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2746
May 26th, 2004 23:00
WHERE TO START? SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!
Well a long long long time ago, I decided to hook up a monitor to my Inspiron 3800. I did something wrong, or the monitor wasn't plug n play compatible, and something got messed up. When I start my computer now, I am greeted by a message that states "your display isn't configured properly."
When i goto display properties/settings it reads:
Display:
[unknown Monitor] on [Unknown Device]
When i goto system properties, and click on hardware, nothing is installed, excepted for quite a few "unknowns." When I go into safe mode, all my drivers are listed, but its still running in the same vga 16 color 640x480 color mode, with the [unknown Monitor] on [Unknown Device].
Also under system properties/performance it lists:
Compatibility-mode paging reduces overall sytem properties
Drive A is using MS DOS compatibility mode file system.
Drive C is using MS DOS compatibility mode file system.
I believe the problems lies somewhere with the computer can't recognize what display it should use, and thats whats putting the system into compatibility mode. I believe the problem is somewhere in the config.sys or something like that, whatever file loads the drivers, is still stuck as if a monitor is pluged into it. im open for anything and everything right now, and no i do not have a recovery cd. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME.
aim: Forrestsn
Flooby
2 Intern
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3K Posts
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May 27th, 2004 00:00
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;130179
The information in the article at the above link more than likely applies, but you're going to have to do some careful checking to determine the cause. Unless you tried installing different video drivers when you added the monitor, that shouldn't be a factor. If you look at the Settings tab of display properties and double click the graphic for your monitor, what are your choices under Monitor Type? You may see "Generic Television," "Default Monitor," or any one of a number of others, depending on which display drivers you have installed. If you have several options, try each one, pressing Apply and OK after each selection, and see if that settles things down. Under most circumstances, the only display drivers that will work properly on the I3800 are the ATI Mobility M1 drivers available from Dell. You might try downloading and reinstalling them over whatever you might have on there now, if you don't have the option to remove whatever might presently be installed. The latest version is dated 02/28/01.
You're also going to want to make sure you have no viruses on the system, as is mentioned as a possible cause in the article above.
http://www.infinisource.com/techfiles/msdos-compatibility.html This addresses checking (and possibly editing) the registry regarding the noide entry that may be present.
Fow what it's worth, I've never had any problems adding an external monitor to an I3800 under Win9x, and no installation of drivers, etc. was necessary to accomplish this.
Just to be sure, you did power the system down before you tried to install the external monitor, didn't you?
Message Edited by Flooby on 05-26-2004 09:50 PM
nocfor
7 Posts
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May 27th, 2004 01:00
tried it.
monitor listings arent even there. and no i dont think i turned it off. i think what i did was turned the monitor off, then did fn+f8 and it worked fine, and then after that.. i dont know wht happend... maybe it didnt work fine?
does anyone know where i could get a recovery cd? please contact me via aim: Forrestssn or email ein@houston.rr.com
Message Edited by nocfor on 05-26-2004 09:32 PM
Flooby
2 Intern
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3K Posts
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May 27th, 2004 08:00
If you mean an operating system CD, you can still get Windows 98 here:
http://www.buycheapsoftware.com/details.asp?productID=128
Fow what it's worth, Windows XP works very well on I3800s, and is much easier to work with, particularly as regards driver support.
nocfor
7 Posts
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May 27th, 2004 14:00
well this is an older i3800, its the 6 gig one, and no im looking for a dell recovery cd.
i've tried to install xp on it but for some reason, i get certain files as being "corupted."
Flooby
2 Intern
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3K Posts
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May 27th, 2004 21:00
An I3800 is an I3800, and larger hard drives are still available for them, although XP will run on a 6 GB drive, if you don't plan on jamming a whole lot of other large applications/files on there.
If you're referring to a CD for restoring/reinstalling the operating system, Dell doesn't use "Recovery CDs." Your OS CD may have been Dell branded, but it was the same version of Windows you get from a retail store, not an all-in-one OS/Drivers/Utilities image of your hard drive contents as shipped. If you've lost the CD that contained your operating system, you'll have to purchase a new one, reinstall the OS, then either use the Drivers and Utilities (or Resource) CD that accompanied the system (if available), or better still, download (probably newer versions of) the drivers and utilities via the Downloads tab above, and reinstall them from there. The operating system CDs that accompany Dell systems are in some cases tied to the specific system BIOS and are in any case limited to installation on the system with which they shipped, so if it's the operating system CD to which you're referring, you're still going to have to buy a replacement.