[GregMiller]

I have a Gateway desktop - Windows XP, SP2 Pentium II, 399 MHz, 384 MB RAM -Display Adapter - S3 Graphics Inc Savage4

For Christmas I got a new Dell Flat Panel monitor - SE198WFP.

Periodically, it goes into this mode where evreything is displayed about 3 times the former size and a lot of colors are dropped out and it looks real crude. It still functions but after a bit it freezes. Sometimes when it freezes there are a series of black smudge like lines in a 3" x 1/2" box of smudge. I have no idea how to discribe this.

I reboot and everything is fine for a while and then it goes back to this strange look.

??????

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I'm just guessing here, but it should be one of two things. You need to install the latest video driver for the monitor or the monitor has a defect and needs to be replaced while under warranty.

If the video driver doesn't cure the problem, Dell's Online Chat Support is pretty good or was for me. I had mis-colored pixels after moving from GA to MS. They had a brand new monitor sitting on my door step the next day. Packed the old one in the new monitor's box and stuck on the prepaid labels, called UPS and off the old one went.

Ron

[Major Payne]

I'm just guessing here, but it should be one of two things. You need to install the latest video driver for the monitor or the monitor has a defect and needs to be replaced while under warranty.

If the video driver doesn't cure the problem, Dell's Online Chat Support is pretty good or was for me. I had mis-colored pixels after moving from GA to MS. They had a brand new monitor sitting on my door step the next day. Packed the old one in the new monitor's box and stuck on the prepaid labels, called UPS and off the old one went.

Ron

[GregMiller]

I thought that when I was installing the monitor it sent me to the net to bring down the latest drivers.

From your reply, I take it that you don't think it's a video card problem. My computer is from 2002 and the video card is also that old. Maybe the capacity is not there.

Also, I think my CPU has USB 1.0 connections. Could that be a cause? I'm going to put in USB 2.0 connections very soon.

[Major Payne]

Unless you got a specific popup that monitor install was trying to access the Internet to look for new driver, it probably didn't.

I don't know how much space you have on your Hard Drive, but your RAM could use an increase for Win XP. I know the minimum to run XP is 64Mb according to Micro$oft, but that leaves very little for running anything else. With today's requirements, I would go to 1Gb of RAM. Even 512Mb would help, but why bother with small increase?

This is the latest driver for your monitor that you should have: Monitor Driver

Your monitor should not be using the USB port for its connection. Still, it never hurts to update to the faster 2.0 connection.

Ron

Edited by Major Payne, 04 February 2008 - 11:39 PM.

[GregMiller]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll upgrade to 1 GB of RAM. I have plenty of hard drive space.

You said "Your monitor should not be using the USB port for its connection."

Does that mean that it is using it for the connection? And that is slowing things down?

I'll upgrade to the USB 2.0 when I upgrade the RAM.

Now this might change everything: I now notice the pop-up error message when the monitor acts up: "The s3sav4 display driver has stopped working normally. Reboot..."

The display adapter is a s3 Graphics Inc. adapter.

Should I just upgade the video card? This card is from 2002, I believe. And there is no gaming going on this unit nor any great graphics designing. Would a video card like a PNY GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB Video Card work with this unit?

The monitor driver is SE198WF8.ICM the one you pointed me to is R150804.

I followed the download instructions and it put the file into C:\DELL\DRIVERS\

When I open device manager and look where the monitor drivers are they are located in F:\windows\system 32\spool\drivers\color\

I have two hard drives: C and F and the operating system and mostly everything is on the F drive. The C is mostly storage. Should I just copy the R150804 into the F:\windows\system 32\spool\drivers\color\ path?

[Major Payne]

The driver I pointed you to just has that file name.

Displays: Dell SE198WFP, Driver, Multi OS, Multi Language, Multi System, A00-00

That is what it should be for. take it from your post it installed ok. Did it cure your video problem? If not, it just may be the video card.

I don't know of any monitor that would connect to a USB port so you're connected correctly. It never hurts to upgrade a video card if you feel it's worth it for the new monitor.

That is a problem with installing as the c drive is usually the normal hard drive letter used for the operating system. The driver should have self installed since the file was an executable file. If it was a Zipped executable, it should have a readme.txt file with it that you read for instructions on how to install driver.

All my video drivers are in c:\drivers\video\ folder. Not sure if that is the correct path for yours.

Ron