scottlil
asked on
Trouble getting my video card (ATI Rage 128 4x AGP) to work properly.
My computer had worked perfectly for 2 years. After getting an Illegal operation message on the Explorer application every time I booted up Windows (even in Safe mode), I opted to reinstall Windows 98.
I managed to reinstall the drivers for my Ethernet card & my Sound card. However, the operating system seemed a bit fragile, as I received a message that there was a bad registry, & Windows was going to "fix" it. Well, when it restarted & came back through, I recieved the same Explorer error as stated above. I reinstalled Windows 98 AGAIN, & while getting things set back up, it gave me the same message (about a bad registry). Same thing, Explorer error occured. So, I reinstalled Windows again, backed up the files that I wanted to keep (pictures, music, etc.), & then I opted to do a FDISK in DOS mode. I then reinstalled Windows 98 & knew I was truly starting from scratch.
SO, I managed to get everything pretty much up & running. I was on-line, able to send/recieve e-mails, installed the drivers for my Sound card. Unfortunately, my display adapter (Standard PCI Graphics Adapter - VGA) was only showing 16 colors. I knew that my video card was an ATI Rage 128, but that was it. I also noticed that I had an ATI folder (that I backed up therefore still had) with a setup program for WME_R128_4_13_7192.exe. I assumed that I just had to run this program, & it would work. I ran it, it installed quite a few things, then it popped up a message "Installing Graphic Display Adapters." It stuck here, & after about 10-15 seconds the application was "Not Responding." So, I closed it out with the Task Manager.
So, the massive research project began to try to get my video card to work. It came with my computer, & if I did have a disk (I don't remember getting one), then I don't have it now. ATI.com provided an ATI Inspector, & it detected my video card as an ATI Rage 128 4x AGP. I also found a site that told me to look into the registry to find out the exact type of video card. The chip # proved to be in fact a Rage 128 SM AGP 4x (Chip Description, Rage 128 4x SM AGP 4x).
I thought I had a breakthrough when I selected as my display adapter "ATI Rage/Rage II PCI (ati_m64)" because it installed drivers from my Windows 98 disk, & when I went to change my 16 colors, I could now select 16 bit (which I did). It said I had to restart my computer, then when it came back through, I was still only displaying 16 colors. In my System, under display adapters, it listed the ATI Rage/Rage II PCI (ati_m64) with an exclamation point next to it. It was a code 24 error, stating "This device is either not present, not working properly, or does not have all the drivers installed. Try upgrading the device drivers for this device."
I do not know what to try next. I have written ATI for support (even asked for an installation disk) & recieved very generic responses (as expected). I have read other similar problems posted on this site & tried to use the advice, but so far, I haven't been able to break through. PLEASE HELP. 16 colors is not enough :)
CPU Type: Intel Celeron 600 MHz
Motherboard (# etched on it): FC GA-GXV7-4X
Any other specs needed, please ask.
Thanks,
Scott
Bristol CT (USA)
I managed to reinstall the drivers for my Ethernet card & my Sound card. However, the operating system seemed a bit fragile, as I received a message that there was a bad registry, & Windows was going to "fix" it. Well, when it restarted & came back through, I recieved the same Explorer error as stated above. I reinstalled Windows 98 AGAIN, & while getting things set back up, it gave me the same message (about a bad registry). Same thing, Explorer error occured. So, I reinstalled Windows again, backed up the files that I wanted to keep (pictures, music, etc.), & then I opted to do a FDISK in DOS mode. I then reinstalled Windows 98 & knew I was truly starting from scratch.
SO, I managed to get everything pretty much up & running. I was on-line, able to send/recieve e-mails, installed the drivers for my Sound card. Unfortunately, my display adapter (Standard PCI Graphics Adapter - VGA) was only showing 16 colors. I knew that my video card was an ATI Rage 128, but that was it. I also noticed that I had an ATI folder (that I backed up therefore still had) with a setup program for WME_R128_4_13_7192.exe. I assumed that I just had to run this program, & it would work. I ran it, it installed quite a few things, then it popped up a message "Installing Graphic Display Adapters." It stuck here, & after about 10-15 seconds the application was "Not Responding." So, I closed it out with the Task Manager.
