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Latitude D630 Freezing On Windows XP Screen
I have a Latitude D630 laptop with XP Professional. I needed XP for my job because my other computer died. I bought this Dell off of ebay. It worked fine for a little over a year. Last night I turned it on and it got to the XP screen and then froze. I restarted it and the next time at hte XP screen, some of the letters of Windows XP are missing and there is some flickering and doubling of letters and the XP logo. Microsoft Corporation in the bottom left corner is doubled as well.
I tried system restore. That didn't work. I can get into safe mode.
The problem is that I got this computer from Ebay and I don't have an XP Cd rom. I don't know if this is hardware related or graphics related. I don't know what to do. I want to try to fix this myself before I bring it to someone to fix it. I looked on the bottom of the computer and I do see the product key for XP Professional.
Not sure what to do now.
Janine
ejn63
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August 13th, 2012 06:00
If the system has an nVidia Quadro chip, the chip has likely failed. Attach an external monitor, which will differentiate a screen failure from a video chip failure (if the external monitor shows the same fault as the internal, you will need a replacement system board).
If the external monitor shows a good image, check the cable that runs between the mainboard and the screen - reseat both ends and check for damage. If that doesn't solve the problem, replace the screen.
You might also run an extended diagnostic on the hard drive - F12 at powerup.
ReneeG1957
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September 22nd, 2012 14:00
I bought a used D630 with the same graphics off eBay the end of June. It turned out that there is a one year additional warranty (extended warranty) on the graphics card - get in touch with Dell sooner rather than later about getting it repaired, if you still have any of the extension period left.
Mine is working fine, now - but due to being scheduled for a trip, I bought a second D630 to take with me.
As they say, now I have a spare! Since I live in a two story house - I've left one set up upstairs and one downstairs (docking stations with external monitors, keyboards, and mice). Which means never having to run to another floor to get to a working computer.
And I have a major annual project coming up - so I am not even thinking about selling one of them until after I get finished. I've had a non-a-Dell laptop DIE in the middle of this project in the past and it did terrible things to the scheduled completion date!