I have a problem (obviously, right ??) -
Just wondering if it's the driver or that the device it-self failed.
It is the NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 128mb card
my system is about three years old - I use McAffe Firewall and antivirus faithfully - dont surf the net much from that PC (I'm using my laptop for this since I can't get on-line in safe mode from my main system)
I also use an ad-wear detection program - so my system should be pretty clean as far as virus and such goes. I haven't noticed any strange things that might indicate a virus or such - I also remove the temporary internet files on a regular basis.

I'm getting this blue screen message on start up:
"the device or driver got stuck in an infinite loop. This usually indicates a problem with the device itself or the device driver programming the hardware incorrectly"

I can then re-boot and the system will run in safe mode. I then get this message:
"The driver for the display device was unable to complete a drawing operation. Please check with the device manufacturer for a driver update"
"The display driver NVIDIA GeForce 5200 seems to be responsible for the system instability"

I tried re-installing the driver that came with the system - and it seems to work - as in the system then displays my desktop photograph and etc. But the resolution is very low. If I re-start the system, or change the resolution - the whole problem starts over again.

I do leave the system on due to the fact that I work from home - and use the system probably the majority of the day off an on - even through the evening hours - could a heat build up have caused a device failure?

If it is a device failure, is it something I could manage to change myself ?? Im not afraid to open up the PC - but am not real good with trobleshooting software/driver problems. I could manage to replace the video card with the same one I have- but would be afraid that i would then need to update/change the driver info.

Thanks so much for any help you can give me !

If you have another video card, put it in and install it's driver.

Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

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Try downloading the latest drivers from nvidia for your card. Then, before installing them, uninstall the old drivers. Don't just install the new ones over the old ones.

I agree with #2...& you may wanna update your motherboard chipset drivers too.

well, i was online with dell support for a few hours .... he had me try to install a patch .... and had me check the memory - and it all checked out fine ... but i'm still getting the error ... I can only get online with my laptop right now ... so i'd have to save the driver to cd then transfer it ...
i did un-install and then re-install the driver that came with the computer - and i haven't changed anything - so not sure why it would suddenly just stop working ??? the dell guy wants me to re-install windows - says a file must have been corrupted, but i'm not sure i want to do that just yet - too much on that pc - i've been backing up from safe mode ... but .... i just don't like the idea of re-installing the windows files .... i think i may go the new card route first ... ....

Don't listen to those idiots at Dell...99% of them don't know squat about computers, they're just reading back info to you off a troubleshoot list.

Go to the nVidia website & download the latest video drivers. These were just released a couple of days ago:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_91.31.html

Before you install them, go to Control Panel > Add or Remove & unistall the current nVidia driver, then reboot. If Windows tries to reinstall the video driver, cancel out of it & install the driver that you just downloaded.

Make sure to follow the driver installation hints:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/driver_installation_hints.html

I noticed that you didn't mention what spyware remover you're running. Some of them masquerade as removers when they are in fact, spyware programs! Try Ad-Aware Personal, Spybot-Search & Destroy, & SpywareBlaster...they're all free. Run the online update before scanning your system. And use CCleaner to clear out all the internet junk files. You can get them all here:

http://www.filehippo.com/

That is exactly what i use - ad-aware ...
and have had good luck with it ...
I think i will try the updated driver ...
and if that doesn't work, then I'll get a new card ... it doesn't seem terribly difficult to do ... i would just get the same one ... just seems odd that it would quit like that though .... no? And as you said - I do know that they just basically read off of a trouble shooting guide ... and don't think that i need to re-install windows .... the thought of that just gives me a headache ! I've had to do it with my son's pc with windows 98 - his games were corrupting the files somehow ... it wasn't real bad - but took forever (though, by the time I had done it for the 4th time - it seemed to go faster ... hmmmmmm i guess i had it down to a science by then).
anyway.... so do you all think its a driver problem and not the card itself ?? that seems to be the general consensus.
thanks in advance for all your advise ! i'm going to bed now - it's been a long day - i hate trying to figure out computer problems - it makes my brain hurt !
:)
Diana

No, I don't think it's a hardware problem.

