Hardware or Software?

Some time ago, I started a thread in the Spyware/Hijack Cleaning board, mainly because my situation was that my PC had crashed due to spyware, and I wanted to post a HTJ log just to make sure there was nothing left on my system that presented a threat. Now however, after much deliberation on that same thread, there are only a few questions left that need answering, and since these have nothing to do with HJT log review, rather, they’re concerning problems that have arisen also due to the crash, as such, Global Mod Snapdragin directed me to start a new thread in this board. For you see, they can’t really help me any further if my thread is posted to the Spyware/Hijack Cleaning board, since that board is now officially closed.

That’s a very brief explanation of why I’m posting this thread, but if you take the time to skim the original thread, then everything will become much clearer. It’s better just to skim the thread up until you get the gist of what’s going on with my situation. Completely ignore the HJT logs, and anything else you don’t find entirely relevant, then, if you please, skip to the end and read the last three or so posts, where Snapdragin suggests I come here to this board to start a new thread.

I’ll try not to make this thread as long and involved as the previous one. The things that are happing to my PC because of the crash are that my resolution and colors are lower than they should be, and I can’t change them back in Display Properties no matter what I do! If you read this post, you’ll take note of Gavin’s conclusion that the cause of the problem is on the hardware side, however, my Computer Analyst friend, whom I quoted in this post, told me that it was more likely to be on the software side. I need to be sure of whether it is a software or hardware based problem, before I take the appropriate action to resolve it.

One unusual occurrence, that I failed to mention in the previous thread, was that my printer prints all the images in its normal high-res. and color palette manner. Meanwhile, on the monitor, all the images continue to manifest the limited 16-Color palette and a low-res. This could indicate that it is indeed a problem originating on the software side.

If at all possible I need someone who is an expert and this sort of thing; someone who has a lot of experience with hardware, as well as the software necessary to make it work (i.e. Device Drivers). Also, once the type of problem/cause of problem has been determined, which course of action will correct the problem? For example, if it’s hardware, I’ll likely need to replace my video card, if it’s software, hopefully re-installing or replacing the drivers should fix that. If worse comes to worse, I may need to reformat Windows, and for that, I’ll need somebody to provide directions.

As a final note, since what I put here is a summary, I'm sure you'll have plenty of questions, so don't hesitate to ask.

 

I read your previous thread when you were posting there. My opinion is still that you have a hardware problem. My thoughts would be that it is in your video card, if you don't have a video card and your video is integrated on the board makes it even worse in that you can't just change the video in that scenario. It sounds to me that the only way to find out for sure what is wrong is to take it to the shop and have it checked on the bench. There was a lot of discussion on the other thread and it did not resolve this problem. I believe that this is one of those things that can't be diagnosed on the forum, It will probably take a hands on approach.

this is a little more than a guess, I had my own computer repair shop for many years.

bigc

 

I agree, just swap the video card to check.

 

You should also try Dell forum if you're still searching for an answer.

When my laptop started getting Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD) I didn't know what to do so I consulted the Dell Forum. People were quick to help.

Basically, I was told to upgrade to the new Nvidia video driver and to flash to newer Bios for my laptop at that time. It worked and it solved the problem.

So I guess you should try Dell Forum since you got a Dell.

Hope that helps.

Chew

 

There are technically only three types of Video Cards, am I correct in saying that? There's Integrated as you pointed out, there's PCI, and there's also AGP. I took apart my Dell Optiplex GX-1 earlier this week and found out that the Video Card was an Integrated type, but this surprised me as the driver that runs it is a Rage Pro Turbo AGP 2x (English). I verified this by clicking the Desktop, selecting Properties from the shortcut menu, and clicking the Settings tab of that dialogue in the upper right-hand corner. Under the descrition there, it says my monitor is a Dell M780 on a Rage Pro Turbo AGP 2x (English) device driver.

So that's inconsistent, because it can't be both an Intergrated type and an AGP type, can it?

