Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description

[sargeras9]

UPDATE (12/22/08):
- 7.15.10.1537 is last working version, 7.15.10.1545 and later have the problem
- Problem only affects notebook monitor, not external displays (via VGA connection)
- adjusting brightness and gamma to certain levels fixes problem, but results in extremely bright screen (so, doesn't really fix problem)
- pictures taken from camera attached to this post, where newx.jpg and oldx.jpg correspond to the screen with the newer driver versions and 7.15.10.1537, respectively.
/UPDATE

Hello, first some specs:

Dell Inspiron 1525
Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 2.0GHz
3GB RAM
Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family

Alright, now onto the interesting stuff!

So, I bought this laptop, and the display driver version that comes from Dell is 7.14.10.1409 - from Jan 2008. Well, that couldn't do, as Intel has been very good with updating this chipset, giving it vast performance enhancements and better support for games. So, I went to Intel's site to get the latest driver - at the time, it was 7.15.10.1537. So I installed it - it gave the whole "this isn't supported, get the driver from the manufacturer" routine, but after uninstalling the old driver and trying again, it worked like a charm. Without any surprises, my games had a HUGE performance boost (despite the fact that the Vista experience rating dropped from 3.4 to 3.1....pff), so I was a happy man.

Now things get ugly.

So, today I decided it's been a while so I should check if there have been more recent drivers - turns out Intel pushed out 2 newer versions, first 7.15.10.1545 in August, and the more recent 7.15.10.1554 a couple weeks ago. Having read the changelog, I found some nice support features, especially for OpenGL 2.0, so I was happy about getting some new drivers. So I download and install the more recent one with the .exe first. I immediately knew something was wrong - the colors on screen looked like they were melting and were supersaturated, like someone had just spent an hour eating skittles then threw up on the screen. Naturally, it was hard to see or do much in this condition, but I managed to go through some display options, thinking maybe some tweaking was necessary.

I tried everything.
Resolutions, color complexity, messing around with contrast, saturation, etc, you name it. Just for kicks, I took a screenshot and sent it to one of my friends, and he said it looked fine, nothing was wrong. Clearly, this driver was screwed up pretty badly... Well, I installed 7.15.10.1537 again, and everything returned to normal - no problems. Now I thought, well, if the most recent version is messed up, I'll try the other one - 7.15.10.1545. Installed it, same exact thing happened.

I've been going back and forth, trying all methods of install (.zip extraction, executable, update through device manager, etc) and same results. I've nearly spent all day going through Intel's site and just seeing what I can find on Google, but to no avail (Intel's support hasn't been any help, either).

I come here to you now, exhausted, asking for any suggestions anyone may have to fix the problem - it could very well be that the last two drivers are bad, but I seriously doubt it - I've seen other threads where people are using it just fine.

I've ruled basically everything I can think of - including all "dumb" stuff like corrupt files, right version for OS, etc. Will these two simply not work on my machine? I hope the trend doesn't continue with new releases... maybe I can just skip these two and wait for next month's?

tl;dr
Dell came with 7.14.10.1409
I installed 7.15.10.1537 from Intel, works amazing
Tried 7.15.10.1545 and 7.15.10.1554, colors completely screwed up on screen

Thanks in advance, guys. I appreciate anything you can think up on this.

[sargeras9]

Quoting - 7oby

I know the link referes to the Desktop Board section. Sometimes intel releases driver revisions first for the Desktop Boards. There are people who have this driver installed on GM965 platforms. If >=v15.11.1 doesn't work for you, v15.12 is worth a try.

Well, still had the same problem, although it only manifested itself after I restarted, whereas usually the colors get all screwed up right after installation.

[delacy__david]

ask dell if they setup an 18 bit panel or 24 bit panel in their bios

they can see this information in their vbt settings

its likely its set to 24 bit for the panel and not 18 bit

[Keaton]

Here's my update:

I had to reinstall Vista, and that DID NOT fix the problem. This is making me think that it may be a hardware issue.

[7oby]

Vista 32-Bit (and 64-Bit) driver v15.12.1 dated 12/10/2008 is available (Release Notes). However I doubt it helps.

I bootet Linux to see whether it reveals anything regarding 18/24 bit vbt settings. However it just prints that it sets 18 bit TMDS color depth, but doesn't say what the BIOS did set it to.

[delacy__david]

that sounds right also

the lcd should be an 18 bit tmds panel

it may very well be a hardware issue maybe the gpu got too hot or you have a bad wire set going to the lcd or something

[delacy__david]

i see that there is a passing and failing driver

PASS=7.15.10.1537
fail=7.15.10.1545 and 7.15.10.1554

can you re-confirm this?

and one thing to try is after you uninstall the driver

go into the registry and delete the registry keys for the display device for the intel keys

also look for a hidden folder in the windows folder called "inf"

inside that folder there should be files that start with oemxx.inf and oemxx.pnf

the xx part is really numbers

but there should be a bunch of them

open the inf files one at a time and read them to see which ones are for a graphics device

when you find graphics ones deleate that inf and the corresponding pnf until there are no more graphics infs

2.

after the uninstall make sure that both graphics devices are uninstalled in the device manager

and after you do the install make sure 2 devices are installed in the device manager and that they both say they are using the same driver version

3. there could be something with the image size of the actuall driver that windows cant handle ill look more into that

if you can confirm the passing and failing driver after verifying the rest of the stuff i mentioned there is a way we can figure out what is different in the failing driver that exposes this strange issue

[7oby]

I don't think there's a need to confirm this. User sargeras9 is facing those problems, while I am not. This is although we are using sufficiently close enquipped notebooks: GM965 chipset assembled by Dell. The VBIOS version is slightly different 1566 (Inspiron 1525) vs. 1588 (XPS M1330).

