Hello All,
I am using XP Pro SP3 and I encounter a very strange problem with my monitor.
Sometimes the monitor stops responding during reboot,
announcing that it is going to sleep, because it receives no video signal.
Other times it does the same a few minutes AFTER the reboot and then,
either it shows a "blue screen" with a "hardware error" message or not, but the only solution is to
unplug the power and reboot, which also either succeeds or should be retried several times.
Sometimes, shortly after the reboot, it announces that "the system has recovered from a severe problem" and asks to send a report to Microsoft. In response to this, Microsoft points me to a utility for checking the RAM, just for finding out whether this is a software or most probably a hardware error ( I think it is hardware ).
I kept the files that were created when this error happened the last time, so I can upload them if this could help.
Also, in the machine's device list it shows 2 Monitors instead of only 1 that I have, defined identically,
with the same drivers:
- one is a standard Windows driver in C:\windows\system32\drivers\pdiddcci.sys
and
- the other is from the Monitor's installation disk:
C:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\color\190B9.icm
Both these 2 monitor device entries appear with a yellow "!" mark and with a message saying
"This device cannot start. (Code 10)".
The troubleshooting button indicates that the driver(s) should be uninstalled and reinstalled again,
but I am not sure how exactly I can reinstall them, if I press the Unisntall button.
At this moment the monitor IS WORKING however, in spite of this error, maybe the problem will appear again on the next reboot …
Sometimes, also, but very intermitently, the monitor seems "to suddenly receive too much light from behind"
and the image has very light colors and it flickers, then, after several minutes, it becomes normal again.
I tried the monitor on another machine, running the same OS version and it had no problems at all,
so we think that the problem(s) are maybe caused by the display graphic card, which is embedded into the mother board.
My questions are:
1. Is it possible that installing a new graphic card can solve these problems ?
2. How can I uninstall and reinstall the Monitor driver(s), so that to make the "!" and error
message disappear, and maybe this way correct the boot problem ?
Thanks a lot anticipately & Best Regards,
Iudith Mentzel
Hi iudith,
Welcome to WTT
Sounds like a whole bunch of trouble there, but usually unless the monitor itself has a problem (but you have checked it on another PC) it is usually caused by a video driver malfunction.
Most monitors use a generic Microsoft driver just like CD optical drives do, so for all intents and purposes, there is no monitor driver you can upgrade or install. Plug and Play.
What we need to know is your computer brand and model number (model number should be on the rear side or back). Knowing that, I can then give you a link where you can download a display driver.
Cheers,
Lee
Both these 2 monitor device entries appear with a yellow "!" mark and with a message saying
"This device cannot start. (Code 10)".
don't worry about finding the drivers to install again, just right click on them and click uninstall then reboot your pc, it'll find the hardware and install the drivers again.
see if that gets rid of any yellow error marks and if everything now works fine again, if not then nothing lost and lee will continue advising you when you provide the info he needs.
Hello All,
First, many thanks for your so fast reply
In the meantime, I followed the instructions and uninstalled the first one of the 2 Monitor devices
that showed the yellow "!" mark and then reinstalled it using Add/Remove Hardware from the Control Panel
and now it shows "Default Monitor", without the yellow mark and says that it does not need any drivers.
The computer was not in use for several days, being shut down.
Today, when I rebooted, it seemed to be ok, but less then 5 minutes after it started,
the monitor closed itself alone, saying "going to sleep" and the computer started to reboot itself alone,
this time without any "blue screen" before the reboot, and after this second reboot it again displayed
a message like "Your machine has recovered from a severe problem … Do you want to send report to Microsoft, a.s.o."
Now it seems to be working, probably until the next reboot.
Regarding the model, all I could found is a label on the rear indicating
"MOD.CA 228 , 20086880820".
I don't think it is a specific brand, there is no such indication anywhere,
I rather think it was assembled by the computer store where I acquired it.
The motherboard is Gigabyte and the Video Card is embedded into the motherboard.
All the drivers that came with the motherboard were installed when I started to use the computer,
about 2.5 years ago.
What we thought about doing ( advised by one of my colleagues ) is to try and install
an additional Video Card, so that the computer will use this new one instead of the embedded one.
I will be really very grateful for any further advice.
Thanks a lot & Best Regards,
Iudith
first thing you need to do is find out why it's rebooting, might be a heat, memory, hard drive problem, etc and nothing to do with your onboard video, lee will run through testing everything with you.
the main reason for this post is so you don't rush out and buy something you don't really need/ might not fix your problem.
.
Hello All,
Thanks a lot for your kind answers, and thanks anticipately for any good further advice
I am a software professional, but, unfortunately, totally helpless with hardware issues.
Please advise whether it could be helpful for you if I upload the status/trace files that were generated
by Windows during the automatic reboot, when the problem happened.
Thanks a lot & Best Regards,
Iudith
The problem, being intermittent, can be related to Heat, loose connections, corrupted display driver, RAM memory, or something else we have yet to identify.
Post all the information from D_A_L.
If you run Belarc Advisor, please report the same pieces of information as available from D_A_L, (Hardware and Drivers) but not the entire Belarc Advisor report, because Belarc does report some of your software license codes that you should keep private to yourself.
With the machine information, our Techs can better help discover a route to solution.
First off, go to Start / Control Panel / Power options / Power Schemes / under "Setting for home/Office Desk power scheme", make sure the 1st setting is set to "After 20mins." and the next two set at "never".
Cheers,
Lee
Hello Lee,
I checked the Power Options settings and they are set exactly as you indicated.
These are probably default settings, because I have never changed them.
Today, luckily, the first boot was ok, the Monitor did not stop working
It had some "flickers" for a few minutes, as it sometimes happens,
but then they went off and now it works ok in the meantime.
Thanks a lot & Best Regards,
Iudith
Sounds like a whole bunch of trouble there, but usually unless the monitor itself has a problem (but you have checked it on another PC) it is usually caused by a video driver malfunction.
Most monitors use a generic Microsoft driver just like CD optical drives do, so for all intents and purposes, there is no monitor driver you can upgrade or install. Plug and Play.
What we need to know is your computer brand and model number (model number should be on the rear side or back). Knowing that, I can then give you a link where you can download a display driver.
Cheers,
Lee
