# [SOLVED] possible graphics driver issues



## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

hey guys,

first things first i'm using win7 professional 32-bit, i built the computer from parts several months ago but i'm not particularly tech savvy so bear with me here.

it seems i've run into a problem with my graphics driver, but i'm not entirely convinced that's the problem. when i boot the computer normally explorer.exe doesn't load... at least i think that's what happening - all i get is my desktop image, i can right-click and access desktop personalisation but that's it. ctrl+shift+esc doesn't work, and ctrl+alt+del sends me to a black screen where i can't even see the mouse anymore.

i've tried system repair on startup, system restore, reinstalling my graphics drivers, clean booting, but i always end up looping back to where i started, nothing has been solved and i'm in the same predicament i was two days ago.

now, as a last resort i'll backup my hard drive and simply re-install windows, but i don't have anything on hand to back it up onto so i'm trying to completely exhaust the possibilities before doing that.

thanks for your help, if you can even figure out what the hell is going on that is...


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

i should add, the reason i think it's a problem with my graphics drivers or something related is because that's where the problem seems to have originated, and when i do a clean install of the drivers etc. from safe mode, the desktop will restart as part of the install process and restart into normal where explorer will load normally, but the graphics will be all messed up and as soon as i reboot the computer again i land right back at square one - or worse (black screen of death).

these problems all started happening when i unplugged my computer for a move. naturally, the pc was turned off so i don't see how that could've caused this, but that was the only thing that changed from day to the next.


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

It sounds like you are infected. Some of those symptoms are classic. There's an order to these things.

Can you get to Safe Mode? If so, does it function normally there? While there run chkdsk. Also check Hardware Manager. Enable "show hidden devices". Report any flagged devices, particularly video.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

yes, safe mode is working, though some things like sound aren't working, i don't have much experience with safe mode so i don't know exactly what should and shouldn't be disabled. i tried running a system scan with norton once i got safe mode working but it won't work, it just sits on 'initializing' and goes no further.

chkdsk didn't report anything

the only flagged device is security processor loader driver:

This device is not present, is not working properly, or does not have all its drivers installed. (Code 24)


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*



perfume. said:


> the only flagged device is security processor loader driver:


Security Processor loader Driver - Windows 7 Forums

Is this an Acer computer? This post (above) seems to indicate it's part of the graphics drivers. I'd uninstall the flagged device first and then reboot. If that failed, then I'd uninstall and reinstall the whole graphics driver software.

Next time try "Safe Mode with Networking", and see if you can get an online scan from Eset or Trendmicro's Housecall. Did chkdsk specifically say that it did not find any errors on the drive? If not sure, look under Event Viewer > "Applications".


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

Download this Hardware devices are not working or are not detected in Windows from Microsoft and run it.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

it's custom-built, but i'll ago ahead and try uninstalling and let you know how it goes

chkdsk didn't find any errors, no


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

Did you at least try the Microsoft Fix It? Installing the latest drivers is allways a good idea.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

@amd_man i re-installed the latest drivers multiple times while trying to solve the problem as well as the older drivers from cd, nothing worked

i just uninstalled the graphics driver and restarted the computer, the problem is fixed as far as that is concerned. i'll just reinstall the drivers now and see what happens...


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## Amd_Man (Jan 27, 2009)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

I gave the link to fix this "security processor loader driver".


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

yeah, i'd already done what proxyman said before i saw your post, i'm doing fixit now


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

progress: windows liveupdate reinstalled the graphics driver once i restarted, i restarted again to apply the changes and the same issues came up as i described in the op. i unistalled it again, restarted again, and i'm now running fixit.... 

fixit just finished, it said it couldn't fix the graphics driver and that i needed to reinstall it in order to fix it... i know where that's going to end up though.

so i'm at a dead end it seems

i guess there's something physically wrong with the card?


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

Maybe. I've seen several instances where the MS Update driver breaks the functional hardware. If you ever get/got the graphics working, leave that driver alone.

What about flagged devices in Hardware Manager? Under hidden devies also. Is the problem centered only on the graphics?


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

Sounds like Windows UPdate is using the wrong driver...you need to uninstall that and then reboot and install the newest driver from the card maker site. Never use Windows Update drivers for audio or video drivers, I have seen this issue countless times when those are used.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

there isn't anything flagged anymore, having double checked. before it was only the security processor loader driver, but that's fixed. currently i've just disabled the graphics driver and i can run the computer fine outside of safe mode. i also had already installed the driver downloaded from nvidia.com in trying to fix it earlier so that isn't the issue unfortunately.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

interesting... i just tried again to install the graphics driver from nvidia, and here's what got during the system check (hadn't got this the other time):

'NVIDIA Installer cannot continue.

