I spoke too soon in my earlier posting...that horizontal line that makes my cursor disappear is back. ; ( When you spend $3600.00 CND for a brand new computer, you expect it to work correctly. I'm NOT a happy camper.
Message Edited by Johanna in Canada on 09-01-2003 08:53 AM
I got the disappearing cursor problem after upgrading the video bios. I was using nVidia drivers v45.23 at the time and upgraded to the Dell 8600 drivers mentioned on this board. The problem didn't go away and I downgraded back to nVidia v.45.23 again because the Dell 8600 drivers kept forgetting the digital vibrance settings. So far, since downgrading again, I haven't seen the horizontal line reappear. I have no idea why this worked, it doesn't make sense. Perhaps I am speaking too soon. I'll post again if the problem reappears.
Hi, I posted this on another thread, but here was my solution (albeit temporary i guess): whenever that line comes about, go to Display Properties in control panel, and change the resolution to a lower res. When it asks if u want to keep the lower res, say no, and it will revert back to 1920x1200, but with that transparent line gone. That is the quickest solution i found, although it is still slightly annoying to have to do that. hope that helps
Well the 8600 drivers have worked for me, at least so far (about 30 min and 4 restarts). Someone also mentioned using the Nvidia reference drivers and that they worked, but I'd rather stick with a solution sanctioned by Dell (mod suggested using 8600 drivers)
Inspiron 8500 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 Ship date : 8/14/03
Well, mine has worked for the last few days being used for hours at a time with the i8600 drivers...
A quick fix I found before installing the i8600 drivers was to just put the computer into stand-by by closing it. When I then opened it, it was fixed. Quite annoying having to stand-by the system every time though, just as it would be having to switch the resolution every time.
I have tried the 8600 drivers, also. However, they don't seem to work either. While the screen seems fine when the system first boots, if I close the screen, for example, the disappearing line reappears.
Does anyone know if I can go back to the A02 version of the Nvidia BIOS? I couldn't find it on the Dell website. While the fixes of going into standby or changing the resolution work, they are a real pain.
I still have this problem and I would imagine the problem can only be fixed by updating the BIOS again.
nVidia supply OEM graphics boards to Dell and as such it is Dell's responsibility to provide BIOS and driver support. Dell is responsible for this fault and I would not accept any technician advising me to contact nVidia on this matter.
I would say Dell will release a corrected video BIOS for this issue shortly.
Dell moderators - please post a resolution time scale for us.
What he said was to try the 8600 drivers for the 8500 machines. I have an 8500 and have been using the 8600 video drivers for a day or so, and they seem to have corrected the disappearing cursor issue, at least for now. So try the graphics drivers for the same graphics card listed for the 8600.
Inspiron 8500 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
Hmm, well I noticed if I close the lid to my computer for about 10 seconds, than lift it, the screen flickers a bit, then when it comes back, the horz bar is there again obscuring my cursor. Changing the resolution (and choosing cancel to come back) appears to get rid of the magical bar again.
I followed Joanna's advice, got that i8600 display driver, and then also disables the "NvCpl" checkbox in the msconfig options. After boot, no more missing line. We'll see if it sticks.
I have found a "reasonable" workaround for the disappearing horizontal line problem which, while not sufficient as a solution, makes the problem somewhat easier to live with until Dell comes up with a solution (perhaps they could just post the A02 version of the BIOS so that we could all downgrade until they come up with a A04 version!).
Since we are all running Nvidia cards/software, I would suggest the following to help get rid of the disappearing horizontal line. I am using the Nview desktop manager and the Media Center Icon in the taskbar whenever the line appears on my screen. After it appears, I right-click on the Media Center Icon (in the taskbar) and select the "generic" profile under the "nView Profiles" pop-up menu which is under the "nView Desktop Manager" pop-up menu. This resets the screen and the disappearing line "disappears." This is a lot easier than opening up the Display settings window and resetting the resolution or going into standby each time.
Here is how to enable the nView Desktop Manager and to get the Media Center Icon to display in the taskbar...
1. Select Display from the Control Panel. Alternatively, right-click on the desktop and choose the Properties item in the shortcut menu that appears.
2. Click on the Settings tab.
3. Click on the Advanced button.
4. Click on the GeForce4 4200 Go Tab.
5. Click on the Desktop Utilities in the pop-up/sliding menu.
6. Select the "Display the Media Center icon in the taskbar" checkbox and the "Enable Desktop Manager" checkbox.
This should display the Media Center icon in the taskbar and should allow you to re-select the generic profile any time the disappearing line "re-appears."
Also, out of curiousity...I am wondering how many of these notebooks are having this problem. If this is very common or an isolated event. The people experiencing the "disappearing cursor," do they also experience the notorious notebook "freezes" ??
Could these issues be related?
I had my i8500 freezing on me constantly until I installed Windows2000. The disappearing cursor occured in both XP and 2000.
Johanna in Cana
2 Posts
0
August 29th, 2003 12:00
I'm so glad I came across this thread - I was about to send my new 8500 back because of the same problem with the disappearing cursor.
