Lost Video Drivers

I am running into a problem which appears to remove or scramble my video drivers, limiting me to default settings and low res 16 color mode. The problem first happened when an old dos based program was run on the computer, upon exiting the dos program. I then started getting error screens upon boot up telling me that I needed to reset my video to 256 colors or more, however when I tried this and rebooted I get the error message that says that there is a problem or incompatability with my hardware or settings. I tried deleting out the old video drivers from the controll panel/video page and also the software remove page from controll panel/addremove software, and reinstalling them, with the same results. I suspect that they are not being totally removed. Calling tech support for my computer got the response to do a clean reinstall of windows which I did and which brought the system back to normal. A week later though the same problem occured when running an entirely different dos based program. I know that I can wipe out everything and start over with a clean install of windows, but this is getting old fast. Any ideas on how I can get the video back up to snuff?

The system is a Duron 800MHZ with 128m memory, onboard video S3 Pro Savage KM133. Motherboard is K7VMA, operating system win98v2.


Thanks in advance for any help or ideas.

 

First off, you must be starting the DOS-based games from a DOS Window (starting the games incorrectly), eg, going Start; Programs; MSDOS Prompt and starting from that [C] Prompt.

If you using Win98 you have to start the game from true DOS by restaring in MS-DOS Mode, then starting the game or in either Win98 or WinMe, restarting using a Windows Startup disk then switching to the directory or CDROM drive [E] and starting from there.

Starting from a DOS Window will cause you problems!

I apologise for stating something you already know!


You can get the video drivers/install program from the computer makers website or recover CD and re-install the drivers in SafeMode - Right-click an open space on your desktop; Choose Properties; Click the Settings tab; Click the Advanced button; Click the Adapter tab, the refresh rate should be set to Optimal; Click the Change button and point the wizard to the location of the drivers you unzipped or select the appropriate driver by manufacturer, consult the computer maker's technical support for the appropriate video adapter.

 

Thanks for the reply. I went through the steps you mentioned to uninstall and reinstall but I end up at the same basic place, error messages stating that my settings are incorrect or incompatable with my hardware. It is as if I am not quite fully uninstalling the video files or not fully installing them on the reinstall. I can get to the point where I see no mention of my card or its software in the system display adapter settings, or listed in programs under controll panel/software uninstall. When rebooted the system finds the card and goes through the prompting process for the video driver disk and appears to install the drivers properly, and reboots and then I am back at square 1. Going to monitor/video settings and setting it for either 256 or the next higher setting and then rebooting when prompted. System reboots and I get the same error messages again. I know how a dog feels chasing its tail.

I did take an old hard drive that I had and formatted it, and put it in the system replacing the existing drive and installed win 98 and the video drivers, no problem. Had the full resolution of the vid card as before the problems started. Hooked the original hard drive in as a secondary, non bootable drive and everything is fine, so long as I boot from the newly formatted drive, so I know the hardware is fine, and could completely reinstall windows and be up and going without any of my files which I would loose in the process. Also, the system did not come with a recovery disk, and I have no back up system (yes I know I should but I don't and this is why I can't simply reinstall everything).

I know it is confusing diagnosing a machine you don't have in front of you and I appreciate your suggestions. I am just exploring all possabilities before going the reformat/reinstall route.

Thanks......Mark