Please help - no video when vista starts up

[restard]

Hi everyone, I built my new computer three weeks ago and I have Vista Ultimate 32. Everything was going fine until today when I decided to install the game enemy territory quake wars.

I installed it and when I went into the game and tried to change my video settings it would only let me change to 4:3 resolutions even though I have a wide screen 22 inch monitor. So I pick 1024x768 and play the game. When I am done I exit and go back to my Vista desktop only to see that now my whole desktop is in 1024x768 as well.

I go to display settings to change it back to 1400x900 (or whatever that is) like I had it on before I installed this game. I then see that that option is no longer available. Now the highest I can choose is 1024x768 in the display settings. I'm like wtf?

So I reboot thinking that might solve it, only it just got worse. Now the computer starts up fine, I have video and everything as the bios loads, right up through the Windows Vista loading screen where the green bar is filling up. I can see that, but as soon as I hear the "ding ding" of Vista starting up to the password entry screen, my monitor now says "no input signal" and everything goes black.

I tried safe mode and safe mode with networking, they both boot fine and I have video signal in them.

When in safe mode w/ networking I installed my nvidia drivers again but that didn't fix it.

Computer is:


asus p5k mobo
e6750 2.6ghz
8800 gts superclocked evga
320gb seagate hd
2gb corsair mem


What is going on here? Thanks for any help!

 

[Maxxify]

1024x768 is a common limitation when there is no proper video driver, which seems to have been caused by the game (although I could not tell you why without investigation). Vista retained this resolution when the game was exited, not because that was your resolution but because it didn't properly switch back (again related to the game) and the former problem didn't allow setting it higher. When you rebooted, Vista tried to run it at the original setting (1400x900) but because of the limitation mentioned above, the monitor failed to produce a signal due to Vista/driver thinking it was only capable of 1024x768. Naturally safe mode, with its low resolution, would not have this problem.

You need to uninstall the Nvidia driver in safe mode and possibly use driver cleaner as well (so no remnants of resolution, etc. are leftover), and possibly even uninstall the monitor/monitor driver (device manager) so that Vista will go to its default on a normal boot where you can properly reinstall the drivers.

 

[restard]

1024x768 is a common limitation when there is no proper video driver, which seems to have been caused by the game (although I could not tell you why without investigation). Vista retained this resolution when the game was exited, not because that was your resolution but because it didn't properly switch back (again related to the game) and the former problem didn't allow setting it higher. When you rebooted, Vista tried to run it at the original setting (1400x900) but because of the limitation mentioned above, the monitor failed to produce a signal due to Vista/driver thinking it was only capable of 1024x768. Naturally safe mode, with its low resolution, would not have this problem.

You need to uninstall the Nvidia driver in safe mode and possibly use driver cleaner as well (so no remnants of resolution, etc. are leftover), and possibly even uninstall the monitor/monitor driver (device manager) so that Vista will go to its default on a normal boot where you can properly reinstall the drivers.

Hey thanks for the reply Maxxify,

I tried doing what you said here - I uninstalled the driver in safe mode and used driver cleaner, restarted, and it was working fine with the standard windows vga driver, but now as soon as I install the nvidia drivers (tried ones that came with card, new ones from nividia.com and even newer ones from evga.com) it gives me the same problem as soon as I restart. Just goes to "no video input signal" and I hear the vista beep startup prompting me to enter my password, I just cant see anything!

I am completely lost about what is going on here, I had system restore disabled so I dont know what to do.

Please help me some more if you can, and thanks again.

 

[restard]

Oh also, when I go into Vista with the standard windows vga driver and I set my resolution to say 1650x1000 or whatever that one is that is for widescreen, it works fine and goes right to it (though still no option for what I had before - 1400 x 900) but if I go to log off or if I restart the PC it goes right back to 800x600. It is not rememebering my changes or something. This is again with the windows vga driver, with the nivida drivesr I cant even get any signal to my monitor.

 

[Maxxify]

Sorry it took some time for me to get back to you, I had forgotten to check up on this post. I also had to take some time to consider your problem.

The inability to pick certain widescreen resolutions is a known bug, at least to the extent that I've heard it before and especially with regard to Nvidia (and 8 series, and Vista). Nvidia's control panel does offer a place to add custom resolutions, and you can also use third party software such as NVTray to do the same.

Those two options might be unavailable due to your issue, so your next best bet is to go into display settings, advanced settings, and then the monitor tab. If you uncheck the "hide modes" box and apply, you should have a full range of resolutions to choose.

