Guest rharnwel Posted May 3, 2004 Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 Hi. This is my first post and I'm somewhat desperate, so please be gentle with me. I have a recently (second-hand) purchased DELL Inspiron 8100 laptop which had been upgraded to have a Geforce 4 440 go card in it. I believe the native panel resolution was 1400x1050, though this seems to be different from the norm....... Unfortunately I've been rather stupid, and have upgraded video driver & Video BIOS (to sort out some graphical glitches with some games) before first making a careful note of what was the working versions......... I'm now in the position where the laptop screen refuses to work, though the external video port is fine (and the graphical glitches are no more!). Not even the BIOS boot screen shows on the laptop screen, so I'm guessing the problem is more fundamental than just video driver (maybe video BIOS?). I've tried various combinations of system BIOS/Video BIOS/Video driver, but nothing has brought the screen back to life. Most of the options I've tried don't even seem to provide a 1400x1050 resolution..... My current situation is: System BIOS (latest from DELL site) DELL - 27d30303 Version 4.17.00 Version 4.17.00 Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A15 Video BIOS (latest for GeForce4 440 go from DELL site) Version 4.17.00.55.C2 Version 4.17.00.55.C2 Version 4.17.00.55.C2 S Version 1.10 A15 Video Driver 56.54 using modified INF (I've also tried various other ones) I'm running Windows XP professional SP1. My display properties show two monitors: 1. (Multiple Monitors) on GeForce4 440 Go This shows lots of possible resolutions on the slider (though not the 1400x1050 I'm looking for), and they all seem to work fine on my CRT. 2. Default Monitor on GeForce4 440 Go This shows (I think) the same list of resolutions, but when I select any of them, it immediately moves back to 800x600 (the lowest one) I'll keep trying other combinations, and will post if I get anywhere, but I'd be very grateful for any pointers anyone can give me! I'm really hoping I haven't done some permanent damage here....... Thanks in advance, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted May 3, 2004 Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 Try installing 44.68 (Dell have a OEM version). This is a proven driver. If this fails you may have done a bad thing. At least the external screen works, so not all is lost. You may have to try to get an older system/video BIOS flashed. Good luck, Pieter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rharnwel Posted May 3, 2004 Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 Thanks for the really quick reply Pieter! Unfortunately I couldn't find 44.68 on the DELL site. It doesn't seem to list anything between 28.35 and 44.82 for my card. I don't suppose you have a link? I have now tried both 28.35 and 44.82 from DELL, to no avail. I have now also installed the previous Video BIOS, again with no luck. I tried to install an older system BIOS, but the installer won't allow that. I am now getting a resolution of 1400x1050 on my "default" monitor that will "stick", so it seems like progress...... Unfortunately the option to make this my primary monitor is greyed out. Another thing of possible interest; The Fn+F8 (CRT/LCD) switch doesn't seem to do anything now. Earlier it would turn off the external monitor display (even though still nothing would appear on the laptop screen), but now it has no affect at all. It is some consolation that I can still use the laptop with an external monitor, but unfortunately I bought it specifically to use as a laptop (I already have a desktop), so it is not much use to me like this. Do you (or anyone) think I may have caused a physical problem with the screen? Thanks again for your help so far, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®®® Posted May 3, 2004 Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 driver is here: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index.php?showtopic=470 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rharnwel Posted May 3, 2004 Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 Thanks for the link. I've now installed that 44.68, but unfortunately still no sign of life....... Any other ideas (I'm running out of things to try)? Thanks, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 In the display properties you should see 2 pictures of monitors. Try moving the left screen to the right (by dragging it). Its in here that you'll need to fiddle around and get the 1st screen back to LCD and make it primary. I had the same problem once and it took ages of fiddeling around to get things right. Good luck, Pieter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 Thanks again. Unfortunately, I've now been even more stupid and managed to disable the external monitor when fiddling! As I have no way of seeing what the machine is doing now, I think I'll have to admit defeat & take it in for "repair"......... Cheers, Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Richard, Disable the left button on your mouse, you've been doing too much clicking with it. You could reinstall Windows and see what happens it should set the drivers back to default. Pieter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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