If it was just a corrupted video driver then clean reinstalling Vista and then installing the Radeon Xpress 1250 driver should have corrected the problem.

I don't like being the bearer of bad news, but if reinstalling Vista and the video driver didn't help, it could mean that the video chip has failed and the system board will need to be replaced.

If this is the case, you can call tech support and request an fee based out of warranty service.  Or if you prefer to replace the motherboard yourself, the part numbers for the system board WP042 or WK078 depending on the system build.

TB

thanks for replying. i was afraid board was broken, but might it also be possible to try windows 7 or 8 and then downloading some different driver for it and get it working somehow like that?

if not, how can i get it to just use the generic display driver? it was called Video Controller VGA Compatible standard (or something like that). It was doing it before i tried to update display driver again.

All i could find was this article Called "How to force Windows to use a standard VGA compatible driver" , but is there an easier way?

http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/268852

thanks

You can try booting to Enable VGA mode by selecting it from the menu after booting the system while tapping F8.  This is different from normal Safe mode as it loads all other drivers and only the standard GA mode.

I don't suggest it, but with the alternative being replacing the system board, I understand that you may not have that much of a choice.

TB

There is no such option on my f8 safe mode menu.

what did you think of that article i sent, will it work?

With Windows XP, Vista and 7 the option for enable VGA mode should be present in the F8 menu, if it isn't present on your system there may be Windows corruption still even after reinstalling Windows. The article that you mentioned appears to be for Windows 2000 so I don't know if it will work or not, but you really shouldn't have to go through that much work.

TB