What would be helpful to do: Sargeras9 gather all relevant information in the first posting. This is:

. images of corrupted display

. first driver revision starting to fail

. external displays work

. adjusting brightness and gamma helps

Especially the last one brings us closer and is inline with what beerandcandy posted: If the internal display gets set to the wrong pixel encoding (24bit vs 18bit), colors will look weird. And if you tune color values below a certain threshold the screen looks okay. It's just a guess, but if you use only 18bit of the color depth and not the full 24bit range, then the display may output colors correct even if set to the wrong encoding mode.

There might be a problem with ISN though: I can't edit my own postings since the ISN relauch. Others can. So I don't know whether you sargeras9 are able to edit your first posting and provide all information distilled and focused there.

[delacy__david]

Quoting - 7oby

I don't think there's a need to confirm this. User sargeras9 is facing those problems, while I am not. This is although we are using sufficiently close enquipped notebooks: GM965 chipset assembled by Dell. The VBIOS version is slightly different 1566 (Inspiron 1525) vs. 1588 (XPS M1330).

What would be helpful to do: Sargeras9 gather all relevant information in the first posting. This is:

. images of corrupted display

. first driver revision starting to fail

. external displays work

. adjusting brightness and gamma helps

Especially the last one brings us closer and is inline with what beerandcandy posted: If the internal display gets set to the wrong pixel encoding (24bit vs 18bit), colors will look weird. And if you tune color values below a certain threshold the screen looks okay. It's just a guess, but if you use only 18bit of the color depth and not the full 24bit range, then the display may output colors correct even if set to the wrong encoding mode.

There might be a problem with ISN though: I can't edit my own postings since the ISN relauch. Others can. So I don't know whether you sargeras9 are able to edit your first posting and provide all information distilled and focused there.

i wont agree to what you say unless you do as i ask

[7oby]

Quoting - beerandcandy

i wont agree to what you say unless you do as i ask

There is not point for me to follow these instructions, since I'm not affected by the problem (slightly different notebook). This emphasizes even more the demand to focus all relevant information in the first posting instead of scattering pieces of information all over this lenghty posting.

So I guess you were refering to user "Keaton" when giving these instructions. Yes, it's a good idea to have idependent people verify whether all of them are cured by the same (older) driver revision. However I've seen this information already in dell community. Whether wiping the registry will help is questionable since Keaton just reformated his notebook which results in a clean registry. As a workaround installing v15.11 will most likely help as provided e.g. here.

Those users are facing the problem of this thread: Sargeras9, Keaton, jpayette. Most likely also moneyman232 though not stated explicitly. There are some more guys over at dells community. Since there relaunch the old thread links unfortunately don't work anymore and I'm not going to search for them.

[sargeras9]

Sorry for the late reply, I just got back from vacation. I've updated the first post like you asked 7oby, and the new driver package (15.12.1.1608 containing video driver 7.15.10.1608 and audio HDMI driver 6.10.0.2067) didn't work either, no suprises there.

EDIT: wow, on to the 3rd page now.

[delacy__david]

can you uninstall the intel graphics again and after you reboot make sure both intel graphics devices are uninstalled in the device manager?

[7oby]

I'm seeing a positive report with no color artefacts on the Inspiron 1525 Bios A13 with the recently appeared v15.12.2 drivers that showed up in the desktop section:

Vista 32-Bit v15.12.2.1637 dated 2/1/2009.
Vista 64-Bit v15.12.2.64.1637 dated 2/1/2009.

Could somebody verify that?

[7oby]

Quoting - john.smit00

i have a problem with my audio driver itself. has intel released any new versions?

The latest v15.12.2 and v15.12.1 drivers contain the HDMI Audio driver v6.10.0.2067 dated 09/22/2008. That is more uptodate than what user sargeras9 posted. Even if you have an inspiron 1525 and problems with the most recent drivers, you can e.g. install some older graphics driver and pick the latest HDMI audio driver from directory HDMIIntcHdmi.inf.

However I suggest starting a new thread for any audio related problems. Furthermore the HDMI audio driver only addresses HDMI audio and not analog phone jack audio or internal speakers.

[sargeras9]

Quoting - 7oby

I'm seeing a positive report with no color artefacts on the Inspiron 1525 Bios A13 with the recently appeared v15.12.2 drivers that showed up in the desktop section:

Vista 32-Bit v15.12.2.1637 dated 2/1/2009.
Vista 64-Bit v15.12.2.64.1637 dated 2/1/2009.

