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I have just tried to rebuild my PC but have screwed it up. The main problem I've created is that I cannot get my display to be anything but 16 colors. I thought I had the original drivers but when I attempted to install it it reboots but the screen stays blank. I don't know what type monitor I've got so it seems to default to plug'n'play monitor. Is there anyway I can work out what drivers I should be installing/downloading? Any ideas/suggestions would be gratefully received.
The PnP monitor setting is OK. Make sure you've got the right drivers and that you're installing them correctly.
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You certainly need the latest and greatest Driver for your Video card to get all the display options it is capable of providing.
First, ascertain if you have an Add-on Video Card or Integrated Display adapter.
If you have an Add-on Video Card and don't already know its make & model , you may install one of the software that can querry your System -like AIDA32, Sisoft Sandra ,or Belarc Advisor the first two being more helpful in this matter than the last. Otherwise, open the case to look for and get all available printed details from the Add-onVideo Card and then using the details as search words in WWW.GOOGLE.COM look for the Manufacturer's Website for the Tech support page and Driver download link or click this Video drivers link. If you have an integrated Video Card you must know the make and model of your Motherboard either from the manual if you have a Custom Built PC or using the Make and Model of a brand name PC displayed on its case and then from the Vendor's Tech support page for Driver Download. Belarc Advisor is very good at picking the Make & model of the System Board
Although a Standard Monitor is quite OK, if you really want the Display field to correctly identify your Monitor, you can accomplish that using the Display>Settings> Adavanced button>Monitor, during or after correct Video Drivers are insatlled. The Make and Model of the Monitor is usually displayed its frame.
Hope this will help.
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this one is all about the monitor
However, if this happened to me, i would be frantically searching for the model of my monitor. my eyes are extremely sensitive to refresh rates (essentially, frames per second). anything below 75Hz (or 75FPS) is likely to give me a migraine preceded by a visually-impairing seizure-like eye thingy. looks like a kaliedoscope on front of my eye. if you experience this, or something like it, find the model of your monitor immediately and install the correct driver.
(i hope i didn't scare you)
also, the PnP monitor setting may not allow you to use your full range of resolutions. it might limit you to 640x480... but i'm not sure. also, you might be getting the blank screen because your video card is overshooting the refresh rate capability of your monitor. if the video card is pushing for, say, 120Hz and your monitor is only rated for 85Hz, the electron gun simply shuts off and you get a black screen. this can be solved by installing the proper driver for your monitor as welll.
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I don't think it's going to be the monitor settings. Even a 15 year old fixed frequency monitor will give you 256 colors. And the fact it's a PnP monitor indicates it's not that old. But I agree the refresh rate could be incompatible.
You might try hitting the F8 key before windows starts to load and chooose safe mode from the start menu. You can uninstall the drivers there and then attempt to reinstall them after a normal boot.
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Guys, I've made some (though not much!) progress here. I've opened up the PC & now know that the video card is a S3 Savage4 GT 16Mb (Surprisingly I have also got the original CD with the drivers for this) and the Aida32 tells me my monitor is a Hansol 710A(+) for which I've now downlaoded the drivers.
To make sure I've got a clean slate, I've formatted my c: & reinstalled win98SE again then installed the drivers for, firstly, the monitor & then the video card. When I restart, as requested to complete the installation of the video card, it still starts back up with the blank screen. The only thing I can see is the mouse pointer when I shake it about (though this is now smaller than before - clutching at straws I know!). The only way I can get to see the screen is to start in safe mode. I'm hoping that there's something I'm obviously doing wrong here. Do any of you guys see anything I should be doing? Thanks in advance
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1.In Safe Mode, open the Device Manager by RIGHT Click My Computer>Device Manager
2. Click the + of Display adapter
3. Select whatever Display adapter [Your S3 Savage4 GT 16Mb or Standard VGA ] is shown when that cluster was expanded.
4. Click Remove
5. If there is + Other devices in the listed Devices in the Device Manager, click the + (plus sign) to expand and copy the particulars seen for posting in your next thread for any further help you might need.
6. Restart the PC in Normal Mode.
7. When Windows Add New Hardware device redetects the new Display Adapter and prompts you for the driver, place the Diskette/Disc in the proper Drive and direct the "search for the best drivers" toward the Drive letter of the Drive containing the Driver Disk/Disc and navigate to make Windows find the Correct Driver.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks for the suggestion. Tried it but still no improvement. When it detects new hadrware it seems to automatically go to Savage 4 driver i.e. what was installed before. I don't get the option to 'search for best driver'. I'm also now wondering whether or not my monitor type really is a Hansol 710A(+). The name just doesn't sound familiar. If this was wrong would it cause these problems? Is there a generic type that should work? Thanks again.
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Here's some specs for that monitor:
http://www.monitorworld.com/Monitors/hansol/710a.html
Again, the problem is not with the monitor drivers.
Start here for updated adapter drivers:
http://www.s3graphics.com/Drivers.html
It automatically loaded the drivers because it stored the .inf file from the previous installation. Try going to 'add/remove programs' in control panel to remove the drivers. If you can't remove them from there, then do this (from safe mode):
Open display properties
Settings
Advanced
Adapter
Change
Next
Click 'display a list of all the drivers. . . '
Next
Click 'show all hardware'
Next
Goto 'standard display types'
Install 'standard PCI graphics adapter (VGA)'
Apply, OK and reboot
Install the updated driver.
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When DAVEINCAPS tells you it is not a monitor
problem, and i believe him, listen to his
advice. You ' blew " your video card.
Yes i've heard of a Hansol monitor. Not
very common but a good monitor. Made by
SamSung. That monitor does not need drivers.
It is as Dave says,P.N.P. I'll make this as
simple as it gets. Most monitors have
E-proms in their circuitry that remembers the last settings of the video card. It is the job of the video card to set the res. of the monitor back to default and the job of the driver to turn the video cards options
back on. This doesn't seem to be happening
with your system. It could be as simple as
not rebooting your system or clicking the
" apply " button. I'm sure you will figure
it out and it will be something simple that you forgot to tell us. Yes Dave i have 20
year old monitors that default at 1000x1200
resolution. They will not work under that res
CAD. monitors. You know the " good ones ".
21" screens. all the best to everyone and
good luck.Computer Solutions
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Cheers for this guys. I'm sure you're right & it's something stupid I;m doing or something stupid I'm not telling you I'm doing. I'll have another go & let you know when I sort it. Thanks
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 video card driver
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Setting modem-speed!!!
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