Safe Mode with Blank Screen - No 1024 x 768 resolution

[zeronar]

I wonder if anyone can help.

This relates to my PC with Windows XP Professional with SP 3 which I bought
used last November.

The video card is nVidia Geforce4 MX400.

About a month ago I first noticed that my computer was infected with
viruses/malware. I started having problems after problems ever since, and
this is the latest. Two programs I have used have eliminated about 140
viruses/malware programs so far.

I had been using 1024 x 768 resolution (True Color) until about a week ago
without any display problem.

One day about a week ago, my PC seemed working fine and I left it unattended
for about 10 minutes. When I returned to it, the screen was black /blank and
the PC was non-responsive. So I turned it off and tried to reboot normally.
The screen remained black/blank.

So, I restarted the computer this time in Safe Mode, and the screen remained
black/blank.

Next, I tried booting with VGA enabled, and managed to reach the login
screen. I logged in with one of Administrator accounts (not the default
[master] Administrator account) and tried to change the resolution back to
1024 x 768. It didn't work. The screen went black/blank again.

Next, I booted with VGA enabled again, and after logging in, tried various
resolution settings and found resolutions other than 1024 x 768 working. I
set the resolution to 1152 x 864 and logged off. Now my PC boots normally,
but the problem is that it boots ONLY normally. When I try to boot in Safe
Mode, after the initial screen/s of things being loaded in text, the screen
goes totally black/blank as before. I don't even see the words "Safe Mode" at
the four corners of the screen.

Vga.sys on my hard disk seems intact (Creation and Last Modified dates are
both well before this year).


Does anybody have any idea what I should try next?

Thank you in advance for your help/comments.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I wonder if anyone can help.

This relates to my PC with Windows XP Professional with SP 3 which I bought
used last November.

The video card is nVidia Geforce4 MX400.

About a month ago I first noticed that my computer was infected with
viruses/malware. I started having problems after problems ever since, and
this is the latest. Two programs I have used have eliminated about 140
viruses/malware programs so far.

140 is an enormous number. If you had that many, it is very likely
that you will never succeed in getting the computer back to a normal
state. You should do a clean reinstallation of Windows.

I had been using 1024 x 768 resolution (True Color) until about a week ago
without any display problem.

One day about a week ago, my PC seemed working fine and I left it unattended
for about 10 minutes. When I returned to it, the screen was black /blank and
the PC was non-responsive. So I turned it off and tried to reboot normally.
The screen remained black/blank.

So, I restarted the computer this time in Safe Mode, and the screen remained
black/blank.

Next, I tried booting with VGA enabled, and managed to reach the login
screen. I logged in with one of Administrator accounts (not the default
[master] Administrator account) and tried to change the resolution back to
1024 x 768. It didn't work. The screen went black/blank again.

Next, I booted with VGA enabled again, and after logging in, tried various
resolution settings and found resolutions other than 1024 x 768 working. I
set the resolution to 1152 x 864 and logged off. Now my PC boots normally,
but the problem is that it boots ONLY normally. When I try to boot in Safe
Mode, after the initial screen/s of things being loaded in text, the screen
goes totally black/blank as before. I don't even see the words "Safe Mode" at
the four corners of the screen.

Vga.sys on my hard disk seems intact (Creation and Last Modified dates are
both well before this year).


Does anybody have any idea what I should try next?

Thank you in advance for your help/comments.

 

[db]

you may need to unplug
the monitor from the third
party vga board and plug
into the onboard adaptor
so that you can try to get
into safe mode.


-----------------

unfortunately, if you
removed that many
virus's,

you may not be in
the clear because
you may have missing
or corrupted system
files resulting from the
infections.

thus the o.s. needs
repair or reinstallation.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen

I wonder if anyone can help.

This relates to my PC with Windows XP Professional with SP 3 which I bought
used last November.

The video card is nVidia Geforce4 MX400.

About a month ago I first noticed that my computer was infected with
viruses/malware. I started having problems after problems ever since, and
this is the latest. Two programs I have used have eliminated about 140
viruses/malware programs so far.

I had been using 1024 x 768 resolution (True Color) until about a week ago
without any display problem.

One day about a week ago, my PC seemed working fine and I left it unattended
for about 10 minutes. When I returned to it, the screen was black /blank and
the PC was non-responsive. So I turned it off and tried to reboot normally.
The screen remained black/blank.

