Video Card not working right

[Pcidiot]

I bought a new video card for my system. It is a nVidia Geforce4 MX 440, i have it running on Windows XP Pro. When the computer boots up the display is larger than the monitor and the sides are curved. I have it on 800x600 resolution and if I change that it only makes it worse. The only think i could think of was that it isn't compatible with XP but the site I bought it from say it is. I installed all the drivers for XP but still nothing.......is there anything else I can do that would make it work?

[pam123]

Though you don't often have to use them monitors have a set of buttons somewhere ( they don't always put them on the front ) that will allow you to adjust the picture.
The problem isn't XP.
I'm assuming that you removed the drivers for the old card completly before you installed the new card and it's drivers.
That is, you didn't just install the new drivers on top of the older ones.

[Pcidiot]

its not the monitor settings, now i haven't had another video card on this system, i just built it a few months ago

[TwoRails]

He's a second vote for monitor settings. You can adjust the width and height of the picture, including enought to make it go "off" the monitor itself. And the curved sides can be pincushion or barral roll, both with are also adjusted on the monitor itself.

You have to adjust the monitor for each screen size, and often for each refresh rate as well.

HTH
TwoRails

[pam123]

Originally posted by Pcidiot
its not the monitor settings, now i haven't had another video card on this system, i just built it a few months ago

Please post your system specs. and include your monitor.
If I'm reading this correctly you have a board with integrated video ?
What did you do to set it up for the new video card ?
Uninstall the drivers for the card and boot into windows, XP has generic drivers that will take the resolution to 800x600, is the distortion still there ?

If the distortion disappears it's a software/installation problem.
If it remains it's hardware.

[Pcidiot]

there is not intergrated video card. the motherboard is a Mach Speed V400 KT400 Socket A Motherboard, an AMD 2400+ processor, a Compaq presario MV700 monitor.

[glc]

Trust us, it's the monitor controls.

[pam123]

Why don't you tell us what you did with the monitor controls that made you decide they didn't work.

[Pcidiot]

ok when i go to change the height and/or the width nothing happens, 0 looks the same as 100. Also changing the pincusion or barrel roll doesn't do anything either.....i'm pretty sure it isn't the monitor settings

[pam123]

No setting on that monitor works and you think it's the video card ?
No way.
You just indentified the non-working part.
You could go to Compaq's site and check for a driver but my guess is it's time to RMA that monitor, it should still be under warranty if you bought it new.
If you bought it locally and it's within the store's return period do that.

[glc]

Monitors don't use drivers. If the geometry controls do nothing, the monitor is broken.

[pam123]

Thanks glc.
I thought there were things called INF files for some monitors that would affect controls but I suspect my own confusion in tha.

[Pcidiot]

The controls work if i hook it up to another computer.....just not this one

[pam123]

Lets see if I get this right.
Your monitor is fine when hooked up to another computer but not the one we're talking about ?
What other computer, and is it a Compaq ?

[Pcidiot]

no i believe it is an HP. I also had another monitor hooked up to this system.....an optiquest i believe and it had the same problem

[pam123]

So every monitor you hook up to that system does the same thing, ie. non-responsive to controls ?
Something is messing with the monitor in that location.
As a test move the monitor somwhere else, try another room, and move the computer as well.
Do you still get distortion?
If it clears you better go over the location where you had the monitor.

[Pcidiot]

it followed me from home to college.

[pam123]

Describe how the desk the monitor is on is set up.
Lamps, computer case on the floor or on the desk, printers, telephones, tv, etc.

[Pcidiot]

Ok i don't have much space so i have the tower and monitor on the desk and a printer ontop of the tower. there is no phone or tv near it there are speakers ontop of some shelves thats about it

[pam123]

I take it that's your usual set up and the same one you had at college where the problem started ?
The reason I'm asking is because electro-magnetic interference from outside sources also has the effect you're describing.
Just for now move the printer and the tower case off the desk top and as far away from the monitor as their respective cords allow.
PC speakers are usually shielded to prevent interference but if those aren't pc shielded then move them as well.
What happens when you turn the computer on now.
Does the monitor picture change and can you use the monitor controls?

