Intel 945GM - Extended Desktop no longer working

[idata]

I have an HP dv6000 laptop with the intel 945GM graphics adaptor, running windows XP.

Originally I Vista machine, I have had XP running on it well for over a year or so, and the exteneded desktop aspect worked very well.

Last week XP decided to throw a wobbler on me & eventually had to reinstall it. Unfortunately, now the extended desktop doesn't work any more, and I very much need it for the work I do.

I am currently using the 945 drivers from your intel site, and have also tried the XP drivers from HP, and laterly - in some desperation - the Vista drivers for my machine from HP. I've tried uninstalling the drivers, rebooting, and then re-installing, but with no success. The "Dual Display Clone" option works fine from the Intel "Graphics Properties..." dialog, but the extended desktop option does not.

Ideas or suggestions welcome. Is there a utility that more effectively uninstalls graphics card drivers so that I could get back to a "virgin" install of your 945 drivers?

Thanks for any help,

Duncan.

[idata]

I did hear from the next level up tech support person and he did confirm that Intel saw they had an issue and are actively working on a resolution. He did ask more specific questions and for more info, which I gave him, as well as pointing him to this discussion to evaluate the other info already out here. He did state that Intel doesn't have any idea on what occured and they are trying to find patterns/clues in the support tickets they have. The only info I have is that the techs name is David O.

[idata]

I can confirm that it is not triggered by a date or something and that the problem seems to go away with a clean reinstall of windows xp sp3.

I had a spare harddisk and tried to reinstall from a Dell CD Windows XP SP3. I just installed the OS (NO windows updates) and all the latest drivers from the Dell website and extended deskop is working correctly!

I also tried to monitor which files get involved (using sysinternals utilities) when I try to change resolution to the monitor or enable the extended desktop and all I found is that the file csrss.exe interact with c:\windows\system32\vga.dll everytime there's a change to the screen resolution.

Hope they'll find a solution soon...

[idata]

Dell support have quite explicitly stated that reinstalling windows and all drivers will resolve the issue HOWEVER in their test's it HAS returned after some time. Therefore, they have recomended not to rebuild my laptop.

Intel on the other hand have told me that they are unable to reproduce it and to rebuild my laptop with all windows updates turned off to see if this isolates the problem. I'm not following this advice based on dannysu's post and Dells own testing.

Seems like Dell is definately doing their part to fix this. However, as this is an old chipset Intel seems to be washing their hands of this and hoping that their channel partners do their work for them 😞

Thought I would post this so people don't waste their time. However, if you do wish to rebuild, please let us know if all remains well or the problem returns.

Thanks,

S.Sheth

[idata]

Please let me stress that I'm not telling peoples to reinstall everything to solve this problem!

I just stated in my previous post that I had a spare harddisk and I did a TEST, reinstalling windows XP SP3.

I'm still using my original (not working) installation 'cause I'm waiting for a proper fix...

However it makes perfect sense it return after some time since the cause has not been identified yet and nothing happens from nothing.

Crossing fingers...

[idata]

I have had the following response from Dell:

have you tried doing an Operating system reinstallation?

This can be a problem with the computers Operating system.

If you have time or can perform an OS reinstallation please do so. Make sure that you install the drivers at the correct order.

Dell™ Notebook System Software

Intel® Mobile Chipset DriverMobile Intel® GMA X3100 Video ControllerO2Micro® Cardbus/Smart Card ControllerBroadcom® NetXtreme™ 5755 Gigabit Integrated Network ControllerWireless driver (if applicable)IDT® STAC 9205 Audio DriverMDC driverDell Touch Pad DriverBluetooth® driver and stack

Please reply back for any development.

Kind regards,

They also responding with another link:

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-021334.htm http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-021334.htm

This seemed like a different problem but I tried it anyway. Unfortunately no change. Thismorning I have received the following email from Dell:

'If the suggestion that I have provided will not work, the next suggestion that I have to advise is to perform an OS reinstallation. This will help as well with the issue. Make sure that when you reinstall the Operating system, try disabling first the Windows Auto Update and use the Dell Resource CD to install the drivers'

But if the problem will return there seems little point. Unfortunately I haven't really got the time to do a full reinstallation (unfortunately the day job gets in the way ). I'm waiting for a proper fix too so hopefully Dell and Intel will be working on this.

[idata]

Hi All,

There definately seems to be a higher level issue here as we all seem to have been effected around the same time. My dates are as follwos:

The last day extended desktop was working is: Friday 15 May 2009

The First day I witnessed the problem is: Monday 18 May 2009

I've had our IT guys take a look at this. They are currently looking at what windows updates were installed around this time.

We've tried changing the regional settings, installing/removing drivers, deleting chunks of the registry and copying the registry from another system for the intel drivers/software. None of these have been fruitful.

The next thing they want to do is reimage my machine. However, if this is a driver conflict with some other software/windows update I would expect it to happen again.

