Windows Vista Screen is black when starting up

Hi, I have an XPS M1330 computer running Vista (but not service pack 1) which is about eight months old.

From the very beginning, the computer had problems. When you turn it on, it loads normally until the log on page, where the screen is just black. (But the music still plays.) However, after a few tries it finally loads the log on page and you can use it. It was annoying (especially since I sometimes had to turn it on and off over ten times before it would load), but it still worked.

Unfortunately now, when I press the on button the screen is just black. I'm not sure if the computer actually loads because it never plays the music. Though for some reason, when I close the lid for about 3 seconds straight after I've turned it on, then open it again, the screen that asks whether you want to load windows normally or load in safe mode appears. (The one that appears when you haven't shut your computer down correctly.) If I choose 'load windows normally' the same thing as before happens: it loads up until the log on screen then goes blank. Except now, no matter how many times I try, it won't load.

The computer works in safe mode, and I've been trying to find a solution but so far haven't found anything. My dad thinks that it's a problem with the display, so I tried changing the display resolution to standard VGA, and I tried booting in low resolution video but neither made any difference. I also tried following the advice here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946400/en-us but I was unable to locate the displace device .inf file.

I am definitely not an expert at computers and I have absolutely no idea what to do next. I'm not even sure what the problem is. =/

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hi and welcome to the BBS,

Here are the driver downloads:
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...ystemID=XPS_M1330&os=WLH&osl=en&catid=&impid=
Use the link Add or Edit the Service Tag, that will tell you which drivers you need. A lot of the drivers are "initial release ", which means you should find them on the drivers CD that came with the laptop (assuming it came with Vista installed).

Start by installing the chipset drivers, then the video (graphics) drivers.

If you find that the drivers appear to be installed already, then they may be corrupt. You should find uninstallers for them in Control Panel -> Programs and Features. Uninstall the current listing then reinstall it. (If you find any problems after you uninstall and restart, choose the selection "Low resolution mode ".)

Matt

 

I installed all the appropriate drivers, but there's still been no change.

Is it possible to load service pack 1 in safe mode?

 

Yes I have.

 

Yes, it sounds like the graphics drivers.

When you installed the drivers, did you follow the instructions and run the installer (just checking).

Did you try this:

Matt