posted
So today both my laptop AND my backup desktop gave me the blue screen of death.
My laptop, which was perfectly fine last night before I went to bed, refused to turn on normally this morning, repeatedly flashing a black screen at me, and being slow as hell to startup, before finally presenting me with the flashy light show that is the death screen. The error listed was a problem with file nv4-disp. I think that's right. Anyway, I did some checking, and lo and behold, this is a common problem with NVIDIA graphics cards in multiple Dell models going back half a decade. I went to Dell's support center and they walked me through uninstalling, downloading, and reinstalling the drivers, but that failed. Now I'm told I will probably have to reinstall Windows, which I believe will erase everything on my computer.
I don't even know what's wrong with the desk top. It gave me the screen twice, then booted up normally.
Of course, of COURSE, this had to happen the morning when I needed to print off my final exam paper so my professor could look it over before I turn it in. Luckily I got the paper off the laptop by starting it in safe mode, but come on, what else could possibly go wrong? (knocks on wood).
Anyway, the help part is asking this: Has this happened to anyone else, and is my only recourse really to reinstall Windows? How hard is that to do? The bright side I suppose is that the vast majority of my files are already backed up from the LAST time my laptop fizzled out on my last December, so I don't have much to get off of it.
This has really been a bad week. Last week of class, so I'm stressed out before finals. My brother brutally yelled at my best friend the other night causing an extreme amount of awkwardness, embarassment and tension, and today when I got out of my car, a spider hitchhiked to class with me on my neck, which I didn't notice until a classmate pointed it out.
Thank God I have the next week off after Tuesday, or I swear my head would explode.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Reinstalling Windows is a surprising fix, but it's typically the fix of last resort recommended by phone techs; you could try taking it to a local service center and seeing if they can do something for you.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I'm a fan of reinstalling once a year just for the newness factor.
quote: Now I'm told I will probably have to reinstall Windows, which I believe will erase everything on my computer.
If it is just a corrupt windows install or software glitch, then all your files are still on the hard drive. You can plug it into another computer and it will work much like an external/internal hard drive.
Plug it in and browse to "C:-Documents and Settings-(log in name)-and My Documents" to save everything in my documents. Then you can go up a level and then into "Desktop" to save the files on your desktop.
That is assuming you have WindowsXP. If you have VISTA your file structure will be slightly different.
You can even go to where your bookmarks are saved and retrieve them as well. Firefox and IE both save bookmarks in different locations, but they are easy to find.
Personally I have My Documents mapped to a different drive. I then install all my programs,updates, et cetera (word 2007, Open Office, Sony Vegas, Adobe, Guild Wars), and then I use a free program like Macrium Reflect to make an image.
Once a year I just reinstall the image, add any programs and updates, and make a new image after I have defragged and used SDELETE. It takes a surprisingly little amount of time or effort.
EDIT:
quote:Has this happened to anyone else, and is my only recourse really to reinstall Windows? How hard is that to do?
The first time you reinstall Windows it takes a lot of time. The process is easy. You can find many helps online or we can walk you through it. It is not hard, but you have to partition, format, install, get drivers, install drivers, get updates, and reinstall all your programs.
Formatting, installing, and updating alone can take over 2 hours if you know what you're doing, have your drivers ready, and have a decent internet connection.
That is why I am a fan of making an image. Restoring an image takes about 15 minutes and includes everything, including third party programs, in the install.
Reimaging--15 minutes Getting the "newest" updates mad adding any new program--around 15 minutes.
If you have the time, I would reinstall Windows after you save your files. It is a good experience and there is a chance the tech people will just do that anyway for a hefty price.
The only scenario I can think of to NOT reinstall Windows is if you have an expensive program but have lost the disk and install key.
You do need all original disks and keys for stuff like Office or other expensive programs.
**Note: I still keep a back up of My Documents on an external drive in case/when my hardware goes bad.
posted
Reinstalling Windows is very easy to do; you just need to have the disk, pop it in while the computer's off, then boot it up and start from the disk.
My last desktop (which I no longer use) was notorious for Blue Screens. What I've learned though, is that the cause isn't always as horrible as you/a tech support guy thinks. My computer would blue screen 80% of the time, which is a big sign, now that I'm smarter. If it were truly doomed, it would be 100% failure. The fact that you were able to boot your computer normally at all tells me you should take it into someone to look it over for a second opinion. For me, my computer had a knack for making a stick or two of memory go faulty. Of course, no one seemed to notice this during diagnosis, so I've reinstalled Windows a couple times during its lifespan. If someone had realized at the time, it would have saved me a LOT of trouble. Replacing memory > reinstalling windows and losing everything.