As for the spyware remover...Ad-Aware is good, but it's not good enough. You should also run Spybot. SpywareBlaster isn't an absolute necessity as long as you have Spybot & run the Immunization program regularly.

And I literally remove 100s of MB of garbage from my PC everyday by using CCleaner.

So... it's 9:30 am and my problems seem to be solved ... I installed the latest driver from the NVIDIA site - and that seemed to do the trick ...
I'll DL Spybot and run that also ....
You guys / gals are the BEST ! I am sooo glad i found you !

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!!

I am sooooo glad I didn't listen to the dell support person who wanted me to re-install windows. I do feel bad though for those who don't know any better and would just follow along .... I figured I'd ask them for an opinion to see what they said .... and at least i learned how to do a memory check ...
I just wish I had the knowledge to give back something to this forum ....
its so nice of you all to be willing to help out ...
:)
Diana

Oh - and on a side note - anyone know where I can get new keys for my laptop keypad ??? my bird stole a few - I'm missing my "k", "INS", "DEL", and down arrow ... makes for interesting typing .... :)

Thanks you again ..... you have all been wonderful !

Excuse me, while I jerk jam's chain a little because very very rarely is he ever off the mark............;-)

You cannot literally remove 100s of MB of garbage from a PC, however you can do that literarily by running CCleaner periodically on a computer.

What am I missing here?

literally = actually

literarily = having to do with literature

And I actually do remove 100s of MB of junk files from this PC everyday using CCleaner (that includes emptying the recycle bin).

Yes whatever you do never listen to tech support from namebrand companies, because the majority of them don't know what they are talking about. Use this forum and google as your tech support.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ OC 2.7ghz
2GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7800GT
SATA II 2x 200gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI

yea, but it was a start - at least -
:0)

Do a search on ebay for your laptop model number. I doubt you can find the individual keys you're missing but you may be able to get an entire keyboard. Then just remove the keys you need from it.

More good advice ... i looked on e-bay and found a good, used, cheap keypad/board ... so i can take the keys off of it....
:)
My many many thanks - i never would have thought of that

@ jam,

Used in a literal sense, garbage as we know it refers physically to refuse, trash or some other kind of waste material. To literally remove it (garbage) implies taking something palpable or tangible out of the computer (hopefully that isn't the case.......LOL)

I know I'm just being pedantic, so don't take this as something more than a trivia because I am constantly open to corrections too.

If your laptop KB is anything like a typical desktop KB you shouldn't have a problem removing the keys. When you get it try removing some keys you don't need just to make sure it's not going to be a problem.

jam just takes better care of his machine than most of us do. For example, I tossed 6.6Gb of motherboard manuals in the recycle bin this weekend...I don't own any of those mobos. I also tossed another 4Gig or so of support documents for machines I don't own and likely haven't seen for several months. Total clean up was about 11Gb of duplicates and/or totally useless (to me) documentation.

Don't know about jam, but I d/l huge pdf documents on a regular basis to read at my convenience and they take up a lot of hdd space. I gotta assume jam just gets rid of that stuff on a regular basis rather than following my annual cleanup.

We all won...Diana got her video back, the keycaps she needed, and learned something; jam and I cleaned some crap off our drives; Sabertooth got a chance to read the dictionary, and DAVE was just terse and totally correct.

Pretty cool huh?

Skip

I just want to make sure; the keyboard you'd need should be from the same model as yours. Even with laptops from the same manufacturer the keys may be different. A different model's keys might fit but unless the item description specifically states it fits yours also, you probably shouldn't get it.

yes, it's the same brand, model and all (and there was a photo of the KB - and it looks the same too)- and I know the keys will come off OK -as my bird has already tested that out for me on mine ... and if I see him doing it, I can just snap them back on with no problem. The others that have vanished ??? I'm sure they'll turn up somewhere that the little bugger decided to hide them - but by the time I find them, I'll have a new laptop by then :)
and for the whole $10 it cost (as I don't really care if the keyboard is working - I just need the key caps) - if they don't fit, then it will be the perfect toy for my bird to rip apart instead of my laptop ... so we will both win .... b/c he'll get the left-overs anyway
:)