Yessica

I'm hoping this is the right place to ask for major help. I've spent hours searching for help through google and after trying almost everything there I give up.

This ati2dvag problem is really pissing me off. I was playing a warcraft iii game with a few friends when all of a sudden my screen just froze up and the graphics were all distorted with ugly lines and colors filling the screen. I couldn't minimize, quit or anything since it froze up so i shut down the computer manually. Well, little did i know that would be the last time i would be able to get on my computer and play a game! After rebooting the computer i got to the part of the start-up where there is a Windows XP Pro thingy and those little bars moving across the screen (right before the "welcome" blue screen) and i saw that the graphics were still distorted because there were orange lines in the white writing on the bottom along with orange lines on the windows icon (the red, green, blue and yellow thingy). It got past the loading part but then a big blue screen popped up and said all this weird stuff (if you search on google about ati2dvag you will know what im talking about) and at the bottom had "ati2dvag". I tried rebooting, same problem, tried again, same problem. Then i figured i'd try safe mode, so i switched over to safe mode and at the part where you log on to either your account or the admin account the graphics were still distorted and there was this big bubble looking icon over in the corner that i dont think i've seen before. I got onto safe mode and everything was ugly looking but i still was able to google for answers to this blue screen ati2dvag. I tried most of the fixes but most people said to reinstall drivers for your ati card but how would i be able to do that? I'm not able to do that in safe mode.

I got to the point where i just decided to reinstall windows and maybe that would help. \ In a way it did kind of help, i don't seem to see the big blue screen with the ati2dvag.dll error on there but my screen is still funny looking with little white lines going through it and all t hese weird colors! I still am not able to get onto the regular windows mode too! Everytime i try and go onto windows normally i get to the "welcome" part and see lines and different colors and such then right after that it freezes up and turns off my i think because the little green light on my monitor turns orange like if the computer is off. I even try pressing buttoms and my mouse as if it was because its in stand by mode. But that doesnt help. I tried going into VGA mode, i get a little farther than the regular mode. I get to the actual part where i can see my desktop and such but the ati catalyst control center that i installed for the first time after reinstalling windows comes up with an error it looks like, along with a little bubble in my taskbar that comes up and says "your display seems to be on low etc. click here to fix it" but when i click that it freezes up! I tried rebooting into VGA mode again and not clicking it but after like 4 seconds of being in VGA mode my PC freezes up :(

Now i'm here writing this hoping someone can please help me so i can get back to using my computer. Plz plz plz help!

*EDIT* I just tried enabling VGA mode again to see exactly what the ATI Control panel error was and it says

"The ATI control panel failed to initialize because no ATI driver is installed, or ATI driver is not working properly. The ATI control panel will now exit. "

But i just installed it so why would it say that?

I also tried going into the display settings properties to change this horrible small resolution and i saw something really weird. Before this ati2dvag problem my computer use to say "Dell Plug and Play Monitor etc" and next to it i think it had my graphics card saying "ATI Radeon X300/X500/X1050 Series" but now it has some really weird numbers/letter listing in front of the graphics card writing. So it says "GC9162HFMDELL E187PF on ATI Radeon X300/X550/X1050 Series" but thats not my monitor, atleast thats not what ive ever seen before.

Yessica

I did a few more googling today and saw some people saying it may be the monitor. I unplugged the monitor from the computer and let the "Dell Self Test" Feature run and everything looked good. The red, blue green and white were all in their correct places and i saw them perfectly. So i take it, it can't be my monitor.

The big blue screen with the "ati2dvag" error also appeared again today when i tried going into normal windows mode :( I can't even see my desktop before the big blue screen of death takes over. I still don't understand why there are horrible distorted graphics in safe mode and VGA.

Has anyone found a solution to this?

TheMatt

The distorted graphics suggest it is a graphics card problem but that BSOD is usually associated with a driver issue. Try installing these drivers.