That may or may not also solve your other problem, perhaps in combination with my earlier notes, you'll have to let me know. The black screen at login is definitely related to the driver believing you have selected a resolution that the video card supports but the monitor does not; this shouldn't be the case, but make sure the monitor is set to 60 Hz if it is not.

 

[restard]

Maxxify, first of all thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I don't mind at all that it took a little while, but I do appreciate it.

However, this whole thing has just got intersting. I am hoping you might still lend an ear as it seems you have some good knowledge and I would hope you could help me some more.

Okay, I tired everything you mentioned as well as some stuff from my card mfg. tech support (evga.) No luck.

I was on the verge of just formatting my hard drive and reinstalling vista because I am/was convinced something got corrupted when I changed the resolution in the quake wars game, because things were running so great prior to that, and the problems happened immediately upon me exiting the game in which I chose that stupid 1024x768 resolution.

I was stopping myself from just formatting because its been such a short time since I actually put the PC together, it would make me mad to reformat now.

Anyway, I decided to try unplugging the dvi cord from the back of the pc and plugging it back in when I would get to the point where it said "no video signal" on my monitor. To my amazement this gave me video but I was still unable to choose anything higher than 1024x768 with any of the nvidia drivers installed. Before I couldnt even get video with the nvidia drivers installed so this was a step in the right direction I guess. Also it was calling my monitor a generic plug and play when before it had recognized it by the brand (chimei 22w it said.) I guess this all has to do with why its thinking I cant handle higher resolutions or something?

The good thing was that got me thinking to try the vga port on the back of the monitor and a dvi-to-vga adapater into the video card since it has 2 dvi and no vga ports. So I am in the vga port of my monitor now and it works just like it used to, I can choose all my widescreen resolutions again and it is recognizing my monitor by brand name again. The only difference being before I was in the g'damn dvi port!

Okay so we're thinking that its a bad dvi port in the monitor right? But why would that just happen out of the blue, after I change an in-game resolution?

So two questions:
How can a game cause it to go bad, things were so great until that one change
Why does it still work with the generic vga driver OR with the nvidia drivers but ONLY up to 1024x768 resolutions and not recognize the monitor? If it was a bad port it just wouldn't work at all, correct? What is i just a really pissy port or something? It's like "allright I will let this guy see some stuff I guess but only up to this resolution...oh and im also gonna make him have to unplug the cord and plug it back in everytime he starts up windows" GRRRR

I am still thinking something got corrupted in my vista installation and I am tempted to try anotehr hard drive and install xp on it and see what happens using the dvi port, as I cant just trry the monitor on another pc since I dont have any others with dvi-in. Think that is a good idea? That will at least tell me if its windows or the dvi port on the monitor that has the problem, wont it?

Any help is appreciated as usual, thanks for listening. I am just really confused. The general point here is I want to go back to the way it was, using straight up dvi none of this vga with adapater crap.

The only thing that changed was me chaning the in-game resolution in quake wars, I had the most up to date drivers and all that, but the moment I changed that in game and exited, my desktop was all ****, and now I guess the dvi port can no longer understand wtf is going on.

 

[restard]

Update: I didnt have the stuff I needed to try it with xp so rather than go get it I just decided to format and see what happens.

First thing I noticed was vista dvd formatted my hard drive in about ten seconds it seemed like, then went on to install just like it had before.

But the most important thing is everything is back the way it was, using the nvidia drivers like I was, and its normal again.

I have no idea what caused it other than that stupid game making my vista corrupt! Beware of quake wars if you're using vista 32 ultimate, don't choose 1024x768 whatever you do, well I guess you can if you have a 4:3 monitor and that is your normal resolution but it certainly wasnt mine and as soon as i exit that damn game for the first time the crap hit the fan.

Thanks again for all the help

Now someone with limited technical experience could have really been sent thru the ringer with this problem when it really wasnt clear exactly what is causing it. People could have said bad video card, bad monitor blah blah and the list goes on and the person would have been buying stuff they didnt need or returning merchandise for no reason, meanwhile its just vista messsing up the whole time.

Still it took me down for 36 hours

Beware

 

[restard]

One more thing, I am not the only one with this issue. Take a look at this thread, it is the EXACT problem I was having, black screen after green vista loading bar.

I searched for ..... "black screen" "nvidia drivers" vista .... in google and its the 4th result

http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1189931&SiteID=17

They have no idea what is causing it there, maybe I should stop by and let them know what my solution was, though I think that is an old thread if I remember when I read it earlier.

The reason I included nvidia drdivers in the search was it was only happening when I would install them and try to bring it up past 1024

Anyway thanks again and im out for a little while now