Here’s an annoyance that found me today—the sinister “nv4_disp” problem. Hopefully my fix will allow other people to bypass any aggravation, unnecessary purchases, technician costs, or therapy.
I’ve had my Dell Dimension 8300 for about 18 months. It runs smooth as gravy. I haven’t installed any software in several weeks. I run virus checks and spyware removals regularly.
So wasn’t it great when my computer greeted me with the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) this morning? For those of you unfamiliar with BSOD, it’s the screen you get when your computer is really screwed. Anyhow, my computer would boot up, show the Dell Bios screen, and then hit the BSOD. Every time I rebooted, same problem.
After booting into Safe Mode first and then rebooting the computer, I was able to get an error on boot that gave me some idea of the problem. The error message said that the “nv4_disp” driver was apparently caught in an infinite loop. My nerdiness came in handy as I figured “nv4_disp” reads a lot like “NVIDIA display,” my video card. Specifically, my NVIDIA Geforce FX 5200 video card. Perhaps I had found the culprit.
I was able to successfully restore my computer to tip-top shape in 5 easy steps. Here’s my 10 minute solution.
After following these steps, Windows XP should start up as usual (prior to our little nv4_disp bug). Your “nv4_disp” problem is officially solved.
In short, I have no idea. I’m actually still trying to figure this out, so I welcome any comments about what could have been the cause. In doing some quick searches across the Web, however, I see that this is actually a common problem.
January 29th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
WOW~ I have a mirror image problem (at almost exactly 18 months like you…make you wonder?) I am droppiing down the new driver after a 3.5 hour conversation with a few Dell Techs and I am very hopefull your tip helps, because thier ulitmate solution is to overwrite the operating system and that means me backing up all of my files first…..what a drag!
I’ll let you know if it works for me too…..
WM
January 29th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
No such luck for me……still going amber and locking up when windows attempts to start…. ;O(
Any other suggestions?
WM
January 30th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
Walt-
Take a look at the Further Reading link I added today. Seems like there’s a ton of people having this problem, and just as many suggestions for fixing it.
February 17th, 2006 at 10:57 am
I too experienced exactly what you described. I followed your solution, and it worked for me so far. Thank you so very much.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Mcafee anti virus got me the NV_4 Disp screen of death..while it was trying to update..right when I clicked update is when I started having the problems…computer ran fine till that moment..
March 18th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
My problem is with the GE Force FX 5200 too. I had the same problem…Blue Screen Of Death! UGH! I believe my BSOD was caused by a power outage. Contacted Dell - had no luck - just a lengthy phone call…did what you suggested and SO FAR SO GOOD! Thank you so very much! You saved me at least some aggravation, wish I would have found this sooner! Thx - Brenda
March 19th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Having the exact same problems as everyone else. just about to call Dell, but I will try what you have suggested here. System: Dell dimension 8300, GE Force FX 5200. It was worked perfectly for just over two years, until this BSOD issue — have not installed anything new for a few months. From other messages boards, it seems like this issue has increased in popularity over the last few months (a signficant # of posts are from Jan 2006 on — very interesting)
April 25th, 2006 at 12:40 am
Thank you soooooooooooooooooooo very much. I tried this and it worked. Thank you for taking the time to share this with everyone. I REALLY appreciate it.
June 7th, 2006 at 12:19 am
exact same problem, even to the 18 month part.
the fix you listed worked perfect!
thanks a bunch!
praise the Lord!
June 11th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Worked perfectly…Thanks o gracious Nerd.!
June 20th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
It may be the driver, but double-ckeck your vedio card.
There are some capacitors on your vedio card, make sure they all are good.
June 20th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
tried this with my 6200, but did not solve the problem. The bsod constantly happens when I play certain videos through wmp. Im gonna RMA the card.
June 22nd, 2006 at 11:24 pm
this has not worked for me either. i have a 6800xt gefore pci-e card. i have gone through one thinking it was the card. i rma’d it and got another back. same problems. i have reformatted the system twice now and tried various new drivers that have come out recently. nothing seems to work with it. i am switching to ATI seeing that this nv4_disp error is nvidia related. seeing many forums that people who switched to ati had solved their problems. see what happens…
June 25th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Hey all, I have had a very similar problem. My screen would just freeze whenever I played games. I found out that my fan on my FX 5200 wasn’t spinning correctly. I added some oil, and so far so good, no more problems. I’m sure this isn’t the case for several, but I thought I would share.
June 26th, 2006 at 6:18 am
hmm..i had this problem months ago and after it had been fixed, the problem came by again..
do i just need to follow the steps again?