So, the massive research project began to try to get my video card to work. It came with my computer, & if I did have a disk (I don't remember getting one), then I don't have it now. ATI.com provided an ATI Inspector, & it detected my video card as an ATI Rage 128 4x AGP. I also found a site that told me to look into the registry to find out the exact type of video card. The chip # proved to be in fact a Rage 128 SM AGP 4x (Chip Description, Rage 128 4x SM AGP 4x).
I thought I had a breakthrough when I selected as my display adapter "ATI Rage/Rage II PCI (ati_m64)" because it installed drivers from my Windows 98 disk, & when I went to change my 16 colors, I could now select 16 bit (which I did). It said I had to restart my computer, then when it came back through, I was still only displaying 16 colors. In my System, under display adapters, it listed the ATI Rage/Rage II PCI (ati_m64) with an exclamation point next to it. It was a code 24 error, stating "This device is either not present, not working properly, or does not have all the drivers installed. Try upgrading the device drivers for this device."
I do not know what to try next. I have written ATI for support (even asked for an installation disk) & recieved very generic responses (as expected). I have read other similar problems posted on this site & tried to use the advice, but so far, I haven't been able to break through. PLEASE HELP. 16 colors is not enough :)
CPU Type: Intel Celeron 600 MHz
Motherboard (# etched on it): FC GA-GXV7-4X
Any other specs needed, please ask.
Thanks,
Scott
Bristol CT (USA)
The driver you need for that video card is downloadable from ATI at this link:
http://mirror2.ati.com/drivers/wmer1284137192.exe
You will also need directX 8.0 to use that driver effectively. You can upgrade directx at the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
Please upgrade DirectX to at least 8.0 and then upgrade video drivers.
Oh and a helpful tool that will tell you all about your system (and it's free) is this called AIDA32. It's basically like the Belarc Advisor in that it will give you detailed specs on your computer. It will tell you the make and model of every device in your machine even if they are not installed. Here's the link to AIDA:
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32
I hope you found this helpfull.
http://mirror2.ati.com/drivers/wmer1284137192.exe
You will also need directX 8.0 to use that driver effectively. You can upgrade directx at the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/
Please upgrade DirectX to at least 8.0 and then upgrade video drivers.
Oh and a helpful tool that will tell you all about your system (and it's free) is this called AIDA32. It's basically like the Belarc Advisor in that it will give you detailed specs on your computer. It will tell you the make and model of every device in your machine even if they are not installed. Here's the link to AIDA:
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32
I hope you found this helpfull.
I think that this might be your problem.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B187681
As it was probably configured originally not to get this problem it would not have previously had it.
Griffon
Ps. If this is of no help you might find something else of use searching on www.microsoft.com.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B187681
As it was probably configured originally not to get this problem it would not have previously had it.
Griffon
Ps. If this is of no help you might find something else of use searching on www.microsoft.com.
for all that trouble you went through you might as well disable that video card in the bios if it is on board video, and just purchase a new one. I ran into the same error. ATI is funny like that. I even had them send me the W2k drivers for the ATI 128 pro which I had to pay for and it still didnt work well with my dvd player on W2k. So I just said fook it. And bought a new video card, and everything works fine. It will save you alot of time and work and most of all headache.
When you reinstalled, did you format first or did you just install over the old one? It seems likely that if you did not format, you did not get rid of the error you had before. Also run scandisk on that drive and see if there are bad sectors on it.
ASKER
Popmartian - I thoroughly checked every option in my BIOS menus (hitting help on every option to see all of my options) & could not find specifically a way to "Assign IRQ to VGA."
Underdog - As I stated in my question, I tried to install the "WME_R128_4_13_7192.exe" file. I just tried it again, & it's the same thing. I gets 100% through sending all the files to the Windows/System directory, but then I get the message "Installing Graphics Driver Components." After about 10-15 seconds, the installation is "Not Responding", & I have to close the program out with the Task Manager. It seems so close to working, but it doesn't....???
Griffon - I tried to use the advice of the link, but it didn't work. Microsoft help is great though, thanks.
silver0rb - I have thought about this option as well. Replace the video card & install new driver, etc. Still want to salvage things a little more, but this option is slowly but surely becoming more attractive.
haydes007 - Actually, before I reinstalled Windows 98, I did a DELTREE WINDOWS (in DOS obviously) to completely clear out the old (hopefully the errors as well). This took quite a while to finish, but afterwards I proceeded to reinstall my Windows. I just did a Thorough scan disk for errors (which also takes a little while), & it fixed the errors (no bad sectors).
