Dell XPS 1330 Help please

[redwebpk]

2 issues here


So I have a dell XPS 1330 laptop I purchased a few years ago. A few months ago I was trying to watch some movies via HDMI and everything was working just fine. Well after the last time I used the HDMI, I unplugged it and the display was blank. After hours and hours of trying to fix the problem, toggling from projector mode and other settings, I just cannot for the life of me, get the screen to come back on. The only way I can use the computer now is connecting it to the TV via HDMI to see whats going on.

Today I decided to reformat the computer in hopes that it would fix the issue, thinking that maybe the GPU driver had become corrupted or something and now the computer won't even boot to windows and just stops after the window loading screen. I put in the system restore disc (Windows Vista) and changed the boot priority to cd/dvd and it reads it just fine, however after initializing the setup it just stays on the blue windows installation screen and does nothing. Is there a way to completely erase the hard disk without the restore disk or a windows OS disk?

I guess I need to tackle each problem separably but im thinking that maybe getting it to reformat, maybe by some small chance, it will fix itself. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

-Red

 

[Frosty is a Snowman]

if you want to format the hard drive and you are having problems doing this while it is connected you have a few options

you can use a Live CD, one of the Linux versions, or windows on a USB memory stick
this will allow you to format the hard drive
When I say a Live CD this means the operating system is on the CD and does not need to be installed, if you boot from the CD drive, it will load the operating system on the CD, which will allow you to perform tasks on the hard drive.
There are other Live CD's which have numerous tools for formatting, virus scanning etc.
It can be best to have a little search to find the one that suits your needs


or you can take out the hard drive, connect it to another computer and format it

 

[redwebpk]

Thanks I'll check into it..any other suggestions? Do you think a reformat will fix it?

 

[carnageX]

Before you format, try this:

Boot up with the laptop plugged in. After the BIOS splash screen and before Windows starts loading, start pressing F8 to get to the advanced boot menu.

Should be options like Safe Mode, etc. Find the one that says "Enable low resolution video" and select that. Then, shut the computer off before it loads windows (just do this during the BIOS splash screen), unplug from the TV, and turn the laptop back on. It should hopefully show up on your laptop's display.

 

[ithanz]

2 issues here


Today I decided to reformat the computer in hopes that it would fix the issue, thinking that maybe the GPU driver had become corrupted or something and now the computer won't even boot to windows and just stops after the window loading screen.
-Red

When you say it 'stops' do you mean that the computer shuts off, the loading screen just stays on or its a black screen but power is on?

Can you go into safe mode? If you can get into safe mode (usually f8) this bypasses the current video driver and settings and places the video display settings in the default mode. If that works you can change the display settings and update drivers. Also you should probably check the audio and set that to what your usual audio output is.