And you said that if mine is Integrated it can't be changed, but if I buy a PCI Video Card, and tell the BIOS to recognize it as a replacement, the new one should work, and replace the one Integrated into the Motherboard, am I correct in saying that as well? Or was that a mistake? I'm not too good with hardware and engineering and etc.

You've recommended I take my PC to get checked out for a while now, and don't think I haven't been trying. I had planned to take the Video Card out and take it to get tested at a Used Hardware Vendor and Repair shop near my residence as soon as I heard you say it was a hardware problem. However, when I tried to do just that, I realized it was a Integrated type and not an AGP, as I just mentioned, and so I postponed the check-up since the person I would've taken it to only had a Video Card checker for AGP and/or PCI. Yet, still I went back to him for some advice, and he said it might very well be a software problem, and that I could reinstall the driver by going to Dell.com and entering my serial number, then downloading the driver.

In other news, I bought a 100MB Parallel Port ZIP Disk Drive, I didn't buy the ZIP Disks though because I'm kinda tight right now with bills and all, but I'll get a check soon and buy those Disks, possibly in the next week.

I spoke with my Computer Analyst friend, whom, I don't know if I've mentioned, but she lives a good two hours from me, because had it been the case that she lived nearer I problably would've fixed this a long time ago! WE spoke over the phone though, on Tuesday the 17th, and she said the following:

Trust me though, she wasn't lying when she said she was familiar with the model, she owned one at one time, and it had similar problems. So at least consider what she's saying.

 

Correct, but there are variations (PCI-X, AGP pro).

Yes it can. Integrated only refers to the manufacturing technique. It means to put a device onto a motherboard. It is usually done to save money for the PC builder. Integrated video cards (in my experience) are notorious for lousy performance and problematic drivers. They are okay for business apps which are the main target market for integrated video, but for video games and other high performance applications, they are lacking.
The way a video card is made or packaged (its form factor: on a card or integrated) has nothing to do with way it communicates with the computer: the bus interface. You can have an integrated video card with a PCI bus interface or an AGP bus interface. The video chip merely connects its (AGP or PCI) wires directly through the motherboard instead of through an AGP (or PCI) slot.

It really depends on the motherboard and BIOS. You won't be able to physically change out the integrated video (it is soldered onto the motherboard). But you may be able to deactivate it in the BIOS and/or tell BIOS to use the video from the AGP slot or PCI slot.

From what I've read, I would say it is probably driver related as well. It may also be an IRQ conflict with some other devices that are integrated or on cards. I would get the latest original driver (for my OS) from the motherboard manufacturer. Don't get it from ATI as those are for the regular ATI cards. Sometimes they will work with limited capabilities, othertimes they screw things up.
When changing video drivers first switch to the Standard VGA driver that comes with windows. All video cards support this. then uninstall the ATI driver. Reboot as necessary each time. Install the original manufacturers driver. You can use a newer version, but make sure it is for YOUR motherboard. Reboot and try it out. If it still doesn't work then either:

A: It may be a conflict with other devices. Difficult to diagnose. Isolate the problem. Remove all the cards (with power off) then test. If problem still exists, try turning off some of the integrated peripherals in BIOS and test again. With these goofy integrated video boards, I have even had bizarre lock up problems related to the parallel port(switching from EPP mode to SPP fixed that problem). Turn off all the integrated peripherals you don't absolutely need (extra COM ports, extra USB, even the parallel port) to test. The idea is to isolate the problem first. Once it works, add them back ONE BY ONE AND TEST EACH TIME. When it stops working, then you will have found the culprit.

B: If neither of the above works, then it may be the video chip is dying. Heat kills and if they used an integrated video, they probably didn't put very good cooling fans in your system either.
Unfortunately, the only way to test this is to deactivate the integrated video and put in another video card. But many times these integrated video motherboards won't have an AGP slot so you need to get an older PCI video card. Try the new card and see if it works.

If it were mine, I would try to get it to work first.

