Disapearing cursor over a horizontal line on display

if you have the 8200 i dont know if the 8600 drivers will work for you, but FYI the 8600 drivers, or any other drivers, are available to anyone.  you dont have to put in your service tag, just go to where you can select the system itself versus inputting your service tag...just a suggestion if the 8600 drivers are appropriate for you

Inspiron 8500 Bios A03
2.6Ghz P4M
WUXGA
768Mb DDR RAM 266Mhz
80Gb Ultra ATA HDD
GeForce4 4200 Go 64Mb
DVD+RW
Dell TrueMobile DualBand 1400
Flimsy Keyboard
Disappearing Cursor - Fixed with I8600 drivers
Ship date : 8/14/03

Hi mhargr3 !

Thank's for the hint. I made a small mistake. Until march this year I had a 8200. But now I'm talking about my new 8500.

Unfortunately I was stupid enough to take my 8200 along to italy during my holidays. It was stolen out of my car. Since april I have a 8500 and I wish I could have back the 8200. I'm missing a PS2 port for normal keyboards (USB adaptor necessary), I would like more USB ports. (hub necessary). Btw: now USB is 2.0, that's good but firewire is twice as fast concerning using an external hard drive. The lid is already scratched even I'm really carefully transporting my computer each day. The silver metallic finish looks beautiful until it is scratched. The 8200 was much less sensitive. Than I miss the floppy drive together with the optical drive. Even the 8500 is much bigger it was not possible to integrate both systems the same time. What about to use a second battery to prolong the time in battery mode (and keeping the CD drive of course)? With 8200 no problem. Where is the second PCMCIA slot? Im missing it at 8500. And where is the line in port in this powerful multimedia tool? 8200 had one of course. But as Dell was too stupid to support it with a fitting driver you had to use some tricks. But then it was no problem to record some old LP's or other audio signals. And now? OK the screen is larger (and needs more power and a bigger bag) but most differences are negative. How about the support for the new system???

I just installed the 8600 Geforce4 4200 Go drivers on a fresh install of XP.  This did stop the horizontal line issue.  BUT when I login to the machine I get a screen flicker and the sound hesitates for a second.  I'm assuming the machine locks for a split second then recovers.  Anybody else get this?

No, I do not have a bluetooth adapter.  Your screen was too bright?  It must have been pretty darn bright.  Did they send you brand new units or were they refurbished?  My problems have been with freezing while on battery as well as the horrendous keyboard.  As well as the display issue (horizontal line) which I have since fixed no thanks to Dell whatsoever.  Did a good number of machines with bluetooth have the brightness issue you had?  How long did it take you to get your replacement systems each time?

Inspiron 8500 Bios A03
2.6Ghz P4M
WUXGA
768Mb DDR RAM 266Mhz
80Gb Ultra ATA HDD
GeForce4 4200 Go 64Mb
DVD+RW
Dell TrueMobile DualBand 1400
Flimsy Keyboard
Disappearing Cursor - Fixed with I8600 drivers
Ship date : 8/14/03

When you say 'replacement system' do you mean you got a new system because of a problem with one they sent you?  I am thinking of returning mine, and possibly getting a new one exactly the same, but am unsure of how the process works.  Will they send me a new replacement in exchange for the one I send back to them?  Or do I just have to return and re-order?  Any insight would be appreciated.  This laptop has been a major pain, especially since I just started law school and have no time to deal with Dell, specifically the incompetent non-English speakers they employ.  Thanks

Inspiron 8500 Bios A03
2.6Ghz P4M
WUXGA
768Mb DDR RAM 266Mhz
80Gb Ultra ATA HDD
GeForce4 4200 Go 64Mb
DVD+RW
Dell TrueMobile DualBand 1400
Flimsy Keyboard
Disappearing Cursor - Fixed with I8600 drivers
Ship date : 8/14/03

I had the exact same problem when i upgraded the video BIOS today to the latest version available for the I8500 (on Sept 7th 2003).

I am 99% sure it is the video BIOS upgrade with the drivers available as the I8600 drivers have fixed the problem for me (fingers crossed).

