Missing login icons

[weapon]

I was replacing my Geforce 5200 with a Geforce 6600, and adding 1
Gig of ram to the 1 Gig that was already there. When i started up the
computer, it started normally and recognized the new video card. It preceded
past the windows XP Home loading screen and went to a black screen for a long
period(about 6-10min) and but when it finally got to the loading screen both
the login icon, and the shutdown icons were missing.
I tried a few things to fix this problem. I put the old card back
in and took out new ram and same problem occurred. I entered classic login
with ALT-CTRL+Delete and it did not recognize my normal login when i typed it
in. I also tried system repair with the CD and it just went though startup
including black screen and missing icons.
I appreciate any help you can give me regarding this issue. Does
it sound like a hardware issue or a software one?

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was 11/4/2008 4:06 PM, and on a whim, weapon pounded
out on the keyboard:

I was replacing my Geforce 5200 with a Geforce 6600, and adding 1
Gig of ram to the 1 Gig that was already there. When i started up the
computer, it started normally and recognized the new video card. It preceded
past the windows XP Home loading screen and went to a black screen for a long
period(about 6-10min) and but when it finally got to the loading screen both
the login icon, and the shutdown icons were missing.
I tried a few things to fix this problem. I put the old card back
in and took out new ram and same problem occurred. I entered classic login
with ALT-CTRL+Delete and it did not recognize my normal login when i typed it
in. I also tried system repair with the CD and it just went though startup
including black screen and missing icons.
I appreciate any help you can give me regarding this issue. Does
it sound like a hardware issue or a software one?

Did you try re-installing the video drivers? There might be quite a bit
of difference between the one that supported the 5200 and the one that
supports the 6600.

I replaced my nVidia card recently with a newer one. I'm not using the
newest drivers as the new card (and Windows) actually work better with
older ones. For some reason, the newer drivers messed with my PDF
printer drivers, and having them work (at all) was more important than
whatever benefits the newer driver offered.

--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.

 

[weapon]

I am unsure how i would do that since i cant get into the main part of the
computer to install anything. I cant get to the start window, or my computer.
Im still stuck at login screen.

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was 11/4/2008 4:29 PM, and on a whim, weapon pounded
out on the keyboard:

I am unsure how i would do that since i cant get into the main part of the
computer to install anything. I cant get to the start window, or my computer.
Im still stuck at login screen.

Sorry, it wasn't real clear to me what you had or didn't have on screen.

Did you try Safe Mode? When the computer boots, repeatedly press F8
until you get a menu. Select Safe Mode and see if it loads. If so,
uninstall any video drivers from Add/Remove programs, or just delete the
references in Device Manager regarding the old video drivers.

You may wind up with a 16 color 640x480 screen on normal startup, but at
least you will be able to install new drivers from there.

--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.

 

[weapon]

Safe mode gets a list of drivers to scroll down and it freezes for a few
minutes, and then goes to the login screen :/ This brings me back to the same
problem i was already having. Everything i try seems to lead back to this
same brick wall of a problem. Do you think reformatting my comp will help at
all? or just be a waist of time?

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was 11/4/2008 5:42 PM, and on a whim, weapon pounded
out on the keyboard:

Safe mode gets a list of drivers to scroll down and it freezes for a few
minutes, and then goes to the login screen :/ This brings me back to the same
problem i was already having. Everything i try seems to lead back to this
same brick wall of a problem. Do you think reformatting my comp will help at
all? or just be a waist of time?

Reformatting will surely take care of it, but you'll lose everything on
the hard drive. If you have your data backed up and you've tried
everything else, that may be the only choice you have.

I doubt you'll get any positive results, but try the Last Known Good
Configuration in the F8 menu.

--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.

 

[weapon]

Alright, thanks for all your help. with reformating, TBH im at the point
where its try reformatting or lose everything anyway. I was just afraid that
i would be without a decent computer until I managed to find the money for a
new one.

 

[HeyBub]

Alright, thanks for all your help. with reformating, TBH im at the
point where its try reformatting or lose everything anyway. I was
just afraid that i would be without a decent computer until I managed
to find the money for a new one.

Not so.

* You can put your hard drive in another machine as a slave and copy
retrieve from it.
* You can try a Repair install.

Reloading your computer from scratch is equivalent to stopping your car by
driving into a tree! It may be the only way to safely land, but reformatting
should be the technique of last resort.