Would not be my first choice. ZIP drives are slower than molasses and the parallel port version even with ECP parallel port mode is unbearably slow. The LS-120 barely better. Why not get a CDRW drive or DVD+-RW drive? They are now MUCH cheaper then they used to be. Newegg had a nice NEC Dual layer (8 GB) DVD+-RW drive for only $100 (at the time). When you decide to get a better computer, you can take it with you. If you need external, then go for a USB CD or DVD burner.

Isolating these type of issues can take a lot of time, so be patient and when you finally solve it, you will have learned more about hardware then you ever thought you would (or wanted).

I hope it works out for you. While Wilders is focused on security, there are hardware specialized forums where you can learn a TON of hardware info:
Tomshardware forum
Hard Forum
Anandtech Forum

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

Well, yes I know it's impossible to physically change out the Card, but I was merely wondering if changing the BIOS to accept recognize the a new PCI/AGP Video Card could cure the problem entirely. From what I gather in your following statements, that's possible unless my video chip is fried. That's what you meant at the end of your response to this question, right? (See below.)

...There's where you said it, in point B, I really hope it's not the case though.

But regarding the other things you said at the beginning of this here quote, I should get the driver from motherboard manufacturer, and not from ATI or Dell. Ok, I got that, but how will i determine the motherboard manufacturer? Will I need to take it apart again and look at it? Or can i just go into System on the Control Panel and try to find the specs in the Device Manager?

And as a second step to that process you said I'd have to put the VGA driver that comes with Windows, because it will work for sure. Well, that's good news! Doesn't that mean I can simply use that driver permanently and not have problems? Or am I missing something else here?

 

Go for the easy fix first, if that doesn't work, try the next harder fix and so on.
1. Get the video driver from Dell (will explain below) and try that. Remember to install a plain VGA driver first as I mentioned previously (will avoid some problems).
2. If that doesn't work, get the latest video card BIOS from Dell and try that. The video card BIOS is separate from the Motherboard BIOS. Note: even though it is integrated video, it can still be called a video card. If the video card bios utility has the ability to backup the current video card BIOS, use it. You will need floppies.
3. It's a toss up between 3 and 4. I would probably go for updating the motherboard BIOS next (from DELL) because it is cheaper than option 4.
4. Get another video card and test if that works. Before installing it, remember to change the windows driver back to the default VGA driver.
You will need to see if your computer has an available AGP slot. If it does, then perhaps you could get a somewhat better card that you can take with you when you junk this computer. Be careful with the AGP specs. of the new card and the old slot. As I recall, there were some versions that use different voltages. Caution first. The BIOS will need to be able to switch over and use the video card when installed in a specefic slot. The manual may have info or a Dell tech.

Remember to change one thing at a time. Test if it works. If not, then change another and test again.

I think you should get the drivers and BIOS updates directly from Dell. Why? Because larger computer manufacters can usually dictate to motherboard manufacturers and have them produce motherboards that are specific only to Dell. This may or may not be the case, but if you get the drivers and BIOS from Dell, then it should work with their own motherboard.

Well you could use it permanently, but it will not have the full capabilities of your video card. Only the bare minimum for Windows to work. It is good as an interim driver until you install a specific driver.

 

So I’m assuming it’s also a good idea to create a thread in the Dell Support Forum so that they might help me to get the proper driver. Am I correct in saying that?

I have some other questions. When I Go into Display Properties in the Windows Control Panel, then click the Settings tab, and click Advanced Settings once there. Finally, clicking on the Adapter tab and the “Change Adapter” option there. This will launch the Update Device Driver Wizard, on my PC, the Wizard gives me a few names to chose from, including ATI 3D Rage Pro (atir3), All-In-Wonder PRO (atir3), Xpert@Play (atir3), and Xpert@Work (atir3). They carry the creation date of 4/23/99 [April 23rd, 1999] they’re all INF files, or Device/Application Setup Information. They’re also all in the C:\WINDOWS\INF folder in Windows 98, and seem to be provided by Microsoft. Is one of these the Standard VGA Driver you described that’s supposed to come with Windows? And if so, which one is it?