I installed the 8600 driver and so far so good - no weird horizontal line anymore.
For anyone else...I got it here:
https://support.dell.com/filelib/Devices.aspx?Category=6&OS=WW1++&OSL=EN&SvcTag=&SysID=INS_PNT_P4M_8600
Mine was for the NVIDIA GeForce4 4200 GO, file name R63305.exe
Thanks everyone!
Message Edited by Johanna in Canada on 09-01-2003 08:54 AM
Johanna in Cana
2 Posts
0
August 29th, 2003 14:00
UPDATE
I spoke too soon in my earlier posting...that horizontal line that makes my cursor disappear is back. ; ( When you spend $3600.00 CND for a brand new computer, you expect it to work correctly. I'm NOT a happy camper.
Message Edited by Johanna in Canada on 09-01-2003 08:53 AM
npgall
26 Posts
0
August 29th, 2003 19:00
BigHass
1 Message
0
August 31st, 2003 16:00
mhargr03
61 Posts
0
August 31st, 2003 17:00
Well the 8600 drivers have worked for me, at least so far (about 30 min and 4 restarts). Someone also mentioned using the Nvidia reference drivers and that they worked, but I'd rather stick with a solution sanctioned by Dell (mod suggested using 8600 drivers)
Inspiron 8500 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
Ship date : 8/14/03
LynxRaven
7 Posts
0
August 31st, 2003 20:00
Well, mine has worked for the last few days being used for hours at a time with the i8600 drivers...
A quick fix I found before installing the i8600 drivers was to just put the computer into stand-by by closing it. When I then opened it, it was fixed. Quite annoying having to stand-by the system every time though, just as it would be having to switch the resolution every time.
TechDog
19 Posts
0
September 2nd, 2003 23:00
I have tried the 8600 drivers, also. However, they don't seem to work either. While the screen seems fine when the system first boots, if I close the screen, for example, the disappearing line reappears.
Does anyone know if I can go back to the A02 version of the Nvidia BIOS? I couldn't find it on the Dell website. While the fixes of going into standby or changing the resolution work, they are a real pain.
Thanks for your help.
Inspiron 8500
WUXGA 1920x1200 Display
TrueMobile 1300
DVD-RW
LynxRaven
7 Posts
0
September 2nd, 2003 23:00
npgall
26 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2003 00:00
I still have this problem and I would imagine the problem can only be fixed by updating the BIOS again.
nVidia supply OEM graphics boards to Dell and as such it is Dell's responsibility to provide BIOS and driver support. Dell is responsible for this fault and I would not accept any technician advising me to contact nVidia on this matter.
I would say Dell will release a corrected video BIOS for this issue shortly.
Dell moderators - please post a resolution time scale for us.
Hegui
4 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2003 03:00
mhargr03
61 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2003 03:00
What he said was to try the 8600 drivers for the 8500 machines. I have an 8500 and have been using the 8600 video drivers for a day or so, and they seem to have corrected the disappearing cursor issue, at least for now. So try the graphics drivers for the same graphics card listed for the 8600.
Inspiron 8500 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
knitterb
63 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2003 05:00
What's with these laptop!
knitterb
63 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2003 05:00
TechDog
19 Posts
0
September 3rd, 2003 17:00
I have found a "reasonable" workaround for the disappearing horizontal line problem which, while not sufficient as a solution, makes the problem somewhat easier to live with until Dell comes up with a solution (perhaps they could just post the A02 version of the BIOS so that we could all downgrade until they come up with a A04 version!).
Since we are all running Nvidia cards/software, I would suggest the following to help get rid of the disappearing horizontal line. I am using the Nview desktop manager and the Media Center Icon in the taskbar whenever the line appears on my screen. After it appears, I right-click on the Media Center Icon (in the taskbar) and select the "generic" profile under the "nView Profiles" pop-up menu which is under the "nView Desktop Manager" pop-up menu. This resets the screen and the disappearing line "disappears." This is a lot easier than opening up the Display settings window and resetting the resolution or going into standby each time.
Here is how to enable the nView Desktop Manager and to get the Media Center Icon to display in the taskbar...
1. Select Display from the Control Panel. Alternatively, right-click on the desktop and choose the Properties item in the shortcut menu that appears.
2. Click on the Settings tab.
3. Click on the Advanced button.
4. Click on the GeForce4 4200 Go Tab.
5. Click on the Desktop Utilities in the pop-up/sliding menu.
6. Select the "Display the Media Center icon in the taskbar" checkbox and the "Enable Desktop Manager" checkbox.
This should display the Media Center icon in the taskbar and should allow you to re-select the generic profile any time the disappearing line "re-appears."
Good luck.
Hope this works for you.
method404
77 Posts
0
September 4th, 2003 22:00
Also, out of curiousity...I am wondering how many of these notebooks are having this problem. If this is very common or an isolated event. The people experiencing the "disappearing cursor," do they also experience the notorious notebook "freezes" ??
Could these issues be related?
I had my i8500 freezing on me constantly until I installed Windows2000. The disappearing cursor occured in both XP and 2000.