XYMer's Home away from Home

I recently got a PC with XP home edition on it.
after SP3 I apparently had a problem with the monitor.
it would only display 4 bit color and it was hugeaciously low res.
like 600 x 400. I attempted to correct the problem and ended up losing the video driver.
I did not have the XP disc with the machine, but now that problem has been resolved.
however unlike similar problems with another computer and win2k, i cant seem to get this stupid thing to give me a repair mode so I can install a new driver.
any hints? the os is in finnish and it takes a while to figure it out, but each time I choose (what i think is) the repair mode it does not do anything but dump me into the command line and I have not got a clue, in English or Finnish or Klingon what the hell they are talking about.
-v

The command you're seeing is (in finnish at least) equivalent to "repair a windows installation using the recovery console."

If you continue along like you're going to install the OS another tick, you should be able to repair the install. Before you get to the point where you choose a disk to install it'll scan for existing Windows installations and then prompt you to repair the existing install.

Unless you're hitting F8 during startup and choosing safe mode command prompt?

Yeah ignore the repair option at that stage and continue in the install path for a step or two and then repair install or whatever that is/was. Have been irritated by the same thing but a few years have passed since the last time.

And do not choose a clean install due to beer mistake!

thanks guys,
I have been through the start up sequence with the XP install disc, 5, 6 times so far and once I got something that had two horizontal lines XP text above the top one with a light blue panel between and instructions to restart. However the machine would not restart via ctrl alt and Del and had to be shut off and restarted and then it was back to the "press any key to start from the CD" routine (square 1).
I followed the advice to get farther down the chain with the install until I reached the point where it was going to install or repair and it located the XP on the C drive and asked if I wanted to "try2 to repair. Each time I chose the repair option the machine loaded a bunch of shit from the disk, made a list of the files in the HD partition and then gave me the restart option and here be go again back to square 1.
What happens when I start up without choosing the CD I get the windows XP start up image on black while the beads run across in the little horizontal window and then the XP start up image disappears and I get a black screen. This has happened every time with the one exception noted above and I am not sure how that happened.
I have to turn in now,
more FWI (fuck with it) tomorrow
-v

well got the machine started with Linux from the cd pulled off the essentials. reinstalled xp and then went throut the SP bullshit again. On SP2 it had the 4bit graphic problem, wnet ahead and did SP3 and the problem persisted and that is where it stands right now. I am not sure what the problem is, I have attemped to install a new video cad driver but it does not seem to be taking,

at start up there is a message that the video display is not correct (red circle with an X in it) and needs to be fixed but then it does not fix the problem.
any suggestions?

-v

finnish localized windows, sounds like hell haha

is this the onboard video? can you try another card if it has an expandable slot?

when you reinstalled did you do a format/install? or install over the top of what was there?

are you using the drivers that windows update gives you? what type of video card is it?

i've had problems in the past with like early geforce 4 or mx cards would stop working right with the driver that windows gave me by default

Just to be sure did you try to install the AGP/PCI and/or the built in video driver? Any BIOS updates to that motherboard?

I am pretty sure it was a new install, but it did not format the HD
also the install worked fine up until the SP2 update.
I did have to install the ethernet drivers after installation.
I think it is the AGP/PCI and the drivers are the Intel series for this particular chip set.
for some reason that bloody SP2 and SP3 have apparently installed a no-brain driver that is at the root of the problem. I suspect that this may have been a problem, with the machine when I got it because the SP2 was not installed.
unfortunately I do not have an extra video card, I used the spare I did had on another machine.

thanks for your replies.
I will try to get back on it when I can.
-v

lost the bloody video signal again while trying to change the video controller.
what is it with this bloody f**king windows update shit.
I have the correct drivers for this motherboard on the HD and in reserve on a stick, but goddam if I can get this machine to take them after those SP updates.

-v

I'm wondering if there is an update to something you have in there, that has to be done before SP2

FWIW, I would look into nLite to roll your own Windows XP disc that already has SP3 installed because the older XP installers were downright horky and quirky. At the same time you can include all the necessary hardware drivers on the disc, which prevents you from having to updating/install those.

http://www.nliteos.com/

In Answer to Miero: It is AGP/PCI and the correct drivers were in a folder on the HD and they were installed at the beginning. I don't know about BIOS updates, how would I find out about that?
In Answer to rtmac; I think the PC came with SP1, and the network drivers were installed and before I installed SP2 there were a few small update files with names like (KBDJ00924). And the video worked okay after SP2.
After I reinstalled I had to do SP1 and then I had to choose some weird bullshit MS thing where they checked the registration or something before I could download the SP2. After that download the video was 4bit color.
I went ahead and did SP3 and the video was still 4bit. I did notice that the video driver I had installed was gone replaced by MSdumf**k standard-VGA
MB, i tried the nliteos but I was not able to download anything from them.
I can get the repair console but I just can't figger out what to write in there to load a video driver. I am not getting any image on the screen at all just an empty black screen.
the fujitsu start up logo changed though, it seems to be bigger and has a different image.
well gotta put it up for now,
-v

when you're installing the windows updates are you skipping the optional windows recommended hardware drivers?

