Alan. said:
I have some how managed to disable my monitor(s) in
windows XP.
The machine starts up, does the XP start up (which I can
see), then I get a black screen. And nothing else.
I am able to enter the set up and read all the information
but as soon as it goes past this stage it dies.
How do I reactivate it? I am unable to navigate anywhere...
Alan,
It's possible you've inadvertently set your system to a screen mode or
refresh rate that your monitor doesn't support. This is particularly easy to
do with LCD/TFT screens, which have an absolute maximum resolution (e.g
1024x768 for 15" screens, 1280x1024 for 17/18"..) that they will not and
cannot exceed. For example, if you have a 15" TFT monitor and set it to an
excessive resolution, you'll get a blank screen, with maybe a "signal out of
range" warning on the screen if you're lucky. Even if you have a CRT monitor
it's possible to set an incorrect resolution and get a blank screen.
As the system boots, press F8 when the white bar appears at the bottom of
the screen. This should give you the "Windows Advanced Options Menu". From
the menu, select "Enable VGA Mode" and press <return>. This should boot your
system with the advanced graphics driver disabled; the system will be using
the Microsoft S-VGA driver, which is almost universally compatible with
graphics cards, but offers no video acceleration or performance. However, it
should allow you to see the screen; once booted, you can set the correct
resolution (if applicable) or re-install your graphics card's drivers.
Hope this helps.
