i don't have my display like i used too ,,,the colors are like,,,,well i don't have colors and i can't change them through control panel when i try to change to 16 bits high it says to restart my computer and when it finshed to restart everything's the same, big icons, no colors, well very few,,,, and i don't want to pay more to the technical guy, what should i do ,,,my sound it is already fixed thanks for your help but now what can i do with my display,,,,oh and i almost forget it every time i turn on my computer ,,,before starting windows it shows a menu with the option for safe mode, normal ,and other options does this is part of my display issue?

thanks
kike

Dani AI

Generated

The symptoms described by (very few colors, large icons, and inability to set 16‑bit) point to either a missing/corrupt video driver or a failing video adapter. The earlier replies from and about driver problems are on target; the notes below expand with practical ways to pin down the exact cause and obtain the correct legacy driver for an older Presario.

Quick isolation checklist:

  • Swap the video cable or connect the PC to a known‑good monitor/TV to rule out a bad monitor or cable.
  • If the display shows visual artifacting (lines, flicker) or breaks consistently even before Windows loads, suspect hardware. If it behaves fine until Windows loads then drops to low color/large icons, suspect drivers.
  • Use the F8 boot menu option labeled "Last Known Good Configuration" (when available) before reinstalling drivers; it can restore a working driver registry state.

How to identify the right driver when the Presario model search fails:

  • Look for the Service Tag / product sticker on the case or underside of a laptop; OEM support pages accept that and will list exact drivers.
  • If the case is accessible, check the video card or motherboard for a chipset label (ATI/AMD, NVIDIA, Intel). Desktop cards will have a model printed on the board.
  • If Windows only shows a generic adapter, run a hardware‑ID/detection utility (legacy tools such as PC‑Wizard/Everest/AIDA32 were common for 9x/ME) to get the PCI vendor/device ID, then search for drivers by chipset rather than by the Presario number. Common vendor IDs: ATI/AMD 1002, NVIDIA 10DE, Intel 8086.

Driver install and safety notes:

  • Obtain drivers marked specifically for Windows 98/ME (OEM or vendor legacy drivers). For laptops prefer the OEM package; for desktops the chipset vendor’s legacy driver usually works.
  • Back up the system first (System Restore in ME, manual backups for 98). If a packaged installer fails, use the "Have Disk" method with the correct .inf files or the vendor’s legacy driver archive.
  • If software fixes fail and the GPU shows hardware faults, test with a spare PCI/AGP card (desktop) or seek a repair/replacement for laptops.

These steps expand on ’s and ’s suggestions to help locate the exact video chipset and the correct legacy driver, and to separate driver problems from hardware failure.

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i don't have my display like i used too ,,,the colors are like,,,,well i don't have colors and i can't change them through control panel when i try to change to 16 bits high it says to restart my computer and when it finshed to restart everything's the same, big icons, no colors, well very few,,,, and i don't want to pay more to the technical guy, what should i do ,,,my sound it is already fixed thanks for your help but now what can i do with my display,,,,oh and i almost forget it every time i turn on my computer ,,,before starting windows it shows a menu with the option for safe mode, normal ,and other options does this is part of my display issue?

thanks
kike

on boot do you choose normal mode or safe mode .in safe mode the display will be big as no video display driver are loaded ,if you are going into normal mode and get the big display and only 16 bit ,you may have lost you video drives and will need to download new ones from the manufactor of the video adapter .

yes i always choose normal,,,,and yes! i'm almost sure i lost mi video drivers,,,,now i have a non common version or model of computer,,,,i'm trying to download the video drivers for my computer and i say that this is a non common model cause, i can't find does drivers i've been in search for this drivers for 3hrs. now,,,,i went to compaq presario drivers,,,,video drivers and all kind of drivers too,,,,and i searched through google,yahoo,altavista,and many others,,,now, may version or model of compaq presario is a 5373,,,and i can't find video drivers for this model,,,i already saw,,,sound , modem, dvd, cd, everything except video drivers or video adapter drivers for this model,,,,,someone knows wich video driver could be similar or helpful for this model(5373), i would be very happy to find something for MY PRECIOUS computer!!
PLEASE I'M BEgGING FOR HELP!!!

thanks
kike

Get your driver from Driverguide.com. You need to know what display adapter you have installed in your PC.

Right Click on your MY COMPUTER icon
Select PROPERTIES
Select DEVICE MANAGER
Select DISPLAY ADAPTERS

Use this as your search term, downlaod and install

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