And you keep saying how switching to the VGA driver will help avoid problems, if you don’t mind my asking, what kind of problems are we talking about here?

This question is long overdue: It’s obvious that the BIOS control many cards and integrated ports and such, but what exactly does BIOS stand for? And how do I access it? Is it something within MS-DOS mode, or can it be accessed normally through the interface like the Registry can?

And as a secondary question for this step, what advantages will I get from backing-up and/or creating a snapshot of the current Video Card BIOS on a Floppy? Not that I won’t do it, but I was just wondering why you asked me to.

This sounds like a complicated step, I’m hoping the people over at the Dell Forum might help me through it as well.

First off I want to clear up a small thing, you said early on in this thread that there are three types of cards, and you mentioned two of them: AGP and PCI. WE never got around to the other one, but I’m assuming it’s COM? Maybe, maybe not? Perhaps you could assure me. And as for which slots I have for any given of the three types, I don’t think AGP is among my slots, but I couldn’t say for sure.

Here’s the deal, my computer’s a Dell Optiplex GX-1 (a fairly old model) and it’s a tower (not a flat table-top) all the slots are located on the bottom, on the back end, with all other connectors along the left side of the back end, it’s along that left column that the monitor port is, which is connected to the Integrated Video Card on the other side. Apparently, everything else on this same column is Integrated as well, including, seemingly, the USB (Universal Serial Bus) Port, which by the way, I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned the fact that it’s not working. I can’t use my digital camera to take a pic of the inside of the tower to try to bring it in a Floppy to upload (online) at a public comp, for that precise reason: The USB seems to be on the fritz, when I try downloading the pic from the camera to the PC at home, the Kodak software won’t launch, and I get no reaction whatsoever, except for an error message I think, but I can’t the dialogue of error exactly. Don’t think it was about colors though.

Moving on though, the slots for cards on my PC are all empty except for the one with my Modem Card thingy, and the colors of the slot receptors are brown (the long ones) and beige (the shorter ones) I didn’t measure them, but the beige look about 2.5 inches, while the brown are more like 3 or 3.5 inches. If need me to actually measure them that’s not a problem, just ask.

When you say, “be careful about the specs, because of voltage difference” that alarms me somewhat, can you be more specific as to what to do to avoid that?

And as for the Dell techs I went trough countless of them during the duration of this thread, and the ones I found weren’t very helpful, and contained a lot of stuff I already knew. Perhaps I wasn’t looking in the right places, but so far the only substantial info I’ve gotten is from you, and I’m very grateful.

I see, I still need to get that answer about the VGA driver though.

 

Yes

My 98 skills are starting to rust, but if I recall correctly, you select Microsoft as the manufacturer and choose Standard VGA.
According to the specs shown here
you have an ATI Rage Pro (AGP 2X) graphics with 4 MB standard (upgradable to 8 MB) SGRAM (check your manual). The drivers you listed could be the "miniport" drivers that come bundled with windows. "miniport" drivers are functional, but too generic and often lackluster. Better to go with the driver from Dell. Once you change to Standard VGA and uninstall the previous driver (if it is shown in add remove programs) then you can install the correct driver that you obtained from Dell.

Since you are on 98, it is a good idea to do this when upgrading drivers.
I have experienced driver installs that hung, blue screens of death (BSOD), etc.

Basic Input Output System:
The set of routines stored in read-only memory that enable a computer to start the operating system and to communicate with the various devices in the system, such as disk drives, keyboard, monitor, printer, and communications ports.
Power on, press delete on most computers to enter BIOS setup.
It comes before Windows, before DOS and cannot be truly accessed from within windows. Newer Motherboards do have BIOS tuning utilities that can change some settings like over clocking.

Just one advantage. If you screw something up during the BIOS flashing, you can go back to the original.

