View Full Version : I need some computer help
my desktop, which is a Dell dimension 4600 took a crap...it always seems my computers end up with problems after my wife uses them, but that is neither here nor there[NoEvil]
At first I thought the screen was going out but it is only a 2 month old flat screen so I am pretty sure that isn't it.
when I would move the mouse the screen would kind of pixelate on the horizontal axis (like 1/4'' thick lines going across), then it would just go black, then come back.
i thought it might have been the screen or the cable, I checked the cable and it was tight.
I had to leave on a trip, so now I am back and the computer won't really start and goes directly to a black screen, then a blue screen comes up.
the blue screen says the following:
caused by the following file NV4_disp
The device driver got stuck in an infinite loop. this usually indicates a problem with the device itself or with the device driver programming the hardware correctly
***stop: 0x000000EA
0x82cc4c18, 0x82cb3590, 0xba6f7cb4, 0x00000001
maybe it is my driver, or video card?
any help would be greatly appreciated.
I really like this computer, it does what i need, I don't really want to spend money on a new desktop but if this can't be fixed semi-cheaply I guess that is my only option.
my other question would be how do i get my documents and files off the hard drive if I need to get a new computer?
thanks for the help
NV4 is a Nvidia display file... do you have a Nvidia graphics card? It may be bad...
Before you buy a new one, might want to try to update or install new driver if you can get it to cooperate long enough before it blue screens...
I don't know jack about comps though, I'm sure someone will be along shortly..
As far as getting your files off... just get a thumbdrive and put everything you want to keep on it. Back it up at least in two different areas.
It doesn't sound like you need a new computer. Certain models of Nvidia graphics/video cards and their drivers have been having creating problems including the looping blue screen of death. On Windows it could be a driver or hardware problem. If you are running Windows or Linux with a 64bit processor, it could be a BIOS problem.
Try to troubleshoot your problem.
Depending on the specific problem, you may have to use a combination of the following steps:
1. Driver Problems:
Update the card's drivers.
(New updates can be found on Nvidia.com.)
2. Driver Problems:
Uninstall the card's drivers.
(Start --> control panel --> add or remove programs --> Nvidia drivers --> DISPLAY DRIVERS ONLY.)
3. BIOS Problem:
Deactivate APIC.
(Enter your BIOS on start up --> turn off APIC stuff in the BIOS --> reinstall Windows if needed.)
4. Hardware Problems:
Buy a new graphics/video card.
5. New Computer:
You could just buy a new computer if all else fails and you do not want to spend the time troubleshooting your computer or the money to have a technical service fix it. In this case, keep your old hard drive and files and connect it to your new computer as a second slave drive so that you have access to your old files.
These are only a few of the possible solutions. Be sure to checkout technical sites, blogs, and forums by simply searching for something along the lines of "NV4_disp" or "NV4_disp infinite loop" in Google.
Hope this helps!
steveopia
08-25-2010, 11:21
^^^ Listen to this guy.
Gritty is pretty much spot on. I'd add that preventative maintenance with opening the case and using compressed air to blow all the dust out of the fans can help extend the lifetime of computers. Make sure to prevent the fan from free-spinning when you clean it.
H.
Gritty is pretty much spot on. I'd add that preventative maintenance with opening the case and using compressed air to blow all the dust out of the fans can help extend the lifetime of computers. Make sure to prevent the fan from free-spinning when you clean it.
H.
I have done that in the last 6 or 8 months so i know it was clean on the inside.
I just think the age of the computer is getting to it and things are starting to go.
does leaving it on all the time create an issue? at work those are on all the time and seem to be okay, but they are also new and have the support of an IT department.
It doesn't sound like you need a new computer. Certain models of Nvidia graphics/video cards and their drivers have been having creating problems including the looping blue screen of death. On Windows it could be a driver or hardware problem. If you are running Windows or Linux with a 64bit processor, it could be a BIOS problem.
Try to troubleshoot your problem.
Depending on the specific problem, you may have to use a combination of the following steps:
1. Driver Problems:
Update the card's drivers.
(New updates can be found on Nvidia.com.)
2. Driver Problems:
Uninstall the card's drivers.
