Question

Laptop screen goes gray upon loading windows XP (right after logo loads)...laptop keeps running...

Asked by: misty2grind

I have been using my Toshiba Laptop M40 with no problems for a while now. Recently I started getting a bluescreen error related to my Nvidia video card driver (No new drivers exist on the nvidia site for the nvidia GeForce Go 6600 that work). That was minor and only happened on rare occasions until this week. It was happening 4-5 times a day. So I tried rolling back my video driver. Bad move.

Now when I load windows xp (regardless of whether its safe mode, cd-mode repair, de-bugging, etc...) right after the windows logo, the screen goes blank (not off, just blank dark gray)....computer seems to be loading but I can't see anything? What is going on!!!! I had to cancel my webcast today since I can't see anything!!!

Please help.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2007-11-28 at 14:37:31ID22989171
Tags

screen

,

goes

,

windows

,

laptop

,

gray

Topics

Video Cards

,

PC Laptops

,

Miscellaneous Hardware

Participating Experts
3
Points
500
Comments
16

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. geForce is too dark?
    I have geForce 256 installed on my computer, everything was amazing, the only problem is it's just too dark. I've set my monitor's gamma and contrast to their highest value, but it still doesn't give any (Edited by Computer101)!!!... how do I fix this?
  2. Monitor Dark.
    I have both brightness and contrast setting on my monitor (Relisys 17' 786B)adjusted to Maximum, I assumed my on board viedo card was the culprit. I replaced the video card with a new Gforce 4 64ram card. The monitor still displays dark. The flowers on the bottom on wallpaper...
  3. Elements of Windows are distorted with my new nVIDIA Ge…
    Originally, I had an ATI 7500, then an ATI 9550. I just returned the 9550 because both ATI's were causing IRQ_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL blue screens. I just got this GeForce 6200 and I'm hoping for the best. However, now I'm getting distorted icons and things like the tabs on...
  4. Dell Dimension 4600 video card problem Nvidia GeForce …
    A weird situation here?! A Dimension 4600 with NVidia GeForce FX 5200 video card, windows XP Pro connected to a dell LCD display. Won't boot normally - you get the windows splash screen, then screen goes to sleep (yellow light) and screen is dark. Boots / runs fine in safe...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: zceororloPosted on 2007-11-28 at 14:44:19ID: 20369617

Is it really blank or just extremely faint? What happens if you plug in an external monitor and reboot?

 

by: misty2grindPosted on 2007-11-28 at 14:46:29ID: 20369638

It goes  blank, I  tried the external monitor, it will do the same thing.

 

by: misty2grindPosted on 2007-11-28 at 14:47:21ID: 20369644

Safe mode boot-up doesn't even make it to the logo...crashes while loading drivers

 

by: MASQUERAIDPosted on 2007-11-28 at 14:47:31ID: 20369645

Yes, go for an external monitor and reload the Go 6600 that came with your machine (or if there is an updated driver on Toshiba's site for your model you could use that).  The Go drivers are almost exclusively motherboard dependent.

 

by: zceororloPosted on 2007-11-28 at 14:53:37ID: 20369683

If it is doing the same thing on external, your video card is bad. Since it makes it to the logo screen I would guess it is overheating. How many fans are underneath? Are they all running?

 

by: MASQUERAIDPosted on 2007-11-28 at 14:53:46ID: 20369685

Ok missed the post about the external monitor.  You are probably going to have to go down a system repair route.  If you get to the safe mode menu on boot do you have an option for VGA mode?  Remember with the external monitor attached you won't get an output signal until you toggle it using a keyboard combination (IIRC on the Tosh it is Fn and either f4 or f5).

 

by: misty2grindPosted on 2007-11-28 at 16:04:44ID: 20370251

VGA mode does the same thing.  Is there a way for me to cool my laptop temporarily if its the fan at fault? I just want 30min to see everything so that I can transfer all my files and just reformat my drives. Is there a way to completely bypass the video card?? How do I install drivers from dos if I were to get some from the TOshiba site?


 

by: misty2grindPosted on 2007-11-28 at 16:07:20ID: 20370260

Is there any way for me to copy my entire 80GB internal hard drive onto my 120 GB EXTERNAL USB Hard DRIVE from within DOS??????

 

by: zceororloPosted on 2007-11-28 at 16:15:44ID: 20370312

If you are worried about data only, pick up an external case for the HDD in the laptop. I have a link below, just make sure you get the correct interface for your drive SATA or IDE

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/Deepsearchdd.hmx?%CustURLState%

 

by: misty2grindPosted on 2007-11-28 at 16:24:12ID: 20370345

That link doesn't display any products....can you send it again...or a similar product?
SOunds like a good idea...I just want to be able to access my data (from another comp) and then worry about fixing the computer later now that I know it's likely a serious issue.


 

by: ridPosted on 2007-11-29 at 06:58:38ID: 20374001

Try booting the unit with a Knoppix Live CD. If it boots up, you can use network or USB to transfer any file you like to external storage.
/RID

 

by: misty2grindPosted on 2007-12-01 at 12:46:58ID: 20389203

Ok, here's the scoop. I purchased a 2.5" HD enclosure and placed the laptop HD in it so that I could recover my files on another computer. Everything has worked flawlessly , except for the fact that I cannot access my most important folder "Administrator" under Documents & Setting which has all  "My Documents" and about 40GB of data. The good news is that I know it is still  stored on the drive since it is almost at capacity, exactly how it was when my laptop was still working. How do I access this crucial directory? I currently get the "access denied" message.

 

by: ridPosted on 2007-12-02 at 10:44:12ID: 20391871

"Take ownership" may be needed, assumint you are using an admin account and a windows O/S for the recovery.
/RID

 

by: misty2grindPosted on 2007-12-02 at 20:31:31ID: 31411552

The external case is what ended up saving me. I transfered all my data and then reformatted my laptop with the factory Toshiba CD. Everything works like a charm.

 

by: zceororloPosted on 2007-12-03 at 08:49:57ID: 20396680

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...