So, I restarted the computer this time in Safe Mode, and the screen remained
black/blank.

Next, I tried booting with VGA enabled, and managed to reach the login
screen. I logged in with one of Administrator accounts (not the default
[master] Administrator account) and tried to change the resolution back to
1024 x 768. It didn't work. The screen went black/blank again.

Next, I booted with VGA enabled again, and after logging in, tried various
resolution settings and found resolutions other than 1024 x 768 working. I
set the resolution to 1152 x 864 and logged off. Now my PC boots normally,
but the problem is that it boots ONLY normally. When I try to boot in Safe
Mode, after the initial screen/s of things being loaded in text, the screen
goes totally black/blank as before. I don't even see the words "Safe Mode" at
the four corners of the screen.

Vga.sys on my hard disk seems intact (Creation and Last Modified dates are
both well before this year).


Does anybody have any idea what I should try next?

Thank you in advance for your help/comments.

 

[Twayne]

Any time you acquire a computer that has been used by anyone else, the
very first thing you should do is a complete, clean install of the
operating system. You don't need all of someone else's problems on top
of your own to continually keep popping up surprises for you. Reinstall
from scratch is the best thing you could do.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[zeronar]

Thank you for replies.

Yes, I know a clean install of Windows XP is probably the only way to get my
computer back in its original state, but since I bought it used without a
restore CD, a new installation is not possible. My hope is that I can keep
using my computer for a year or so more and then to get a computer with
Windows 7. As of now, aside from the video problem (lack of the 1024 x 768
resolution and video altogether in Safe Mode), the computer seems to be
working stable enough, even though there are some other issues which I
suspect were caused by viruses. I would like to try to tackle these problems
one by one, and making my computer bootable in Safe Mode is the top priority
because my computer may become unusable in normal mode again.

Even if I can’t really clean up my computer completely, that’s ok because in
the process of attempting to do so, I’m pretty sure I’ll learn a lot.

So, I’d like to keep asking questions. The first one:

When I could start my computer in Safe Mode about a month ago (after the
initial infections), the resolution I got in Safe Mode was 1024 x 768, my
usual setting. At the time, I thought that was normal, but after reading a
Microsoft’s KB article, I have learned that Safe Mode loads vga.sys instead
of video card’s specific drivers. If that’s the case, shouldn’t I have seen
vga’s low resolution in Safe Mode? What’s resolution do you get when you boot
in Safe Mode?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you for replies.

Yes, I know a clean install of Windows XP is probably the only way to get my
computer back in its original state, but since I bought it used without a
restore CD, a new installation is not possible.

Of course it's possible. It requires that you buy a copy of Windows if
you can't get one for free from the manufacturer.

Moreover, if you don't have a copy of Windows with the computer, your
use of Windows is very likely a violation of the license agreement.

 

[db]

yes, vga.sys is the
basic resolution.

and may still be active
in normal mode if your
graphics display
driver crashed.

you can go to device
manager and check out
your display adaptor
drivers.

there might be a question
mark next to that reference
and the properties will likely
have the default vga.sys
driver enabled.

I would suggest you search
and update that driver with
one that is for your system.

but perhaps, you might try
to go to the home site for
that computer and check
out the downloads and
updates for the model and
download the most current
display driver instead.

incidentally, you may want
to download a freeware called
"siw" and it will scan your
registry for all the product keys
installed.

you will also get the data for
your windows.

it is possible that either the
home site will have the option
to provide you with restore
disks "or"

they will have the instructions
on initiating a factory restore
if your hard disk has a special
hidden partition with the restoration
files.


--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen

 

[zeronar]

In normal mode, I checked Device Manager and the driver for the video adapter
was nVidia's.

I went thorough the registry and found one suspicious part and changed two
values (changes noted):
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO]

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{23A77BF7-ED96-40EC-AF06-9B1F4867732A}]

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{23A77BF7-ED96-40EC-AF06-9B1F4867732A}\0000]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000320 <--- was 1024 (decimal)
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000258 <--- was 768 (decimal)
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}]

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}\0000]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000480
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000360
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:0000003c
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.Orientation"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.FixedOutput"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}\0000\Mon11223344]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000480
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000360
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:0000003c
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.Orientation"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.FixedOutput"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}\0000\Mon22446688]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000400
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000300
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:0000003c
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.Orientation"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.FixedOutput"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000


Well, now I can boot in Safe Mode with the resolution of 800 x 600. Device
Manager still indicates the driver is nVidia's. I have absolutely no idea
what's going on, but at least I got it working.