(Start --> control panel --> add or remove programs --> Nvidia drivers --> DISPLAY DRIVERS ONLY.)
3. BIOS Problem:
Deactivate APIC.
(Enter your BIOS on start up --> turn off APIC stuff in the BIOS --> reinstall Windows if needed.)
4. Hardware Problems:
Buy a new graphics/video card.
5. New Computer:
You could just buy a new computer if all else fails and you do not want to spend the time troubleshooting your computer or the money to have a technical service fix it. In this case, keep your old hard drive and files and connect it to your new computer as a second slave drive so that you have access to your old files.
These are only a few of the possible solutions. Be sure to checkout technical sites, blogs, and forums by simply searching for something along the lines of "NV4_disp" or "NV4_disp infinite loop" in Google.
Hope this helps!
how do i got about doing any of this without being able to see what I am doing? the screen is completely black other than when the blue screen comes up. even during startup nothing comes up.
will it run in safe mode? which F key is that? I thought it was F8 and tried that but the same thing happened and the screen is black then the blue screen comes up
forgot to mention, I am running windows, I think it is windows 2000, but might be 98.
The computer is most likely stuck in the loop because the graphics card still has power to it. If your computer fails to load Windows from a cold boot, try the following steps:
Turn off the computer --> unplug it --> hold the power button down for 30 secs --> then restart it. (This is typically used for laptops, but it also works with desktops).
That should remove any residual electricity from the power supply. You could also try removing the CMOS battery on the motherboard and repeating those steps if just clearing the power supply does not work. The battery should be a CR2032 visible on the motherboard.
If that does not work, try to remove and reset the graphics card in its slot on the motherboard.
Good thinking with safe mode. That should work well once the computer starts up. F8 will bring up the start up options and safe mode.
BPTactical
08-25-2010, 14:30
Computer problems suck for sure, I have been battling them for a week now. I was contemplating a new machine and if you go that route look at www.tigerdirect.com and www.newegg.com. Look at their refurbished machines, they are only 3-400 bucks and unless your machine is under a year old it more than likely will outperform what you have now.
I got a chance to play around a bit on an Emachine that my neighbor got a few months ago from tigerdirect as a refurb for 369.99. It seems like a great Pentium based machine and runs well from what I can tell.(What the hell do I know, I'm a gunsmith, not a compugeek but it runs better than what I have now) If I have to put more than 200.00 out to get mine running well I am seriously considering that route.
clublights
08-25-2010, 15:27
does that machine have a " on board" video ? if so shut down pop out the vid card hook the monitor to the onboard video, restart download and install new drivers for the nvidia card install those, then reinstall the nvidia card. if not .. see if you have a friend that can loan ya an ATI vid card for a couple hours and use it to do the same thing.
does that machine have a " on board" video ? if so shut down pop out the vid card hook the monitor to the onboard video, restart download and install new drivers for the nvidia card install those, then reinstall the nvidia card. if not .. see if you have a friend that can loan ya an ATI vid card for a couple hours and use it to do the same thing.
I am pretty sure it does not have one of those.
I will try to reset the power supply and see if that helps anything.
I have been looking at new computers and would really prefer to see what I can do to fix this one.
And I checked, it has Windows XP.
clublights
08-25-2010, 18:55
I am pretty sure it does not have one of those.
I will try to reset the power supply and see if that helps anything.
I have been looking at new computers and would really prefer to see what I can do to fix this one.
And I checked, it has Windows XP.
I looked up the specs on your machine ... yeah no on board........ it's an AGP slot so you could buy a new ATI card if you think the card is dead ( 50-100 bucks for one better then what you have ) or get an nvidia card if you think the card is crapping out instead of the drivers... but I think it may be drivers. so borrowing a card ( ATI) would your best bet for cheap .. I'd offer but all I have are mac's and my cards won't work for ya :-\
Anyone got an ATI card to loan em ?
I just pulled it apart, unhooked everything I could, blew it out, put it all back together, tried the 30 second power button hold when it was completely unpowered.
still the same thing.