I TRULY appreciate all the advice, & I am not giving up yet. Any other help would be great, if anyone can think of anything more....
Underdog - As I stated in my question, I tried to install the "WME_R128_4_13_7192.exe" file. I just tried it again, & it's the same thing. I gets 100% through sending all the files to the Windows/System directory, but then I get the message "Installing Graphics Driver Components." After about 10-15 seconds, the installation is "Not Responding", & I have to close the program out with the Task Manager. It seems so close to working, but it doesn't....???
Griffon - I tried to use the advice of the link, but it didn't work. Microsoft help is great though, thanks.
silver0rb - I have thought about this option as well. Replace the video card & install new driver, etc. Still want to salvage things a little more, but this option is slowly but surely becoming more attractive.
haydes007 - Actually, before I reinstalled Windows 98, I did a DELTREE WINDOWS (in DOS obviously) to completely clear out the old (hopefully the errors as well). This took quite a while to finish, but afterwards I proceeded to reinstall my Windows. I just did a Thorough scan disk for errors (which also takes a little while), & it fixed the errors (no bad sectors).
I TRULY appreciate all the advice, & I am not giving up yet. Any other help would be great, if anyone can think of anything more....
ASKER
By the way, the AIDA 32 is VERY nice. Thank you for the link, Underdog.
Another possability is that your gigbyte motherboard needs to have the four in one VIA chipset drivers this can cause all sorts of sound or graphics problems. They might have been already on there as part of the original install so the problem has only really surfaced now.
I cannot find the exact motherboard type so if you could check that the one above is correct and confirm it with the motherboard type showing when you start the computer or in the manual this will enable me to confirm that the board is VIA.
I would have thought the mother board code would be something like GA-6VX7-4X which is indeed VIA.
here is a site where you can read about and download the drivers.
http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/downloads/detail/1002-2098-10192474.html
Hope this might prove more successful.
Griffon
I cannot find the exact motherboard type so if you could check that the one above is correct and confirm it with the motherboard type showing when you start the computer or in the manual this will enable me to confirm that the board is VIA.
I would have thought the mother board code would be something like GA-6VX7-4X which is indeed VIA.
here is a site where you can read about and download the drivers.
http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/downloads/detail/1002-2098-10192474.html
Hope this might prove more successful.
Griffon
I've been impressed with AIDA32 myself ;-)
OK, I think I would focus on the DirectX component in your machine. What version of DirectX are you running? (for that video driver to work, it needs to be 8.0 or higher).
The order of installation is important with DirectX. Update your directX (heck you can run windows update and get updated to DX9 if you want). And only after DirectX is installed should you try to drop the video drivers on the machine.
You do still have the option of going with a new graphics card but deep down I'm thinking that this will work if you can just get passed that one issue with the video driver.
Good luck with the machine. There's nothing better for humbling a technician than reinstalling a machine with integrated parts and questionable stability ;-) It will teach you things about troubleshooting that you would have never seen working only on current models/drivers and component parts.
OK, I think I would focus on the DirectX component in your machine. What version of DirectX are you running? (for that video driver to work, it needs to be 8.0 or higher).
The order of installation is important with DirectX. Update your directX (heck you can run windows update and get updated to DX9 if you want). And only after DirectX is installed should you try to drop the video drivers on the machine.
You do still have the option of going with a new graphics card but deep down I'm thinking that this will work if you can just get passed that one issue with the video driver.
Good luck with the machine. There's nothing better for humbling a technician than reinstalling a machine with integrated parts and questionable stability ;-) It will teach you things about troubleshooting that you would have never seen working only on current models/drivers and component parts.
ASKER
Get this. Upon installing & running AIDA 32, it told me EVERYTHING about my system. This was expected. What wasn't expected was not onlythat it told me that my PCI device was for Xpert99/Xpert 2000 but also now, my display adapter was Xpert 2000 (I didn't do this - it was one of the standard generic display adapters).
More interestingly, in my "manufacturers" list was now "ATI Tech. - Enhanced" (not there before, only ATI Technologies). When I tried to install the proper drivers for Xpert 2000 (which I now feel is almost definitely it), for the first time it asked me for an ATI Installation CD Rom (it always asked for my Windows 98 disk before). I feel that if I had that disk, I would be back in business. I assume that I would be fine installing Xpert 2000 as opposed to Xpert 99 (though both are listed in a bus for my PCI devices).