June 26th, 2006 at 6:21 am
after doing these steps, the problem is still there =(
June 26th, 2006 at 9:49 am
no luck…
June 28th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
the fix seems to have worked on my Dell 8300 with the geforce5200 card, but the only way i could make it work was not to delete the hardware. when i did, the nvidia install shut down because it said there was no compatible hardware .. anyway, thanks for putting me on the right track — i wish i could say it only took me 10 minutes, but the hour or so was time well spent.
July 2nd, 2006 at 8:57 am
Had a Dell Dim 8300 nearly two years working fine . . . but missing shodocvw.dll file is what began, which lead to nv4_disp, (for a while could manipulate the computer through Task Mgr to try to learn what happened), and now only the BSOD. I attempted your fix after finding, but seems too late. When booting in safe mode with networking, get only black screen with safe mode in each corner. What am I to do now? Buy a Mac? That is already on the agenda!!! But I want this expensive Dell computer to run properly!!! Michele
July 5th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
great job man i wish there weere more people like you that just give it as it is. i had the same problem with my Dell 4500 this solution fixied it right away and i also do belive my mcafee had a hand in this i didnt see the BSOD till i put that on there just thought id spit that out
July 9th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
My Dim8300 reacted exactly the same as Scott’s (comment #18), but rebooting and then upgrading the driver over the old version seems to have fixed the problem.
thanks for the thread!!
July 16th, 2006 at 9:27 am
just had the problem again this a.m. while using google earth. machine froze, gave me the bad nv_4 message. i turned off the power, waited and rebooted. nothing. waited, tried again and up comes a screen inviting me to boot into safe mode or use last known safe configuration, which i chose. all’s normal so far.
July 18th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
I have the same problem, but being a few months later, it looks like they’ve got a new release Release 90 6/23/06. Think I should try that or stick with release 80?
July 19th, 2006 at 1:26 am
As an adendum to my prior post. The card I have is almost 4 years old. Is that a problem?
July 23rd, 2006 at 6:48 pm
Thanks alot! My son brought home his computer with the BSOD. Interestingly, also about 18 months old, a Dell Dimension 8300 with an NVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics card. I followed your suggestions and we once again have a functioning computer and a happy college man.
Thanks.
July 31st, 2006 at 9:11 pm
hey there all
yeah i ve got the same problem except mines a geforce mx 4000. I am trying your suggestions now so hopefully some luck.
August 2nd, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Thank you so much for the help!! I have a 3 year old GeForceFX 5200 card and your suggestion fixed the problem immediately.
I’m glad I didn’t have to resort to plan B - which included a baseball bat
August 11th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
Thank you so much!!! I tried many attempts to solve this nv4_disp infinite loop nightmare and all failed. Luckily I came to your website and your step by step method really works!! I really appreciate very much!
August 29th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
My Dell 8300 series is like 3 years old and I got the BSOD yesterday. So far your easy to follow instructions have worked! Thanks
September 1st, 2006 at 11:38 am
I got a px6800 ultra and it dose like that only if i try to play a game…and then blue screen comes up with the nv4_disp error. Its like this: when i first boot the pc i can play for like 10 mins…the time being reduced each time the pc restarts due to the error… its like something warms and i cant play anymore…any suggestions? PLSSS
September 1st, 2006 at 11:39 am
Soz to bother again but i already have the new 40 mb driver pack from nvidia 91.31 whql….so what can it be?
September 1st, 2006 at 11:16 pm
what he said might not be true…in fact its bullshit….my nv4_disp error was down to over heating…..maybe thats just my comp but investing in a fan sorted it for me….but driver error might be to blame….mt advice would be to look for specific driver for your card and not use the forceware all in 1 driver
September 10th, 2006 at 11:19 am
i have tried your solution to this nightmare of a problem and thanks to you, i can forget about that problem. once again thank you for your easy way to fix my pc
September 19th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Thanks - I had this problem after installing a new GeForce 6600 - but it only happened when using an internet or file brower (IE, FireFox, Windows Explorer). I’ve just finished your trick (couldnt download file in safemode, but did it in normal startup and accessed in safemode), and it already seens to be doing a better job - will keep you updated. Thanks a lot :)
September 19th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Oh, sorry to flood a bit here, but can someone from Nvidia please take note of this problem and put a fix out?? This is a mojor problem for at least 2 cards by the look of it, so please sort it. If anyone could forward this thread to anyone working in Nvidia it would be much appreciated by all Nvidia users. Thanks.
September 21st, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Ok, bad news, my computer seems to be doing the same thing again. I’m going to reinstall XP at the weekend (day after tomorrow) and see if that makes any difference.
September 23rd, 2006 at 5:49 am
I was optimistic when reading and trying out the possible solutions however it did not work in my case. These articles got me on the right track since I have GeForce FX 5200 card. I have updated with the latest nvidia drivers but when I try to play a DVD, to test if it resolved the issue, the system hangs and I have to reboot it. I guess I will have to experiment with other video cards.
