Vista - Display driver fails after the last update.

Hi, I have Vista Ultimate x64 on my laptop and it recently installed a stack of 17 updates. Since then, I have been getting lines across my screen where the display driver failed to load the info correctly. They were sporadic and rare so I thought they were just due to the age of my computer. Then it got so bad that my screen distorted with the corners of the windows I had open somehow faced into the screen. When I tried to boot it, however it failed when it should have displayed the desktop, all I see is my mouse and a black void, occasionally my screen shuts off completely. I sucessfully started in safemode, but then it only last about 5 minutes before shutting off due to overheating.

I'd like to know if this is due to the update or not, and how to fix it if possible. I have my reformatting CD's as last resort, but I want to be fairly sure it would work before I do that.

Hello Lyikos,
Do you know the cause of the over heating, what component is causing it, i would check all the vents are clear and all the fans are working, you may need to go inside and clear out all the fluff and stuff that has accumulated over time.
It does look like it is heat related, but you need to eliminate the heat issue first so we can go from there.
Hope this helps, good luck and post your results.

Well, now the screen turns is the only thing that turns on, not even the bios boots. My friends told me its most likely the Ram or the HD, so I'll see what I can do about those when I get home. But its starting to look like more of a hardware issue.

I have a similar problem; I have a Sony Vaio desktop PC that has been working fine. Now it won't boot up, I can't get it to enter safe mode, and after research on the net, it seems it is a graphics/display driver because of the dotted lines over the screen followed by a blank screen.

As I can't get into safe mode, I can't even get in to restore the driver to its previous setting. Any ideas?