Yessica

Ok i just installed the Display Driver. I restarted and i still saw that at the Windows XP logo screen (the screen with the little blue loading bars before the welcome screen) the graphics were still distorted. I let it continue to load up and right after the welcome screen (still distorted) the screen turned black but the LED on my monitor was still green as if it were on. I could also still hear the computer making the sounds it usually makes when its at the desktop.

Should i try installing the other two drivers, do you think that would help?

TheMatt

It sounds more like a problem with the video card itself. First open up the side of your computer and blow the dust out with a compressed air duster if it there is a lot of dust. See if running the computer with the side panel off reduces the distortion.

Yessica

Heres what my screen looks like in VGA mode.

http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=onepy4.png

I don't know if you can see all the little lines in the screen and the weird graphics and such.

TheMatt

Yeah, that looks like an error reading from the video RAM.

Do you know how to get into your computer BIOS?

Yessica

I think so...isn't that when you press F2 when you first turn on your computer?

TheMatt

Yep, that is it.

What brand/model computer is this? Or is it a generic/custom build?

Yessica

It's a DELL XPS 400.

TheMatt

I have never gone into the BIOS of the XPS desktops so I wouldn't know what to look for to be honest. Hit F2 and post the options you see. You may wish to take a picture with a digital camera and upload the photo.

Yessica

If i had a digital camera i would upload a picture. But i don't :<.

It says

+-System
+-Drivers
+-Onboard Devices
+-Video
+-Performance
+-Secruity
+-Power Management
+-Maitntenance
+-POST Behavior

If i press anyone of those +'s more options pop up below each one. Should i write those down too?

TheMatt

That uses the standard Dell BIOS which for a laptop is actually pretty nice but compared to BIOSs by Phenox and AMI I really don't think its suitable. In any case, lets see if we can find monitoring. Check under the Performance and Maintenance for any Monitoring or Health sections.

Yessica

--Performance
Multiple CPU Core
HDD Acoustic Mode
--Maintenance
Service Tag
SERR DMI message
Load Defaults
Event Log

Those are the options below both Performance and Maitntenance.

TheMatt

Yeah, I don't think Dell's BIOS will have it.

Download SpeedFan from my sig and post the voltages it reads below.

Yessica

I just downloaded it but where exactly does it read the voltages?

TheMatt

Run the program and look at the lower section of the Window below the fan speeds and temperatures. Or just post a screenshot.

Yessica

I'm downloading the Everest program right now. Heres a screenshot of the speedfan program.

http://img120.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sf1lb5.png

Is that the tab i should be looking at?

TheMatt

Yeah, I guess it can't read it from your motherboard. Give Everest a shot but that program uses a lot of the same sensors so that might also not be able to get a reading.

Yessica

Windows: Windows XP5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2
Internet Explorer: 7.0.5730.11
Memory (RAM): 1023 MB
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz
CPU Speed: 2791.0 MHz
Sound card: Logitech USB Headset
Display Adapters: RADEON X300/X550 Series | NetMeeting driver | RDPDD Chained DD
Screen Resolution: 640 X 480 - 32 bit
:
Network Adapters: Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
CD / DVD Drives: D: PHILIPS DVD+-RW DVD8801
:
COM Ports:
LPT Ports:
Mouse: 8 Button Wheel Mouse Present
Hard Disks: C: 232.8GB
Hard Disks - Free: C: 229.1GB
USB Controllers: 5 host controllers.
Firewire (1394): Not Detected
:
Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
Product Make: Dell DXP051
:
AC Power Status: OnLine
BIOS Info: ATAT COMPATIBLE 053006 DELL 7
Time Zone: Central Standard Time
Battery: No Battery
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0FJ030
Modem: Not detected

--------[ Motherboard ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID <DMI>
Motherboard Name Dell Dell DXP051

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 200 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 800 MHz
Bandwidth 6400 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type Dual DDR2 SDRAM
Bus Width 128-bit
Real Clock 267 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 8533 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel Direct Media Interface

Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Dell Computer Corporation
Product Information http://www.dell.com
BIOS Download http://support.dell.com