Monitor only works in safe mode

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by RufusB, Sep 4, 2008.

  1. RufusB

    RufusB Private E-2

    A few days ago, my Mag 900P 19" LCD screen abruptly flashed off and on a few times, then went permanently black. The LED light near the on/off switch stayed green. ( it turns amber when signal from computer is lost ). I tried rebooting system; the display stayed black throughout. I checked cable connections; they seemed secure, but I did notice that the back of the monitor seemed exceptionally warm. I allowed system to cool down for several hours and attempted reboot, got same results - no display at all.

    I then tried hooking the monitor up to a different pc - the display stayed black. This indicates to me the Mag is dead.

    Here's where it gets dicey: I connected an old 14" CRT monitor in place of the Mag. It works fine when the pc is first powered on, but as soon as XP loads, the display turns off. The only way I can get it to remain on is to boot up in Safe Mode.

    When I go into Device Manager > Display Adaptors, the only item is for NVidia GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU. It does not have any symbols like an exclamation point or red X indicating there's a problem, but that may be meaningless because when you look at properties>general>device status, it indicates "Status is not available for this device when Windows is running in Safe Mode." I also tried rolling back to a Restore Point prior to the monitor failure, but this did not work.

    Before I replace the monitor, I'd like to resolve the having to boot in safe mode issue, but I'm not sure what next troubleshooting steps should be. Any suggestions?

    Thanks for your consideration!
     
  2. chaimjm

    chaimjm Staff Sergeant

    It sounds like the drivers for the video card may me corrupted, uninstall (delete) the NVidia GeForce4 then reboot to XP it will find the card and reinstall it.
     
  3. RufusB

    RufusB Private E-2

    That did the trick!

    I deleted the drivers as you suggested, let XP detect "new" hardware, and re-installed. I no longer need to boot up in safe mode.

    Many, many thanks!!!
     

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