1. #1
    -HH-Quazi's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    5,927
    Hey guys. I have ran into a strange glitch (I guess one could call it a glitch), and I am hoping one of you will have seen it before & know what causes it.

    After I crank up & Windows loads up completely, upon movement of the mouse\cursor the desktop goes to a black screen. Now I can right click anywhere on the desktop and go to display properties to the desktop tab and choose a desktop scene then click apply and all is well. This happens from the get go after a clean install of Windows and before I install any programs so I can say that it isn't caused by any particular program install.

    Now if I wait a couple minutes after Windows loads up and then move the cursor all is well, I don't loose the desktop picture.

    And btw, it does this with both Windows installs. I have one install on the raptor and another on the 500GB HD. So I've ruled out a hard drive being the reason that this happens.

    I have loaded and reinstalled Windows many, many times on my rig and on different hard drives and have never seen this happen. The only difference between now and those times is that I am loading on a rig using an Intel C2D chip rather than my usual AMD dual core cpu. So I am thinking that the cpu may be the culprit somehow.

    Does Intel have a dual core exe fix like AMD does for its dual core cpu's? If it does I do need to install it regardless of whether or not it is a fix for this issue. Thanks m8s!
    Share this post

  2. #2
    Weird one Quazi. As far as I know intel does not have a driver or dual core fix. Maybe has to do with the monitor power management settings in the bios? New cpu means new mobo, I've seen some mobo's with a lot of different power management options including different methods of screen blanking, don't know why this would get triggered like that but worth a look anyway.
    Share this post

  3. #3
    When my rig "worked" (new HD's tomorrow) I would get a momentary black screen right after desktop, but it usually came right back. Have you seen the same thing BEFORE loading your vidcard drivers? Could be a vid driver/catalyst thing.

    Da Worfster
    Share this post

  4. #4
    DrHerb's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    2,430
    I get a short black screen right before ATI CCC loads up, possibly that is the culprit?
    Share this post

  5. #5
    SlickStick's Avatar Banned
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Posts
    3,110
    From my experience, the refresh rate of your monitor may be the cause. I have an older CRT and I run a 100Hz refresh rate. When Windows boots-up, a bit after it gets to the desktop, it will go to black and a "clicking" noise will be heard from the monitor as it resets the refresh rate. It always comes immediately back to desktop.

    I noticed it does not do it when I use a lower refresh rate like 60 or 75Hz. BTW, I'm using WinXP Pro. Just some thoughts, as it sounds familiar to what I've seen.
    Share this post

  6. #6
    Originally posted by -HH-Quazi:
    Now if I wait a couple minutes after Windows loads up and then move the cursor all is well, I don't loose the desktop picture.
    Hmm... Well if this has happened on multiple windows installs, you need to determine what they have in common. Are you using the same driver version for both installs? What do you have start up for both installs?


    Originally posted by SlickStick:
    From my experience, the refresh rate of your monitor may be the cause. I have an older CRT and I run a 100Hz refresh rate. When Windows boots-up, a bit after it gets to the desktop, it will go to black and a "clicking" noise will be heard from the monitor as it resets the refresh rate. It always comes immediately back to desktop.
    I don't think hardware is the cause, because from what he's saying his background / desktop is going black, but his monitor is still showing a signal while it happens (he can move his mouse around and restore his desktop wallpaper).

    Does Intel have a dual core exe fix like AMD does for its dual core cpu's? If it does I do need to install it regardless of whether or not it is a fix for this issue. Thanks m8s!
    No, I don't believe so. And it's always puzzled my why they don't. From what I hear (since I've never used a Core 2 Duo) in certain games they tend to stutter and freeze if you have a dual core, and I believe the Dual Core optimizer from AMD resolves this. With Intel there's no optimizer but setting a programs "affinity" (see in my sig) helps cure the problem.

    Note for IL-2, if you're experiencing some stuttering issues follow the direction of this post here (affinity alone won't solve the problem): http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/49310655/m/669...541052636#2541052636
    Share this post

  7. #7
    SlickStick's Avatar Banned
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Posts
    3,110
    Originally posted by coolcody77:
    I don't think hardware is the cause, because from what he's saying his background / desktop is going black, but his monitor is still showing a signal while it happens (he can move his mouse around and restore his desktop wallpaper).
    That's exactly the description of what happens on my system and why I mentioned it as a possible place for Quazi to look.
    Share this post

  8. #8
    -HH-Quazi's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    5,927
    Just got that glitch figured out gents. Damn Creative drivers for the X-Fi. I have been days installing & reinstalling the OS. Don't know why but those drivers have to be installed straight way after the chipset drivers, at least with this setup. And the card had to be removed and reinstalled after the OS was reinstalled & loaded. If I installed the OS with the X-Fi already installed, the glitch remained. I've been troubleshooting this for so many days I was ready to pull my hair out, and I can't spare too much of that. But installing the OS then the chipset drivers, then shutting the rig down to install the X-Fi sound card and then its' drivers straightway finally got the bugger to boot up, load up, and not loose the desktop upon the first move of the mouse. Eldon will be glad to hear about this. I am sure he is ready to get his hands on it and enjoy the ride.
    Share this post