October 9th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
Having tried Microsoft website and downloaded all their latest patches - didn’t help. Then Dell for another web suggestion - again no good. To Chris’ NVIDIA site for a 6 hour download that fell over half way thru even with an 8Mb Broadband connection. What’s a donwnload accelerator and how do you disable it? Trying again this time to Save rather than Run. I’ll check when I wake up in the morning.
Thanks for getting me this far. More to come…
October 10th, 2006 at 2:30 am
Timed out again. How come a 20Mb download takes 5 hours? Trying again in Normal mode. Otherwise will have to find out how to switch off/extend Broadband timeout. Also what driver does Safe Mode use? Surely it can be copied to the standard one’s place? I am able to see what I’m doing cos I put a copy of nv4_disp from another XP onto a memory stick and copied it to System32. More to come…
October 13th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
Hi,
I have Latitude C840 notebook with the same nv4_disp problem. I followed your steps but ran into problems when trying to uninstall the nvidia display driver under display adapters as I simply cannot see an adapter called nvidia. Instead, I have a driver called “C840″ which I removed and when I try to install the new driver I downloaded from nvidia, the installation dies with the following error “the install software cannot find associated hardware so it will quit” so I cannot install the new driver. Any help to get over this problem will be greatly appreciated…
Mutlu..
October 25th, 2006 at 7:55 am
Yes this looks to have fixed the problem. I have a dell inspiron 8500 and it is just out of its 3 year warrenty.
It was just great to fix DIY.
I will say that we have just given the laptop and the desk top recently more memory. I think that we almost expect too much out of the machines and underestimate how quickly stuff moves on and how much rubbish gets into the machines even with good virus checkers and sometimes the only fix is more memory
October 25th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Please take my comment back it didn’t work.
It wont recognise the drivers
I have kids wanting to do their homework. It is the same message as Mutlu above.
November 20th, 2006 at 2:20 am
In reguards to the video hanging on Windows XP, This only happens on the Geforce 6200 PCI Card, and anything 6200 or higher that is an AGP Card. This behavior does not appear however in PCI Cards. Its a buggy Bridge that they use in those cards. Eg PCIE to PCI Bridge and so forth.
The only way to view videos again in this situation is to downgrade to the 84.21 drivers.
November 20th, 2006 at 2:21 am
oops, I meant this issue doesnt happen in PCIE Cards! Im major tired!
November 24th, 2006 at 8:54 am
Didn’t work for me either. Downloaded the updated drivers for Nvidia 7400 (my Sony Vaio) but when I tried to install the new drivers I got a message that it couldn’t find find or recognize and conked out.
November 25th, 2006 at 11:27 am
Followed your instructions and it seems to work!! I tried everything, this was the last chance before I tested Newton’s discovery from the 10th floor with my PC…. txs
December 1st, 2006 at 5:28 pm
I’ve got two issues. Dell Dim 8300 is about 2 years old but the symptoms are less than 5 days old.
1 - Video screen begins to freeze when my kid is playing Madden 07
2 - nv4_disp error appears before XP finished booting.
The problems are not consistent but appear at least once or twice per day.
I’ve tried updated drivers from Dell’s website and from NVidia’s website. Symptoms still there.
Since this problem is entirely new and there’s nothing new on the PC, one would have to think that it’s one of the following:
1) Hardware failure
2) Memory Failure
3) A recent XP update (is this a possible cause?)
December 13th, 2006 at 1:06 am
I don’t have thr default windows logon screen so I can’t logon in safe mode it’s just the background :(
December 14th, 2006 at 8:35 am
Like a few others here, I have a Dell 8300 with an nVidia FX5200, nearly 3 years old. The monitor started flashing on and off and I got the blue screen with the nav4_disp/infinite loop error message. I went through the diagnostics with the Dell technician and we reinstalled the video card drivers. But that did not solve the problem. The problem was four burst capacitors on the video card. They had actually swelled up and exploded (literally) one by one with a loud pop over a period of several weeks, and leaked some kind of gunk. I had heard these noises from ’somewhere’ inside the tower over a period of several weeks and assumed they were some kind of static discharge or whatever, and hoped whatever it was would ‘go away’ as the PC seemed to be running normally. But when the monitor problem occurred I found out what the noises had been! Dell phone support was very good indeed and they sent a replacement card within 24 hours which fixed the problem immediately.
I guess the 8300 cooling system and the nVidia fx5200 card just don’t suit each other very well?
December 14th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Paul’s comment above is the perfect lead in to the follow up of my story.
About 4 months after I applied my fix above (around May 2006), the problem started occurring again. My fix didn’t work this time, and since nothing changed on my PC I was immediately thinking hardware problem.
