PUB98: Troubleshooting Video Problems

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How to Determine Whether Display Driver is Causing a Problem

1. Test the problem in Safe Mode. Start Microsoft Windows 95 in Safe Mode, a diagnostic mode of Windows 95, and attempt to reproduce the problem you are having. To do this, follow these steps:
   
   
   1. Click the Start button, and then click Shut Down.
   2. In the Shut Down Windows dialog box, click Restart The Computer.
   3. When you see the "Starting Window 95" message, press F8.
      
      NOTE: If the Windows 95 splash screen appears, repeat steps a through c.
   4. Select the Safe mode option.
      
      -or-
      
      If you are running a shared copy of Microsoft Publisher, select the "Safe mode with network support" option.
      
      Windows 95 will start in Safe Mode without network support. The words "Safe Mode" appear in all four corners of the screen.
   5. Test the problem. If the problem goes away, your video driver may be the cause. When you run Windows in Safe Mode, Windows uses default settings (VGA monitor, no network, Microsoft mouse driver, and the minimum device drivers required to start Windows). Therefore, the problem could be related to any software that extends the functionality of these default settings.
      
      If the problem does not go away, this usually indicates the problem is not related to the video driver or video subsystem.
   6. After you finish this procedure, restart your computer and start Windows as you normally do.
2. Change the display driver to VGA. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Display icon.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Click Change Display Type. Write down all information regarding your current adapter. You will need this information when you restore your original settings.
5. Under Adapter Type, click Change. Click Show All Devices.
6. In the Manufacturers box, click Standard Display Types. This option should be at the top of the Manufacturer's list.
7. In the Models box, click Standard Display Adapter (VGA), and then click OK.
8. Click Close.
9. Click Close again. If you are prompted to restart Windows 95, click Yes.
10. Test the problem. If the problem goes away, your problem is related to your video driver or subsystem.

1. Check for any conflicts in Device Manager. In some cases, a hardware conflict may manifest itself as a video problem.
   
   
   1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
   2. Double-click the System icon.
   3. Click the Device Manager tab.
   4. Look for a problem with any installed device. If there is a problem with a device, you will see one of the following symbols on the device icon:
      
      
      • Black exclamation point (!)
      • Red "X"
      • Blue "i"
      NOTE: Some sound cards and video adapters do not report all the resources they are using to Windows 95, and therefore, cause Device Manager to show only one device in conflict or no conflicts at all. To verify whether this is the case, disable the sound card or use the standard VGA video driver to see if the conflict is resolved. (This is a known problem with S3 video cards and 16-bit Sound Blaster sound cards or sound cards using Sound Blaster emulation for Sound Blaster compatibility.)