No, COM is the serial port. ISA is the other type. There are other sub types and some older types that were not as popular, but I kept it to what you most likely have. You do not have an AGP slot.

Well, it looks like it's time for a new computer!
You could try a USB mouse to see if it is the motherboard that is fried.
If the USB is gone as well, then you could get a PCI card that has USB ports.
If you want to use the computer regularly, you should get a new cheap computer. Ultimately, you will be much happier with that.

Only applies to different AGP slot specs. Does not apply in your case.

You're welcome.

 

The problem is fixed!

I just came from home where I finally fixed the GX-1! I'm at the library now (since at home I don't have Web Access) to tell you the good news!

I never actually found the option you're reffering to, I did however find some quite similar: In Update Driver Wizard, if you select "Specify Location of Driver (Advanced)" you'll be presented with a list of manufacturers of Video Cards, Microsoft not included, but ATI is. And so I clicked that and found a list of models, including the Rage Pro AGP 2x, I selected it and pressed "Next"
What happened here is undetermined but I believe that my current driver was simply reinstalled, I clicked restart when it prompted me, and sure enough when Windows back, it came in 16-bit High Color glory.

My speculation is that the driver was somehow uninstalled or somehow "disconnected" from it's job of running the ATI Rage Pro Video Card. Why that scenario? Because actually, before today, I went into Start Menu > Programs > Accesories > System Tools > MS System Info, where it displayed a warning that ther were "No drivers installed" for the Video Components. I have yet to check after the proper colors were restored, because I rushed over here to say that the problem's seemingly over, and to thank you for your wonderful advice and expert insight.

On the thread which I linked to in the opening post, I believe I explain that this my Uncle's PC that we're talking about, even though I use it, it didn't belong solely to me, but ironically now it does! Exactly two days my Uncle up-and-went to the store and bought a used Dell GX150 model for $270, and left the GX1 model to me. I'd already explained to him how I would fix the GX1 very soon, but he wasn't worried about the color settings, he said it alarmed him that the GX1 frequently displayed BSODs seemingly ever since it was infected by spyware. I personally eliminated every known variant on the GX1 model, but every now and then the BSOD appears anyway. I told him it doesn't seem so serious, because if it was the GX1 PC would've probably crashed by now... but I'm starting to have doubts myself. Since the GX1 is now my sole responsibility, I wanted to turn to you ask what the BSOD means in my case, because at the place where my Uncle bought the GX150 they said the BSOD is caused by the Memory Stick I don't believe I'd heard of this component before, and when I asked, the clerk said "If you don't know I can't help you" I was shocked by his rudeness, I mean what ever happened to the "customer is always right"? It's obvious now that this died along with chivalry, heh, heh.

So do you think I should trash the GX1? Or is the BSOD preventable? Perhaps there's still hope? Take your time in answering these questions, the large portion of the problem (the display) is apperently fixed.

 

I am glad you got it working.

BSOD means Blue Screen of Death. Try Dictionary.com for the full definition. The BSOD was frequent on Windows 95, and still very common on Windows 98. It does not have to happen because of malware. It can happen in Windows without much help from anything else. That was one of the most frustrating things about Windows. Windows XP has been a big step in that regard. Although poorly written programs can still cause trouble.

When you ask a salesperson for a solution to a problem, guess what the answer will be 9 out 10 times?
If you guessed: Buy a new computer or accessory, you are right. It is their job to sell you stuff so any problem can be solved with new hardware. In a way they are right, because some problems can be solved with new hardware.

The term "Memory Stick" used by the salesperson was not correctly used. Memory Stick refers to Sony's flash memory modules used in their digital cameras and other devices. What he meant was a stick of RAM or a stick of memory that you use in your computer.
Bad memory can cause problems sometimes. It can be intermittant sometimes also. Usually, if the memory is bad, it will show up when you first boot up in the POST (Power On Self Test). That is where it counts up how much RAM you have. Most of the time RAM either works at once or not at all.