SO, I contacted ATI, & they wrote me back with a link to order products (including installation software). It seems that the cost is $10 for the ATI Installation CD Rom. Do you think that the disk for Xpert 2000 (for Windows 98) would suffice? It sure seems so, considering I have an ATI Rage 128 4x as my 3D accelerator. All the piece of the puzzle seems to fit.... any advice?
More interestingly, in my "manufacturers" list was now "ATI Tech. - Enhanced" (not there before, only ATI Technologies). When I tried to install the proper drivers for Xpert 2000 (which I now feel is almost definitely it), for the first time it asked me for an ATI Installation CD Rom (it always asked for my Windows 98 disk before). I feel that if I had that disk, I would be back in business. I assume that I would be fine installing Xpert 2000 as opposed to Xpert 99 (though both are listed in a bus for my PCI devices).
SO, I contacted ATI, & they wrote me back with a link to order products (including installation software). It seems that the cost is $10 for the ATI Installation CD Rom. Do you think that the disk for Xpert 2000 (for Windows 98) would suffice? It sure seems so, considering I have an ATI Rage 128 4x as my 3D accelerator. All the piece of the puzzle seems to fit.... any advice?
ASKER
Get this. Upon installing & running AIDA 32, it told me EVERYTHING about my system. This was expected. What wasn't expected was not onlythat it told me that my PCI device was for Xpert99/Xpert 2000 but also now, my display adapter was Xpert 2000 (I didn't do this - it was one of the standard generic display adapters).
More interestingly, in my "manufacturers" list was now "ATI Tech. - Enhanced" (not there before, only ATI Technologies). When I tried to install the proper drivers for Xpert 2000 (which I now feel is almost definitely it), for the first time it asked me for an ATI Installation CD Rom (it always asked for my Windows 98 disk before). I feel that if I had that disk, I would be back in business. I assume that I would be fine installing Xpert 2000 as opposed to Xpert 99 (though both are listed in a bus for my PCI devices).
SO, I contacted ATI, & they wrote me back with a link to order products (including installation software). It seems that the cost is $10 for the ATI Installation CD Rom. Do you think that the disk for Xpert 2000 (for Windows 98) would suffice? It sure seems so, considering I have an ATI Rage 128 4x as my 3D accelerator. All the piece of the puzzle seems to fit.... any advice?
More interestingly, in my "manufacturers" list was now "ATI Tech. - Enhanced" (not there before, only ATI Technologies). When I tried to install the proper drivers for Xpert 2000 (which I now feel is almost definitely it), for the first time it asked me for an ATI Installation CD Rom (it always asked for my Windows 98 disk before). I feel that if I had that disk, I would be back in business. I assume that I would be fine installing Xpert 2000 as opposed to Xpert 99 (though both are listed in a bus for my PCI devices).
SO, I contacted ATI, & they wrote me back with a link to order products (including installation software). It seems that the cost is $10 for the ATI Installation CD Rom. Do you think that the disk for Xpert 2000 (for Windows 98) would suffice? It sure seems so, considering I have an ATI Rage 128 4x as my 3D accelerator. All the piece of the puzzle seems to fit.... any advice?
I'd say that sounds like a good idea. Go for it.
I used AIDA32 the same way to find the network drivers for a Gigabyte board a couple weeks ago. It's very impressive the way it can pick up manufacturer and model number on devices that aren't even detected by windows.
I used AIDA32 the same way to find the network drivers for a Gigabyte board a couple weeks ago. It's very impressive the way it can pick up manufacturer and model number on devices that aren't even detected by windows.
ASKER
Good news. I received my installation CD from ATI, & my display driver for Xpert 2000 is now "working properly." Now, the bad news....
I now always have the options to display 16 colors, 256 colors & 16 bit. Unfortunately, if I select 16 bit or 256 colors, then it comes back through (after the mandatory restart) with a black screen. My monitor type is "Unknown," but it also was before I started having the inital problem. The computer is still active (I can hit CTL-ALT-DEL twice to restart), but it's just displaying black.
I feel that I am VERY, VERY close to a resolution. If anyone has ANY advice, it would truly appreciated.
