Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft Windows => Windows XP => Topic started by: winlose on April 28, 2007, 02:41:37 PM
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I am using an old DELL Inspiron laptop as a basic simple game computer. Pentium III, 512ram. It had been working fine until a sudden loss of power (its battery is dead) caused it to shutdown. On restarting the icons were tiny, the game window is about 1/8 of the screen (but centered) and I cannot figure out how to get it back to normal/full size. The "background" also shrunk, no longer filling the screen unless it is jacked up to the max, 1600x1200. Can anyone explain this, or even better, help me get back to the original settings?
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Have you went to the dell support site downloaded and reinstalled
the video drivers?
www.support.dell.com
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I cannot log on with the computer. I have contacted DELL but my warranty is three years out of date. I have been using the Inspiron as a game computer only, and then for simple games- Panzer General 2 and Steel Panthers- SPWW2 & SPWAW. It has no security software and does not go online at all.
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Have you tried system restore?
To restore your computer settings from an earlier time:
Click the Start button.
Point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore.
Choose Restore my computer to an earlier time, and then click Next.
Click a day on the calendar, click the restore point description, and then click Next.
Make sure you have closed all your files and open programs, and then click OK to close the dialog box.
Click Next.
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Sadly, again, I have nothing to restore it too. However I have tried DELL Chat, worked well, I may be on the way to a fix, involving re-install of the O/S.
Looks like this failed. Would not reboot to the o/s disk. Is rewriting though from the disk in Windows. Probably won't help. The two suggestions were to 1) get a new drive, 2) get a new disk. Both seem to work every other way though. Very frustrating.
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This is Windows ME?
Try booting into safe mode, F5 or F8, not sure on ME, and then uninstall your videocard drivers from there.
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Pitifully. I have been unable to boot into safe mode. What happens is I get this miniaturized safe mode screen, and the cursor is frozen. Then up comes a "help" page, that bis not, and then when it is disposed of I have this squashed safe -window and literally have to re-start to escape it. The DELL support have diagnosed this as a hard drive damaged by the power outage. I am rebooting the entire system off my o/s Me disk, ,wiping and starting over, I hope, a fresh. I have "removed" the the video drivers and reinstalled them, but never from safe.
Does it make a difference? really?
Right now I am re-installing Me and have a black screen....
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The DELL support have diagnosed this as a hard drive damaged by the power outage.
So did you run the free diagnostic's from the appropriate hard drive maker's site? They are free and don't require WIndows.
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Should you have to remove Windows ME, install Windows 98 if Dell has any drivers for that OS and your laptop.
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1) I cannot go online with this computer to download much of anything. As the DELL diagnostic blew up in the face of the hard drive, including a lot of fails, I sorta trust him. I will consider downloading the manufacturers diagnostic.
2) Why Win98? Is it inherently more stable? Is it better for the games I mentioned?
I may have installation disks for Win98.
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Windows ME is probably the most unstable Windows OS there is. Windows 98 is nearly similar to Windows ME, but just works better.
1) I cannot go online with this computer to download much of anything. As the DELL diagnostic blew up in the face of the hard drive, including a lot of fails, I sorta trust him. I will consider downloading the manufacturers diagnostic.
He doesn't want you to go online, he wants you to create a boot-able diskette or CD-ROM.
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Hello,
My name is Richard; I work for the Dell Online Community Outreach group. I wanted to comment on the issue you are experiencing. If the screen appears to be shrinking you can try to use the FN+F7 key combination function. This spreads the entire picture to the edges of the LCD display.
You mentioned that the hard drive came up with errors during the Dell diagnostics. This is a clear indication that the drive is bad or going bad, thus it is no longer reliable. The drive should be replaced before you reinstall Windows back on the system.
I hope that I have assisted you a little. Good luck!
Regards,
Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
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Thank You all:
I have replaced the drive, and now my only problem is that I cannot enter set up/bios. Well, let me be more detailed. I can enter it (F2 at start-up) but it does not register the new HD, nor does it allow me to maneuver. In fact the only escape (esc does not work) is to manually shut down.
Any suggestions for this one??
Everything else seems to be working within acceptable parameters. The games are back on and running at least as well as before. But every/any little anomaly always concerns me as it seems any little thing can be the tip of an iceberg of malfunctions waiting to sink my onrushing "Minitanic".
