Please help with video driver problem - Page 2

Skipjacks · 09-28-2007, 04:21 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by marshallh

EDIT: Another idea, download RealVNC and make a CD with the setup program. Also, make a file called autorun.inf with the following contents:

Code:

[autorun]
open=setup.exe

Then put the CD in while your blind computer is running. Hopefully you can memorize the keystrokes required by dry-running the setup on anotehr machine. If you are hooked up with Wi-Fi you can remote-control the computer.

I can't do the remote connection thing because the car computer is not on any network.

However I like the concept you're going for here. So instead of using an autorun CD to run the RealVNC program, I'm going to use the autorun CD that came with the motherboard to try and install the drivers again....blindly...this ought to be fun!

Skipjacks · 09-28-2007, 05:09 PM

Alright reinstalling the graphics adapter using an autorun CD didn't work, but since it's the monitor I uninstalled and the the graphics card, that doesn't surprise me.

Does anyone know of an exe file that I can make into an autorun CD that will install a generic monitor?

Skipjacks · 09-28-2007, 05:13 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by marshallh

Here's a suggestion:

1. On your other computer, get the driver you were trying to install. Note the names of the SYS files (they are the drivers.).

2. Boot using the XP installation CD, and goto Recovery Console.

Code:

cd C:\windows\system32\drivers (just going from memory here) 
del drivername.sys

and delete the driver.

3. Next time you boot up, XP will not find the driver and hopefully load the vanilla VGA driver.

Does anyone have any idea what the file name I'm looking for might be?

Any guesses at all?

Skipjacks · 09-28-2007, 05:18 PM

Alos, how about installing Windows 2000 on the same drive? Then once I get that working...use the now much easier to navigate windows explorer to find the windows settings on the XP copy and fix it using some kind of editor?

I'm just tossing ideas out here. If that's a good basis of an idea could someone help me fill in the blanks? Like what to look for once I'd have 2000 installed...how to make the changes, etc...

I'm still fiddling with the other good ideas I've heard so far. Thanks so much for everyone's help so far.

I'm sure I could have had this done by reinstalling windows by now...but it's the principle of the thing. I will not let Windows beat me.

marshallh · 09-28-2007, 11:32 PM

Solution:

Boot your computer. Do you have a frontend running? If so, hit alt-f4 once and wait a bit.

Code:

   Ctrl-Alt-Del (give your computer at least 6 seconds to make task manager show up)
   Alt-F
   N
   type "explorer"
   Enter

Ok. Now you have the shell running.

Now, did you delete the MONITOR settings or the DISPLAY DRIVER settings? If you borked the monitor settings, follow below...

Code:

Now to get into Device Manager..

   WindowsKey + Pause/Break
   Ctrl + Tab
   Ctrl + Tab
   Alt-D  (wait a little bit)
   Tab
   M
   M
   Right arrow key
   Down arrow key
   Delete   (you should hear the error ding)
   Space-bar
   Space-bar again, it might want to reboot

You have now deleted your monitor settings. If windows is not already doing it, reboot

If you were fudging with your display drivers, (less likely)

Code:

   WindowsKey + Pause/Break
   Ctrl + Tab
   Ctrl + Tab
   Alt-D  (wait a little bit)
   Tab
   D
   D
   Right arrow key
   Down arrow key
   Delete   (you should hear the error ding)
   Space-bar
   Space-bar again, it might want to reboot
You have now deleted your display driver. Re-boot.

Try the first one. Of course if you think you fudged even one key during the process, re-boot and try again. At worst you could end up deleting drivers for something else (repairable)

Jenyus425 · 09-29-2007, 02:21 AM

good ideas marshallh! your knowledge far surpasses mine!

good luck with the rest of it! I'll keep checkin back to see if I can be of any more help, but i kinda doubt it!

Skipjacks · 09-29-2007, 08:14 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by marshallh

Solution:

Boot your computer. Do you have a frontend running? If so, hit alt-f4 once and wait a bit.

I do NOT have a front end running. But iGuiadance and Winamp load automatically. So I should still want to hit ALT F4 then because that closes everything, right?

I'm going to try your way later today and let you know how it worked out.

Thanks!

Skipjacks · 09-29-2007, 01:50 PM

Well that didn't work. But I feel like I'm a step closer because at least I changed something. (It was the sound that I changed. Made it all weird and tinny. But I can fix that easy. At least I know I did SOMETHING)

Here's the issue. I went through all the keystrokes just like you said. Except I didn't get a error ding after hitting DELETE. I got one after hitting the space bar the second time. And immediately following it I heard either the HARDWARE REMOVED or HARDWARE FOUND sound (DA DUM)

So I did something. For all I know I uninstaller the monitor like planned but it's not automatically reinstalling it when it comes back up for some reason.

I need a break from it for an hour or so before my head explodes. But maybe in a little bit I'll try to get the hardware wizard to run and see if it can find the Lilliput as NEW HARDWARE.

Skipjacks · 09-29-2007, 04:55 PM

Well, the new hardware wizard didn't work either. I got a pop up message in the middle of trying to do that that I don't get inside. So who effing knows what question it's trying to ask me.

Dear god I hate Windows. It's so badly written. I mean how do you have an option to permanently disable the only way to see what's on the screen and not have an easy well documented fix for it?!

This is getting REALLY aggravating.

I need one of 3 things.

1) A way to do this using the carpute HDD as a slave drive inside so I can see what the hell I'm trying to do.

2) A exe file that will isntall a generic monitor driver that I can make into an autorun disk.

3) A way to find and strangle whatever programming moron at Microsoft missed this little bug in the software.

Skipjacks · 09-29-2007, 09:40 PM

Well I finally gave up and just reinstalled Windows. And that's created a host of other problems. (Big shocker).

I'll try to find those answers and make new threads if I can't find them.

Thanks for trying, everyone!