Laptop Video Problem

georgemc

Hey guys,
I've got an HP ZD8000 (zd8110us) that I've reloaded from scratch with the original HP disks. Whenever I attempt to change the resolution from the very low 640x480, the screen goes black and never comes back with a display. This happens no matter if I do it manually or if OS tries to do it automatically. After a hard boot, it displays the loading Windows screen and then goes black before it ever displays the logon screen. By black I mean there is nothing displayed but the screen is active. I've download and tried the latest ATI drivers from the HP page with the same results.
Anyone have an idea of what the problem can be and how to fix it?

Thanks,
George

P.S. Just on a whim, I upgraded the BIOS from 22 to 34 with no change in status.

mastercorm

are you sure you have the right video driver?

georgemc

mastercorm wrote:

are you sure you have the right video driver?

I initially used the video driver that shipped with the laptop and then got the most recent version from the HP website for the particular laptop. HP ZD8000 (zd8110us)

sprkymrk

What happens if you use an external monitor?

georgemc

Yes, I've tried an external monitor and get the exact same symptoms...

kevozz

Any errors under Device Manager?

georgemc

Device manager says the display adapter is working just fine.

sprkymrk

How about running dxdiag.exe and checking the video tab?

georgemc

sprkymrk wrote:

How about running dxdiag.exe and checking the video tab?

I'll go ahead and try that and let you know how it goes...

kevozz

oops

kevozz

That is really strange. Nothing shows up in device manager. I run into this problem, but not on a laptop unless something with the hardware is starting to fail.

Does the screen go blank with all resolution selections?

Download the latest drivers from the ATI website for your video card.

Go into Enable VGA Mode ( F8 ) and remove the drivers from there. Make sure you use the Catalyst Uninstaller. Reboot and reinstall.

Not sure if it installs the Catalyst Control Center, but try just the drivers then the full suite.

Make sure Windows is fully up to date.

Turn off any virus/spyware during the actual installation (rare, but can cause a problem in this instance).

Did you run a long format or scandisk (Surface test and error checking) on the HD before reinstalling? May want to do that. I've had a corrupt windows installation. Seems it installed specific files on the same bad sectors on the disk several times in a row.

Check your Event Viewer (application and system) to see if any entries correspond at the specific time this occurs.

Check your MiniDump folder for any **** (%systemroot%/Windows/Minidump) in case you had a BSOD and could not see it. Folder may or may not be there.

Thats all i can think of right now.

Good luck.

georgemc

OK

I reinstalled the latest drivers and rebooted...

It came up to the blank/black screen that I've come to expect...

I typed in the admin password and heard windows go through the login process..

After a while the desktop comes up with an error message showing...

VPU RECOVER

VPU Recover was unable to fully recover from a hardware deadlock, and has switched to software rendering. To restore hardware rendering, you must restart your computer. Do you want to restart your computer now?

YES NO

I had this happen once before and the screen went black again after booting...

I selected no this time and am considering what to do from here.

georgemc

Hey again...
I finally rebooted again and got another black screen.

I logged in blind again hoping VPU would step in again and give me something to work with.

No Luck. It "blue screened"

The output follows:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your system.

The probelm seems to be caused by the following file: ati2dvag

If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen restart your computer. If this

screen appears again, follow these steps:

The device driver got stuck in an infinite loop. This usually indicates problem with the

device itself or with the device driver programming the hardware incorrectly.

Please check with your hardware device vendor for any driver updates.

Technical information:

***STOP: 0x000000EA (0x86F75988, 0x86F37230,0xF794FCBC, 0x00000001)

ati2dvag
Beginning **** of physical memory

I'm really beginning to get frustrated with this thing.

I'll look up the codes after I grab a bite to eat and see what else I can do...

Thanks,
George

Peibol

Look at th end of your message:

ati2dvag
Beginning **** of physical memory


Now go to Google and put ati2dvag and you will see how common is that error.


Good luck with your search and hope you get it solve.[/url]

Plantwiz

Couple strange and seemingly unrelated things to try....

1. Take out the ram if two dimms and try only 1 stick.
2. Take out the battery and power on only with the AC plugged in and the battery just sitting on the table.