Don't worry about the salesman. Besides being rude and not really knowledgeable, he was not a good salesman either. A good salesman would have explained how important high quality RAM is to running a system smoothly then gently guide you to the most expensive high performance RAM they sell.
I don't think you need new RAM, but it may be a possibility.

Depends on what you want to do with it.
You got it for free, so I say use it up to full advantage.
Troubleshooting a BSOD can be difficult.
Especially since the computer was previously stated to have been infested with malware, I would probably start over, delete the partitions, reformat, and reinstall Windows 98. You will need to make sure you have all the drivers and Windows 98 on CDs or floppies first.
The choice is yours of course. If it is not that bothersome, then you can continue using it until it gets too annoying.
If you decide to junk it, you should keep the Hard drive just in case it contains remnants of personal data left on it. Even if you delete everything, some data can be recovered.

 

Thanks for replying!

I'd known about the BSOD meaning Blue Screen of Death, but my question was towards what the BSOD was trying to tell me, or warn me about. I was asking, because just like you said (And I couldn't have said it better myself! ) the average PC salesperson tends to dance around giving you a straight answer, and say whatever they want you to believe.

Strangely enough, ever since the little trick a pulled to restore/reinstall that driver (see my last post for details). Not only has the display been at top preformance, but there hasn't been a BSOD in sight for about two weeks or so!

So could this mean the BSOD was trying to warn me the driver was all messed up? If so, that answers my question, if not, then I wish I would've taken the time to right down whatever it was that the BSOD displayed, even if it was mostly hex numbers...

Nonetheless, there really isn't anything really wrong with the Dell GX1 now. There used to be a time when anyone selected "Shut Down" from the Start Menu of Windows98 (on the GX1) it would go through the whole shut-down process normally up until a point where it displayed a "It's now safe to turn off your computer" message in orange letters on a black backround. There isn't anything seemingly wrong with that at first, but as we proceeded to turn it off via the physical power button, no matter how many times we pressed it, it wouldn't turn the tower unit off. So we pressed the "Restart" button below the power button, selected "Shut Down" once again, and it usually worked after that.

The point of that story is we no longer have to go through that double shut-down process either after the driver was restored. But I was wondering if you'd ever known a computer to do that? It's very strange that it wouldn't turn off.

One peculiar occurence that actually arose after restoring the driver is that when I turn on the Dell GX1, and it asks for the password (the GX1 is set for password protection and multiple users) when I enter it, the monitor flashes black for a second, then it returns to normal as just as windows starts to load. Now I'm probably just being paranoid when I ask this, but is it something to worry about?

Last, but not least, I bring some more good news. A while back (about 5 or 6 months I think) I downloaded the trial/demo version of System Mechanic 4.0e from tucows.com, this was a long while back, because as you know there's no ISP anymore... But one of the last things I did while there was one, was to get that program. Ironically enough, it needed 32-bit color to funtion. The good news is that with the 32-bit color now restored, I tried out the demo, and it works. It was only supposed to work for 30 days, but I guess those 30 start counting down from the time you first launch it (which I couldn't before).

System Mechanic has some wonderful tools, I'm sure you're familiar with the program? I still haven't tried most of them, but I just wanted too know if those tools could fix any remaining problems with the Dell GX1, that is to say if there are any left to be worried about.

 

Yes it is very possible. Video driver issues caused me BSOD problems on more than one occasion.

That's good that it seems to have taken care of two problems with one fix.
Yes, it has occured several times for me. It was no big deal usually, just another quirk of windows. Sometimes it would not shut down after a program crashed or after a new hardware was installed.
If you want to force the computer to power off at the safe to power off screen, press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. This will force the power supply to turn off.

As windows loads and initializes, it switches resolutions, and it is normal for the monitor to flash black quickly as it switches.