Anyway, bottom line: your desktop may not be fully borked. Find someone to look at it if you can, could be a piece of hardware not related to your hard drive.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Jul 2006
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posted
...But in the meantime, if you can boot in safe mode, use that to get anything crucial off the computers and onto a backup device ASAP (flash drives are cheap now, as one option.)
Best of luck. Thirded on hoping your week improves.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
You have a couple options. If you have a Dell Windows Installation CD, you can probably do a repair installation. Usually the regular install process will check for installed OSes, at which point you can instruct the installation to do a repair rather than a full format. That will repair most of the drivers and stuff that come with the computer.
However, there's a good chance that your laptop is having some hard drive issues that might have corrupted the video driver. If you can boot in safe mode, go to start->accessories->system tools->Scan Disk (I think...Might be called something else. I'm on Vista right now). Instruct it to do a full scan with all options checked. It should ask to scan on reboot, which you should accept and reboot. If there is a file system problem, that should fix it.
Do the same with the Desktop. In addition, you should be able to get more information on what caused the blue screen. Right Click My Computer-> Manage -> Event Viewer -> System and look for any red Xs in there. That will give you an error code, which you can then google for a little more information and possibly a fix.
Posts: 38 | Registered: May 2009
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posted
I don't necessarily mind the idea of reinstalling the OS. It would make my computer run faster, no? I just don't have time to do it this weekend, I need at least ONE of these computers up and running so I can finish my paper and study for my Philosophy final. The laptop is still under warranty, even though it's four years old, and technically I'm supposed to have in home service, but they never want to send anyone out unless the computer is actually on fire.
I don't have the money to take it anywhere but to Dell, who I have the warranty with, but they're rather unwilling to solve any problems beyond just telling me to fix it myself, unless something hugely major is wrong with it. I already have most of the files on the laptop backed up on a portable hard drive from the LAST time it crapped out on me, so moving over the stuff I've accumulated in the last few months won't take much of an effort...but spending the day reinstalling all that software is not something I have time for if there's an easier solution.
Badenev -
I may try that repair thing from the installation disk when I get home after I get the info off the hard drive that I need to backup. I have all my installation disks and original disks from my programs, so I'm not worried about losing anything.
Tom -
And if that doesn't work, I'll where the nearest Dell service center is and pray they're open on weekends. Thanks for the advice.
I'll let you guys know how I'm doing later. I'm on the laptop in safe mode right now, and it's a pain in the butt. This is becoming some sort of weird end of semester ritual for me. Thank goodness I'm buying a new laptop next month.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Oh, God, no! I didn't mean for you to take it to a Dell service center. Don't do that if you ever want to see your computer again. Take it to an actual computer repair place.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Did you just run a Microsoft update last night on both of them or something? (I'm jusr curious how both could die on the same overnight)
Can you just run a "repair" on Windows instead of a full re-install? I don't know Vista - I've only worked with XP and before, but we often used the install disk to just do a repair and replace any corrupt system files throwing a blue screen..
Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Well... you could download a linux distribution like Ubuntu and burn the image into a CD. Then, it'd be able to boot your computer using said CD and backup all your important files. Then you could reinstal windows at your leisure (or you could install ubuntu. It's surprisingly fast, stable and easy). When my old computer gave up on me a few years ago, that's what I did. Ended up using windows for a couple of months after that before going linux, but... it was an effective fix, at the time.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Oh, I forgot to mention. If you did any recent changes, like updating drivers or getting new updates, you can roll back to a restore point when your compture was working.
If you want to check/fix your hard drive, you can go to:
Start-run Type in "cmd" and hit enter (no quotes). In the black box type: "chkdsk c: /f /r" where "c:" is the drive letter for your main drive. "/f" fixes or ropes off bad sectors of your hard drive so they are not used and "/r" moves data from bad sectors to good sectors.
It is very common for hard drives, even new ones, to have 1%-3% of it corrupted. Chkdsk with those commands makes sure you have no files on bad sectors.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Eduardo_Sauron: Well... you could download a linux distribution like Ubuntu and burn the image into a CD. Then, it'd be able to boot your computer using said CD and backup all your important files. Then you could reinstal windows at your leisure (or you could install ubuntu. It's surprisingly fast, stable and easy). When my old computer gave up on me a few years ago, that's what I did. Ended up using windows for a couple of months after that before going linux, but... it was an effective fix, at the time.
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Oh, God, no! I didn't mean for you to take it to a Dell service center. Don't do that if you ever want to see your computer again. Take it to an actual computer repair place.
I have zero dollars to take it to a third party. For what most places charge even to look at it let alone fix it, I might as well put that money towards the laptop I was planning on buying later this month anyway. It's not worth saving me the inconvenience of reinstalling Windows, if and when it comes to that. And as far as this crappy desktop that I'm on goes...I've gotten years and years out of this thing. I won't be sad to see it go if I can't figure out how to fix it. I'd like to boot it back to factor specs and start over, but I suspect Dell would charge for a disc to do that.
