[SOLVED] Updating Nvidia driver has rendered PC unusable

ChivalryUK · 07-07-2008, 06:10 PM

I really hope someone out there can help me.

I recently purchased a custom built PC off a mate. I haven't paid for it yet and I already seem to have messed it up.

The PC has two graphics cards, one NVidia 7600 GT and one Nvidia 5200. This is in order to run three monitors, but since getting the PC I have only been using one monitor running on the 7600. DOS will only display if the monitor is plugged into the 5200, and obviously Windows displays on both cards but the primary monitor is set to the 7600.

Anyway, I tried to run Second Life and was told I need to update my video drivers, so I went and got the latest driver from Nvidia (for the 7600 card). I installed it, admittedly without removing the current driver first, just by running the executable, and immediately my screen was black. I rebooted the PC and when Windows loaded up again, it was still black.

I plugged the monitor into the 5200 graphics card so I could see what was going on in DOS, and all that is displayed is a series of grey lines. The advanced startup options will come up but you can only see the very edge of it in a very low res. From this, I have tried to run safe mode, 640x420 mode and use last good configuration. I have also tried to enter the BIOS but all that is displayed is maroon coloured lines instead of grey.

When the PC enters Windows the normal sounds play, a bit crackly, but nothing is displayed. Pressing Ctrl Alt Del changes the screen a bit, and plressing Ctrl Esc brings up what looks like a very low res outline of the task bar. Plugging the monitor into the 7600 graphics card doesn't display anything at all.

How can I fix this when I cannot access BIOS, and thus can't boot from a Vista CD, and safe mode does not work in any form? Every other similar problem to this I have found online has not affected DOS in the way that mine has been affected.

Any solutions?

**belfasteddie** · 07-08-2008, 11:49 AM

Remove one of the cards and reboot. If that works and allows you to get into the device manager uninstall ALL video drivers and reboot. Let Windows install what it finds.
I'm still trying to get my head around the 5200 on Vista, somewhat incongruous!!!

ChivalryUK · 07-09-2008, 06:04 AM

That's what I was going to do if my mate didn't know what was up when I phoned him, but of course he did. Due to the nature of the monitor there was no power button on it, so I never bothered to check whether turning it on and off would fix the problem, and it did. The changes brought about by the new drivers had just screwed the monitor and it needed restarting.

You're right about the 5200, what a *****. I never got it working again after I'd tried to update the 7600's drivers, so I've had to give the computer back. It's too complex for an amateur like me

07-07-2008, 06:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
ChivalryUK Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Vista 64bit Business SP1	[SOLVED] Updating Nvidia driver has rendered PC unusable I really hope someone out there can help me. I recently purchased a custom built PC off a mate. I haven't paid for it yet and I already seem to have messed it up. The PC has two graphics cards, one NVidia 7600 GT and one Nvidia 5200. This is in order to run three monitors, but since getting the PC I have only been using one monitor running on the 7600. DOS will only display if the monitor is plugged into the 5200, and obviously Windows displays on both cards but the primary monitor is set to the 7600. Anyway, I tried to run Second Life and was told I need to update my video drivers, so I went and got the latest driver from Nvidia (for the 7600 card). I installed it, admittedly without removing the current driver first, just by running the executable, and immediately my screen was black. I rebooted the PC and when Windows loaded up again, it was still black. I plugged the monitor into the 5200 graphics card so I could see what was going on in DOS, and all that is displayed is a series of grey lines. The advanced startup options will come up but you can only see the very edge of it in a very low res. From this, I have tried to run safe mode, 640x420 mode and use last good configuration. I have also tried to enter the BIOS but all that is displayed is maroon coloured lines instead of grey. When the PC enters Windows the normal sounds play, a bit crackly, but nothing is displayed. Pressing Ctrl Alt Del changes the screen a bit, and plressing Ctrl Esc brings up what looks like a very low res outline of the task bar. Plugging the monitor into the 7600 graphics card doesn't display anything at all. How can I fix this when I cannot access BIOS, and thus can't boot from a Vista CD, and safe mode does not work in any form? Every other similar problem to this I have found online has not affected DOS in the way that mine has been affected. Any solutions?

07-08-2008, 11:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
belfasteddie TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 661 OS: Suse 10.2 64 bit	Re: Updating Nvidia driver has rendered PC unusable Remove one of the cards and reboot. If that works and allows you to get into the device manager uninstall ALL video drivers and reboot. Let Windows install what it finds. I'm still trying to get my head around the 5200 on Vista, somewhat incongruous!!! Last edited by belfasteddie : 07-08-2008 at 11:53 AM.

07-09-2008, 06:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
ChivalryUK Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Vista 64bit Business SP1	Re: Updating Nvidia driver has rendered PC unusable That's what I was going to do if my mate didn't know what was up when I phoned him, but of course he did. Due to the nature of the monitor there was no power button on it, so I never bothered to check whether turning it on and off would fix the problem, and it did. The changes brought about by the new drivers had just screwed the monitor and it needed restarting. You're right about the 5200, what a *****. I never got it working again after I'd tried to update the 7600's drivers, so I've had to give the computer back. It's too complex for an amateur like me