I would be VERY careful about using System Mechanic or any other registry cleaner. It is true that they can fix some things and clean up your system, but just a little too much and your system will have more problems than you want.
I would say the most important thing you could do now is to back up your computer with a good disk imaging program like ghost8(2003) or Bootit ng.
This way you can restore your computer to its current working state before you "fix it" to the point where it won't work any more.
I have heard about System Mechanic but I have not tried it.
If you decide to use it without making a full backup first (not wise), at the very least use System Mechanic to make a backup of the registry before you make any changes to it. You should also read in the System Mechanic manual the procedure to restore the backup registry if you can no longer load windows. There are one or more threads on Wilders about good Registry Cleaners. Names I hear often are RegSupreme and CrapCleaner although there are others. I haven't used them yet. Even with those, it is important to make a registry backup first. One wrong change in the registry and it's BSOD time. Make sure the programs you choose to run are compatible with Windows 98.

 

Thank you so much for all of your help throughout this thread, and thank you for clearing up those last few questions.

One last tiny thing, when you said not to use any other programs that are not compatible with Windows 98, do you mean ones for other Operating Systems or for other versions of Windows? Because prior to all of the problems, I installed an application that was designed for Windows 95.

It seemed to work okay on Windows 98 though, and to my knowledge, almost all the Windows OS support backwards-compatibility, isn't that correct?

 

I know I'm not the one you were directing this to, but I believe its to not install anything for say, XP or 2000 on a 98 machine, as it can cause problems (Though most of the half-way decently coded XP/2000-only programs won't even attempt to install on a 98 machine.) - its fine to install a program for Windows ME (Millennium, not to be confused with Windows 2000 - 2 entirely different OSes, Windows ME is essentially 98SE with some interface enhancements, and a bit more unstable.) or to install any program for 98/98SE, or a program for 95, or even Win 3.11, I've installed alot of programs back when I use to use 98SE, and never had a problem, I did, however, have driver problems such as you have (Mine was with a modem, I upgraded the driver, and when it wouldn't work I couldn't get the old driver back on as it wanted the new one. - Later on I found out the driver I installed was a XP/2K driver, thus is why it wouldn't work.) - Anyways, I'm sure if you're running Windows 98SE (Second Edition) that you'll be able to run 99.99% of all Windows ME/98(SE)/95/3.11 program.

 

Well said Comp01. That is exactly what was meant.
Most 95 programs should work fine with 98. Maybe a poorly coded program could cause problems (like disk utilities and the like), but it is rare.

ZeldaManiac44,

You're very welcome. Glad you got it going again!

 

Comp01, that's exactly what I thought myself, thank you for confirming my assumptions.

And that basically concludes the thread!

I will make a final note that ironically enough, when my uncle bought a GX150 (as discussed on the first page here) I went into Windows XP's Help Menu and there was a sort of Wizard specifically for display related problems. A similar Wizard to this one is contained in Windows 98, but doen't say anything about my symptoms. The one in XP however, had a checklist for all the symptoms I was having on Windows 98, on the GX1. One of possible fixes it gave were step-by-step instructions on going into the change Device Driver Wizard and reinstalling the driver.

I guess what's funny here is that perhaps other people have had these exact same symptoms, they might've notified Microsoft, which is why the solution appeared in the more recent version of Windows. And of course the irony is that those driver problems are probably more likely to occur in Windows 98, than in Windows XP.

So if anyone, anyone at all, has a problems were the symptoms are that the driver seems to be corrupt or gives an "Driver uninstalled" message in the System Information program, then I reccomend they see this article. At the page, scroll down to where it says "Windows 98 and Windows Me" follow the instructions up to Step 6 then, instead of selecting "(Standard Display Types)" selct the name of the manufacturer of your device driver (not the hardware device having problems) and proceed to select your driver's model/name in the "Models" box. Follow Steps 8 and 9 in the hyperlinked article, click "Next" and "Next" and then click "Finish".

This is simply a variation of what you told me to do Devinco, and like I've said I couldn't have done it without your advice as well as the above.

This thread may be dead, but I'll stick around the forums, and I'll probably see you again so until then, bye.