[Guy in Brooklyn]

Would be immensely grateful for expert help: I'm running Windows XP and repeatedly encountering a blue screen indicating an nv4_disp error. I've turned the computer on and off numerous times, and each time the blue screen has returned. I'm not able even to get into Windows. (I'm writing this post from my computer at work.)

Having done a Google search, I gather that nv4_disp is a driver associated with the NVIDIA graphics card. I see as well that some people have had success uninstalling and then reinstalling the graphics card, but I'm not able to do this, as I can't boot into Windows. Is this in fact the best route to resolving this problem, and if so, how can I access Windows? Thank you.

Edited by Guy in Brooklyn, 17 August 2006 - 01:16 PM.

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Welcome to G2G

First, go to Nvidias website & download the latest driver for the video card:

http://www.nvidia.co...ers/drivers.asp

(you need to know which card you have but if in doubt, download all of them - about 5 in total).
Copy the driver to a CD or flash stick etc so you can transfer it to the other machine later.

You should be able to access Windows in safe mode :

1. Power on the system.

2. As soon as the first screen disappears (i.e the system info+memory check+drive detection screen OR the manufacturers splash screen in the case of Dell, HP etc) press the F8 key a few times. This must be done before Windows starts to load

3. This should bring up the boot menu. Select the SAFE MODE option from the menu.

4. This will load windows using only basic generic drivers for the hardware. The screen may look fairly weird due to XP using the basic VGA video card driver instead of the Nvidia one

---------------------------------------------
*If you weren't sure which particular Nvidia card you had when you downloaded the latest driver, then perform this extra step:

5. go to start->Run.. type devmgmt.msc <OK>
Locate the display adapters branch & expand it. Your video card should be listed there
-----------------------------------------------

6. Go to Start->Settings->control panel->add/remove programs
Locate the 'Nvidia driver' entry & uninstall. (Note, if you have other Nvidia hardware, make sure you remove the display driver only). If there is no entry for the Nvidia driver, then let me know & I'll talk you through the manual uninstall method

7. Reboot the system normally & install the latest version of the driver
NB. you may find you need to copy the new driver to the hard drive before installing it.


If you run into any problems, let me know.
If this doesn't fix the problem, then again, let me know. The problem could also be caused by other drivers (such as chipset ones) as well as several other things potentially

[Samm]

Welcome to G2G

First, go to Nvidias website & download the latest driver for the video card:

http://www.nvidia.co...ers/drivers.asp

(you need to know which card you have but if in doubt, download all of them - about 5 in total).
Copy the driver to a CD or flash stick etc so you can transfer it to the other machine later.

You should be able to access Windows in safe mode :

1. Power on the system.

2. As soon as the first screen disappears (i.e the system info+memory check+drive detection screen OR the manufacturers splash screen in the case of Dell, HP etc) press the F8 key a few times. This must be done before Windows starts to load

3. This should bring up the boot menu. Select the SAFE MODE option from the menu.

4. This will load windows using only basic generic drivers for the hardware. The screen may look fairly weird due to XP using the basic VGA video card driver instead of the Nvidia one

---------------------------------------------
*If you weren't sure which particular Nvidia card you had when you downloaded the latest driver, then perform this extra step:

5. go to start->Run.. type devmgmt.msc <OK>
Locate the display adapters branch & expand it. Your video card should be listed there
-----------------------------------------------

6. Go to Start->Settings->control panel->add/remove programs
Locate the 'Nvidia driver' entry & uninstall. (Note, if you have other Nvidia hardware, make sure you remove the display driver only). If there is no entry for the Nvidia driver, then let me know & I'll talk you through the manual uninstall method

7. Reboot the system normally & install the latest version of the driver
NB. you may find you need to copy the new driver to the hard drive before installing it.


If you run into any problems, let me know.
If this doesn't fix the problem, then again, let me know. The problem could also be caused by other drivers (such as chipset ones) as well as several other things potentially

[Guy in Brooklyn]

Samm,
That worked perfectly. Actually, I wasn't able to copy the drivers at work, so I logged onto my home computer in safe mode, deleted the existing NVIDIA drivers, then rebooted; the VGA graphics driver that remained on the machine made it possible for me to download and install the appropriate NVIDIA driver from the company's Web site. Thank you VERY much for your quick reply and lucid instructions. Is there a way I could make a donation to G2G to express my appreciation/support the site's ongoing activities?
Best regards,
GiB

[Samm]

Hi GiB

I'm glad you've managed to get the problem resolved so easily (Often these things are not so straight forward!)

I believe you can make a donation to the site via paypal :
http://www.geekstogo...amp;hl=Donation
I'm sure it would be very much appreciated.

If you would like to make a comment re. the help you have received, you can post a topic in the 'Site comments & suggestions' forum below. It's more likely to be read in there than in this thread!

http://www.geekstogo...a...amp;s=&f=15

Thank you for your kind remarks & please don't hestitate to come back if you have any problems or questions in the future

Regards

Samm