If anyone has an extra card and could lead me in the right direction as to where the card is at and how to replace it I would appreciate it.
if it is the drivers, is there anything that can be done or do i need a new computer or how hard would it be to get a new driver(s) and what kind of cost would I be looking at?
thanks for all the help!
try to run in in "Safe Mode" if it loads --> delete/uninstall video card driver --> restart. If it restarts --> try to update video driver. I don't know if this gonna work for you, but it helped me with almost the same problem.
ruthabagah
08-25-2010, 20:13
Next time get a mac.
Next time get a mac.
Those are priced liked there's no tomorrow.
theGinsue
08-25-2010, 21:15
Drivers are free (99.99% of the time) and are available online.
Yeah, I know that you can't get them downloaded from THAT computer, and loading them without having video is impossible.
I'm almost thinking that borrowing (or buying) a generic video card that the computer should already have onboard might be the way to go, but then again, I could be totally off base. These other guys seem to really know more about PC's than I do (not too hard I might add!).
I wish I could offer a certain solution, but I'm lost.
I've got a computer on a shelf in the basement that the ON-BOARD video card went out & blew out my flat panel monitor with it. I don't know how to install drivers for a new card without having video to see what to do. So, there it sits....
clublights
08-25-2010, 21:26
if safe mode don't work ....try loading from your windows XP install disc ( or the recovery CD's your computer came with.... if it works .. then you know it's the drivers... if it craps out the card is dead.
I'm not much of a windows guy.. but I think you can then delete the drivers or at least reinstall them once you get the windows CD booted..
Byte Stryke
08-26-2010, 00:20
Next time get a mac.
Pshh.
you mean an Intel PC running an abortion of a *nix Kernel for 5 times the price because its "Shiny"?
[ROFL1]
WAAAAY back in the day I might have agreed with you.
Now, notsomuch.
This is a driver issue pure and simple. If you've got internet access, just go download the latest NVidia driver, boot into safe mode - When the system says Starting Windows hold the F8 key - start safe mode with networking, make sure you uninstall the old driver first, restart, go back into safe mode, load new driver, restart normally.
If you are not even seeing the start up "Boot" info... or unable to get into the BIOS (for Dell's it's typically F2 when the machine is first starting up), THEN you have a hardware issue.
Alternately, you can see if you can get into Windows after you've removed the driver from safe mode. You actually should be able to get the OS started on just the generic video driver. If you can, then you don't need to load back into safe mode to load the new driver, just load it from Windows normally.
Baring all of that, someone will have an old video card to give you. I've ditched all my old PC stuff, but Microcenter in DTC will have some $20-40 cards that will do you just peachy.
All of this has been covered, but I didn't see where anyone was really being clear on how to do this task specifically.
These things are new, so I have no experience with them. They probably require USB2, as well. It's a USB to Video plug, essentially a small videocard in a shell.
http://sewelldirect.com/USB-to-DVI-External-Video-Card-High-Resolution.asp
The performance is probably much worse than a real video card, but if you're just running normal web pages and stuff, I'm guessing it works.
H.
try to run in in "Safe Mode" if it loads --> delete/uninstall video card driver --> restart. If it restarts --> try to update video driver. I don't know if this gonna work for you, but it helped me with almost the same problem.
it won't even start up in safe mode, it starts and shows windows XP, then the screen turns all black, only the mouse arrow shows, then the thinking hour glass shows, then it turns up the blue screen.
if safe mode don't work ....try loading from your windows XP install disc ( or the recovery CD's your computer came with.... if it works .. then you know it's the drivers... if it craps out the card is dead.
I'm not much of a windows guy.. but I think you can then delete the drivers or at least reinstall them once you get the windows CD booted..
I don't think I have those CDs. the computer is probably 8 years old at least.
This is a driver issue pure and simple. If you've got internet access, just go download the latest NVidia driver, boot into safe mode - When the system says Starting Windows hold the F8 key - start safe mode with networking, make sure you uninstall the old driver first, restart, go back into safe mode, load new driver, restart normally.
If you are not even seeing the start up "Boot" info... or unable to get into the BIOS (for Dell's it's typically F2 when the machine is first starting up), THEN you have a hardware issue.
