Member Avatar for ebfspringfield

When I view a video clip, of any type, my monitor goes blank, I turn it off and then on, then it is fine. Any idea what I can do to fix this? My system is WinXPHome, HP desktop, screen is KDS (thin screen).

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by RC_Razor

Dani AI

Generated

Summary checklist for the blank-screen-during-video issue reported by . was right to ask which card and player are in use, and 's driver tip is a good start — below are focused, practical steps to narrow the cause and fix it.

Start with quick isolation tests:

  • Try two different players (use one that can force software decoding, e.g. VLC, and a standard player) and compare windowed vs full-screen playback. If windowed is fine but full-screen blanks the screen, that points at hardware acceleration/overlay or a resolution/refresh change.
  • Boot Windows in VGA/low-resolution mode (F8 advanced boot options) and play the same file. If the problem disappears, it strongly implicates the video driver.

Driver and settings checks:

  • Temporarily lower or disable video hardware acceleration: Desktop -> Properties -> Settings -> Advanced -> Troubleshoot -> move Hardware Acceleration toward None, then retest.
  • Use Device Manager to update or roll back the display driver. Before changing drivers create a System Restore point so you can undo changes safely.
  • Check the System event log (Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer) for display-driver errors or crashes while playback is happening. Note any error text or event IDs.

Hardware and connection checks:

  • Reseat or replace the video cable and try a different monitor or TV output if possible; intermittent signal or EDID handshake failures can look like a blank screen but recover on power-cycle.
  • If the PC uses an older or OEM-integrated graphics chipset and no suitable updated drivers exist, consider testing with a low-cost PCI/AGP card from a mainstream vendor as a diagnostic/replacement.

If these steps do not isolate the issue, collect the exact display adapter entry shown in Device Manager and any Event Viewer error messages; those details will point to the next steps. Also keep warranty/repair options in mind as @J☼E suggested.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for J☼E

is it new? and does it have a warranty?

Member Avatar for Dani

What video card do you have? Do you have the latest video card drivers installed? (i.e. from ATi or NVidia) What program are you using to play video clips?

Member Avatar for ebfspringfield

Video Card? Without taking the computer apart, I looked at my display adapter in Hardware, Device Manager, the video is s3 Graphics ProSavage from S3 Graphics INc., with driver 6.13.10.101110-12-01 date of driver.

Member Avatar for J☼E

thats probably your problem, you should update your drivers for your card, im not to sure where to go on your computer but mine is under ati on my programs list you can click on configure option and there should be an option somewhere to run a wizard to check for updates

Member Avatar for samaru

You'll have better luck posting in the hardware forum. I'm moving this thread there.

Member Avatar for RC_Razor

only couse im the PIMP with da most ... heres a helpful hint :cheesy:

Member Avatar for ebfspringfield

thank you for changing the post location to hardware

Member Avatar for RC_Razor

my link proir should help you in your quest for drivers...

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