Does anyone know how to.......

Fix my display?
I reinstalled XP Pro on my laptop, and now my display won't work better than: 640x480 (16 bit) high resolution. most of the advanced settings are locked out.... any ideas?

 

you have to put the the software cd that came with your laptop in and extract and install the software drivers for your video card. Its the only way you will get it back to normal

 

I'll try it again, but it didn't work the first time. Also the sound is really basic now, it just beeps.

 

Use the Drivers CD that came with the laptop. [ ]

 

what did it originaly come with? Sometimes if it comes with home, and you put pro on it, some drivers wont work.. in that case you have to pick and choose what ones you put in.

it must be a driver problem tho. i had a sound problem like that and it was because my soundcard drivers were fubared.. but that wwas with a different laptop.

.:Inspiron 9100:.
-:2.8 P4:-
-:1GB 400 MHz RAM:-
-:60GIG 7200 RPM HDD:-
-:128MB ATI Radeon 9700:-
-:800MHz FSB:-

 

The drivers cd does not seem to help. I extracted all the drivers it would let me to no avail.I still have crummy resolution and no sound. I know the driver cd should do the job but unless there's something i'm not doing, it's not working.....

ok lets say for arguments sake that I have no idea what to do, step by step what would a notebook guru do? (besides pitch the notebook out a moving car in frustration?)

 

Knobby,

If I were in your shoes I would completely reformat the harddrive. If you are willing to do this, here is what I would do:

1)Before formatting, go to Dell's website, download all the latest drivers for your laptop, burn them on a CD if you can. If not, just hold onto the Drivers CD that came with your computer and we'll just have to use that.

2)Backup any important files
3)Insert whatever Windows operating system that came with your laptop in your CD drive. Restart your computer with the CD in the drive, and allow the CD drive to boot up your computer, not your Hard Drive.
4)From there you should have the option to reinstall windows (blue screen should appear). You are going to want to do a clean install, which means deleting the partition that Windows is currently on (you'll see this inscructions on the screen) Then it should give you the option to install Windows and format your hardrive.
5)After windows is installed, then use either the burnable CD with latest drivers, or the drivers CD that came with your computer

If this doesn't work, then your computer may need some work.

Let me know if this helps.

 

I did that the first time, seems I forgot to reinstall the chipset drivers for the motherboard. [ ] Makes for one big ugly screen.