When will Dell be releasing an update. This is my 3rd replacement system and I am VERY unhappy with Dell. They are an AWFUL company to buy from, if I could return this system I would, it has been nothing but problems since day one :(

mhargr03: they sent me an identical spec system (well they didnt as they messed up the order and sent me a lower spec system!).

But yes, to answer your question, just ask for a replacement system as the one they sent you is faulty.

I was just wondering what your problem is. It isnt that the screen is too bright is it? That was my problem. I think it is down to the bluetooth adapter, do you have one built in (the Dell 300 i think it is)?

I only ask because when i got my 3rd system (again the wrong spec! however this time it was only missing the bluetooth adapter) it worked fine because i didnt have the bluetooth adapter builtin.

it would be easier to continue this via email. my address is at www.mpugh.com i will reply within minutes.

I had this problem on my D800 (same video board as 8500: Nvidia Geforce4 4200 Go) after installing the latest bios and driver.  What fixed it for me was reducing the video acceleration by one increment from full acceleration (Display properties, Settings, Advanced, Troubleshoot). 

 

billb42,

I was a very happy camper when I saw your post and tried what you suggested.  It got rid of the cursor problem!

However, there is still a very serious and severe issue going on internally, even though visually everything appears to be fine.  I do work in 3D applications, one of which is 3dsmax.  When working in 3dsmax I use the OpenGL capabilities of the geforce4 chipset.  Let me give you a rundown of my troubleshooting process.  Prior to reading your post, when I would first boot up there would be no display problems at all and no disappearing cursor.  While in this "no problem" mode and I opened 3dsmax in OpenGL mode, it opens fine and everything works beautifully.  So, I would close the application out.  Then I would close the lid of the notebook.  The screen would shut off and after I reopen it the screen flickers and when it comes back on, the cursor problem appears.  Now, while the cursor problem is occuring if I open 3dsmax in OpenGL mode, there are serious display issues and the system hangs until I end task.  So I end task 3dsmax.  From here, I would change my screen resolution to a lower res and then click No to keep the settings.  This would then FIX the disappearing cursor.  Now, when I'm back in the "fixed" mode opening 3dsmax again, everything is fine, no display issues and it performs as expected.  So, this cursor problem obviously has internal performance problems, not just a display annoyance.

I took your suggestion and changed the full acceleration settings.  This fixed the cursor from disappearing and I thought all was fixed.  So I did the test once again.  Opened 3dsmax, all was fine.  So I closed out of it, closed the lid to the notebook and reopened the lid.  No cursor problem, hallelujah!  I open up 3dsmax again and uh-oh display problems, it hangs and I have to end task..and when I say hangs, I mean I can't do anything for like 20 seconds, it lets me do something for 5 seconds, then hangs another 20, frees up for 5 hangs for 20, etc.  So I change the screen res and change it back, reopen 3dsmax and it works great again.  So although the display issue for the cursor is fixed, internally something is EXTREMELY wrong!!!

Hopefully they release the old or a new BIOS soon, this is unacceptable.

Sorry to shoot your fix down :(

Message Edited by method404 on 09-07-2003 11:25 PM

billb42

Thanks for your suggestion - it worked for me!  For most of the stuff that I'm doing it seems to work great, at least so far.

I agree that there are problems with the video card that have been created with the A03 version of the BIOS and I think that Dell needs to fix those.  For my own personal self, I am glad that I don't have to reset the display settings each time I open and close the lid of my laptop.

Method404 - I'm sure that you've already tried playing with the OpenGL settings of the card so, hopefully, Dell will come out with a fix that solves all of the display problems.

techdog

---

@DELL-Rollie wrote:

All,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

Please try the Inspiron 8600 drivers mentioned above, and if this does not fix your problem, please post here.

---

Rollie,

I already posted in another thread but since you requested it, the 8600 drivers worked temporarily but after several reboots, it's back again. I would like to see the A02 bios made available so we can revert back to it. Or better yet, fix the problems with A03 and make an A04 available.

Thanks,

NWH

EDIT: skip to page 10 for the fix

 

Message Edited by ReWeN on 09-15-2003 12:23 AM

I agree with Northwesthippie just make the A02 BIOS available. They must have it somewhere, just stick it up for download, or leak it so someone can mirror it unofficially I will do it :)