Second Life gives me an error message about my motherboard or AGP drivers being out of date.

This article is part of the Extended Second Life Knowledge Base that includes advanced and specialized information. This information was originally provided by Linden Lab, but is not actively maintained nor guaranteed to be accurate. Linden Lab does not certify nor assume any responsibility for this information.

See the official Second Life Knowledge Base for the most current information.

The software that controls the core components of the computer, particularly the slot the graphics card is plugged into, is out of date and needs updating.

You should be able to update your motherboard/chipset/AGP drivers. If you purchased your computer from a retailer, such as HP, Dell, or eMachines, you can obtain drivers at the manufacturer's website. If your computer was home-assembled, check your motherboard manufacturer's website for the most recent drivers. If you don't know what motherboard you have, you have two options:

1. Second Life creates a log file (located in C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>\Application Data\Second Life\Logs) that you can use to identify the manufacturer of your AGP chipset. You can find chipset drivers for the most common manufacturers at the following links:nVidia nForce Chipset DriversVIA Chipset DriversSiS Chipset DriversIntel Graphics Chipset Drivers
2. Download WCPUID. (This application is not supported by Linden Lab!)
   1. After unzipping WCPUID to a directory, run wcpuid.exe (it may show up for you as simply wcpuid).
   2. Select View > System Info.
   3. When the Select Access Type window pops up, select TYPE 1 and click OK. The relevant information is under Manufacturer, Product String and Version String. At this point, you should be able to search Google for the information contained within Product String. You may not find a direct link to your motherboard manufacturer's site, but you should find a specific name for the motherboard if Product String was a code. You can then use that name to find your motherboard manufacturer's support site.

If you're unsure what to do at this stage, post to the Technical Issues Forum. Be sure to mention your computer's specifications, including manufacturer model number (if it's a prebuilt system like an HP or Dell, or if it's a laptop) or the information WCPUID produced in the Manufacturer, Product String and Version String fields.