The Dell tech people told me to do something to restore the laptop back to factory specs, and I'll do that later tonight after I back some stuff up. They said if that doesn't work, they'll talk me through a full Windows reinstall on Monday, and if that doesn't work, they want to replace the graphics card sometime next week. I guess if something was going to break, it's a good thing it happens now before the warranty runs out in December.
FG -
The laptop did a Windows update overnight, which is what I thought might somehow be the problem, though the problem seems to somehow be related to the video card. But the desktop is something like 30 updates behind, so it was a totally unrelated issue. I think it's just awful luck. I did a system restore on the desktop, and it appears to be back to its usual slow, clunky, infuriatingly molasses like pace of performance.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Check for Malware. The fact that both your computers are exhibiting similar problems points to this being contagious.
I experienced a blue screen of death problem several times this summer that turned out to be the result of Malware that McAffee couldn't detect and Avast couldn't eliminated. I ran Malwarebites and the problem has not recurred.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Eduardo_Sauron: Well... you could download a linux distribution like Ubuntu and burn the image into a CD. Then, it'd be able to boot your computer using said CD and backup all your important files. Then you could reinstal windows at your leisure (or you could install ubuntu. It's surprisingly fast, stable and easy). When my old computer gave up on me a few years ago, that's what I did. Ended up using windows for a couple of months after that before going linux, but... it was an effective fix, at the time.
This CD saved my bacon recently when I tried booting with a different set of windows kernel files and it didn't work on the first try.
p.s. don't mess around with your kernel files if you don't have a boot disk handy and a way to roll back. And probably not even then.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
So as an update. I reinstalled Windows on my laptop, and everything went just fine until I started reinstalling my drivers. When I did the video card and then restarted the computer, the problem came right back, with the same error message. I've disabled the video card driver, which at least allows me to use my laptop, albeit with a weird display, not having a video card functioning.
Looks like I need a new video card? That's what the Dell people said I would need if the re-install didn't work, which it appears not to have. On the bright side, my Bluetooth seems to be sort of working again, except it says I don't have a license to use it, so it's not working, but for a totally different reason than before.
Tomorrow begins yet another day in my journey to get this wretched thing fixed.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
My (admittedly limited) experience is that laptop video cards are often fudgy things. My laptop's manufacturer explicitly states that users should use drivers they provide rather than the ones on the card manufacturer's web site. (And the drivers on their web site are at least three years old, natch...)
You might see if it's possible to find an earlier version of the video card driver before you go about replacing the whole video card.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
More than likely, replacing the video card requires replacing the motherboard on that laptop, since most laptops use integrated video. That does, however, depend on how powerful it is. Good thing you still have the warranty on it. Just be prepared to be laptopless for about...a month or two.
Posts: 38 | Registered: May 2009
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posted
I've already had the motherboard replaced once. Only took the guy a few minutes to swap everything out, so it's not that big a deal to me. I have in home service with the laptop, so it's just a matter of waiting for the part to come in. Until then, I'll keep using it with the driver disabled and the screen all weird. It's an NVIDIA GO 6800, which I think is a 128MB. Not even sure how powerful that is by today's standards.
Sterling - I already tried using the original driver that came with it when I re-installed Windows, as well as using the NVIDIA driver listed on their website, and the video card driver on Dell's website, none of which worked. I'm out of options that I know of. I'm not enamored of the idea of installing a new video card, but I don't know what else to do, and the Dell people are out of suggestions. They just keep telling me to continually reinstall the drivers every time I ask for help, though each time that fails to work, I get closer to them offering more help.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
To my knowledge, the 6800 still isn't a bad card. Not top-of-the-line anymore, of course, but my understanding is that GeForce didn't make any huge changes in architecture until the 2xx line. About the only significant thing the 6000 line misses out on is DirectX 10, and if you're using Windows XP, that's irrelevant anyway.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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I used PCs for years and always viewed the Mac crowd as elitists. But my company gave me a MacBook Pro when I started here and I after using this for the last 3 years, I will absolutely be buying Mac's as my primary machines from here on. Even if I'll have to save up for an extra while to afford them.
I have not once had to consult a tech friend/service for this machine.
Posts: 382 | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
Does your company want to give ME a Mac too?
The thing about being "that guy" isn't that they come off sounding smug for extolling the virtues of what they think is a superior machine. It's for thinking everyone can afford one. Maybe when I get out of college, well, law or grad school in several years and I have money to save up, let alone burn, I'd be willing to try a Mac, but until then, a Mac is going to cost me more than twice what a comparable PC will cost.
