help – intel HD graphic drive

[xjboonie]

o I’m putting together my mini HTPC with the following components:

Apex MI-008 case
Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 mini-ITX motherboard
Intel i3-530 cpu with stock cooler
Corsair XMS DDR3 ram, 4GB (2x2GB)
Samsung 1TB F3 hard drive

I installed Win7 64-bit Pro via USB stick, then installed the gigabyte drivers after I copied them from the included dvd to a usb drive.

I ran windows update, installed 42 updates, rebooted a few times
Ran windows update again, noticed optional update for intel graphics driver.

Went to intel’s site, got the latest driver: 8.15.10.2182 and installed it
1/2 way through the install this is what I see on my TV (using a vizio 32″ LCD).

Any thoughts on what happened, and how to fix it?

[xjboonie]

I think I forgot to mention that the pc is hooked to the TV via HDMI.

I’m going to borrow a VGA cable from work and see if that fixes it tonight.

Could the driver update have affected the setting such that it doesn’t display properly?

The TV is a VIZIO E320VL, which is a 720P 32″ tv, but win7 said the recommended resolution was 1080P, and the tv indicated 1080P when I switched to the HDMI input (before the driver update).  When I set the resolution to 720P, I had to switch the TV to WIDE setting otherwise there was a black band all around the screen.

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

Is there supposed to be a screenshot or attachment in your first post?  I even checked the code in your message to ensure it wasn’t just a matter of my browser not displaying it, but I don’t see what you’re referring to when you say, “this is what I see on my TV”.

[xjboonie]

It’s not a screen shot – it’s an attachment picture from my iPhone (sorry it’s not better – and it’s rotated – I’ll see if I can fix that) of the screen.

[Ugadata]

The picture is there I can see it.

I presume you have rebooted more than once after the update.

I have experienced issues upgrading older Intel graphics drivers hosing the display if the PC wasn’t rebooted to an administrative account.  And in the case of Win7 it could be UAC messing with it.

I would certainly try pressing F8 and try the VGA mode option.  It won’t fix the problem but it can help in undoing the update.

[i]OK, so starting with Vista it is called “Enable low Resolution Mode”

And from the picture it does look like an incorrect resolution that HDMI or the TV doesn’t like[/i]

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”xjboonie”]
It’s not a screen shot – it’s an attachment picture from my iPhone (sorry it’s not better – and it’s rotated – I’ll see if I can fix that) of the screen.
[/quote]

I’m not seeing the attachment, but Ugadata is, so I’m glad he’s helping out.  🙂

[Mike Garcen]

Yes, drivers can cause what you’re seeing. especially if the BIOS and bootup screen are just perfectly fine. Ugadata is spot on with his advice. and once you’re in, you can roll back the driver (and honestly, you can reboot as well and then reinstall the same driver, and everything will probably be ok).

I’ve had weird issues when i do bulk updates on a system and don’t reboot between each significant one.

[xjboonie]

[quote=”Ugadata”]
The picture is there I can see it.

I presume you have rebooted more than once after the update.

I have experienced issues upgrading older Intel graphics drivers hosing the display if the PC wasn’t rebooted to an administrative account.  And in the case of Win7 it could be UAC messing with it.

I would certainly try pressing F8 and try the VGA mode option.  It won’t fix the problem but it can help in undoing the update.

[i]OK, so starting with Vista it is called “Enable low Resolution Mode”

And from the picture it does look like an incorrect resolution that HDMI or the TV doesn’t like[/i]
[/quote]

I turned off UAC, and did reboot a few times after that, but I don’t know if the update even went through.  I should be admin, as it’s a brand new, fresh install of Win7 and only one account.

I’m going to try using a VGA cable between the PC and TV tonight to see if that works (have to borrow one from work.. lol)

[xjboonie]

[quote=”shadymg”]
Yes, drivers can cause what you’re seeing. especially if the BIOS and bootup screen are just perfectly fine. Ugadata is spot on with his advice. and once you’re in, you can roll back the driver (and honestly, you can reboot as well and then reinstall the same driver, and everything will probably be ok).

I’ve had weird issues when i do bulk updates on a system and don’t reboot between each significant one.
[/quote]

So are you saying to roll back, reboot, and reinsall the driver; or reboot and reinstall the driver?

