There seems to be a fairly common problem among XP users. I refer to it as
the "Blank Video" problem. It does not happen often and there are assorted
ways out of the problem. An orderly shutdown is impossible so the risk of
file damage is a given with a power switch shutdown.
The ways to recover:
Boot safe mode (not always possible) and set video refresh rate from UNKNOWN
to Optimal.
Reset BIOS.
Before SP2 you could recover by booting the XP original CD. No luck with
that recently.
The problem is aggravated by installing an LCD monitor.
It appears to me that the problem is that a rogue program or condition sets
the video adapter to a mode that the monitor cannot execute. A reboot brings
you right back to the problem.
Here are some possible solutions:
The ability to limit the video settings that XP can select inside XP.
The ability in the video driver to ignore mode requests that are out of
range for the installed monitor.
The ability of the display to convert an out of range signal to something
that at least displays.
This may be a "high end" hardware type of failure. The video drivers for
minimum function hardware may already do this. The most likely fix should
come from the video driver (video controller people). It would be easier to
implement there and they are really the controlling entity. The big problem
is that they all just quit when the problem occurs! The monitor should
indicate "settings out of range", they driver should say "invalid mode
request" and the supervisor should say "bad response from display system".
The most dangerous aspect of the problem happens on my machine in that files
are sometimes damaged in the crashes. Sometimes these files are impossible
to recover without a regen of the system!
So far I have had two XP crashes that required a total regen. All of the
hardware except the monitor has been changed out. XP and the monitor are the
only components left and at this point I have the monitor out of the
configuration. I have not seen a failure since I reverted to an ATI 9600
All-in-Wonder video controller and a Viewsonic PF790 Display.
I will keep it this way until I better understand the XP & driver controls.
I don't want to own up to how much time I have spent on this bug, it is
embarrassing!
Can someone tell me how to keep XP from allowing a mode that my LCD monitor
(Microtek 710s) cannot execute? Or how to keep the video controller from
using a mode that will not work on my monitor?
--
John Ferrell
http://DixieNC.US
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