Other than that? I've had this laptop 4 years and only had two problems that required tech assistance. For the price? I'll take my PC thank you.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Yeah, I'm aware of the price issue. I'll have to save to afford one myself if I ever get a new job. So, yeah, I guess it doesn't help you now, but I highly recommend them when you can afford one.
posted
I'm still not sure they'd be worth the premium. PC laptop batteries are starting to reach parity with what the Macs have, and personally, battery life has been Mac's biggest advantage for awhile now. They're insanely more expensive. I could get a four or five year in home total warranty that covers everything from dropping to an asteroid strike on a laptop of my choice and STILL have it cost a lot less than a Mac.
Is it really worth paying hundreds of extra dollars for people to not have a minor inconvenience once and awhile? Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm older and not a broke college student, but I'm frugal enough at the moment to recognize that the premium that Apple charges for a Mac isn't really worth it for me right now. And it may not ever be.
As much as PCs need to get somewhat better in quality, and Windows needs to be less glitchy, Apple has to come down in their prices. Otherwise I don't see either as inherently better than the other with those disparities.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
Don't forget Mac resale values are also much higher, so don't forget to calculate that in. If you sell your laptop every three to four years, initial price minus resale price may well be only four or five hundred dollars.
And, of course, you can run Windows on it, too.
I wouldn't say Macs are inherently better, but you're misunderstanding their place in the (laptop) market. They're competing against other > $1000 laptops, and offering a complete feature set (instead of skimping on one feature or another in order to bring the price down), just like the > $1000 laptops from PC manufacturers do. Against those laptops, Apple's offerings are quite successful.
Also, Mac laptops have fairly targeted audiences. My university promotes students getting Mac laptops because they are much easier to support, and lead to fewer viruses causing network problems. Alpha geeks often get Macs because they like being able to run both productivity applications that don't run/don't run well on *nix and a complete *nix toolchain. They aren't targeted at the general computing audience.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Heh, I'm not really misunderstanding their place in the market, I'm just saying that relative to MY place in the market, they aren't really appealing to ME.
I run my laptops into the ground, I don't resell them. Other than the laptop I'm currently on, which I spent way, way too much on and never will spend that much on again, I like sub-$1000 laptops. So, relative comparisons to other >$1000 laptops is totally irrelevant to me as I'm not in the market for something that pricey.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
So this morning, these crazy vertical lines appeared on my screen and won't go away. Then the screen went black and died when I tried to restart it, then worked later when I let it sit for awhile. I don't know if that's an extension of the video card or not, but they're now also replacing my screen as well as my video card. Short of replacing the hard drive and RAM, I don't think there are any original parts left on this thing. Part of me is leery about so many refurbished parts, but this is about to become my backup laptop anyway, so whatever. This just needs to last another couple months!
Anyone have any advice on whether I should get Vista or wait for/install Win 7 instead?
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I mean.... are you thinking of buying Vista? At this point, I wouldn't. It's not very good. Most people preferred XP, and with Windows 7 happening.... No. I wouldn't recommend Vista. That's if you're considering buying it.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Well I'm not buying it separate, but I'm getting a new laptop. I love XP. I've been hearing odes and sonnets written extolling the virtues of Win 7, and it's getting some great reviews that promise not only a better UI, but better performance and battery life from the machines it's installed on.
But I'm always leery of buying a new OS before they've had time for people to work out the bugs that seem inevitable. On the other hand, I can't wait a year until that happens, but if Win 7 is better, I'd rather have that than Vista. That seems to leave me at getting a laptop with Vista, and then maybe upgrading to Win 7 when it comes out, but I'm wondering what people who know more than I do think about that course of action.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
That's a fine course of action. Vista is, at this stage, a perfectly serviceable OS, and Win7 is better still.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Most places, HP at least, are offering free upgrades to Win 7 when it comes out. Would you upgrade immediately, or wait until they have a chance to work out those new release bugs? Are new release bugs that big of a deal, or just a minor inconvenience that get fixed relatively quickly by updates? I'd imagine they got rid of most things, or at least big things, during the long Beta testing process.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I'd wait a month or so, just so you have a chance to hear the news. Betas never catch anything. But the free upgrade makes it a no-brainer, especially given the upgrade process this time around. Just make sure you don't buy Ultimate.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Ultimate is a flavor of Vista that corresponds to a flavor of 7; you don't need it, and the upgrade from Ultimate is more expensive.
And yes, the upgrade to 7 is much more streamlined. It's pretty much a no-brainer, and takes around an hour.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Last post I'll make taking up time ranting about my computer...but they replaced the video card, mother board (again) and the screen, and it works beautifully now. I think the new screen is actually nicer than the old one I had, even though it looks almost the same. The scratch the old screen had is gone, and it looks a little sharper.
I am technologically content.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I bought Ultimate because I wanted to have everything.
I regret it a little. I don't use the bells and whistles enough to justify the expense. (And could have substituted open source software for the ones I really care about at all).
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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