I have questions:

1. Is the above (dirty fix?) safe? Should I change more entries elsewhere?
Are there better ways to change them through Control Panel and such without
having to change them directly with the use of regedit?

2. I have only one monitor connected; I have never connected or tried to
connect more than one monitor at a time. (Originally, the computer came with
a Sony's monitor, but since I didn't like the quality of the display, I
switched to my old Viewsonic monitor. [Both CRT]). Why do I have two monitors
registered? (The Device Manager shows only one "default" monitor.)

3. I did a file search, and my system doesn't seem to have vgasave.sys. Is
it indeed a file? Is it critical to have it in order to boot in Safe Mode?

 

[db]

if you have a nvidia
graphics card installed,

and the driver is nvidia's

and you have the crt plugged
into that nvidia adaptor/port

and you are still getting a
default resolution,

then maybe the crt state is
set for a default resolution.

check around the crt for
buttons to press to initiate
the crt's setup, if it has any.

maybe it has the options
to modify the crt's state or
provides a "auto configuration"
mode.

another option is to open
the nvidia control panel and
also check if you can modify
the resolution for that monitor.

another option is to double
check your bios and see if
there are settings for graphic
or video shadowing.

other than the above, I have
no other suggestions other
than to consider transitioning
over to a flat panel monitor.

they are reasonable now and
their output are much better
than the crt's.

--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen

In normal mode, I checked Device Manager and the driver for the video adapter
was nVidia's.

I went thorough the registry and found one suspicious part and changed two
values (changes noted):
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO]

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{23A77BF7-ED96-40EC-AF06-9B1F4867732A}]

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{23A77BF7-ED96-40EC-AF06-9B1F4867732A}\0000]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000320 <--- was 1024 (decimal)
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000258 <--- was 768 (decimal)
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}]

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}\0000]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000480
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000360
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:0000003c
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.Orientation"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.FixedOutput"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}\0000\Mon11223344]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000480
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000360
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:0000003c
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.Orientation"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.FixedOutput"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\VIDEO\{FFEF2272-5A6C-45A3-BD2F-43E28027E0B7}\0000\Mon22446688]
"Attach.ToDesktop"=dword:00000001
"DefaultSettings.BitsPerPel"=dword:00000020
"DefaultSettings.XResolution"=dword:00000400
"DefaultSettings.YResolution"=dword:00000300
"DefaultSettings.VRefresh"=dword:0000003c
"DefaultSettings.Flags"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.XPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.YPanning"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.Orientation"=dword:00000000
"DefaultSettings.FixedOutput"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeX"=dword:00000000
"Attach.RelativeY"=dword:00000000


Well, now I can boot in Safe Mode with the resolution of 800 x 600. Device
Manager still indicates the driver is nVidia's. I have absolutely no idea
what's going on, but at least I got it working.

I have questions:

1. Is the above (dirty fix?) safe? Should I change more entries elsewhere?
Are there better ways to change them through Control Panel and such without
having to change them directly with the use of regedit?

2. I have only one monitor connected; I have never connected or tried to
connect more than one monitor at a time. (Originally, the computer came with
a Sony's monitor, but since I didn't like the quality of the display, I
switched to my old Viewsonic monitor. [Both CRT]). Why do I have two monitors
registered? (The Device Manager shows only one "default" monitor.)

3. I did a file search, and my system doesn't seem to have vgasave.sys. Is
it indeed a file? Is it critical to have it in order to boot in Safe Mode?

yes, vga.sys is the
basic resolution.

and may still be active
in normal mode if your
graphics display
driver crashed.

you can go to device
manager and check out
your display adaptor
drivers.

there might be a question
mark next to that reference
and the properties will likely
have the default vga.sys
driver enabled.

I would suggest you search
and update that driver with
one that is for your system.

but perhaps, you might try
to go to the home site for
that computer and check
out the downloads and
updates for the model and
download the most current
display driver instead.

incidentally, you may want
to download a freeware called
"siw" and it will scan your
registry for all the product keys
installed.

you will also get the data for
your windows.

it is possible that either the
home site will have the option
to provide you with restore
disks "or"

they will have the instructions
on initiating a factory restore
if your hard disk has a special
hidden partition with the restoration
files.


--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen