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SUMMARY
This article describes how to troubleshoot video display problems or error
messages relating to the video display driver when you are starting or
using Windows 95/98/Me.
MORE INFORMATION
Video problems that occur when Windows is started normally, but do not
occur when Windows is started in Safe mode are usually related to the
display driver that Windows is attempting to use. To determine whether
you are using a Windows 3.1, or Windows 95/98/Me video driver, follow these
steps:
- Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to open the System.ini file in
the Windows folder.
- In the [Boot] section, search for the "Display=" line. If this line
reads anything other than the following line, the driver you are using
is designed for Windows 3.1 (or an earlier version of Windows):
Display.drv=Pnpdrvr.drv
If you are using a video driver designed for Windows 95/98/Me, go
to the "Advanced Graphics Settings" section in this article. Otherwise,
continue with the following section.
Windows 3.1 Display Drivers
If no Windows 95/98 display driver is available for your video
adapter, try using the Windows 3.1 drivers available from the adapter's
manufacturer. Consult the documentation included with that driver for
information about how to install the driver.
NOTE: If you use a Windows 3.1 display driver in Windows 95/98/Me, you cannot
use new Graphics Device Interface (GDI) features such as:
- Animated cursors. For information about using animated cursors, please
see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q123334
TITLE : Requirements for Animated Cursors
- Dynamic resolution changes. In many circumstances, you can change the
video resolution in Windows 95/98/Me without restarting Windows. If you
change the color depth or the video driver you are using, you must
restart Windows.
- VGA fallback mode. If Windows detects a problem with the video card
or video driver, it restarts with the VGA driver.
- The Windows 95/98 virtual flat frame buffer device (Vflatd.vxd).
Vflatd.vxd provides a frame buffer that can be up to 1 MB in size.
Windows 3.1 video drivers are limited to a 64K frame buffer that affects
your available system resources.
If the Windows 3.1 display driver does not work properly in Windows 95/98/Me,
use the standard VGA driver included with Windows 95/98/Me. To do so, use the
appropriate method:
Windows 95:
- Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-
click Display.
- Click the Settings tab, and then click Change Display Type.
- Click the Change button in the Adapter Type section, and then click
Show All Devices.
- In the Manufacturers box, click (Standard Display Types).
- In the Models box, click Standard Display Adapter (VGA), click OK,
and then click Close.
- Click Close.
Windows 98/Me:
- Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-
click Display.
- Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
- Click the Adapter tab, and then click Change.
- Click Next, click "Display a list of all the drivers in a specific
location, so you can select the driver you want," and then click Next.
- Click Show All Devices.
- In the Manufacturers box, click (Standard Display Types).
- In the Models box, click Standard Display Adapter (VGA), click OK,
and then click Next.
- Click Next, click Next, and then click Finish.
- Click Close, click Close again, and then click Yes to restart your
computer.
If you continue to experience problems, continue with the following
section.
Advanced Graphics Settings
Windows 95/98/Me has a built-in method for troubleshooting video problems.
There is a slider you can adjust to change the way Windows uses the video
card. It is a good idea to start with the setting on the right (the Full
setting) and move the slider one setting to the left until you find the
setting that works best. To use the slider to change the way Windows uses
the video card, follow these steps:
- In Control Panel, double-click System.
- Click the Performance tab, and then click the Graphics.
- Note that the Hardware Acceleration slider has four settings (Full,
Most, Basic, and None). Each of these settings is described below.
- Full
This is the default setting and allows for full hardware
acceleration.
- Most:
This setting adds the following items:
- SWCursor=1 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.
Setting SWCursor to 1 disables the hardware cursor.
NOTE: This setting is similar to using the /Y switch with some
versions of the MS-DOS-level Microsoft Mouse driver.
The Most setting applies to Western Digital (WD) or S3-compatible
drivers. If you have problems with the way the mouse pointer appears
on the screen, try this setting.
- Basic:
This setting adds the following items:
- SafeMode=1 to the [Windows] section of the Win.ini file.
Setting SafeMode to 1 allows for basic acceleration only (for
example, pattern bit block transfer [bitblt] and screen-to-screen
bitblt).
- MMIO=0 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.
Setting MMIO to 0 disables memory-mapped I/O for S3-compatible
drivers.
- SWCursor=1 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.
Setting SWCursor to 1 disables the hardware cursor.
Try the Basic setting if your computer seems to stop responding
(hang) randomly and you have an S3-compatible video driver.
- None:
This setting adds the following items:
- SafeMode=2 to the [Windows] section of the Win.ini file.
Setting SafeMode to 2 disables all video card acceleration (for
example, the GDI calls the device-independent bitmap [DIB] engine
directly for screen drawing, rather than using the display
driver).
- MMIO=0 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.
Setting MMIO to 0 disables memory-mapped I/O for S3-compatible
drivers.
- SWCursor=1 to the [Display] section of the System.ini file.
Setting SWCursor to 1 disables the hardware cursor.
Try the None setting if your computer seems to hang randomly, you
have an S3-compatible video driver, and the Basic setting does not
resolve the problem.
If you continue to experience problems, continue with the following
section.
Problems Changing Color Depth
If you experience problems changing color depth on your computer, for example, cannot select anything other than 256 colors, there might be a problem with your display adapter driver. For additional information about troubleshooting video problems, click the article number below
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q131806 Windows 95/98: How to Install or Change a Display Driver
To ensure that you are using the correct display adapter driver, contact your hardware manufacturer.
Monitors
Use the following steps to verify that your monitor is selected correctly
in Windows.
WARNING: It is possible to cause damage to your monitor if you select a
monitor type that exceeds the capabilities of your monitor. Consult the
monitor's documentation or manufacturer for specific information about its
capabilities.
Windows 95:
- Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-
click Display.
- Click the Settings tab, and then click Change Display Type.
- Click the Change button in the Monitor Type section, and then click
Show All Devices.
- In the Manufacturers box, click the manufacturer of your monitor.
NOTE: If your monitor's manufacturer is not listed, click (Standard
Monitor Types).
- In the Models box, click the monitor you are using, click OK, and
then click Close.
- Click OK.
Windows 98:
- Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-
click Display.
- Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
- Click the Monitor tab, and then click Change.
- In the Manufacturers box, click the manufacturer of your monitor.
NOTE: If your monitor's manufacturer is not listed, click (Standard
Monitor Types).
- In the Models box, click the monitor you are using, click OK, and
then click OK again.
- Click OK.
If you continue to experience problems, continue with the following
section.
Eliminate Memory Conflicts
Determine whether the problem is a result of a conflicting driver in
memory. For information about how to do so, please see the following
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Article-ID: Q136337
Title : Troubleshooting Windows 95 Startup Problems and Error Messages
If you continue to experience problems, continue with the following
section.
Verify Valid Driver Files
To verify that the display adapter driver files are valid, use the
appropriate method:
Windows 95:
Run Windows 95 Setup again and choose the Verify option when you are
prompted. The Verify option causes Windows 95 to check all files and
replace any that are missing or damaged.
Windows 98:
Run the Windows 98 System File Checker tool. To start the System File
Checker tool, click Start, click Run, type "sfc.exe" (without quotation
marks) in the Open box, and then click OK.
For information about how to use the System File Checker tool to extract
a file, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type "system file"
without quotation marks), double-click the "System File Checker" topic,
click Using System File Checker and then click Display.
If you continue to experience problems, continue with the following
section.
Contact the Manufacturer of the Display Adapter
If none of these troubleshooting steps correct the problem, contact the
display adapter's manufacturer for information about obtaining an updated
Windows 95/98 driver.
Unable to Adjust Display Settings
If you are unable to change your display settings, the display adapter may be corrupted. Try the following steps to resolve this issue:
1. Open System Properties in Control Panel and click the Hardware Profiles tab. Highlight the hardware profile that is marked (current) and click copy, then enter a name for the new profile such as "Test."
2. Reboot the computer (click Start, Shutdown and Restart) and press F8 when you see the "Starting Windows" prompt. Choose Safe Mode from the Startup Menu.
3. You will be prompted to choose a hardware profile to boot into. Choose the "Test" profile and allow the computer to boot into Windows.
NOTE: This hardware profile will allow you to make changes to Device Manager without damaging the original hardware configuration.
4. Open System Properties again and click the Device Manager tab.
5. Click the plus sign next to Display Adapters to view the list of device drivers.
6. Click the display adapter that is listed and click the remove button. Choose OK when you receive the "Warning: You are about to remove this device from your system" prompt.
7. If there are multiple display drivers listed, do the same steps for each device.
8. Close System Properties, then click Start, Shutdown and Restart to reboot the computer.
9. When you receive the Hardware Profile prompt again, choose "Test". Windows should detect a display adapter on bootup and either prompt you to restart the computer to complete the device installation, or prompt you to provide a manufacturer disk to install the drivers.
10. When you reboot again, choose the Test profile again and try adjusting the display settings from the Settings tab of Display Properties in Control Panel.
11. If your issue is resolved, then you may delete the Test hardware profile from System Properties and perform the same set of steps to remove and redetect the display driver when you reboot into your original hardware configuration.
12. If these steps do not correct the problem, then remove the Test hardware profile and see the section entitled "Contact the Manufacturer of the Display Adapter."
REFERENCES
For additional information about display adapters and switches that
correct some display problems, please see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q124267
TITLE : Display Adapter Information and Useful Switches
Additional query words:
HWDISTS 98 tshoot splash screen color depth 256 w95hwfaq
Keywords : kbdisplay kbhw kbtshoot win95 win98 win98se kbHardware kbWinME
Issue type : kbinfo
Technology : kbWinMEsearch kbWin95search kbWin98search kbWin98SEsearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbWin98 kbWinME kbWin98SE
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