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Help please before I explode!
I have an Inspiron E1705 that I purchased in 2006.
In Oct 2009, my video card stopped working. The laptop was still under warranty, so Dell replaced it.
Everything was fine til my PC began having major OS issues last month.
My warranty just expired in 2010 so I'm stuck fixing this OS issue myself.
Windows was not repairable due to a friend setting up my Admin password and I couldn't bypass it (and he couldn't remember it).
So, I formatted the hdd and reinstalled Windows XP.
All the drivers installed just fine EXCEPT, the initial driver CD has the first video card driver on it - not the driver for the replacement Dell made in Oct 2009.
I cannot find the driver, I've downloaded everything Dell had in the Drivers & Downloads sections of Support. I tried asking Dell for the name of the graphics card they replaced my original with but they want to charge me a "nominal" fee of $59. to take a look at their records. (don't get me started on that one)
WHAT do I do? It's been 3 days of trying to find a solution and I'm ready to rip out my hair. Please please please, if you have any suggestions - help me.
Btw, I did remove the keyboard tonight and looked at the back of the video card to see if I could determine what brand of card it is. This is the information I got off the card:
forcecon / at004000b00 / rev a00
Thank you ahead of time for ANY help.
Queaker
jackshack
6.4K Posts
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January 6th, 2011 19:00
You might want to post this question in the Laptop forum; this one is primarily for desktops.
In the meantime, you should know that there are four video cards for your machine. The downloads page shows a driver for the ATI Mobility X1400, the Intel 945GM, the nVidia GForce GO 7800, and the GForce GO 7900GS. Each time you try a driver you should make sure you uninstall the previous driver first as they can interfere with each other. Since the driver installation makes changes to the registry it is often helpful if you use a driver cleaner application to make sure the previous video driver has been completely removed before you try installing the next driver.
Before trying each and every one, I would try going to support.dell.com, hovering over Product Support, and clicking on System Configuration from the drop down menu. A box will appear that allows you to type in your service tag number to find out the configuration that was originally shipped to you. There is also a tab to the right, however, that allows you to download a Dell application that determines your current configuration. I would give that a shot and see what it says about your video.
queaker
3 Posts
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January 6th, 2011 20:00
Just to let anyone know who might read this and need help.. I downloaded Driver Fetch off Tucows.com and I FINALLY have the right video driver!! It's taken me 3 days to get to this point and countless hours pouring over disks, websites, forums and even calling tech support. I wanted to be sure and let people know how I got this fixed in case someone else has my same problem.
Btw, I got the driver fetch software here:
http://blitware.com/products/driverfetch/
And the driver I was missing was from Nvidia even though Nvidia's website "Smart Scan" kept telling me I did not have an supported device. :emotion-6:
queaker
3 Posts
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January 6th, 2011 20:00
Oh gosh, I didn't realize I was posting in desktops. Thanks so much for letting me know. :emotion-10:
I did try the application that scans your current configuation and the scan came up empty on video / display information.
Currently, I am running Driver Fetch and hoping it does the trick. I'll repost this in the correct area if it doesn't.
Thanks again, you're the first sane help I've had. :)
Have a great night / day.
Queaker