Vista is now stuck in 8-bit mode!!!

My vista is stuck in 8-bit mode video. It restarts, barely, and mostly hangs on boot window, but when starts now the log in page is upside down and in 8-bit video mode!!! All the windows opened are so huge I can only see the top half.

Does anyone know wtf happened and how to fix this stupid thing?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
My vista is stuck in 8-bit mode video. It restarts, barely, and mostly hangs on boot window, but when starts now the log in page is upside down and in 8-bit video mode!!! All the windows opened are so huge I can only see the top half.

Does anyone know wtf happened and how to fix this stupid thing?

Hello !! Welcome to VF !!

Does it happens when you login to Safe Mode ?? Mostly the display drivers might have messed up.


- Captain

Edit: Rich I didn't see your message
 

My Computer

Thats OK capt. With 2 of us, the poster is bound to get this solved.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
OK try the restore, I was curious, how that could happen.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
There was an NES emulator on the computer. And no, I cannot restore because I can't even see the pages or windows because everything is huge and pixilated.

On boot it either hangs forever or goes right to the login page. When it hangs there is no power to the keyboard so I cannot access BIOS or anything.

Am I right that this would never happen to a Linux machine or a Mac?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
There was an NES emulator on the computer. And no, I cannot restore because I can't even see the pages or windows because everything is huge and pixilated.

On boot it either hangs forever or goes right to the login page. When it hangs there is no power to the keyboard so I cannot access BIOS or anything.

Am I right that this would ever happen to a Linux machine or a Mac?

Hello !!

Well it could happen software's and hardware's we cannot predict. Coming back to your issue. Do you have an on-board Display card or it's just VGA / PCI Express card ?? If you have more than one port to plug-in your monitor then try with a different port. Maybe it's the Monitor cable.

- Captain
 

My Computer

It is a Dell computer with Vista Home Edition 32 bit, lame dual core cpu and i want to say 512mb of RAM. Not sure what the video card is though. Pretty sure there are no other monitor ports.

This problem was instantaneous...it was working "fine" then went ape-crazy into this 8-bit nightmare.

Can I reinstall Vista without losing my hard drive info?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
It is a Dell computer with Vista Home Edition 32 bit, lame dual core cpu and i want to say 512mb of RAM. Not sure what the video card is though. Pretty sure there are no other monitor ports.

This problem was instantaneous...it was working "fine" then went ape-crazy into this 8-bit nightmare.

Can I reinstall Vista without losing my hard drive info?

Hello,

I doubt whether you can do that because if it happen from BIOS so i suspect it might be the monitor / Display card that is causing the problem. Try to disconnected the cable from the port then connect back in and see if that makes any difference. So see if you can get a monitor from a friend to just test it.

- Captain
 

My Computer

Nice work captain.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Heyy..
  • Does it happen in safe mode?
  • Have you tired to re-install your video drivers?
  • Have you tried to change the screen settings in windows? Resolution, colour, that kind of stuff?
  • Also, did the emulator not shut down properly, causing the screen to be stuck in that resolution? That has happened to me before...

Daniel =)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built.
    CPU
    AMD FX-4170 Quad-Core @ 4.2GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia geforce GTS240 1GB, 3GB shared memory. SLI soon.
    Sound Card
    realtek high definition audio, onboard.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19 inch widescreen monitor, DVI.
    Screen Resolution
    1440 by 900, 32 bit colour, 75 hertz.
    Hard Drives
    1 128GB Kingston SSD Now OS drive
    1 250GB sata main drive.
    1 160GB from old install.
    1 500GB for re-directs from OS disk.
    1 Seagate GoFlex External 1TB with backups.
    PSU
    750 watt.
    Case
    Foxconn TSAA699.
    Cooling
    4 fans.
    Keyboard
    Trust Wireless Optical Deskset Keyboard.
    Mouse
    Trust Wireless Optical Deskset Mouse.
    Internet Speed
    download about 60/65MB/s, upload about 3/4MB/s. Virgin Media
    Other Info
    ASUS EEEPad Transformer 16GB with Dock w/32GB class10 SD |
    Dell PE1950 II / 2xDual Core Xeons @3.00GHz / 16GB RAM / PERC 5i/R / 2x36GB SAS OS - 2x1TB SATA Data both RAID 1 |
Yes Smurfyy,

The emulator did not shut down. Have not been able to get into safe mode.

Yes, I tried to change the video settings, but because the window is so huge I cannot apply the settings. I can change the resolution to 32bit, the screen size back to 1080x and the screen rate to 60, but I cannot apply the settings.

Curiously, the refresh rate is set to 59? In the 8bit mode. The video card is whatever comes on a Dell Vista PC. The name escapes me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
Heyy,
Okay, this might not work but its worth a try...

Change all your screen settings back to how it was, but this time hit the enter key.
If nothing happens, push the tab button 4 times then the enter button.
Again, if nothing happens press the tab button 5 times then the enter button.

Now hopefully this should get you back to how you was..

Hope this helps,
Daniel =)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built.
    CPU
    AMD FX-4170 Quad-Core @ 4.2GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia geforce GTS240 1GB, 3GB shared memory. SLI soon.
    Sound Card
    realtek high definition audio, onboard.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19 inch widescreen monitor, DVI.
    Screen Resolution
    1440 by 900, 32 bit colour, 75 hertz.
    Hard Drives
    1 128GB Kingston SSD Now OS drive
    1 250GB sata main drive.
    1 160GB from old install.
    1 500GB for re-directs from OS disk.
    1 Seagate GoFlex External 1TB with backups.
    PSU
    750 watt.
    Case
    Foxconn TSAA699.
    Cooling
    4 fans.
    Keyboard
    Trust Wireless Optical Deskset Keyboard.
    Mouse
    Trust Wireless Optical Deskset Mouse.
    Internet Speed
    download about 60/65MB/s, upload about 3/4MB/s. Virgin Media
    Other Info
    ASUS EEEPad Transformer 16GB with Dock w/32GB class10 SD |
    Dell PE1950 II / 2xDual Core Xeons @3.00GHz / 16GB RAM / PERC 5i/R / 2x36GB SAS OS - 2x1TB SATA Data both RAID 1 |
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