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Windows 7 new install will only work in VGA mode
Windows 7 new install will only work in VGA mode
- Installing windows 7 on a newly system with a GeForce 9400GT graphics card. When windows starts the monitor turns off. The only way I can see it is in safe mode or VGA mode. I tried to install new drivers from Nvdia but same thing and then I corrupted the reg because I can't see anything.
Any help would be apprciated.
Answers
As we can only get into VGA mode, it seems like a driver related issue. First check the things Daniel mentioned. Meanwhile, please check if this is the driver you tried to install. If not, install it to see the result.
If issue persists, go to Save Mode to uninstall the display card driver from Device Manager (right click on display card and choose Uninstall), reboot to Normal Mode, check if we can run Windows Update in order to find a display card driver.
- Proposed As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorTuesday, October 27, 2009 5:38 AM
- Marked As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorThursday, October 29, 2009 2:30 AM
When windows starts the monitor turns off. The only way I can see it is in safe mode or VGA mode.
This 'blackscreen' behaviour is reasonably commonly encountered, and it usually results from the use of a display monitor which does not reliably report its EDID information to the PC.
What happens is that, when Windows is installed, the monitor gets identified as 'generic plug and play'. Then, when the updated display driver is installed the display output can be incorrectly configured to settings outside of the range of the monitor's capabilities.
To correct the problem it is best to first install a monitor driver and then uninstall/reinstall the display driver. Locate a suitable device driver for your monitor, install that in Safe Mode, and then reboot. Then uninstall/reinstall the display driver (again in Safe Mode if need be) and reboot again. The correct make/model details of your monitor should be now displayed in Display Properties, and the video card settings should be configured within the allowable range of settings for your monitor, eliminating the blackscreen behaviour.
It's a nuisance when this happens, but it usually only arises where a 'cheaper' monitor is in use. 6-bit panels from Asus in particular are rather notorious for it!- Proposed As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorTuesday, October 27, 2009 5:38 AM
- Marked As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorThursday, October 29, 2009 2:30 AM
All Replies
- Have you verify under device manager>display adapter and ensure that the 9400GT is detected as well as the dvi to vga from the comps to the monitor is not loose, lastly ensure that pcie option is enable in bios setup
If you could include the make and model of your rig, that be great As we can only get into VGA mode, it seems like a driver related issue. First check the things Daniel mentioned. Meanwhile, please check if this is the driver you tried to install. If not, install it to see the result.
If issue persists, go to Save Mode to uninstall the display card driver from Device Manager (right click on display card and choose Uninstall), reboot to Normal Mode, check if we can run Windows Update in order to find a display card driver.
- Proposed As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorTuesday, October 27, 2009 5:38 AM
- Marked As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorThursday, October 29, 2009 2:30 AM
When windows starts the monitor turns off. The only way I can see it is in safe mode or VGA mode.
This 'blackscreen' behaviour is reasonably commonly encountered, and it usually results from the use of a display monitor which does not reliably report its EDID information to the PC.
What happens is that, when Windows is installed, the monitor gets identified as 'generic plug and play'. Then, when the updated display driver is installed the display output can be incorrectly configured to settings outside of the range of the monitor's capabilities.
To correct the problem it is best to first install a monitor driver and then uninstall/reinstall the display driver. Locate a suitable device driver for your monitor, install that in Safe Mode, and then reboot. Then uninstall/reinstall the display driver (again in Safe Mode if need be) and reboot again. The correct make/model details of your monitor should be now displayed in Display Properties, and the video card settings should be configured within the allowable range of settings for your monitor, eliminating the blackscreen behaviour.
It's a nuisance when this happens, but it usually only arises where a 'cheaper' monitor is in use. 6-bit panels from Asus in particular are rather notorious for it!- Proposed As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorTuesday, October 27, 2009 5:38 AM
- Marked As Answer byShaon ShanMSFT, ModeratorThursday, October 29, 2009 2:30 AM
- What you explained does make a little sense, but why wouldn't the OS be able to figure this out? I know you say this is "reasonably common", but it's really making it hard on users. I would love to try your solution, but from what I can see, there are no drivers for my monitor. I have a Westinghouse LCM 22w2. It's a 22" LCD. I am able to open 7 under Safe Mode and also in VGA mode. I only have one monitor and currently only have one BFG nVidia 7800 GTX OC cards installed. The video card has two DVI ports. I have tried starting with the monitor plugged into the other port and also tried with the monitor plugged disconnected. I have installed, uninstalled, reinstalled the latest 191.01 nVidia driver while in VGA and Safe modes multiple times. I've tried uninstalling the drivers and then restarting from both modes, but still end up with my computer hanging as soon as the OS begins to start.The sad part is, I ended up with an issue with 7 Beta, but don't remember if it was the same issue and I don't remember what the solution was. I want to say I had to use a very old nVidia driver to make it work. I can still boot up in the old 7 Beta version on my other hard drive, but can't really seem to see any differences in how it is set up.Your help would be GREATLY appreciated!!Mark
from what I can see, there are no drivers for my monitor. I have a Westinghouse LCM 22w2.