Could somebody verify that?

Hi 7oby,

Sorry for the late reply, I built a nice desktop and haven't touched my laptop in quite a while. I tried out the new package (the laptop version is out now) but it doesn't fix the problem, same as always. I read the post you linked to, and it is possible it works for A13 (I am on the newest version, A16). However, I sort of doubt this as the last 5 packages had the problem on A13, so it's unlikely this one magically works with it and not A16 (I'm not going to bother downgrading my BIOS just to make sure though). Another possibility is he has a different version of the Inspiron 1525, as I noticed a while ago there are at least a couple different versions depending on when you bought them (Different processor, RAM, and I assume other parts).

Like I said, I'm not on my laptop very often anymore, but I'll try to test each driver release when they come out. At this point, after 6 post-1537 releases, I seriously doubt Intel will ever fix it, but I'll keep testing new ones just for the sake of completeness.

[aeons00]

Hey, I have the original Mobile Inte 965 Express Chipset Family and I updated it from the may 2007 version to the newest one recently and have been having the same "Skittle Effect", and although I haven't read your whole blog, do you know where I might be able to download the old one, as I need it's capability with Direct X to play games, but unless I uninstall it, the games look so horrible, I cant tell what from what...so if it helps let me know, but all I need is the old 965....

[sargeras9]

Quoting - aeons00

Hey, I have the original Mobile Inte 965 Express Chipset Family and I updated it from the may 2007 version to the newest one recently and have been having the same "Skittle Effect", and although I haven't read your whole blog, do you know where I might be able to download the old one, as I need it's capability with Direct X to play games, but unless I uninstall it, the games look so horrible, I cant tell what from what...so if it helps let me know, but all I need is the old 965....

Do you have the Inspiron 1525? Are you using 32-bit Windows Vista? We can't help you if you don't tell us anything, and I don't even know if this thread relates to your problem. In any case, I've already uploaded the 1537 package as an attachment to a post I made on the second page, so look there if the above applies to you. Really though, you should visit your laptop manufacturer's website and get the appropriate drivers from there, instead of putting forth a very vague request on a forum.

[RytoX]

Has anyone had the opportunity to try the GM965 driver version 15.12.4.1666 (7.15.10.1666, dated March 5, 2009) on a Dell Inspiron 1525 with the A16 BIOS and Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (with SP1)? Is there a big difference between 7.15.10.1666 and the previous 7.15.10.1637? How about between 7.15.10.1666 and the "last known working" 7.15.10.1537? Has either Intel or Dell said anything about this specific issue?

If I get a chance to grab an external monitor (as a failsafe) before someone answers this, I'll see if I can try out the 7.15.10.1666 driver on my Inspiron 1525.

[sargeras9]

Quoting - RytoX

Has anyone had the opportunity to try the GM965 driver version 15.12.4.1666 (7.15.10.1666, dated March 5, 2009) on a Dell Inspiron 1525 with the A16 BIOS and Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (with SP1)? Is there a big difference between 7.15.10.1666 and the previous 7.15.10.1637? How about between 7.15.10.1666 and the "last known working" 7.15.10.1537? Has either Intel or Dell said anything about this specific issue?

If I get a chance to grab an external monitor (as a failsafe) before someone answers this, I'll see if I can try out the 7.15.10.1666 driver on my Inspiron 1525.

I downloaded them but haven't had a chance to install yet, I'll update this when I do. I wouldn't hold your breath, as the last 6 driver releases all had the problem. No, Intel and Dell have not acknowledged the issue, in fact Intel dismissed it by saying the problem could not be reproduced (obviously they didn't use this exact model of laptop).

I confirmed in a previous post that using an external monitor works fine with the newer drivers; it's only a problem with the laptop screen.

[dirtyharry]

Hey! I have no help to add but I as well am having some serious issues with my Dell Inspiron 1525, same specs but 1 less gig of ram, which shouldn't be a problem.
I try to update my driver and I get the same error you first did. So I uninstalled my driver and it STILL didn't work, but now I get a new error. "doesnt meet minimum requirements", but it does. I have no idea what's going on and i'm not sure what exactly to do, but I'm only getting on avg 30 FPS on CS 1.6 (10 year old game) and it's IMPOSSIBLE to play on (5 FPS thru smoke).
can anyone give me some tips on how to install an updated driver?

[dirtyharry]

also, i couldn't find the version of the driver that worked best for you without using an external lap top. could you possibly upload it and link it for me? i'm seriously in need of some help!

[dirtyharry]

Quoting - dirtyharry

also, i couldn't find the version of the driver that worked best for you without using an external lap top. could you possibly upload it and link it for me? i'm seriously in need of some help!

ok so im retarded and didn't restart after i uninstalled the original drivers before i tried installing the updated drivers. it worked and i now have the lastest drivers but im still getting around 30 FPS on average in a 10 year old game. did the version you updated to that you said "had great performance in all my games" have better FPS? can you link me to it so i can test it out?