Member Avatar for Zanethic

Hi all, thanks for reading this thread.
Recently my Acer Aspire 5552WXMi stated to act weird. Here are the problems:

- After watching avi movie files on Windows Media Player 11 (version 11.0.5721.5230), I try to close the application (pressing the "X" button, or right click & "close" command or the alt+f4, the laptop screen flashes for about half a second, before turning completely black.

- While the screen had turned black, all laptop funtions seize to work; ctrl+alt+del fails, caps lock/num lock lights fail to light up when the keys are pressed, & mouse cursor dissapears. It is as if it froze with a black screen.

- The screen turns black ONLY after watching video files (WMP, and sometimes Real Player). No other applications causes this problem (Word, Internet Explorer, etc). The laptop functions normally when not watching video files or during startup.

So far, my only solution to get rid of the black blank screen is to force shut-down my laptop by holding down the power button for a few seconds, before starting back up again.

The most annoying part is this: everytime when i try to close Windows Media Player, there is about a 50-50 chance that the screen will turn black. Other times Windows Media Player closes normally.

I'm not sure if its Windows Media Player 11's fault, or my graphic card, or something else, but either way, this is a problem that needs some fixing.

Laptop Specs:
Intel Core Duo T2300E 1.66GHz
1022MB RAM
Windows XP Home Edition SP2
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBLq
ATI Radeon X1300 graphics card

If any more specs are needed, i'll be happy to provide them.

Thanks in advance!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by fren

Dani AI

Generated

As described, the machine consistently goes to a black, system‑wide freeze only after playing video (WMP/RealPlayer). That pattern strongly points at a graphics‑driver or video‑acceleration/codec interaction that is crashing the system at kernel level, rather than a simple player bug. ’s suggestion to update the video driver is the correct first step, but a few methodical checks help isolate the cause.

Recommended triage (priority order):

  • Install the laptop’s OEM video driver first (Acer’s support) or fully uninstall the current ATI/Radeon driver via Device Manager, reboot, then install a clean driver build.
  • Temporarily disable hardware/video acceleration in the media player(s) so rendering falls back to software.
  • Try a different player that uses a different renderer (for example, VLC or Media Player Classic) to see whether the problem follows the player or the file/codec.
  • Perform a clean boot (disable non‑Microsoft startup items/services) to rule out third‑party codec/filters interfering with DirectShow/VPU drivers.

Further diagnostics and cautions:

  • Inspect Windows Event Viewer (System/Application) for errors at the freeze time; note driver names or Stop codes.
  • Test with an external monitor: if external output remains stable while the laptop panel blacks, suspect an LCD/inverter/cable; if the whole system still freezes, suspect GPU/driver or motherboard.
  • Consider a BIOS update (from Acer) and a controlled test using a Live OS (Linux LiveCD) to separate Windows/driver issues from hardware faults.
  • Avoid installing random codec packs during troubleshooting; back up important data before deeper tests or service.

These steps narrow whether the issue is driver/software, codec/filter, or hardware. Updating the driver as suggested is the best first move, followed by the software‑acceleration and clean‑boot checks.

Member Avatar for fren

Update and download your video card driver here. Read the link carefully.

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