-=PCTechTalk=- H E L P ! Machine Froze... and now.... my video will only display 4 bit
- From: <TechRose@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 13:14:43 -0800
Hi all!
I am running a Gateway (AMD Athlon) 1.1 ghz machine, Windows XP,
I was reading email and when I clicked on an email to open.. my machine froze.
The screen was white. NOTHING would work. I waited about 3 mins..and no
response.. So, I shut down my computer, by pressing the power button.
I waited about a minute and then turned it on. It 'may' have showed the
initial start..black screen white letters, promise technology info and drive
info.. but... Windows never started. I waited a good 5 minutes. I did notice
that my external 250 GB hard drive light was red (usually when it is writing).
This drive runs the PowerQuest (now Symantec) Data Keeper and backs up my c:.
I again powered the machine down.
The second time I turned the power on, I did see the initial booting
stuff..promise technology, hard drives detected, and then a blank screen. Then
a Windows error screen came up apologizing for it not booting properly and
giving me a couple of options. One was to continue normally and the other was
to go to the last know configuration that worked. By the time I finished
reading this screen it automatically went on and finished booting. Well, it
did not finish booting...as all I got was a blank black screen. So, I waited
about 5 minutes..and then powered off again.
The third time, I turned the computer on, I got the same response as above
EXCEPT I quickly selected the option to go to the last configuration that
worked. It completed booting and voila! I had Windows on my desktop. But, my
goodness it looked awful and there was an icon on my sys tray that said to
click this to fix the video display. (It almost looked like safe mode - you
know..that pixilated look.) That seemed to disappear before I got to it.
(Almost at the same time, I got a notice in the sys tray of a windows update.
At this point, I decided not to mess with it. I need to be able to see this
better.
I right clicked on the desktop and did properties. I wanted to change the
screen resolution. It was at 800X600. There is no option available to make it
larger. (I typically use 1280 X 780?) The video is 4 bit and I cannot change
that. I followed the help instructions on trying to update the driver and
windows did not find an updated driver on the machine. It says my Nvidia
Gforce MX 2 (32 mb memory) card is working properly. I followed the steps to
update the drivers where it tells you to press do not search I will select and
it is suppose to show a list of manufacturer's. There was no list.
I used Belarc advisor and it told me my monitor is the Sceptre 19" Komondo IV.
(I just installed it this week and it has been working fine. (It is a flat
panel TFT monitor and it did not come with any drivers and has been working
great all week. )
My first two thoughts are.. the video card as gone bad..(this machine is a bit
over 3 yrs old... of course the warranty just ran out...) or the new monitor
is not good. I am leaning towards the video card..since it will not display
beyond the 4 bit. But, why would windows not show the list of manufacturer's
as the help file said it would. Maybe that is an question for Big Bill
Gates..lol!
Anyway.. my question is... any suggestions?
I am NOT a hardware person. Should I try a new video card? If so, what should
I buy? I do a lot with graphics so that is important to me. My other half
will be the one to do the physical replacing of the card. Is this difficult to
do?
Any help/info sent will be greatly appreciated.
Rose
Las Vegas
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