Could be the video card failing, sounds like a driver issue though on a notebook...you cannot just simply swap cards out like on a PC.

sprkymrk

I suspect a hardware issue with the video. On the laptop that means a motherboard replacement. However, try Plantwiz's suggestion on playing with the memory - it''s easy enough to do and memory can cause weird problems.

georgemc

Plantwiz wrote:

Couple strange and seemingly unrelated things to try....

1. Take out the ram if two dimms and try only 1 stick.
2. Take out the battery and power on only with the AC plugged in and the battery just sitting on the table.

Could be the video card failing, sounds like a driver issue though on a notebook...you cannot just simply swap cards out like on a PC.

I tried the two suggestions above with no joy to be had.

It just seems that the adapter doesn't want to display anything other than vanilla VGA.

It's looking more and more like a hardware issue to me. The Knoppix and Ubuntu live CDs dont want to play right with the adapter either. Knoppix bootup displays a low-grade VGA picture background and the mouse cursor with nothing else. Ubuntu displays and all off-white background with a mouse cursor and nothing else.

The guy I'm working on this for swears it didn't have any video problems prior to me replacing the keyboard and DVD-ROM and reload the factory software. I find this somewhat difficult to believe.

sprkymrk

georgemc wrote:

The guy I'm working on this for swears it didn't have any video problems prior to me replacing the keyboard and DVD-ROM and reload the factory software. I find this somewhat difficult to believe.

Replacing the keyboard on a laptop could certainly cause collateral damage if one is not extremely careful. That's why I hate working on laptops.

Plantwiz

sprkymrk wrote:

georgemc wrote:

The guy I'm working on this for swears it didn't have any video problems prior to me replacing the keyboard and DVD-ROM and reload the factory software. I find this somewhat difficult to believe.

Replacing the keyboard on a laptop could certainly cause collateral damage if one is not extremely careful. That's why I hate working on laptops.

I have to agree with sprkymrk...working on any electronic component can have some unexpected results. Static can easily cause a problem. There could even have been a problem with the reloading of the software depending on how it was handled. Most of of the time...everything goes as planned, but it's possible something didn't. Dropped screw into the chassis. Misaligned wire that's now pinched into the chassis or under a board. And of course...static.

Some keyboards are no-brainers where they pop-out very easily and there is little to worry about...others require much more 'surgery' and risk exposing many more components.

Not saying you caused any damage, but it is possible that the physical work performed may have damaged the mainboard. In other words..it's not unheard of.


Also,
did you inspect the laptop prior to beginning work? Hindsight's 20/20 however when I worked in the shop one of the procedures I quickly established was that every system brought for service had to be powered on and 'tested' at check-in with the client present. This didn't stop all the complaints of 'if used to work' but it certainly cut down on a ton of problems and gave the tech:
1. the ability to service other problems
2. establish what did/didn't immediately work while the client was present.

It's not uncommon to get a client to come in and say...clean up my spyware...then call up and say their speakers no longer work....well the sound card never did work...so that wasn't the result of the service performed...if all the ports are tested with the client...it eliminates what does and doens't work.


Now, if you powered the laptop on prior to work...you would have noticed the state of the resolution, no? So, did it work before you had it?

Also, take great care on performing...upgrades to clients systems unless they specifically want it done. While 'we' do it or not to our systems...we know or have a good idea what the results will yield...but in the case of a paying client (or even just a friend)...it's better many times to leave well enough alone unless they are having a problem. (so don't flash bios, upgrade drivers, etc...unless things don't work and there is a need to upgrade) FWIW

kevozz

georgemc wrote:

replacing the keyboard and DVD-ROM and reload the factory software.

Yea, that's rather important information.

I would try the original keyboard and disconnecting the DVD drive. Then try only a USB keyboard and see what happens. You never know where an incompatibility will show up.

It really sound like damage from ESD or possibly a circuit was knocked off the mobo/video card. I've accidently knocked off a chip from a video card. it would work at 3 of the 8 resolution settings and blank screens on the rest. Same thing for ESD.