Video Adpter problems

[biggmc01]

I have just rebuilt the same Dell Optiplex GX110 for the 4th time this year. Teens keep wrecking it with Kazaa but oh well it only takes 3 hours to fix, most of the time.

Having had to do this so many times I have all the drivers burned on disk for ease. For some reason this time around the video adapter drivers wont work. It has nVidia TNT2-M64 and the driver simply isn't working. System is running win98se. Have tried the burned copy, the original and one downloaded from dell. All I get is 16 colour which is not acceptable.

Any ideas?

[saphalline]

Are you sure the hard drive is still good? How about the innards? Clear of dust bunnies?

Other than that, maybe it's time to retire that old thing. It could have just died. It happens, you know. Is that an AGP or PCI version? Which set of drivers are you using?

[biggmc01]

Are you sure the hard drive is still good? How about the innards? Clear of dust bunnies?

Other than that, maybe it's time to retire that old thing. It could have just died. It happens, you know. Is that an AGP or PCI version? Which set of drivers are you using?



Obviously the hard drive is still good if I could rebuild the system five times! Everything works except the video drivers I have used four times before. There are no "dust bunnies". The PCI card has been reseated. The drivers used are the ones the Dell site gives for downloads.

If I wanted to retire "that old thing" forums like this wouldn't be needed much would they?

Any serious replies and not just post count generators out there?

IXL or Pete would never have been so flippant or vague, are they still around?

[pop pop]

... forums like this wouldn't be needed much would they?

Any serious replies and not just post count generators out there?

And you call Saphalline flippant?? :mad:

How incredibly appropriate that I changed my signature today.

[beerbelly]

oh boy, here we go!

[Jason1971]

Wow you ask for help then smart off when someone offers advice...

I have an idea for you... If you don't like what someone has posted then just wait until the next reply. You see saphalline is not a "post count generator". He knows his sh%t. Good luck finding help now....

I had a couple of ideas about your problem but since you seem to have all of the answers you figure it out.....

One more thing why don't you be a bit more precise about the events leading up to your problems... What do you mean by "rebuilt the same Dell Optiplex GX110 for the 4th time this year." Did you have to pick up the parts and put the thing back together???

[Sylvander]

I like to allow people to make a few mistakes without retaliation.
Only if they continue to persist in failing to learn from their mistakes do I write them off.

Perhaps biggmc you should try booting from a bootable Knoppix CD [ www.knoppix.org/ ] and see how the display looks.

If Windows has problems making the display driver work, it defaults back to a basic driver. Perhaps that's your situation. Lets use the above to check whether the hardware is ok.

[Jason1971]

Okay Sylvander is right....

have you tried downloading the driver from NVIDIA? Here is the one I think you need http://www.nvidia.com/object/win9x_77.72.html

[biggmc01]

Sylander and Jason, I shall try those suggestions. It is reverting to a basic Windows driver.

Also my phrase about rebuilding may be misunderstood. I meant having to format and reinstall the os and all drivers etc.

Also my appologies to anyone I may have offended, bad day at home shouldn't carry over to this fine forum.

[Sylvander]

"bad day at home"
That's it see. :)
When someone does something wrong, you never know what might be behind it; they may have just been told their loved one is dead, or that they have cancer, or that they lost that promotion.
I always figured it was smart to be slow to jump to conclusions, slow to take offence.
I also like the one about...
"If a fool should say nothing he might be taken for a wise man".
I wish I was good at following that advice. :D

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I would try to find drivers for the card at Driverguide.com first before bothering with a replacement (http://cgi.ebay.com/NVIDIA-TNT2-M64-PCI-16MB-16-MB-3D-2D-VIDEO-GRAPHIC-CARD_W0QQitemZ8704327503QQcategoryZ40161QQcmdZView Item). But considering you are in Canada, maybe a local shop would have another used pci card you could purchase. I have some shops near me that have 'bone-yards' of used components.

[Paleo Pete]

IXL or Pete would never have been so flippant or vague, are they still around?

Yep, just not as visible most of the time. This thread got my feathers ruffled for a minute but it looks like it's been calmed down since then so I suppose the best thing to do is let it ride and see what happens. But don't go around insulting the regulars here, as you can see we don't take it too well...

I'm wondering about the driver installation process. Some nVidia and ATi cards must be installed under specific conditions. Some want you to let Windows install a "Standard VGA" Adapter" driver then run the installation program on the original CD, some want you to plop the CD in when Windows asks for drivers, some want you to CLOSE that window then install the drivers manually from either Device Manager or the CD. If it's not doen properly Windows won't accept the drivers. Check the nVidia site and see if they have specific instructions for installing your particular card, the drivers may be OK and your method not quite right. If your drivers offer a list of cards that will work, make sure you choose the correct one. I've tried using the wrong card a number of times by design or mistake, it always defaults back to Standard VGA Adapter and no more than 16 color.

[biggmc01]

..I downloaded the drivers Jason suggested and tried to install them. Was given the message "no nvidia chip found on your system....". Checked display properties and noticed that it wasn't reverted back to standard vga as Pete mentioned. Reset system to that and rebooted, checked again and then tried the orginal driver I had used four times before. This time it worked???? Still can't understand why it didn't the first time around because it was at standard vga when I first tried but maybe not using the right windows generic driver.

Thanks for your help all!

[Jason1971]

Glad to hear it worked out for you.... :)

[saphalline]

Well, maybe a little late now :rolleyes: but my reasoning behind the failing hard drive was based on an idea of a bad sector. I figured if one of the sectors had turned bad, and this sector happened to lie right where the display driver is always put (because you rebuild it the same way every time) then the driver would be messed up and Windows would revert to standard VGA.

Maybe a bit far-fetched, but that was my reasoning.

In any case, it's working now! "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" and all that... ;)