Re: Display Problem

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From: Dean (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 08/05/04 

Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 17:29:46 -0700

Hi Malke,

I just tried a variation of your recommendation. I
removed MY video card and put it in a friends computer
and it worked fine. Do you think this ruled out a card
problem ?

I am really convinced there is a driver conflict here and
I just can't figure out what the exact conflict is nor
how to correct it.

The replies below yours seem to lean the same way.

Any suggestions ??

>-----Original Message-----
>Dean wrote:
>
>> Hi Group -
>>
>> Here's my complicated scenario:
>>
>> Windows XP Home edition has been functioning fine for
>> almost 2 years.
>>
>> My anti-virus software and spyware blockers are all
>> updated and have been run without finding a problem. I
>> have downloaded and installed all the XP updates.
>>
>> About a month ago, every time I rebooted, the display
>> pixels changed from 800x600 to 640x480. I was able to
go
>> into the Control Panel and reset them to 800x600 and
they
>> remained fine until I rebooted and then the scenario
>> repeated. That was until yesterday..............
>>
>> Yesterday, when I reboot, the display appears to be
even
>> larger than 640 x480. When I go into the Control
Panel,
>> it says it is 640x480, but again, it looks larger.
Now,
>> however, if I reset it to 800x600, the desk top becomes
>> 800x600, BUT, the desk top becomes narrower by about 2
>> inches on each side. In other words, the icon become
the
>> correct
>> size, but the desk top shrinks in on both sides by
about
>> two inches, leaving about 2 inches of black on each
>> side. The top to bottom remains correct.
>>
>> I have reset the monitor to the original settings
without
>> improvement.
>>
>> Out of sheer frustration, I reinstalled Win XP.
>> Interestingly, during the installation, the screen
>> appeared correct until the final reboot, when the
problem
>> re-occurred. I am assuming that since the screen was
>> correct during the re-install, that it is a software
>> setting problem and not a hardware problem. Also, when
>> XP starts, I get the computer manufacturers logo in
full
>> normal screen.
>>
>> I removed the video driver and reinstalled the latest
>> version. Interestingly, it resolved back to being able
>> to change the settings in the control panel and have it
>> remain for the session until I rebooted. However, now
it
>> is back to the later problem of narrowing of the
desktop
>> from the sides.
>>
>> Another observation is that since yesterday, Windows
>> Messenger, which normally always loads on start-up,
seems
>> not to do so all the time. I have had manually start
it,
>> and when I did, the display resized. I'm not sure if
>> there is a connection nor can I figure out how to
>> uninstall and reinstall Windows Messenger.
>
>Although you did a great job of investigating this
problem, you drew the
>wrong conclusion from the fact that the Welcome screen
worked and the
>regular mode didn't. Actually, your video card is
probably failing. The
>way to test this is to swap out your card for a known-
working one and
>see if that helps. Of course, you'll need to uninstall
the current card
>and install proper drivers for the new card, but that
isn't any big
>deal.
>
>Malke
>--
>MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
>Elephant Boy Computers
>www.elephantboycomputers.com
>"Don't Panic!"
>.
>

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