Display problem.

[NeonAtron]

I recently acquired a used dell motherboard and processor. Had a pakard bell but inevitably it burned out so i thought i would just get another motherboard and processor and hook my old hard drive up to it. So i reloaded windows(2000) and it shows up fine on the startup screens. But as soon as the normal desktop screen would show up the whole screen gets staticy and i cant see anything. But it shows up perfectly when i run safe mode. Any idea how to fix this problem? I was thinking it might need a driver but i dont know which driver if so. Pleaze help, thanx.

[Oz]

Yes, it will need a new driver.

You can run some diagnostic software such as SiSoftSandra to find out what your display adapter is, I would probably run Windows Update (open an IE window, Tools -> Windows Update) and see if it picks it up automatically.

Best of luck mate.

[Plastic_Fork]

Oz is correct. You'll need to determine what display driver you need. I would also suggest installing the drivers specific to your monitor as well for correct refresh rates, etc.

Do you have a video card you're using with your computer or are you using the onboard video that's on the motherboard? If you're using onboard video, do what Oz says and attempt to determine which driver you'll need and install it. If you're using a video card, same deal there. If you're using a video card AND your motherboard has onboard video, I would recommend configuring the motherboard's BIOS to disable the onboard video. You may also want to disable the onboard video in Windows as well - don't uninstall the drivers though, just disable it. Windows gets fussy when you uninstall onboard drivers.

[NeonAtron]

Hey thanx for the help you guys. This did the trick:

Originally Posted by Plastic_Fork

You may also want to disable the onboard video in Windows as well.

I hope you can help me with one more thing. Im installing XP Professional but i lost the case. I was smart enough to write the product key down but not smart enough to write it legibly I cant make out some of the letters. However i heard there was a way to change the code through registry but i dont know if that will work since XP is not currently installed. I left off on the product key screen of the setup. Can you help?
p.s. Im not hacking because i bought this legit.

[Webmaster_Zeus]

XP will have to be installed with a cd key in order for you to change the cd key. XP doesn't really care what cd key you use, providing its from a smaller sample from valid cd key. For example Microsoft have over Y population of valid cd keys, but only a smaller subset of that has been denoted "valid".

If you have a valid cd key and have bought the product legit, best bet is to contact microsoft, as they would be able to retrieve your current cd key. Also another note if XP isn't installed you can't really change any cd keys, you will need a cd key to finish the installation before you can change it. If your using a hacked cd key then I wouldn't really advice so, contact microsoft first and they'll be able to help you out there.