I did install that set of drivers, but I didn't uninstall the old ones first, will give it another go round just be sure,

regards, ash01

ash01,

Have you tried removing and reinstalling your video drivers to see if that helps here? 

Respectfully,

Hi,

Instead of unistalling the unknow device, I uninstalled the video adapter. On reboot it came up in VGA mode and found all of the hardware and installed the drivers, but on next reboot it was back to same situation where the display is black and only comes alive if I connect via remote desk top.

still puzzled?

regards, ash01

Hello,
I have the exact same problem on an Inspiron 2500 after insalling XP SP2 the boot process goes on. I see the splash screen then it stays black while windows is running. The only way to start is to press the F8 key at the boot then to choose vga mode and when in windows to go back to the 1024 resolution. But if I reboot I have to do it each time. I removed and reinstalled the video driver but still have the problem. Thanks telling me if you can find a solution.
Regards,
Bertrand

I guess it is small comfort that someone else is having the same problem.

The problem is I have still not found a solution and am using the same work around that you are.

Regards,

ash01

I have EXACTLY the same problem on 2 Dimension 4700. I installed SP2 on one 8400 and 2 4700 (all part of an office install). While the 8400 has no problems, both 4700 will intermittently booth in VGAsave and show the display adapter as having a problem / unknown. This is independant of any VirusScanners and does not change with different drivers - we tried the latest Dell OEM driver, the one on the install disks and the one straight from Intel's website (newest) for the 915 chipset Graphics Drivers.

So, this is NOT an isolated problem. IT had to re-install both systems from scatch in the end (SP2 unistall being quite flaky). I am assuming this might be a problem with Directx 9 (9.0c in particular). The native support installed with SP1 is 8.1.

Dell, are you looking into these issues ?

Dan

I just went through same problem with Inspiron 2500 laptop.  The solution was to start in VGA mode (F8 during bootup).  I then downloaded the official Dell Graphics drivers (6.13.01.2872) from the website, which was OLDER than what SP2 evidently replaced.  After the update, everything is back to normal.  Yeah!

No, I installed it in VGA mode.  VGA mode is one of the options on the same F8 screen.  It's closer to the bottom.  I think all drivers are loaded except for video.  So you can go on the Internet etc.

The video driver that was on the laptop (I assume installed by SP2, but could be wrong) was 6.13.1.3198 for the 82815 graphic chipset.  That version is so new that I think/assume it came from SP2.

So - you INSTALLED the driver in Save mode ? What driver (Dell OEM or Intel version) was installed at the time (even though in save mode it's just vga of course) ? Have you restarted a few times since and not had the problem ?

I wonder if this fix, if it turns out to be one, is applicable to 4700 as well.

Dell HAS aknowleged this to be a problem now (offcially) and are working with Intel and MS on a resolution. We did try the older Dell OEM driver, the new one from the Website as well as the Intel Driver (on the 4700).

As for SP2 - it doesn't really replace any drivers ?! It 'only' replaces the HW Layer to the vga core and, of course, all directx files - the latter wouldn't really have been fixed with installing a new driver, even in safe mode ?

Hope this fix does work, just curious....

Best,

Dan

Forgot one other thing.

When I initially had the black screen after bootup, I assumed that the SP2 install had failed.  We waited about 20 minutes the first time.  The laptop seemed to be running and accessing the disk drive.  When I finally figured out the VGA boot up, I was pleasantly happy to see the SP2 was completely installed and looked fine.  (so I didn't have to worry about an aborted installation).

John

 

Yeah, - it's not really fixed unfortunately. The problem happens intermittently; you might restart and it's fine, and you might restart with the Graphics driver having a problem. For what it's worth, Dell has stated they know of the problem and are working on a fix, but they haven't given any indication as to when; I assume it will be something actually forthcoming from MS or Intel for the 915 chipset to accomodate DirectX 9.0c correctly - if that's indeed the problem.

Discovered something else:  sometimes I am STILL getting the black screen.  It seems to be related when I do a normal restart of windows xp.  If instead, I power down the laptop.  Then turn on laptop, works ok.  I think the power cycling resets the hardware.

Also, I have disabled the advanced display features.  Right click my computer/properties/advanced/setings/visual effects.  Adjust for best performance (uncheck everything).  This is a temporary bypass.

Any other ideas, please help!@$!

 

It's not a driver issues per se - neither the new or old Dell OEM, not the Intel drivers will work at this time. It could be a problem with the Intel chipset inf, could be DirectX 9.0c, could be... ?

I tried rolling back to 6.13.1.2872 from 6.13.1.3196 but no joy from that.

Does anyone else have the Intel AIM external flat panel driver 4 showing up under Unknown device in Device Manager?

ash01