Windows XP Display Driver Failure

My ancient Windows XP PC ( 64 MB RAM, 120 GB HDD , 64 MB Shared Graphics ) had been left on overnight, and when I woke up, I found the screen resolution decreased, and a message box saying something like

" Display Driver Failure. Please upload information to Microsoft once rebooted "

So I rebooted and when the WinXP loading screen comes, there are lines all across, and before the desktop comes, it reboots again.

I tried all possible Safe Modes, but none of them are starting up.

Any idea what's wrong and how I can fix it ??

 

Hi and welcome to the BBS,

"64MB RAM -> 64MB Shared Graphics ", doesn't leave much for the system Let us know if there is a typo there.

If you see all the startup screens OK, that may just mean there is a problem in Windows.

If I find a system that will not boot into Safe Mode, I generally don't hold much hope of keeping the current installation of Windows intact.

You can try booting to the Windows CD (if it is a Windows CD and not an OEM "recovery disk "), go through until after you need to press F8 to agree to the Eula, then you will find an option to "Repair the current installation of Windows ".

Matt

 

Thanks Matt, but there was no typo

By the way, the problem has become worse now. When I switch on, I just hear a soft beeping sound, and nothing on the screen.

I thought I would install a Linux distro but now I cannot do anything !

Any ideas ?

 

well I "ll be, how on earth did you ever manage to load XP onto that ??
would you happen to have the driver CD for the Motherboard and a XP CD, then you could try and do a repair from the second R and see if you can recover XP and then reload your Motherboard drivers as you have onboard video, your display drivers should be on there.
What do you think Matt,

 

It looks to be beyond the stage of installing any OS.

The RAM may have been "burnt out ", which could explain why the graphics got progressively worse.

256MB of RAM is considered bare minimum for Win XP. You would be working on almost zero.

I would find some of the same type of RAM for testing, but you would need to consider if it was worth spending money on trying to resurrect it or saving towards a new system.

If there are "beeps ", it will mean that hardware is not working correctly. I would suspect the RAM first. You could, say, check for any dust blockages on the heatsink of the CPU or if the motherboard has a slot for add-in graphics adapter, try one of those.

You can "reset" the CMOS by taking the motherboard battery out for around 30 minutes.

Consider how much effort you want to expend on trying to get it to work.

Matt

 

do you know what is inside the case, what Motherboard and CPU that would tell us what type of Ram you are using, most likely SD Ram, you should be able to pick up a stick of 128 MB or 256 MB from a second hand PC shop or if you have Computer Markets (Swap Meets) in your location.
You are obviously attached to this machine and would like to keep it going until you upgrade. But like Matt has pointed out to you, don't go spending any worthwhile money on it you are just wasting it, there are lots of second hand computers of the early P4's around very cheap.
Keep us posted on your progress.
hawk22

 

Running 64MB of RAM when the BIOS is set to share 64MB with video would be a recipe for disaster, in my opinion. It appears the RAM has been "downgraded" because the system manufacturer would never supply a system with those specifications.

hawk22, if the system has been downgraded, it is up to hardik988 to investigate why.

Matt