Whiteman, Ecro, PD needs help

[Madrun Badrun]

"My computer has been messing up for the last two days and I don't know what's wrong. Yesterday I noticed that when I'd turn it on, it wouldn't start and instead I'd hear this loud fan noise. Sometimes when I was able to get it to turn on I'd get an error screen saying

-Windows shut down to prevent damage to computer...problem seems to be caused by file nv4_disp
-Device driver got stuck in infinite loop

I'd turn it off and then turn it back on after an hour, and sometimes it would come on. But then I noticed the screen was flickering when I moved my mouse. Like, the desktop picture I have would be flickering, and if I pulled up the internet (which actually is down this weekend; I'm at the school library) the browser would do the same thing.

Does anyone know what nv4_disp is, or anything about this issue? I'll probably have to take it in later, but I just wanted to ask the computer gurus here first."  from PD. 

[Phoenix Dark]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160597

I followed the advice given there, but it didn't work. Now no one will help me. Even right now my screen is flickering, and it takes forever to turn on my computer because most of the time it won't boot up; the botton will light up and I'll hear the fan get loud, but nothing comes on the screen

[Van Cruncheon]

nv4_disp is the nVidia display driver. if you can get the screen to show again, go to Device Manager->Display Adapters and uninstall the driver; then DL a new one from nvidia.com (the latest ForceWare drivers) and reinstall.

if the screen does NOT come up again, your video card am probably fucked.

EDIT: read the GAF thread. try installing an earlier driver set from, say, http://www.guru3d.com. what type of video card do you have?

[Phoenix Dark]

Device manager...is that just Control panel>Add/Remove Programs, then remove the display drivers?

[Phoenix Dark]

(I can't edit my posts)

I have a GeForce 6100

[Van Cruncheon]

no

go to control panel->admninistrative tools->computer management->device manager then click on display adapters (expand it with the [+]). right-click on the display adapter listed below it (nVidia GeForce 6100 or whatever), and select uninstall.

[Van Cruncheon]

also HARRY SACRIFICES HIS OWN LIFE TO DESTROY VOLDEMORT

[Phoenix Dark]

As expected, I now have to restart the computer to complete the uninstall process. This hasn't worked all weekend; it'll freeze and I'll manually turn it off by holding down the button. Then whenever I get it to come back on, the problem will probably persist.

I'll try again. If I'm not back on in some time, that means I'm most likely trying to get the damn thing to reboot

[Van Cruncheon]

so restart it in safe mode and install the new driver. that's what safe mode is for.

still, a geforce 6100 is assy assy ass ass. suck $150 worth of cum from your dad's dick and buy a geforce 6600, at the very least.

[Phoenix Dark]

I was able to get it to reboot after a few tries. It seems to be in safe mode right now; I didn't set it up in safe mode, but the res is now 800x600 and when I scroll down pages it sort of...flows like waves or something. Anyway I'm going to download the driver now, and see what happens. Most likely I'll be asked to re-start again

Thank you for the help btw

[CajoleJuice]

Hey, I might as well ask for help in here...

Does anyone have a clue why my laptop would start to lock up while playing basically ANY computer game? After 10-15 minutes of playing Starcraft online it starts to chug at like 2 FPS. It started doing the same with CS:S a while ago (only it would be even worse), but I didn't care all that much. But Starcraft? WTF! It seems to happen so randomly. And if I play for another 5-10 minutes with it chugging like that...it eventually goes back to normal.

[Van Cruncheon]

rules for tech help:

a) post yer pc specs + os installed
b) post any odd boot/noise behaviors, if encountered

[Phoenix Dark]

Ok things seem to be back to normal. I don't see the screen flickering like it did; now it flickers for like a second when I go to a site that loads lots of pics, like ESPN.com. On EB for instance it's not flickering.

I don't know how long this will last though. If it continues, I guess I'll have to take it in. It should still be under warranty, and I'll definitely use my money to upgrade the graphics card plus get some new memory; hopefully I won't have to pay for them to install that stuff while they repair the computer. If not, I can do it myself I guess

[Van Cruncheon]

6100 is probably integrated on the mobo. is your video card an actual card, and if it isn't, do you have an open agp or pci-x slot?

[CajoleJuice]

Will do, good sir. I'm not sure how specific this needs to be though...

Dell Latitude D600
Windows XP Professional SP2
Intel Pentium M 1.6 Ghz
512 MB RAM
ATI Radeon 9000 Mobility Pro (Omega 3.8.252 drivers installed)
40 GB HD (+120 GB external)

Haven't really noticed any weird behavior, although I have a program installed that I use to keep my fan on high speed because it seems that this laptop gets extremely hot.

I'm probably going to buy a new PC soon (I've been saying this for a while now, though) but it'd be nice if I could get at least 9-year-old games to work.

[demi]

My screen sometimes flickers when I'm working in Adobe, but otherwise it's fine. I should probably get teh latest drivers.

[Phoenix Dark]

6100 is probably integrated on the mobo. is your video card an actual card, and if it isn't, do you have an open agp or pci-x slot?

...How do I check something like that?   

edit: it says there's an available PCI express slot. Here's the make:
http://www.e4me.com/products/products.html?prod=T6534

[Van Cruncheon]

hm, that shouldn't chug frickin' starcraft. you MIGHT have spware eating up resources -- look in the systray and the process list for stuff that should nay be there. also, run Spybot and Ad-Aware, and defrag your HD. If you haven't done a fresh format + reinstall in the past year, I'd consider that.

[CajoleJuice]

I JUST reformatted because of that very reason Drinky. I really have no clue what's up.

[Van Cruncheon]

pd, yup, it's integrated. ass! my laptops have faster video! anyhow, you're right, it has a free pci-x slot -- i'd grab a new video card in the $150 range when you get some cash, as ANYTHING you buy at that range will be a massive improvement (and will release some system RAM, to boot). I'd suggest a 6600 or 6800 (or even a 7300) pci-x card.

[Phoenix Dark]

pd, yup, it's integrated. ass! my laptops have faster video! anyhow, you're right, it has a free pci-x slot -- i'd grab a new video card in the $150 range when you get some cash, as ANYTHING you buy at that range will be a massive improvement (and will release some system RAM, to boot). I'd suggest a 6600 or 6800 (or even a 7300) pci-x card.

With respect to the pci slot, is that internal or external? I know I'll have to open the thing up to add the RAM

[Van Cruncheon]

internal. should be the top (left when on the side) slot. it's a trivial thing to install a video card.

[Phoenix Dark]

Which one of these, for instance, would be a good buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&ks=960&st=GeForce&sc=computerSP&cp=1&sp=&qp=ccat01000%23%23-1%23%23-1%7E%7Eq4765466f726365%7E%7Ecpcmcat107700050034%23%231%23%23o%7E%7Enf2%7C%7C2431303020746f20323030&list=y&usc=Computers&nrp=15&iht=n

I'd like one in the $150 range. You mentioned the 6600, and I also see the 8500 GT listed for $150. I'm guessing it's the better card

[Van Cruncheon]

any of them will be a massive improvement. the 8500 is a pretty poor card for dx10, but it's STILL a massive improvement period. go with your heart!

[Phoenix Dark]

Well I better since my brain is fucked when it comes to computers computin