Any one had any luck with this? or reimaged and then had the error reoccur?

Thanks,

S.Sheth

[idata]

Strange, mine was one week later. I can't do a System Restore at the moment due to customer commitments but my restore points show a Software Distribution 3.0 going in on the date of failure (All Programs>Accessories->System Tools->System Restore then hit next, click on the date). Dell support are now looking at this. I've also raised another Intel support call but no response as yet...

[idata]

Friday 22 was the last "good" day... on monday 25 it was broken but I see that Software Distribution 3.0 created a restore point on friday 15 so it seems not related to the problem, at least in my configuration...

[idata]

Just received another response from Intel support and they again pushed everything back on the OEM. I see the same behavior on an HP tablet and an HP 6000 that a friend has.

It sucks that manufacturers such as Intel make us end users do their troubleshooting anyway, thru discussion groups like this, so they could at least pick it up now that it is defined to this level. Or is it just me that thinks this way?

Anyway, I am in the process of tracking down someone at Intel that cares.

[idata]

I don't know if this is related but today I woke up to find I had a Blue Screen with the stop message UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME. I tried several things and eventually got it to work after starting in to the recovery console and running CHKDSK /R.

Any one else had this issue as well? Like I said it might be unrelated.

Thanks

S.Sheth

[idata]

I haven't had any blue screens...

I've logged a call with Intel but had the following response:

Thank you for contacting Intel Technical Support.

Note:

Intel will assist with your question, but may refer you to your computer manufacturer for information or updates specific to your computer. Intel provides generic versions of the software and drivers. Your computer manufacturer may have altered the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes.

We would like to escalate the situation you described, but we need more detailed information, please copy-paste or attach the Graphics report generated within the Intel(R) Graphics User Interface. To access this report, please click on Start >> Control Panel >>Intel GMA driver >> information >> Save To File...

as if they didn't have enough of these on the forum (which I referenced in my call). Doesn't seem as though Intel are taking this seriously so I would urge as many people as possible to raise Intel issues (doesn't take a great deal).

Dell do seem to be responding and have advised me to upgrade the bios (to A07 but I already had A08). This did not make any difference. I've recieved a call from Dell support today and they do seem to be looking in to the problem.

[idata]

Intel/Microsoft Problem

Until recently extending the desktop worked for me.

Now I'm experiencing the same problems as mentioned in this post.

I am using a toshiba satellite pro (win xp - sp3) with the latest intel drivers

Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Mobile ReportReport Date: 06/02/2009Report Time[hr:mm:ss]: 13:36:11Driver Version: 6.14.10.4543Operating System: Windows XP* Professional, Service Pack 3 (5.1.2600)Default Language: EnglishDirectX* Version: 9.0Physical Memory: 2037 MBMinimum Graphics Memory: 8 MBMaximum Graphics Memory: 128 MBGraphics Memory in Use: 10 MBProcessor: x86 family 6 Model 14 Stepping 12Processor Speed: 1729 MHZVendor ID: 8086Device ID: 27A2Device Revision: 03* Accelerator Information *

Accelerator in Use: Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family

Video BIOS: 1398Current Graphics Mode: 1280 by 800 True Color (60 Hz)

* Devices Connected to the Graphics Accelerator *

Active Televisions: 1Active Notebook Displays: 1* Television *

Monitor Name: Generic Television

Display Type: AnalogGamma Value: 1.0DDC2 Protocol: SupportedMaximum Image Size: Horizontal: Not Available Vertical: Not AvailableMonitor Supported Modes:640 by 480 (60 Hz)800 by 600 (60 Hz)1024 by 768 (60 Hz)Display Power Management Support: Standby Mode: Not Supported Suspend Mode: Not Supported Active Off Mode: Not Supported* Notebook *

Monitor Name:

Display Type: DigitalGamma Value: 2.0DDC2 Protocol: SupportedMaximum Image Size: Horizontal: Not Available Vertical: Not AvailableMonitor Supported Modes:1280 by 800 (60 Hz)Display Power Management Support: Standby Mode: Not Supported Suspend Mode: Not Supported Active Off Mode: Not Supported

* Other names and brands are the property of their respective owners.

[idata]

Intel problem

Until recently extending the desktop worked for me.

Now I'm experiencing the same problems as mentioned in this post.

