Re: Start Menu dispays a black screen

David wrote:

I definitely installed all the m/b based hardware and the video
drivers BEFORE updating XP. The machine is a home build so there is no
OEM to refer to. Admittedly I did use the supplied CDs for both these
sets of drivers but I have since checked and these all seem to be the
most recent anyway.

If you have the very latest video drivers - downloaded from the video
card mftr.'s site (unlikely to be the ones on the CD included with the
card which are usually older) - and the problem still occurs, you have
to address the seemingly random nature of the problem.

To troubleshoot if it is a software issue and after you've determined it
isn't a driver issue, you'll need to observe what else is running when
the problem happens. Make notes and observe at least three instances to
see if you can narrow it down to another program or process that is
running in the background.

Using Task Manager, Process Explorer from Sysinternals, and doing
clean-boot troubleshooting will help with that.

Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434
How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

If you can't track it down to software and the problem occurs truly
randomly, look to the video card hardware. Most random problems are
caused by failing hardware. It doesn't matter if the hardware is new;
in fact if hardware is going to fail it will usually do so pretty
quickly or go forever. With a video card, the way to troubleshoot is to
uninstall it and swap it out with a known-working one. If the problem
disappears, replace the original card.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
.

Relevant Pages

  • Hardware Driver writer(s)
    ... Drivers that are very useful if you have a video hardware that has high ... definition drivers written for Ubuntu. ... My computer has a nVidia made video hardware. ...
    (Ubuntu)
  • Re: Start Menu dispays a black screen
    ... I definitely installed all the m/b based hardware and the video ... drivers BEFORE updating XP. ... If you have the very latest video drivers - downloaded from the video ... card mftr.'s site (unlikely to be the ones on the CD included with the ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: VMR-9 support
    ... Includes support for hardware acceleration decoding of ... > video files on GeForce 6 series GPUs. ... themselves like other companies which produce WMV9 hardware ... drivers) and like they already do for MPEG1/2 decoding. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsmedia)
  • Re: Games & Video Major issue
    ... Hardware issues can cause freezing, ... your drivers should always be kept up to date. ... Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers: ... For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, ...
    (microsoft.public.games)
  • No DVD/CD Drive
    ... Update the drivers. ... You might have to get better CD hardware ... from the store if the manufacturer's web site does not ... >Click Troubleshoot to start the troubleshooter for this ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)