[Pcidiot]

ok i did what you said and the picture is still distorted.....the tower is as far away as possible and the printer and speakers are gone but nothing changed

[pam123]

Does the monitor respond when you try to use the controls ?


I just remembered something.
What is the description of your monitor on display properties ?

[Pcidiot]

it says COMPAQ Presario MV700 Color Monitor on GeForce4 MX440. the only thing weird i see in the display settings is that it has two blue boxes, one say 1 and the other is shaded out and says 2

[pam123]

Okay, the comp recognizes both the card and the monitor.

http://www29.compaq.com/falco/sp_detail.asp?Model=3523&Div=4&Os=0&SoftwareVer=14323

This is what I found on the Compaq site that could apply to your monitor.
It may or may not help.
By the way, I checked Compaq forums to see if your problem was unusal and found another monitor problem that sounded exactly like it, complete to the monitors controls not responding. It's the last one in the list.
http://h30132.www3.hp.com/servlet/ProcessRequest?RHIVEID=121&RPAGEID=135&HOID=50790000000800000014A30000&UCATEGORY_0=_16_%24_12_&UCATEGORY_S=0
http://h30132.www3.hp.com/servlet/ProcessRequest?RHIVEID=121&RPAGEID=135&HOID=50790000000800000029630200&UCATEGORY_0=_16_%24_12_&UCATEGORY_S=0
http://h30132.www3.hp.com/servlet/ProcessRequest?RHIVEID=121&RPAGEID=135&HOID=507900000008000000084C0000&UCATEGORY_0=_16_%24_12_&UCATEGORY_S=0

If you can, try the card in another comp. and if you can beg a borrow a different card try that in your build.
But before you give up and rma the card perhaps some of the suggestions from Compaq might work or you'll find it's not the card and more troubleshooting is needed.
In either case install the drivers as a last attempt.


edit: Almost forgot. Your card has NVidia's NVew multi-display technology. So you can hook up a second display to it. Thus the second greyed out box which would have shown the second monitor.
Several of the links have detailed instructions on setting up the monitor correctly but just how did you set up the card ?And how do both monitor and card show in Device Manager ?

[Pcidiot]

I downloaded that driver and it seems to be working, i'm not sure if it'll stay. Thank you for all your help I truly apreciated it.

[Pcidiot]

nevermind, i rebooted it and it went back to the same old thing

[TwoRails]

Originally posted by pam123
...edit: Almost forgot. Your card has NVidia's NVew multi-display technology. So you can hook up a second display to it.... Sounds like a good possibility that the monitor is hooked up to the wrong output? But that wouldn't really explain why the monitor controls don't appear to work...

[Pcidiot]

they worked fine for about 10 mins when everything looked right.....

[pam123]

There is, I suspect, an order for this install.
Pull everything off the comp that you want to keep and burn the monitor drivers to disk.
Reformat, install XP, load chipset drivers and now the big decision, do you load the graphics before the monitor or the monitor before the graphics ?
MY guess would be that you ignore XP's attempt to load it's own 800x600 generic graphics drivers and let the old 600x480 install.
Those are the basic SVGA graphics.
Then load the monitor drivers, the DX9b, then the rest of the graphics drivers.
I'm not sure why your comp lost the monitor drivers.
After you get them loaded create a restore point so that you can always return to them.
When all your device drivers are loaded create another restore point.
If it comes undone early, unistall and try another way, first graphics then monitor.

[Pcidiot]

Is that the only option i would have left, now really isn't the best time for me to start all over

[pam123]

In searching for info I found out that most monitors had quit INF files by 98se ( some did it by 98, 95 was the last one for which it was a general requirement ). The exceptions seem to be Compaq and HP.
Yes, you could have the monitor hooked up wrong, but you must surely have checked that by now.
You're monitor does need those files, I suspect they were provided on compaq restore disks.
You have a Compaq that responds correctly, however breifly, when you install the INF.
Given the site info, it's the same deal with the HP.
If I were you I'd sell the monitor to someone you don't like and buy a nice Samsung 17".
Failing that you need to find some way to get the INF files installed, and read, by XP.
The best bet is to get those files out of the way, which means installing them early ( this is not a sure bet but it's worth a try ).
What I think you've got is highly proprietary hardware that requires it's own set up ( glc was right, but not about this glitch ).
Next time round don't buy OEM branded monitors for a self-built system.

