Re: no display, but xp still fully boots

Tech-Archive recommends: Speed Up your PC by fixing your registry

From: D.Currie (dmbcurrie.nospam_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 07/22/04 

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 22:37:09 -0600

"Joe Letter" <nojunk@nojunk.com> wrote in message
news:e6eiDb3bEHA.2352@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> A friend of mine recently installed a "whole bunch" of updates from the
> windows update site and found that upon reboot his display remained blank.
> A black screen is all that can be seen.
>
> Interesting facts:
> .The bios startup screen still works
> .Pressing F8 will take to a boot choice
> .Windows still loads, if you wait long enough you know you are logged in
> since you can peform operations by key combinations if you have them
> memorized (for example (windows key, U, arrow keys up 3x, arrow key down
1x,
> enter = reboots the computer)
> . Safe mode is also blank
> . last know good doesn't fix it.
>
> What can be done? I think it might have a driver problem, but it looks
like
> safe mode doesn't even work.... that should load the standard vga driver
> which shouldn't be a problem.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks!!!!
> Joe
>
>

I've seen that under three circumstances. Once, when spyware was hogging so
much of the system that it couldn't show video -- which may not be this case
unless you've noticed severe system slowdowns prior to this -- and another
when the video drivers got deleted, and a third when the default video got
changed to a different output.

If you've got 2 video outputs see if the other has been changed to the
primary when Windows boots; just plug your monitor into the other output.
You can try booting in VGA mode and see what happens. Or borrow an old video
card of a different type and plug that in. Since it would require completely
different drivers, it might work.

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