Forced at 640x480 resolution.

Well, today, everything with my PC was fine, until just an hour ago I woke the computer up from standby. It SEEMED OK, until it randomly switched to 640x480 resolution. I tried right-clicking the desktop and went to Screen Resolution, but the option to change it was greyed out. So then I went to Device Manager and tried to Roll Back the Driver, but when I did that, my PC crashed (screen went black for 10+ minutes) and I had to turn it off via holding down the power button. I rebooted into Safe Mode, and tried doing a System Restore to a time I knew worked. However, I still rebooted into the horrible 640x480 resolution. So then I went into Device Manager again, and uninstalled the Driver. Then I went to Programs and Features and uninstalled ATI Software Install Manager, ATI Catalyst Control Center, ATI Video Driver and ATI HDMI/DP Audio (basically uninstalled eveything to do with ATI). Then I downloaded the driver for the display adapter from HP, and installed it. Still, the same problem. I ran a virus scan and everything seems OK. I've exhausted my knowledge and need your guys' help.

PC Specs:
HP EliteBook 8740w
Intel i5-560M'
ATI FirePro M7820
8.0 GB RAM
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

 

It is possible that you video card went out, is it still under warranty?

 

what does it say for your monitor display, what type of driver and the name?

 

Yeah, it is.

It says "1|2. Multiple Monitors". If I click on advanced settings and click the adapter tab under it lists my card correctly. If I click on the monitor tab it has "Generic PnP Monitor" and "Generic Non-PnP Monitor" which neither seem to work. I've never connected my PC to another monitor via any of the ports -- I only use/have the built-in laptop one.

 

Just to rule out a software issue I would suggest a clean install of ATI drivers: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...st-11-2-mobility-released-get-yours-here.html
See how to setup - Note this is and example, just plug in whatever version of CCC you prefer. Kudos to Stevie jones

 

Backup all your information. Reformat the HD.
^ Fixes all software problems.
If it's hardware. You're kind of F'd unless you're under warranty.

 

Can I use a different CCC for my card (like the stock one)? I'm thinking I'll take the backup/reformat suggestion. I've had stability issues with the HP drivers before... although they never messed up quite like this before.

 

You will need the default HP Driver first before you add on CCC. It is the only way the CCC will detect the FirePro from a Radeon Catalyst POV.

 

Well, it doesn't appear to be a hardware issue. After reinstalling Windows and applying my backups, everything seems to be in correct working order. Still unsure as to what happened, though.

 

Annnndddd guess what? Fresh install, and it happened again. I was able to get my screen resolution normal, but I have to go right-click the desktop, select screen resolution, and select Show Desktop only on 1 each time I start my computer. I might pop in a Linux DVD to confirm its a hardware problem, but at this point I'm fairly certain it is, especially the way it acts before it happens (screen going on/off in random intervals a random number of times).

This stinks. Gonna have to have HP come out AGAIN.

EDIT: Dandy, I have to do it when I wake up from standby/hibernate as well. This is not supposed to be like this.

 

Curious if you got this fixed. I am surprised the FirePro M7820 would crap out like this in such a brief period of time.

 

Well, I updated my video drivers, but instead of just uninstalling/reinstalling video drivers, I used Driver Sweeper and the problem seemed to go away. But just recently, the issue cropped up again.

It's gotten worse, too. Now, every time I boot it up, it hangs at the BIOS, with the Num Lock and Caps Lock indicators flashing repeatedly. Windows has also been hanging at bot, and I finally got it to boot up to write this message after about 9 tries. Now that I am booted into Windows finally, the processor is at a very abnormal idling rate of 25-50% and the underside is extremely hot -- and I'm just idling... Right after I booted up it said "Intel Management and Security service has stopped working".

I really didn't WANT to have to call HP, but I might have to. A fresh install of Windows and updated video drivers haven't helped too much.

 

Sounds like a Delayed Dead on Arrival s:

How old is it anyway?

 

Well, about half-a-year old, give or take a month.

 

I actually had an HP laptop that on boot up, the CAPS LOCK and NUM LOCK would flash constantly. The number of flashing could indicate what the problem is.

I found this link on HP's website. I'm not sure if its for your particular model but it can probably give you an idea.

Blank Screen LED Error Codes - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

How many times do the lights blink?

 

It blinked 3 times IIRC, but the BIOS hang stopped happening after I successfully booted Windows again.

I've chatted with HP support and asked for a replacement. Initially the technical service representative said they could not replace the unit, but then s/he escalated it to a case manager and s/he said that s/he does not have the power to replace the unit but that s/he is going to escalate it further, to customer relations.

I'll keep you guys updated.

 

Yeah ask for a CM. They got the power to do so from the get go.

 

So, HP customer relations won't answer my repeated phone call attempts. They called me 3 times right in the middle of class and, despite numerous voice messages they seemingly have given up on me because I can't answer my phone during class.

Not cool guys...

 

Demand for their main line. The CM's got their own line they attribute to... In fact, I think I can give you a number to one executive CM that worked on my case in the past for the replacement you got in the first place...

 

Just hanged at the BIOS screen again with the blinking caps lock and nums lock lights. It kept blinking 5 times, followed by a long pause, and then 5 more blinks. It did this a few times before finally booting into Windows. I did note that during this time, the system quickly become very warm. Does anyone have an idea what is wrong?

HP support has been completely shoddy, I am going to simply redo the entire process of calling support, etc. and hope for better results.