[jeresimo]

I encountered almost the same problem with a DgiView Monito in a 98SE comp. The Plug and Play Monitor options wont recognize it. I went to the mfr site and dl'd the driver and it went all well smoothly. I noticed thoudh after I formated and changed the OS to XP Pro it automatically recognized it.

[glc]

I still don't see what monitor "drivers" or lack threof have to do with making the front panel geometry controls nonresponsive.

Oh well, nothing Compaq does surprises me.

[Pcidiot]

Most of them work fine, the ones that don't work are the horizontal compressor, the one that makes the sides curve inward, and the trapizoidal one.....the others work fine but i don't have a problem with those settings

[pam123]

Pcidiot,
If the inf files don't work after a reformat and reinstall is the monitor still under warranty ?
One of the amazing things I found at the Compaq/HP site was the sheer number of monitor problems.
This site is also active but, I guess you noticed, monitor problems are pretty rare. Monitors are one of the more trouble free pc parts, the other is the floppy.

[pam123]

glc,
I agree.
I think Compaq/HP has done something dumb and left the end users to pick up the pieces.

[Pcidiot]

you guys are sure that the problems is with the monitor, i just check the HCL for windows xp and my video card isn't on there could that be the problem?

[pam123]

If you'll scroll down toward the bottom of the page you'll see that your card, in fact all the MX 440s, is listed.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog/default.aspx?xslt=search&subid=22&sortcolumn=status&sort=descending&qu=Nvidia%20&scope=1&page=8&pageSet=1

Though you haven't tried it yet, you can always install the card in another comp, with a monitor that isn't by Compaq/HP, and find out for yourself

[Pcidiot]

i had another monitor on it......and had the same problem

[pam123]

Okay crunch time.
Your other monitor is an HP and they have many of the same problems as the Compaq monitor you used.
So the switch may or may not have proved anything.
The card is fine.
The card defective.
The only thing that worked, and that only briefly, was installing monitor INF files.
Were this is going is that :
1. Something software isn't working and you need to reinstall and try out various combinations.
2. Something hardware isn't working and you need to rma a part.
There is no easy way out. You have to make a decision and try something.
I understand the hesitation but empiricism is your only path here.
Will the reinstall with monitor drivers fix things or not ?
If I swap in another card, try the card in another rig ( without the monitors you've told us about ) will that tell me what's wrong?
If the card works in other rigs it's not the problem.
If the new card works in your rig it is the problem.
If both results happen, you're back at the "What to do?" start of this ( my suggestion is go with what works ).
Computers are such fun.

[Pcidiot]

is it still compatible with xp if it fails the windows logo test?

[Pcidiot]

the video card that is

[pam123]

Originally posted by Pcidiot
is it still compatible with xp if it fails the windows logo test?

If it's hardware you should be having trouble with the post screen.
If you only have trouble when XP loads then it's likely software.
What do you mean by the Windows logo test ?


edit: The install should be, after XP, motherboard drivers, monitor INF drivers, DX 9b, and video drivers.

[Pcidiot]

like when i first installed the video card an error came up that said that my video card failed the windows logo test then it gave me an option to stop the install or continue with the possibility of errors

[pam123]

I'm not sure if you deserve to get flamed or not.
1. You've been putting us through this with a card you had good reason to think was defective from the start.
2. You put us through several days of effort before you bother to tell anyone that was so.
3. For your wallet's sake you should have returned the card immeadiately.
4.Just how silly can you be ?
5. RMA the card, or bite the bullet and get another, and if you still have trouble tell us. But don't do this again.
6. Wishful thinking does not make tech troubles go away.

[glc]

Hold it, please - I believe he is talking about the DRIVER install as not being certified/signed. If this is the case, do NOT install the driver off the video card CD and get the latest WHQL certified driver from the Nvidia site.

[Pcidiot]

well i got it all figured out, thanks for you input guys

[pam123]

What was it and what did you do ?

[Pcidiot]

Its really odd, all i did was take the stand off of the bottom of the monitor. It works fine.

[pam123]

That is odd.
I'll make a note to check that out if ( when ) I find myself with a problem that looks like yours.
Glad everything is now working as it should.