I am using a toshiba satellite pro (win xp - sp3) with the latest intel drivers

Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Mobile ReportReport Date: 06/02/2009Report Time[hr:mm:ss]: 13:36:11Driver Version: 6.14.10.4543Operating System: Windows XP* Professional, Service Pack 3 (5.1.2600)Default Language: EnglishDirectX* Version: 9.0Physical Memory: 2037 MBMinimum Graphics Memory: 8 MBMaximum Graphics Memory: 128 MBGraphics Memory in Use: 10 MBProcessor: x86 family 6 Model 14 Stepping 12Processor Speed: 1729 MHZVendor ID: 8086Device ID: 27A2Device Revision: 03* Accelerator Information *

Accelerator in Use: Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family

Video BIOS: 1398Current Graphics Mode: 1280 by 800 True Color (60 Hz)

* Devices Connected to the Graphics Accelerator *

Active Televisions: 1Active Notebook Displays: 1* Television *

Monitor Name: Generic Television

Display Type: AnalogGamma Value: 1.0DDC2 Protocol: SupportedMaximum Image Size: Horizontal: Not Available Vertical: Not AvailableMonitor Supported Modes:640 by 480 (60 Hz)800 by 600 (60 Hz)1024 by 768 (60 Hz)Display Power Management Support: Standby Mode: Not Supported Suspend Mode: Not Supported Active Off Mode: Not Supported* Notebook *

Monitor Name:

Display Type: DigitalGamma Value: 2.0DDC2 Protocol: SupportedMaximum Image Size: Horizontal: Not Available Vertical: Not AvailableMonitor Supported Modes:1280 by 800 (60 Hz)Display Power Management Support: Standby Mode: Not Supported Suspend Mode: Not Supported Active Off Mode: Not Supported

* Other names and brands are the property of their respective owners.

[idata]

I have used the link in this thread from a previous posting:

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-021334.htm http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-021334.htm

This resolved my issue. I followed the steps and I can now Extend my desktop !!

One thing I noticed previously that a clean install of the latest drivers failed due to a lack of hard disk space. Once the hard disk had enough space, I followed the steps in the link above and the desktop is extending as it was previously.

It's much quicker than a reinstall of the OS !

Good Luck !!

[idata]

Hi,

I resolved my problem in a different way from Stuart so I'll post mine:

1-I found that, even unistalling the intel driver. I cannot change resolution so I had the suspect that the problem was not in the driver but in something else.

2-Googling around I found a post in which someone had the same problem (cannot change resolution) and found that Spyware Doctor 6 was the cause.

3-I uninstalled spyware doctor 6, rebooted, installed intel driver, rebooted....all is working now.

If you think well It makes sense that spyware doctor 6 MAY be the cause because it has an autoupdate feature so maybe it messed up something in one of the latest update.

Hope it helps.

Cheers

Stefano

From original post: http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/Q_24318477.html

I have resolved this issue and here's the final report.I grabbed a separate hard drive and started installing everything from the beginning. Each time I installed something, I changed resolutions and back. Long process, but I nailed it.It was Spyware Doctor 6.So as a note to everyone out there, here's a combination that I can replicate with the same effect.Windows XP Professional SP3 - ASUS P5N73-CM - Spyware Doctor 6(Latest updates from Microsoft Update, latest nForce drivers, and latest version of Spyware Doctor from Google Updater)As soon as I installed Spyware Doctor, the resolution was stuck to whatever it was at that time. Didn't matter whether the program was running or not. As soon as I uninstalled Spyware Doctor and restarted windows, everything was back to normal.When the problem was identified, I swapped the original drive back, uninstalled Spyware Doctor and the problem was fixed.Thanks everyone for the ideas. Honestly... who could've thought this was in fact the cause.Anyway, I'm glad it's done.

[idata]

since i was at the point of willing to try anything.... i just uninstalled spyware doctor 6 and as soon as i rebooted i was able to extend my desktop

[idata]

Also willing to try anything, I looked thru my apps and saw I had Spyware Doctor installed for some unknown reason as we use Endpoint Protection. Uninstalled the app, without doing anything to the graphics driver, rebotted when prompted and after restart, extended desktop worked perfectly!

[idata]

I was experiencing the extended desktop problem as well with the 965 chipset. Uninstalling Spyware Doctor (installed as part of Google Pack) has done the trick for me as well. Thanks for the detective work!

[idata]

Wow. I would never have suspected Spyware Doctor -- what a strange interaction. Thank you so much for your help.

As the orginal poster, I'll just say thanks to everyone for their efforts - and to Krosa for finding the solution. Great stuff.

Duncan.

[idata]

My sentiments exactly...

Worked for me too. As a note I tried disabling it first but this didn't work. Only a full uninstall seemed to do the trick.

Lovely having two monitors again. Amazing how much you miss the 2nd one when you haven't got it!

Thanks again

[idata]

Hi guys,

I'm so happy to see that my work actually helped other people out.

(I'm DorianIS from http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/Q_24318477.html?cid=748# a24547325 Experts Exchange)

I learned something out of this though. It never crossed my mind that the problem might occur on other motherboards with the same chipset, so I didn't list the chipset of my test set with the solution. Next time I'll include more detailed descriptions of the hardware and software involved purely for SEO purposes. It would've been easier for any of you to find the solution had I been more detailed.

But anyway,

Enjoy your multiple monitors and resolutions