Thank you,
Scott
I now always have the options to display 16 colors, 256 colors & 16 bit. Unfortunately, if I select 16 bit or 256 colors, then it comes back through (after the mandatory restart) with a black screen. My monitor type is "Unknown," but it also was before I started having the inital problem. The computer is still active (I can hit CTL-ALT-DEL twice to restart), but it's just displaying black.
I feel that I am VERY, VERY close to a resolution. If anyone has ANY advice, it would truly appreciated.
Thank you,
Scott
have you tried the VIA chipset drivers for your motherboard that I suggested above?
ASKER
I have installed the CD named "3rd Party Chipset Series Mainboard Utility CD (Ver.1.6.)" "Chipsets/Audio/Network Drivers"
I assumed that this is the correct thing to install.
Here are the specifics of my Motherboard:
Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 62-1001-001199-00101111-07
Motherboard Name Unknown
Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel GTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 66 MHz
Effective Clock 66 MHz
Bandwidth 528 MB/s
Memory Bus Properties
Bus Type SDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 99 MHz
Effective Clock 99 MHz
Bandwidth 792 MB/s
Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type PCI
Bus Width 32-bit
Real Clock 33 MHz
Effective Clock 33 MHz
Bandwidth 132 MB/s
By the way, here is by BIOS information as well:
BIOS Properties
BIOS Type AMI
System BIOS Date 10/03/00
Video BIOS Date 99/08/30
BIOS Manufacturer
Company Name American Megatrends Inc.
Product Information http://www.ami.com/amibios
Problems & Suggestions
Suggestion System BIOS is more than 2 years old. Update it if necessary.
So, to answer you question Griffon, I think so, but I'm not 100% sure (I don't know why I'd have the disk otherwise). Any advice or help? Thank you in advance.
I assumed that this is the correct thing to install.
Here are the specifics of my Motherboard:
Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 62-1001-001199-00101111-07
Motherboard Name Unknown
Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel GTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 66 MHz
Effective Clock 66 MHz
Bandwidth 528 MB/s
Memory Bus Properties
Bus Type SDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 99 MHz
Effective Clock 99 MHz
Bandwidth 792 MB/s
Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type PCI
Bus Width 32-bit
Real Clock 33 MHz
Effective Clock 33 MHz
Bandwidth 132 MB/s
By the way, here is by BIOS information as well:
BIOS Properties
BIOS Type AMI
System BIOS Date 10/03/00
Video BIOS Date 99/08/30
BIOS Manufacturer
Company Name American Megatrends Inc.
Product Information http://www.ami.com/amibios
Problems & Suggestions
Suggestion System BIOS is more than 2 years old. Update it if necessary.
So, to answer you question Griffon, I think so, but I'm not 100% sure (I don't know why I'd have the disk otherwise). Any advice or help? Thank you in advance.
ASKER
Here is my Chipset information:
Chipset Properties
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
Memory Slots
DRAM Slot #1 128 MB (PC100 SDRAM)
AGP Properties
AGP Version 2.00
AGP Status Enabled
AGP Aperture Size 64 MB
Supported AGP Speeds 1x, 2x, 4x
Current AGP Speed 4x
Fast-Write Not Supported
Side Band Addressing Supported, Enabled
Chipset Manufacturer
Company Name VIA Technologies, Inc.
Product Information http://www.via.com.tw/en/Products/prodindex.jsp
Driver Download http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2
Problems & Suggestions
Problem AGP aperture size is more than half of the system memory size. This may cause performance penalty.
Chipset Properties
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT82C694X Apollo Pro133A
Memory Slots
DRAM Slot #1 128 MB (PC100 SDRAM)
AGP Properties
AGP Version 2.00
AGP Status Enabled
AGP Aperture Size 64 MB
Supported AGP Speeds 1x, 2x, 4x
Current AGP Speed 4x
Fast-Write Not Supported
Side Band Addressing Supported, Enabled
Chipset Manufacturer
Company Name VIA Technologies, Inc.
Product Information http://www.via.com.tw/en/Products/prodindex.jsp
Driver Download http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2
Problems & Suggestions
Problem AGP aperture size is more than half of the system memory size. This may cause performance penalty.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
Under my adapter section (Xpert 2000), I see my Refresh rate. It has a drop down box. The only two options are adapter default & optimal. Upon selecting "optimal", I saw the following:
"Windows will now adjust the refresh rate of your display. The screen may flicker for a few moments while the settings are changed.
