Screen Locks Up/Odd Messages upon Reboot

cheezhead18 · 04-15-2009, 02:25 PM

I've got a problem with an XP computer that is quite baffling to me.

Often, the computer will boot up normally. I get a few minutes of use out of it then the screen (mouse/all programs) suddenly locks up. If I then do a hard shutdown via the button, wait 30 seconds, then boot up again, the screen shows nothing except a monitor message of "Not Optimum Mode. Recommended Mode 1024 x 768."

Based on the message from the monitor I figured it was a videocard issue, so I updated the drivers, which didn't seem to help. I'm really at a loss for what to do. I thought about uninstalling the card and just using the onboard one again, but I'm not sure how to reinstall the onboard card (plugging the VGA cable into the old port does nothing).

I do not have constant access to this computer so I'll post exact specs later if anyone needs them, but I do know the following.
AMD Sempron processor
Radeon x1650 PRO graphics card
Windows XP
~2GB RAM

Any help is appreciated! Thanks.

**emosun** · 04-16-2009, 02:30 PM

To get the onboard working for now go into the bios and look for an option to enable the onboard video instead of using the agp slot. Does the pc lock up even in safe mode?

04-15-2009, 02:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
cheezhead18 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chicago Suburbs Posts: 16 OS: XP My System	Screen Locks Up/Odd Messages upon Reboot I've got a problem with an XP computer that is quite baffling to me. Often, the computer will boot up normally. I get a few minutes of use out of it then the screen (mouse/all programs) suddenly locks up. If I then do a hard shutdown via the button, wait 30 seconds, then boot up again, the screen shows nothing except a monitor message of "Not Optimum Mode. Recommended Mode 1024 x 768." Based on the message from the monitor I figured it was a videocard issue, so I updated the drivers, which didn't seem to help. I'm really at a loss for what to do. I thought about uninstalling the card and just using the onboard one again, but I'm not sure how to reinstall the onboard card (plugging the VGA cable into the old port does nothing). I do not have constant access to this computer so I'll post exact specs later if anyone needs them, but I do know the following. AMD Sempron processor Radeon x1650 PRO graphics card Windows XP ~2GB RAM Any help is appreciated! Thanks. __________________ "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones" --Albert Einstein

04-16-2009, 02:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,064 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: Screen Locks Up/Odd Messages upon Reboot To get the onboard working for now go into the bios and look for an option to enable the onboard video instead of using the agp slot. Does the pc lock up even in safe mode? __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list