sgopus, Peter, David B.and TWayne,
I appreciate all of your input on this matter. I tried replying late
yesterday but I could not sign in to Windows Mail.
I followed the recommendations by uninstalling the NVidia drivers and then
uninstalling the graphics adapter. Upon booting, it looked promising. The
system found the "new hardware" (NVidia video card) and installed the needed
drivers. I logged on and it still looked good. The display was normal,
although at a low resolution......for about a minute. It then reverted to
the same problem I started with.
It appears my problem is leaning towards a video card issue. All is well,
though. I got 5 years of use out of this one. The only problem is that it
is a PCI card and I can't take advantage of the new PCI Express technology.
Don't play any violins for me. If I look at the bright side, a PCI video
card will only run me near US $100, if that. I do not play games or run
anything that requires complex graphics. A new PCI card with 512Mb memory
will suffice.
As an aside:
Peter - I checked and my automatic updates were set to notify only so it
was not likely caused by an update. Thank you for bringing that to my
attention so I can check it.
TWayne - I swapped monitors and my problem was the same. Thank you for
the advice.
This discussion was helpful in providing me with the answer I needed,
hardware or software.
Much abliged to all,
Doc
"peter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Safe mode ---> No problems, normal graphics
> this suggests a video driver problem not a hardware problem.
> Try Control Panel/Add&remove and uninstall your Nvidea video drivers
> then MyComputer/Properties/Hardware/Device manager and uninstall the
> video adaptor
> Reboot and XP should redetect the adaptor and load the Generic XP Video
> driver.
> The Dell website should have the proper driver for your Video Chip listed
> under your model number
> download and install it.
>
> If you have XP's Update set to check and install automatically it could
> have during the nite installed a "new" video driver
> You should change that setting to notify only.
>
> peter
>
> --
> If you find a posting or message from me offensive,inappropriate
> or disruptive,please ignore it.
> If you dont know how to ignore a posting complain
> to me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate :-)
>
> "sgopus" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:2C456CBD-36B4-4DB7-8716-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> update most likely will not resolve this, I suspect your video drivers
>> are
>> corrupted, and a fix will require removal of the drivers, and a
>> reinstall,
>> revert to a standard VGA adapter before you remove the video drivers.
>>
>> "Doc" wrote:
>>
>>> NGs included in crosspost
>>> microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
>>> microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware
>>>
>>> I am looking for advice on the likely source of my problem.
>>>
>>> I have a 4-5 year old Dell desktop running XP Home SP3. I usually leave
>>> the
>>> computer on and restart it once or twice weekly. Scans for viruses with
>>> current definitions (Norton), malware (MalwareBytes) and spyware
>>> (SuperAntispyware) are run daily. I have been fortunate and not had any
>>> problems with the computer until now.
>>>
>>> Several days ago, I awoke the computer and it was at the XP welcome
>>> screen.
>>> I would only expect the welcome screen if I restart it and forget to
>>> login,
>>> automatic update/install with restart or a power failure lasting longer
>>> than
>>> the UPS backup. Nonetheless, when the computer awoke, the screen was
>>> identifiable as the welcome screen but it was distorted. Colors were
>>> incorrect and it had the appearance of larger than normal pixels. When
>>> the
>>> mouse was moved, the screen refreshed with a different layout (i.e. my
>>> login
>>> picture was in a different part of the screen). As I continued to move
>>> the
>>> mouse, the screen would refresh but it would sometimes just go black. I
>>> could not login. Turning off the computer or restarting it did not
>>> change
>>> the behavior. I never got a BSOD.
>>>
>>> My attempts to resolve the issue are:
>>> 1. Safe mode ---> No problems, normal graphics. The most unusual fact
>>> was
>>> that I had no system restore points available to me in safe mode.
>>> System
>>> restore is enabled for my C: drive.
>>> 2. I disabled all startup routines in MSConfig and restarted normally
>>> with
>>> no joy.
>>> 3. Events viewer did not show any new errors that have not appeared
>>> previous
>>> to the problem.
>>> 4. The computer has an NVidia GeForce FX 5200 display adapter. I
>>> updated
>>> the driver while in safe mode. After a restart, the problem persisted.
>>> The
>>> differences were that I could login but the display appeared less
>>> distorted
>>> and the colors on the screen were different.
>>>
>>> Does this appear to a video card going bad or a software issue ? I do
>>> not
>>> have a second video card on hand to install to see if the problem is
>>> rectified.
>>>
>>> What would the next logical step be to address this issue ? All
>>> recommendations welcome.
>>>
>>> Thank you.
>>>
>>> Doc
>>>
>>> In my field, a consultant is someone who know more than you.
>>> An expert is a consultant with a Powerpoint presentation.
>>>
|