Alternately, you can see if you can get into Windows after you've removed the driver from safe mode. You actually should be able to get the OS started on just the generic video driver. If you can, then you don't need to load back into safe mode to load the new driver, just load it from Windows normally.
Baring all of that, someone will have an old video card to give you. I've ditched all my old PC stuff, but Microcenter in DTC will have some $20-40 cards that will do you just peachy.
All of this has been covered, but I didn't see where anyone was really being clear on how to do this task specifically.
I will give all this a shot tonight and see what I can come up with and report some reults
If you continue to have trouble, let me know, bro. I can take it for a weekend or so and see what sort of magic I can do.
This is a driver issue pure and simple. If you've got internet access, just go download the latest NVidia driver, boot into safe mode - When the system says Starting Windows hold the F8 key - start safe mode with networking, make sure you uninstall the old driver first, restart, go back into safe mode, load new driver, restart normally.
If you are not even seeing the start up "Boot" info... or unable to get into the BIOS (for Dell's it's typically F2 when the machine is first starting up), THEN you have a hardware issue.
Alternately, you can see if you can get into Windows after you've removed the driver from safe mode. You actually should be able to get the OS started on just the generic video driver. If you can, then you don't need to load back into safe mode to load the new driver, just load it from Windows normally.
Baring all of that, someone will have an old video card to give you. I've ditched all my old PC stuff, but Microcenter in DTC will have some $20-40 cards that will do you just peachy.
All of this has been covered, but I didn't see where anyone was really being clear on how to do this task specifically.
I am getting the "boot" screen. i now got F8 to work for me, i went into safe mode with networking, uninstalled the Nvidia drivers, I do have internet access, so i downloaded the latest one (I had it search my machine) and installed.
I just booted it back up in standard configuration and it is still kicking in an out of the black screen. it is definitely better than before since it will take me to the home screen and show my background and the icons, but it goes black, then shows it, then black again.
so I guess that means it is my video card. I am meeting with another member tomorrow so i think we will be able to get me back up and running. I am close, just don't know where the driver is located and what I need to take out and install etc...
I appreciate the help!
If you continue to have trouble, let me know, bro. I can take it for a weekend or so and see what sort of magic I can do.
I am meeting a guy tomorrow from here and hopefully with his expertise, we can get the problem resolved, if not I will probably take you up on that offer and see what happens![Beer]
I do have an extra video card lying around, as long as your computer supports PCI-e....
have you ever blown the dust & crud out of the CPU heatsink?
Overheating due to a clogged up heatsink/heatsink fan will call all kinds of issues.
Byte Stryke
08-26-2010, 23:44
The computer is probably 8 years old at least.
I do have an extra video card lying around, as long as your computer supports PCI-e....
probably not, I am thinking AGP if not straight up PCI
8 year old dell... hard to tell
[Eek2]
clublights
08-27-2010, 04:26
probably not, I am thinking AGP if not straight up PCI
8 year old dell... hard to tell
[Eek2]
looking up the spec's it's 8x AGP .. or old school PCI of course
Those are priced liked there's no tomorrow.
Yeah, but it'll still be running tomorrow... unlike his PC [Coffee]
8 years?
time for an upgrade
8 years?
time for an upgrade
I wouldn't mind an upgrade but prefer to let it stay alive if possible. I don't need a new computer. I NEED some more ammo[Tooth]
Byte Stryke
08-27-2010, 10:35
I wouldn't mind an upgrade but prefer to let it stay alive if possible. I don't need a new computer. I NEED some more ammo[Tooth]
^This!
:D
Byte Stryke
08-27-2010, 12:58
Looked it over, cleaned it out, tried a few things, swapped in a different card and it resolved the issue.
Diagnosis, card failure.
no need to replace the whole computer, nice little web surfer.
Looked it over, cleaned it out, tried a few things, swapped in a different card and it resolved the issue.
Diagnosis, card failure.
no need to replace the whole computer, nice little web surfer.
thanks again for your help! I am ordering the card now, hopefully this will be the end of its issues for a while!
Byte Stryke
08-27-2010, 17:57
thanks again for your help! I am ordering the card now, hopefully this will be the end of its issues for a while!
you have the Number
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