This graphics driver could not find compatible graphics hardware.'


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

You might want to recheck what your graphics card is. It might not be what you think it is.

Run this, and attach results to your next post:

Unknown Device Identifier - Freeware Download


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

Take the card out of the tower and if what it is isn't obvious, Google the sets of numbers on it until you come up with the proper answer.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

why is my graphics card be showing up as an unknown device?

turns out it's the same card as what i thought it was. i'd actually already checked this by using nvidia's auto-detect to make sure that i was getting the right driver.

wish any of this made sense T_T


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

It sure doesn't make sense. Maybe run the newest chipset driver first from mobo maker website, then run the Nvidia driver?


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*



Proxyman said:


> Run this, and attach results to your next post:
> 
> Unknown Device Identifier - Freeware Download





perfume. said:


> why is my graphics card be showing up as an unknown device? wish any of this made sense T_T


What does "unknown device identifier" have to say about it ? Any chance you are infected? I've had situations where an infection is hidden as a device driver, which then interfere's with another legitimate driver. Any symptoms of infection?


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## oscer1 (Jan 27, 2010)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

you can try this and see if it loads the driver
download the driver for the video card. delete any video drivers that are installed reboot start tapping f8 after splash screen and before windows loads to get to boot options on the list choose enable low-resolution video and hit enter. then when windows loads turn off any virus protection software and install the driver you dowloaded see if that works.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*



Rich-M said:


> It sure doesn't make sense. Maybe run the newest chipset driver first from mobo maker website, then run the Nvidia driver?


alright, i did both those things and they both installed perfectly. except... nothing's fixed.

device identifier doesn't have anything to say about it i don't think, here's a screen if that helps: tinyurl.com/3nxsbem

i'll try restarting into low-res right now and let you know how it goes


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

okay now this is interesting... i booted up in low-res mode and everything is working a-ok, my graphics card is enabled and everything, and once i got in i manually changed the resolution to be 1920x1080 which is my monitor's native settings. so is it essentially running exactly as it would be if it were behaving normally and would start up without me using low-res boot? or is there something else that was changed? because i'm almost positive if i restarted the computer right now without using low-res boot it wouldn't work that way. if that makes sense.

i guess what i'm asking is, if i just boot my computer using low-res mode every time and just manually change the resolution each time i start it up, will there be anything different about how the computer runs?

the graphics card is no longer highlighted red with unknown device identifier, and everything appears to be running perfectly in every other way.

having said all that, should i go ahead and do what you said with turning off virus protection and reinstalling the driver anyway and see what happens?

the inconvenience of having to boot using low-res and changing it back to widescreen every time i boot up is fairly light compared to inconvenience of having a card that doesn't work at all


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

something else interesting.. i tested my card on a video game and the game gave me a warning on startup that it didn't recognise any graphics hardware on my computer.. even though the card was obviously running, the graphics were far too clean for the card to have not been working.

nevertheless, i went ahead and took the next step, which was turning off anti-virus and installing the driver in low-resolution video, but unfortunately the installation failed inexplicably (this same failure has happened previously). here's a screen, looks like graphics driver is the culprit: Imageshack - installfail.png

i tried again a few times and it failed every time. sometimes the installer fails, sometimes it can't even pass system check, other times it installs fine. it's completely random as far as i can tell..


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## Proxyman (May 30, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

I wanted the output of unknown device identifier attached to the post as a text file, not a link to a screen shot.


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## oscer1 (Jan 27, 2010)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

another thought is have you tried this card in a different computer? i would try it in another machine and see if the card works their.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

that'd be a good idea, unfortunately all of my friends either use macs or laptops

if i can reinstall the driver and see it flagged, i'll be sure to get you that text file proxyman, sorry

i might just end up seeing if i claim warranty on it and get a new one.


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## perfume. (Jul 24, 2011)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

hey guys, guess what ended up fixing it?

i plugged the graphics card into a different slot (the motherboard has 2)

wow, right? i know.

fml


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: possible graphics driver issues*

Great why not mark this solved in the first post under "Thread Tools" in the first post.
Watch the system now though if you have a bad pci-x slot, there will be more issues to follow.


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