct. ATi has clarified the issue with the WHQL certification and their stand on the driver support for the newly announced and released Radeon 9000 and 9000 Pro:
"Since the RADEON 9700 and RADEON 9000 series of cards from ATI were released after the July 1st date, there was no way to obtain certification for these drivers."
"Microsoft certification of drivers is the most significant 3rd party qualification of a devices stability and quality. ATI's CATALYST drivers are based on the foundation of stability and quality and as such every driver that ATI makes available must go through Microsoft certification.
"Although Microsoft no longer certifies devices under those operating systems, ATI still supports them. Users of Windows 98 and Windows 98 (SE) just simply need to use the WHQL certified Windows ME driver provided both on our shipping CD's and on our website. ATI also has an NT4 driver available for the RADEON 9000 and RADEON 9000 Pro which will be made available shortly."
"Furthermore users of those operating systems are still supported by ATI's customer care program and can still obtain technical support."
What was the reason for this clarification? Well their was this story posted that the Radeon 9000 and 9000 Pro won't work in Windows 98 or Windows NT machines (I will leave it to your imagination to figure out where the story came from). The statement from ATi is a result of this statement from Microsoft:
WHQL will no longer accept certain submissions
Beginning 01 July 2002, at 12:01 A.M. PST, WHQL will no longer accept submissions for all hardware devices and systems for the following operating systems. This includes all submission types for all devices and systems.
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE)
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
Windows NT 4.0 Server
As a reminder, WHQL previously stopped accepting submissions for Windows 98 Gold in the latter part of 1999.
So don't sweat it folks, just because the drivers aren't WHQL doesn't mean that they won't work on your machine. Besides Nvidia and ATi send alot of versions to Microsoft for WHQL testings and only a small handfull get WHQL. You should see how many tests Nvidia and ATi drivers fail during WHQL certification. Their was one set from Nvidia that failed 7 times. Ouch... WHQL isn't all that is cracked up to be folk.
ATi Clarifies Win9x & WinNT Driver Support - Thursday, July 25 | Solomon
We never posted any of the lame stories saying that ATi's Radeon 9000 and 9000 pro won't work on Windows 9x or Windows NT machines. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that isn't even correct. ATi has clarified the issue with the WHQL certification and their stand on the driver support for the newly announced and released Radeon 9000 and 9000 Pro:
"Since the RADEON 9700 and RADEON 9000 series of cards from ATI were released after the July 1st date, there was no way to obtain certification for these drivers."
"Microsoft certification of drivers is the most significant 3rd party qualification of a devices stability and quality. ATI's CATALYST drivers are based on the foundation of stability and quality and as such every driver that ATI makes available must go through Microsoft certification.
"Although Microsoft no longer certifies devices under those operating systems, ATI still supports them. Users of Windows 98 and Windows 98 (SE) just simply need to use the WHQL certified Windows ME driver provided both on our shipping CD's and on our website. ATI also has an NT4 driver available for the RADEON 9000 and RADEON 9000 Pro which will be made available shortly."
"Furthermore users of those operating systems are still supported by ATI's customer care program and can still obtain technical support."
What was the reason for this clarification? Well their was this story posted that the Radeon 9000 and 9000 Pro won't work in Windows 98 or Windows NT machines (I will leave it to your imagination to figure out where the story came from). The statement from ATi is a result of this statement from Microsoft:
WHQL will no longer accept certain submissions
Beginning 01 July 2002, at 12:01 A.M. PST, WHQL will no longer accept submissions for all hardware devices and systems for the following operating systems. This includes all submission types for all devices and systems.
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE)
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
Windows NT 4.0 Server
As a reminder, WHQL previously stopped accepting submissions for Windows 98 Gold in the latter part of 1999.
So don't sweat it folks, just because the drivers aren't WHQL doesn't mean that they won't work on your machine. Besides Nvidia and ATi send alot of versions to Microsoft for WHQL testings and only a small handfull get WHQL. You should see how many tests Nvidia and ATi drivers fail during WHQL certification. Their was one set from Nvidia that failed 7 times. Ouch... WHQL isn't all that is cracked up to be folk.