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To exit the BIOS and save changes you normally hit F10 and then a "Y" at the prompt and the machine will re-boot saving your changes...
But now i'm confused cause you stated the BIOS doesn't recognise the HDD....but yet the games are running normally. I don't get it.
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Well, I hit F2 and I get the first (of six) pages. But it an incomplete page. It has a date (one day off) and time, my Ram , but the HD info is missing & there is nothing on the right side of the screen. I cannot manuever about on the page and alt-p, the command to go the next page does not work. Esc, the command to exit the Bios also does not work. Nor does 'ctrl-alt-del'. In fact the only way to leave the page is the manual override- power button depression.
As far as I can tell everything else seems to be operating without a problem. Of course there is very little "else" involved.
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Has this BIOS ever been flashed ? ?
This is not what i am suggesting...just asking.
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Hello,
My name is Richard; I work for the Dell Online Community Outreach group. I wanted to comment on the issue you are experiencing. If the screen appears to be shrinking you can try to use the FN+F7 key combination function. This spreads the entire picture to the edges of the LCD display.
You mentioned that the hard drive came up with errors during the Dell diagnostics. This is a clear indication that the drive is bad or going bad, thus it is no longer reliable. The drive should be replaced before you reinstall Windows back on the system.
I hope that I have assisted you a little. Good luck!
Regards,
Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
...Brave man.
I never go into forums that have anything to do with my work and suggest things, it will only bite you in the *censored*...
*Waits for biting to begin...*
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If by "flash the BIOS" you mean have I pulled down my pants and, well,..... No, I haven't. Do you think it might help? It would certainly clearly express my feelings about working with windows. (I also can't get my USB mouse to work, but at least the touchpad does. Ooops, a tangent there.) If you meant something else by "flash the BIOS" I do not know what you mean. I just thought that Richard's comment my be referring to, well, you understand.
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No it's probably a good thing you haven't done it. There are many examples of people who have done this and reduced their machine to a doorstop. Best to leave it be as is.
An incomplete page as you describe it may be perfectly normal....not every page is a full page depending on the BIOS version....
Please clarify for us here though...since replacing the HDD are you saying you were able to re-install Windows and your games and the troubles have gone away ? ?
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Yes Patio, the Windows Me is reinstalled, everything appears to mbe running fine. I guess I need a lost Logitech disk to reinstall the ancient wireless mouse but everything else seems good. The problem with the BIOS isn't that there is only the first page, or that it is both wrong and incomplete, or that you cannot maneuver on it at all, or that you cannot change pages or even escape that deeply flawed page without manually shutting down; the problem is that with the new HD all this is happening and even with my old bad drive (on which nothing else worked right) the BIOS worked fine, and it is a six pager. I do not understand why I am having this BIOS malfunction? Every thing is the same except for the new carbon-neutral, eco-friendly p.c. HD.
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No matter what hardware you add to a machine it should never affect the BIOS period.
If it is running fine i wouldn't worry.
But in the meantime grab a CMOS battery for that machine part # CR2032 about the size of a dime on the MBoard and replace it.
Any issues with the machine not keeping the correct time ? ?
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No issues apart from my inability to reset the time, at least in the BIOS. The time itself appears to be correct and as it is a 12 hour clock it makes little difference. It is the date that is off.
What is a CMOS battery and what do I do with it? I hope this has nothing to do with the flashing mentioned earlier.
I know that the hardware upgrade/fix should not have effected the BIOS which is why it bothers me.
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It has nothing to do with a BIOS flash...it's a small 3V battery that keeps the BIOS info stored in the ROM viable when the power is off...
Easy enough to replace and if you cannot set the time and get it to stay this is an indication the battery needs replaced.
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Looks kinda like this on your Motherboard...if you're wary of attempting it yourself enlist a friend who is familiar with it...takes about 2 minutes.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/patio/cmosbatt.jpg)
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Thank you very much Patio. This will be my next replacement part. I'll let you know what happens.
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I forgot to mention...when working inside the case make sure all power sources are removed and take the neccessary anti-static precautions.
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I forgot to mention...when working inside the case make sure all power sources are removed and take the neccessary anti-static precautions.
One item I wanted to add to patio's suggestion is the online service manual. If you need assistance working on the insides of the computer go to this link, http://support.dell.com/support/systemsinfo/documentation.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~cat=12&~subcat=86. Good luck.
Best regards,
Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach