Horrible Problem with Dell Inspiron 1501

[wing seeker]

My Dell laptop screen is jumping all over the place and has enlarged the ICONS to 3 times
there normal size (overnight)..........shut the computer down normally and then the next
morning PRESTO.....it does not jump around in SAFE MODE........not sure if it is a virus, video
card or screen going bad.................................... .HELP PLEASE

[EEVIAC]

It may be viruses or it could be that your primary display driver needs to be reinstalled/updated... Safe Mode uses a basic vga driver that is encoded in the bios chip, safe from the rest of the system, which could be why it works in safe mode.... It could also be a service and/or program causing it.....While you're in Safe Mode, only the minimal set of drivers and services required to run Windows is loaded.  This helps minimize loading viruses and/or other fluff software, so if a virus is the problem, Safe Mode has obviously subdued it/them..

Start by going into Safe Mode again, click START, Click RUN, type: msconfig
and click "OK"
Go to the SERVICES tab, check the box that says, "hide all microsoft services", click on "disable all", click apply, click ok, restart the computer and let it go back to normal mode to see if the situation has improved.. If not, go back to safe mode and instead of clicking on the "services" tab, click on the "start up" tab, then click on "disable all", click "apply" , click "ok", restart and go back to normal mode to see if the problem is corrected...  If either one of these suggestions helps, then you'll have to turn services and programs on/off to determine which one is causing it...   If none of these work, go to the Malware forum here at CH post in there... read the pre-posting instructions for beginning malware removal...    If the problem isn't malware, then we can try reinstalling the display driver...

[Allan]

I'm guessing malware. Do a full scan with BOTH your AV and MalwareBytes.

[wing seeker]

ok going to try each of these suggestions and I do thank you both for your help

any reason the computer simply turns off while in Safe Mode after a short period of
time but not in normal mode??

[wing seeker]

EEVIAC
I do not see either box at the SERVICES TAB or the STARTUP TAB....
I am using XP
I get to system configuration utlity with no problem but cannot find the
wording you show (as to the box to check) sorry to be a pain and thanks
fort the help

[wing seeker]

ok I have done both FINALLY found it and the computer is still doing the
same jumping around........I actually already have the Malwarebytes
downloaded on the computer does this help??   

Do you think it is the Video Card or Screen?  the reason I dont think it
is because it doesnt do it in the safe mode.......am I thinking right?

[WyattSoft]

I think it's the video drivers, as it's working fine in safe mode, which uses the default VGA driver which is compatible with all modern graphics cards/chips.

Uninstall the drivers from Programs and Features (Add and Remove programs if you're using XP) and then download the newest version from the internet and install them.

[wing seeker]

any idea on how to get the screen to stop jumping enough for me to actually
remove the drivers.............exactly what will the "drivers" say once I am in
there to remove/add new programs???

again thanks

it just jumps around so much I cannot get it to stop long enough for me to
scroll down

[Geek-9pm]

I'm guessing malware. Do a full scan with BOTH your AV and MalwareBytes

I afree with Allan.
In safe mode it does not use the same video driver. But video drivers just don't go bad by themselves. Or rarely. It is a symptom of very aggressive Mallarme.
You have to run Mal ware Bytes in Safe mode. This is not well documented, as far as I know. It may take to  times to catch the Mallware. I hides itself in more that one place. It is not a common virus.

Allan is right, it takes both Malware bytes ant then another AV to catch it and wipe it fully.

But we have not ruled out hardware:

...Dell Inspiron 1501 and when every i plug something in to the usb port (mouse,external hardrive,memory stick) the screen goes bezerk with diferent color lines going up and down ...

from a post three years ago on another form, They did not report a fix for the problem.
Do you have the original XP on your machine? Have you ever had to re load it?
Do you have automatic updates.

[wing seeker]

Ran Malware and nothing found.........
tried all the advice in the suggestions above.......
can I download the Dell Drivers in Safe Mode???

the laptop just seems to TURN OFF after a few minutes in Safe Mode
any idea what the deal with that is?  I am getting desperate
I have all my school work on this computer and nothing backed up

anyone up for thinking outside of the box???

is it the video card if the screen is normal looking in safe mode??? aside
from the icons being slightly larger???

[patio]

Check all your power saving features...both in Control Panel and in the BIOS...

[Geek-9pm]

It is time to ask how long ago have you done any mantelpiece on this notebook> It you use it as a portable computer it will have collected a lot of dirt, dust an grime along the way. This reduces the thermal efficiency of the cooling system. It gets too hot. The shut down may be due to overheating of either the CPU or other parts.
Do you know how to open up the case and blow out the dust and dirt? Do NOT use any solvents or cleaners.  Just clean air. Like they sell in Radio Shack and other places.