What you explained does make a little sense, but why wouldn't the OS be able to figure this out? I know you say this is "reasonably common", but it's really making it hard on users. I would love to try your solution, but from what I can see, there are no drivers for my monitor. I have a .....
mlstt, my checking indicates that the Westinghouse unit you've mentioned is actually an LCD TV, rather than a computer monitor. Westinghouse do not list a monitor driver for it, but their FAQ information suggests that if you do not get a display when it is connected to a PC you should perform a full shutdown of the PC (not sleep or standby) and then restart with a full power up again.
If that doesn't work it might be an option to temporarily connect a different monitor (so you actually get a display and can work on the thing). Then alter the settings to ensure the PC display output is set to 1440x900 screen resolution, at 60Hz refresh rate. Those are the settings relevent to that LCD TV you have. Then power down, reconnect the LCD-TV and try again to see if you get a display.
Sorry I can't be more helpful than that, but the previous comments have assumed that it was an actual PC monitor connected to the computer, not an LCD TV unit with PC input. Getting a TV configured and working is opften easier when it is connected as a secondary display unit, rather than as the sole display unit.
Why can't the OS 'figure it out'?
Because, as mentioned above if EDID information isn't reported reliably then there's not much for the OS to go by unless a monitor driver is installed spearately. (Those are simply ***.inf files which contains reference settings which the monitor can handle and identification information. The display adaptor device driver will often identify the monitor more readily, because the monitor is connected directly to that device. Windows itself is trying to identify the monitor via the graphics adaptor, and if the monitor itself is unreliably reporting to begin with.....
More info about EDID here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_display_identification_data- I pulled out the manual which calls it a monitor. Here is a link to the Westinghouse page for this monitor, where it is clearly labeled as a monitor: http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=60. I'm not sure how your research makes you think it is a TV. It doesn't have a TV tuner, but does have the capabilities of handling additional video inputs.You mentioned changing the resolution to 1440x900. What would that do?
I have never had an issue with XP handling this monitor. My Windows 7 Beta version is able to make it work. I apparently used an older nVidia 181.20 driver that had a date of 1/20/09 in the Windows Explorer of my beta installation. Whiled booted into the beta version, I looked at the settings and I have it set at its native resolution of 1680x1050 and it keeps forcing itself to 59 Hz instead of 60. Tonight I tried installing the 181.20 driver which works when I boot up in VGA mode, but gives me the black screen when trying to startup normally. Do you think it could have something to do with having the monitor connected via DVI cable? I did switch to a regular VGA cable with an DVI-VGA adapter at the video card, uninstalled video drivers in safe mode, rebooted, reinstalled after entering VGA mode, rebooted and still got the black screen. This is very frustrating since it has always worked in XP and was able to work in 7 beta.I'm not sure where to go from here. Since I have reinstalled Windows 7 a few times, I don't think it's an installation issue, so I started getting Windows 7 how I want it with Office and Outlook configured so I can at least use it. I also performed all the updates recommended, except the WDDM Pre-release driver it is recommending to install. The WDDM driver that automatically installs with 7 doesn't help, so I didn't bother installing it through the updates.I guess I'll just continue booting into VGA mode and adjusting the resolution until I can find a true fix. - Sincere apologies, mlsett.
I was googling up possible sources for a monitor driver for the model you listed, and amongst the searches was looking at a Westinhouse specifications page which listed the monitor involved as an LCD TV which had a screen resolution of 1440x900. Perhaps it had a very similar model number, and I didn't notice it was actually a different one.
Hard to tell, because I lost the relevent browser history to a power outage, and can't find the page I was looking at again.
Anyways, my bad.
I've been unable to find even a user-created monitor driver for the model you list, and Westinghouse simply don't provide them, so no go anyways. In such circumstances trying an older display driver revision is probably the best available option, and people experiencing such problems should report them using the 'customer feedback' faciltiies on the Nvidia or ATi (as appropriate) websites in order to have the issue addressed in future device driver revisions.
Cheers - Thanks for consistantly watching this thread for me...
Day 3 of starting in VGA mode and adjusting the resolution...
My next step is to try a Beta version of a driver that nVidia just came out with a couple days ago that looks like it adds a little Win7 functionality. If that doesn't work I'll move on to this next step...
Back in my gaming days, I was running SLI with two BFG nVidia 7800 GTX OC 256MB cards. I had issues running both cards during the Windows 7 Beta, so I took one out since I didn't need it anymore (since my gaming days are over). It worked, so I just rolled with it. I'll try swapping out the video card with the other card that I took out. It is the same model number with the same firmware, but maybe the one I'm using now has got some type of internal fault that's not showing itself during normal usage.
I'll keep you posted.
Mark - So, as I promised, I wanted to provide some follow-up to show what my final fix was.
The black screen issue that I was experiencing at startup was because of other installations of Windows on my other hard drives including an old inoperable XP installation and a Windows 7 Beta installation. During start up, my computer must have been somehow getting confused with the different installations. This may be due to a master boot record issue? My final fix wasn't really an "actual" fix I guess, it's more of a workaround. This was done by making a change in my BIOS to start booting from a specific hard drive, but it is not the hard drive where my new Windows 7 installation is. This was found with trial-and-error and I'm not sure why it worked to be honest. I have been so busy lately that I have not looked into it any further, but it works so that is what I'm sticking with for now.
Even though I don't have time to find the root cause, any ideas of what could be causing this?
