T20 video problem

[skipdg]

I have a T20 2547-wgu any the unit works fine until, i load the video drivers. The video is a Savage IMP? ithink the IMP is right, anyway once the drivers are loaded the screen goes black. Anyone have any idea what is causing this
The video card is S3 Savage IX8 8Mb Video
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[djpharoah]

the video card is a savage S3 IX8 video card.
make sure your loading the drivers for that card only!

-dj

[skipdg]

OH........I made sure the drivers were right. The core video works but when the drivers are loaded the screen goes blank(black). Tried to load XP and 2000 and as soon as the core dos is loaded the screen goes black. The only conclusion I can come to is that the video card( and that is if there is a video card) has went. Thats the big question IS THERE A VIDEO CARD IN THAT UNIT?
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[Orevin]

The video chip is soldered on the system board.

[dsvochak]

Does "The core video works" mean that the IBM Boot logo etc is visible before "..as soon as the core dos is loaded the screen goes black"? If so, your video is probably okay.

Does "Tried to load XP and 2000" mean attempted to install XP and/or 2000? Are you loading "the core dos" from a bootable floppy? Are the "video drivers" referenced in the original post being "loaded" from the dos autoexec.bat/config.sys file? If so, try editing those files to rem out any reference to the video drivers to see what happens.

[skipdg]

orevin
didnt want to here that, but that would mean it COULD be replaced.....correct
dsvochak
yes, it loads all the pre stuff and then goes black, but continues to load the OS after that.
Ill check the config file and get back
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[skipdg]

Checked the config file and there is NO reference to the vidoe drivers in there.
To make clear the word "load" this unit has had
1 Win SE and basic video drivers works goes blank after S3 Savage IX8 drivers loaded
2 Win 2000 works fine with basic drivers goes blank after S3 Savage IX8 drivers loaded
3 Win xp same as 2000
thats about all I can tell you
hope somebody can help
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[skipdg]

dsvochek
Just got a chance to reread this entire post and found your statement
"Does "The core video works" mean that the IBM Boot logo etc is visible before "..as soon as the core dos is loaded the screen goes black"? If so, your video is probably okay. "
and YES that is just what it does.
If it is not the card what is it?
This whole thing is getting much more interesting.
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[chan_man]

If you see the IBM on the screen and then the XP load screen, then it sounds like there is a conflict when you load your video driver. XP should have a driver that will work with the Savage chip set so you really do not have to load your own.

As for replacing your video "card", it is integral to the motherboard, so this means that you are going to have to change the entire board.

Other things that you should check is, press Fn-F7 to see if your video is sent to your VGA connector instead of your laptop screen. Another one would be to try to boot to VGA mode, this usually will work if there is a conflict in your video driver.

[dsvochak]

If I understand the posts correctly, W98SE, W2K and XP all install and "work fine" with the vanilla vga driver. If that's the case, there's likely something wrong with the way the Savage video driver is being installed.

The latest W98 driver and installation instructions can be found here: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4JRMXT

The latest W2k/XP driver and instructions are here: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4JRNJB

I suggest you download the appropriate driver for the OS of your choice, install it per the instructions provided, and see if it works.

[fclauson]

Sir

Did you resolve you problem - I have exactly the same and cannot figure it out

Have re-loaded the drivers all to no avail

Francis

[cadams7701]

I have had a similar problem with my T20. When I boot up I get the BIOS IBM load screen and the Windows XP boot screen but then everything goes black.

To get around this I boot into safe mode, delete the Savage display adapter, reboot and it loads up fine.

I am using the latest driver downloaded from IBM but it is clearly a driver issue if it boots up fine using the generic windows drivers.

[fclauson]

You will not beleive this - I do not know what causes it and cannot get it to behave any different (played with CMOS settings etc)

but my PC once windows starts wants to use the external video port and not the internal one.

It cannot be convinced that there is no external device

so every time I boot I have to do a FN f8 to swap the display back to the internal display

Francis

[skipdg]

I never did find the cause of the problem, but upon hind site I think there may have been a bios problem and I my self would get the latest flash and go from there. Finally got rid of the unit
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