Also, is it better to let windows update install the driver, or to download and run it directly from Intel’s website?

[George L. Schmauch Jr.]

[quote=”xjboonie”]
Also, is it better to let windows update install the driver, or to download and run it directly from Intel’s website?
[/quote]

I know there [i]shouldn’t[/i] be a difference…

This may very well just be my luck, but I’ve run into issues when downloading drivers via Windows update.  In fact, it once installed a new network driver which made my connection completely unreliable.  It actually took me about 5 tries to get the driver downloaded so I could revert.  I download all the latest drivers direct from the manufacturer now.

[Ugadata]

Presuming you can boot using the low resolution mode and you have a readable display,  First thing I would do is check the display properties and set the resolution to 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768 (I would also check the refresh rate is set to 60 Hz, at least for now) then reboot see if you have a readable display.

I know the old CRTs can have problems with the refresh rate being set to anything the display can’t handle.  Not sure how LCD/Plasma displays will handle the refresh rate (I usually use 60 Hz for “flat” panels).  And there is no doubt that an incorrect resolution can/will cause problems similar to what your picture showed.  By the way, by incorrect resolution I mean a resolution the display can’t handle or was not designed to handle. 

If you can’t get a decent display after rebooting from the “VGA” mode, then I would consider removing or reinstalling the graphics driver.  Oh, if VGA mode doesn’t work you’ll need to remove the driver from safe mode.

[xjboonie]

Ok, borrowed a VGA cable from work and hooked it to the TV and PC, disconnected the HDMI from the PC, and booted.  Booted no problems, readable display.  Graphics driver is listed as the one I installed: 8.15.10.2182

Resolution is 1366×768 (TV’s native resolution – I think)
Refresh Rate: 60 Hz

What do I try now?

[xjboonie]

Ok – on a hunch, I plugged the HDMI cable in w/o rebooting, and switched the TV input to it (VGA cable still connected).  I was presented with a viewable log-in screen, logged in, and it seems to work.

I’m going to shut down, unplug the vga, and see if it will boot with HDMI.

Weird thing – it’s still saying the 1080P is prefereed, and the tv reports 1080P, but I didn’t think that was an available option…

UPDATE: Think I figured it out – before rebooting, I switched the resolution to 1366×768 (with 60 Hz refresh) and the screen did the same thing!!!  Luckly since I can’t hit the ok, they didn’t take and it reverted back to 1080P.  Why would it do that if the specs say the resolution is 1366 x 768?

[Naylia]

Many tvs only accept 1080p, 720p or 480p over HDMI and when the graphics card sees this it will switch to that resolution.

These same tv’s will be much more flexible via their PC input and often allow many resolutions. Getting pixel perfect on your 1366×768 panel may only be possible via VGA.

Even if your tv is only a “720p” 1366×768 panel, it will still accept 1080p input signal. It will just scale it down to the actual output resolution, 1366×768, of your tv. All plasmas and lcds are fixed resolution output, so they have to have internal scalers to handle the variety of possible inputs out there.

[xjboonie]

[quote=”Naylia”]
Many tvs only accept 1080p, 720p or 480p over HDMI and when the graphics card sees this it will switch to that resolution.

These same tv’s will be much more flexible via their PC input and often allow many resolutions. Getting pixel perfect on your 1366×768 panel may only be possible via VGA.

Even if your tv is only a “720p” 1366×768 panel, it will still accept 1080p input signal. It will just scale it down to the actual output resolution, 1366×768, of your tv. All plasmas and lcds are fixed resolution output, so they have to have internal scalers to handle the variety of possible inputs out there.
[/quote]

Huh.. that’s different than the 32″ Westinghouse I had, which was 720P with a 1366×768 resolution.  It loved 1366×768, but it was older and I was using DVI and driven by an ATI 4670.  That same ATI 4670 is now driving a 46″ Samsung 1080P over HDMI so I didn’t even think of any issues… 

The supported “signal compatibility” is listed as 480I, 480P, 720P, and 1080I

Maybe I should exchange this 32″ Vizio for a 37″ one – it’s 1080P – and then my brain won’t be so confused.

[Author]

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