If you don't explicitly say 'no' sometimes they can get in there and screw things up

I am not sure, I think (that page is in Finnish) and there are two options - the first is for "recommended" and the second is for ? Mukattetu ? or something like that.
a WInExpert friend had said that the SPs are installing the generic MS (dumf**k) drivers,
so that does seem to be what is happening - 4 bit color.
Now I have that straightened out. (the cause of 4bit)
However, I have a black/blank screen after that XP splash screen which seems to indicate that no video signal is reaching the monitor indicating (most likely) the absence of ANY video driver.
It looks as if I need to get a driver activated if possible from the command line.
I have a set of drivers on a stick, they are to large for a floppy. there is even a setup.exe in the folder. they are also zipped which may be what the butthead MS OS needs to "find"
I don't have a spare video card, but I have tried the box with another monitor and it is still black which would seem to indicate that the fault is with the video card and driver.
-v

I think what you need to do is get XP SP1 up and running. Before doing any updates to this from Microsoft, go to manufacturer's site and download all of the drivers for your computer especially any BIOS updates or video driver updates.

Once this is done, you should be able to update to XP SP3. I would do the download version for this instead of using Windows update.

Eric

thanks ericpaul.
I was able to get into the root directory (C:) via DOS command, but unfortunately I was not able to move to the levyt directory wherein lie the drivers. "käytto esittety" is what it said.
there is a setup.exe in the IntelChipset directory that I need to run.
If I can get a command to run that file at this point it will (maybe) save the installation.
if I cannot do that
(jeez with linux you just sudo anything and you can almost wipe out the lights.)
then I will re-install and attempt to download the SPs as free standing installers.
I really don't want this thing alive on the internet without some kind of protection
-v

Well so long as it's behind a firewall of some sort it'd be fine but obviously with a laptop running around in the wild it can get attached pretty much anywhere.

busy times the snow has been a fallin'
and the shovels must keep a crawlin'.....
I managed to do a clean install and got the graphics working properly.
at this point there are no Ethernet drivers so there is no connection to anything.
I am working my way through the Fpx files, but other matters are taking precedence.
there is also some sort of window's genuine authentication procedure that has a 30 day time limit so I dunno if this bugger will freeze up at that point, but I really can't go through the hassle of the graphic drivers again.
PITA.
-v

you can disable WGA. i did it before at a previous job for a agilent chem station computer we got with a bad XP and no re-install disks

http://www.google.com/search?q=wga+disa ... =firefox-a

thanks for the link mc68k,
this machine has a Finnish OS and it is not so easy to get at those files and sign on as super user. I can get the a terminal up only after I sign in but I am not sure that there is another user that is the super user. and not the one that i signed in as. When I do F8 I do not get what you described, instead I get a list of choices in Finnish that do not seem relevant to anything at all.
I think the WGA is the root of the video card problem because it is only after that piece of shit runs that I end up with 4 bit color. (In looking through my notes I see that I had accepted the "VindowsAino" invitation on both occasions when the correct driver disappeared.
-v

can't you just go into the device manager click on the display adapter and roll back the driver (under driver)...?

Well as I had mentioned this is Finnish flavored windows and it is not quite the same. Gack! do I dare conclude that this is an inferior product? I think so.
I believe that I had tried what you had suggested, in the Finnish version, and on both occasions I ended up losing the video signal.
I am trying to figure out a way to get into the system via the terminal so that I can modify the WGA files as suggested by one of the articles in the link. I can get in but unfortunately I am not able to get in with full "rampage" permissions.
thanks for the tip though,

I will try again this weekend.

-v

Dude surely the finnish version has a device manager? its not the 3rd world country xp edition is it? you want me to send you pictures of what to do?

Yeah you could send me some pictures and I can try to match them up with what displays.
Apparently a part of the problem is with this model of Fujitsu and the XP updates. (which may be why I got it in the first place - SP 3 broke it.
And maybe even with XP itself, when I F8 on start up I do not get the same list of choices that show up in the English language version. I have to go and nuke some cow body parts right now, so it will have to wait a bit.

try this:
I have seen similar issues before with service packs or windows updates sending the display into VGA mode.