Windows 98 Bootup Problem (Different than the other one)

[Teh Luckinator]

Everytime I start up my computer, I get a bunch of colored lines. They stay for a couple of seconds, and then switch to a different set of colors. It seems as though Windows 98 is still booting up because everytime I restart it (Ctrl + Alt + Del), it gives me the blue "Scandisk" that says I didn't properly shut down my computer. Here are my specs:

Gigabyte 7VRXP
512 DDR266 RAM
PNY GeForce 4 Ti 4400 128 RAM
Sony E240 Monitor

I downloaded all of the "Windows Updates" from Microsoft, and still it happens. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[GaryRouth]

Am I guessing right, that you mean that the colored lines last but a few seconds, and then change colors, and then you ctrl-alt-del to exit this loop, and ScanDisk runs? ...would the colored lines display continue indefinitely if you didn't interrupt it? --another part of this guess is that the Bios hardware detect screens all display fine with the standard VGA driver that the POST uses, and only after the boot is passed to Win98 you get the colored lines displaying in a loop?

[and once past the ScanDisk, does it then run Win98 more-or-less normally, and shut down later without any trouble?]

If you haven't already, try switching to the Standard VGA driver, uninstalling your Detonators, updating your Via 4n1s, reinstalling your version of DirectX, and then reinstalling some flavor of Detonators again. See if that works. (sounds like driver trouble to me)
. . . Gary
_________
[well, partly because I'm half-asleep, and partly because I'm terminally curious, I visited the forums for your motherboard over at amdmb.com - just to see if anyone was having issues with their 7VRXPs -man, that is one busy board. Looks like if the video driver reinstall doesn't help, there are quite a few motherboard bios updates to try - pretty good handful of them already. You might want to head over there & check out what others are experiencing with that board - quite a few of them have G4 video too]

[mike breck]

Hi Teh Luckinator,

Is this a new build or an old one?

What PCI cards do you have installed?

If an old one, have you made any changes to the system before the problem began e.g. new video drivers, upping the resolution,
new hardware?

You don't have anything in PCI slot 1 next to the AGP slot?

As Gary says, it all depends when these lines are occurring. If the lines appear during hardware detection (the black DOS screen) then the card may be faulty, incorrectly seated, or there is an IRQ conflict.

If the lines are appearing when Windows is beginning to load, then it could be drivers or, again an IRQ conflict.

If it happens when Windows is loading then try holding down the "Shift" key while booting to enter Safe Mode. If you can enter Safe Mode, then it would suggest video driver problem. Run Scandisk on your HD to fix any problems and change to Standard VGA driver.

Then try booting into Windows. If you can boot into Windows this time, then the video card drivers were the culprit and you need to uninstall them and try different drivers.

Come back and let us know when the lines are occurring.

[RoyKelly]

If you can get into Safe mode, try this after finding all your driver disks:

• Right-click on My Computer
• Choose Properties
• Click the Device Manager tab
• Click the plus next to monitors
• Ensure there is only one listed
• If there is more than one monitor, delete all of them
• Click the Plus next to Display Adapters
• Ensure there is only one adapter listed and it is the right one
• If there is only one listed, delete all but the first one.
• Double-click the one left
• Click the Driver tab
• Click Update Driver
• Chose to choose from a list
• Select Display adapters and click Ok
• Choose Show All hardware
• In the left window, choose Standard Display
• In the right window, choose Standard Display Adapter (VGA)
• Click OK or Next until done
• Reboot the computer

Your drivers will reload for your display adapter (you may need to use your driver disk) and your system will reboot and load your monitor.

[Teh Luckinator]

Wow, I sure am late on checking these forums. Sorry.

Well, I updated my VIA 4-in-1 pack, and still nothing happened.

"another part of this guess is that the Bios hardware detect screens all display fine with the standard VGA driver that the POST uses, and only after the boot is passed to Win98 you get the colored lines displaying in a loop? "

I wish that were so. =/ The screen starts flashing RIGHT AWAY, when I power up. The BIOS don't show up, or anything like that. I re-installed my drivers, that didn't work, checked everything in the Device Manager, and that didn't work. Nothing's next to the AGP slot.

I don't think there's nothing more I can do. Any suggestions... again? =D Thanks.

[RoyKelly]

You didn't say if you checked in the Safe mode.

Do you have a different monitor?

If so try that. If the problem still persists, then your video card is either bad or not seated.

Also check your connection to the video card. I had a customer with a Compaq that kept pushing his midtower back against the wall to work with paperwork on his desk. I found his video connector was loose at the mottherboard. By pulling it to one side, everything worked. Without pulling it, his video acted like yours. I'm not saying yours is loose, but it is a possibility.