If the display becomes garbled or unusable, simply wait and Windows will restore the original settings."
Then a box named "Xpert 2000 Properties" opens stating "Windows was unable to change your refresh rate."
Also, here are the list of "standard monitor types":
Plug & Play Monitor
Standard VGA 640x480
Standard VGA 640x480 @75 Hz
Super VGA 1024x768
Super VGA 1024x768 @75 Hz
Super VGA 1280x1024
Super VGA 1280x1024 @75 Hz
Super VGA 1600x1200
Super VGA 800x600
Super VGA 800x600 @75 Hz
Television
Any one specifically that I maybe should select?
Also, on the "Monitors" page, there are 3 options that you can either check or uncheck, they are:
Monitor is Energy Star compliant. (unchecked)
Automatically detect Plug & Play montiors. (checked)
Reset display on suspend/resume. (checked)
Any of THESE options mean anything to you or possibly should be adjusted?
I think we are on the right track.... let me know ASAP please.
Scott
"Windows will now adjust the refresh rate of your display. The screen may flicker for a few moments while the settings are changed.
If the display becomes garbled or unusable, simply wait and Windows will restore the original settings."
Then a box named "Xpert 2000 Properties" opens stating "Windows was unable to change your refresh rate."
Also, here are the list of "standard monitor types":
Plug & Play Monitor
Standard VGA 640x480
Standard VGA 640x480 @75 Hz
Super VGA 1024x768
Super VGA 1024x768 @75 Hz
Super VGA 1280x1024
Super VGA 1280x1024 @75 Hz
Super VGA 1600x1200
Super VGA 800x600
Super VGA 800x600 @75 Hz
Television
Any one specifically that I maybe should select?
Also, on the "Monitors" page, there are 3 options that you can either check or uncheck, they are:
Monitor is Energy Star compliant. (unchecked)
Automatically detect Plug & Play montiors. (checked)
Reset display on suspend/resume. (checked)
Any of THESE options mean anything to you or possibly should be adjusted?
I think we are on the right track.... let me know ASAP please.
Scott
ASKER
I found the following link that most importantly told me that they recommend 800x600 for a 14 or 15 inch monitor:
http://www.proximedia.com/uk/astuces.asp?payss=&numero=8
SO, I went into the standard monitor list & selected "800x600 @ 75 Hz." The refresh rate had to stay at "adapter default" (wouldn't let me do "optimal"). I then once again tinkered with my "colors" & "screen area." I selected 256 colors & 800x600. AND, Voila! It made it through fine & looked fine. Confident, I then had the option for "32 bit (true color)" at 800x600, so I selected it, & it works! I am after many weeks, back in business.
Thank you so much for your tremendously kind help here at Experts Exchange.
Scott
http://www.proximedia.com/uk/astuces.asp?payss=&numero=8
SO, I went into the standard monitor list & selected "800x600 @ 75 Hz." The refresh rate had to stay at "adapter default" (wouldn't let me do "optimal"). I then once again tinkered with my "colors" & "screen area." I selected 256 colors & 800x600. AND, Voila! It made it through fine & looked fine. Confident, I then had the option for "32 bit (true color)" at 800x600, so I selected it, & it works! I am after many weeks, back in business.
Thank you so much for your tremendously kind help here at Experts Exchange.
Scott
Yay! glad you got it figured out.
And you know now that if it happens again you'll be able to troubleshoot it in 1/10'th the time.
And you know now that if it happens again you'll be able to troubleshoot it in 1/10'th the time.
ASKER
For the record, I just remembered that on my reboot to try the final monitor adjustments (that finally worked), I also changed back my Aperture setting in my BIOS to 2x (I had it at 4x due to my 3D accerelator's being 4x). I thought it did nothing, since I have seen no visible signs of it messing things up. Could've been a problem as well? Don't know for sure.... oh well, thanks again.
Scott
Scott
If are comfortable with tweaking settings in the BIOS, then i suggest you find the feature that says "Assign IRQ to VGA". Set this feature to Yes/Enable (or whatever your BIOS thinks is affirmative).
Check your motherboard manual if you have one and try to find out where this option is located.
I have seen cases in which this has helped ppl out with the same problem as you.