Opened the case, took out the card, and what do I find? A SIZZLING hot video card. Actually hot enough to burn a hand if I held onto it. This is consistent with capacitors burning out, and other people have reported this problem as well.
So my fix above, at least in my experience, worked but only prolonged a bad video card from dying. I replaced the video card after I found that it was overheating (a nice way of saying 1 degree away from bursting into flames!) and my new card was an immediate improvement.
For anyone who tried my fix but continues to have the same problem, I would open up the PC immediately after the problem occurs (turn it off first, of course) and check to see if the card is unusally hot. If it is, call Dell. Seems from Paul’s reponse that they will send a replacement. And based on the popularity of this page, it’s clearly a known issue. Wish I knew this in May, because I paid out of pocket for my replacement card.
December 15th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
“Seems from Paul’s reponse that they will send a replacement.”
I’m on a ‘Next-Day-On-Site’ maintenance agreement with Dell, which is why they replaced it immediately. The failed card is exchanged for a refurbished card - you don’t get a new one, unfortunately.
December 26th, 2006 at 5:39 am
i have the dell 8300. the fix seemed to work. dell support tried to help but they said it could be a hardware problem. they tried their own update on their site and failed. i ordered a new video card. i came across this sie and the fix worded with his recomened driver. i canceled the order and saved money
thanks
December 27th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
Has anyone had the nv4_disp infinite loop problem with a Gateway? Symptoms described in previous posts sound similar to mine. Also, right before the computer crashes a yellow grid pattern about 1″ x 1″ appears under the cursor.
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:13 pm
He tenido el mismo problema de pantalla azul debido al controlador nv4_disp.dll en mi AMD64 con un GeForce 5200 de 128MB y luego de mucho renegar pude solucionarlo con la sugerencia encontrada en este link:
[url]http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=6232[/url]
[i]Right click-mouse over My Computer
Properties
Hardware(Tab)
Device Manager(button)
Click [+] next to System devices
right-mouse on CPU to AGP Controller (or whatever your controller is called)
Update Driver(button)
Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)
Next(button)
Select Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install.
Next(button)
Select PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge
Next(button)
Finish(button)
Reboot.[/i]
Suerte
;D
January 8th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
The nv4_disp problem on my Gateway has been resolved (see Post #53, 12/27/06). The fan on the video card died - once the card overheated it stopped functioning properly and caused the infinite loop problem. $75 for a new card. All is well now.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I have a Dell Dimension 4600, had exactly the same problem.
I followed your advice with succes. Thanks a great lot!
Actually, the Nvidia drivers are now installed automacically after download, so it’s even easier than described above.
January 12th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Thank you soo much. It worked. I also had a message “there was no compatible hardware”. but it was intstalled the first time. Thanks
January 18th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Another method to try before replacing a card (But by the looks of it, its a hardware problem…) Is to start up in wateva mode you can which allows u to get internet access. Follow a similar procedure as first outlined, go to hardware manager and select your graphics adapter, and hit delete, confirm it and ensure it has been removed.
!!!!———!!!!
VERY IMPORTANT
!!!!———!!!!
IF YOU HAVE ONBOARD GRAPHICS ON YOUR MOTHER BOARD AT THIS POINT AFTER REMOVING THE HARDWARE PROFILE FOR YOU G CARD RESTART THE PC AND PLUG THE MONITOR INTO THE MONITOR SLOT ON THE MOTHEBOARD (IT WILL BE IN A SEPERATE G CARD SLOT AT THE MOMENT) IF YOU DO NOT KNOW IF YOU HAVE A ON BOARD GRAPHICS MEMORY THEN LOOK ON YOUE PC CASE AT THE BACK AND CHECK IF YOU HAVE A PORT ON YOUR MOTHERBOARD FOR THE MONITOR, IF THERE IS ONLY ONE PORT (THE ONE ON THE GCARD) THEN YOU !!!MUST NOT!!! RESTART YOUR PC AFTER REMOVING THE HARDWARE PROFILE!!!
Option 1 (For people with onboard graphics)
After switching off the pc and restarting it with the monitor in the on board graphics boot up in wat eva mode will work (once again with internet access) and this time download drivers for a completely seperate card EG a ATI 9900 or something and install them.
(This will then overwrite all NVIDIA .DLL files with ATI ones ensureing none are left over. restart your pc again and then once booted install the NVIDA 7 series drivers (anything in the 77.7 72.2 79.9 etc etc) these drivers use the least Direct X features and card features, and the Ge Force 5200 is a Direct X 7 Card only, it doesnt support the later features, the 6200 6600 and 6800 range from direct X 7 8 9 (in order as listed) once installed the drivers restart again this time with monitor in the G Card port. Hope fully this has resolved your problem.
Option 2 (For Peopl WITHOUT On Board Grpahics)
Follow the same as above but DO NOT RESTART and DO NOT swap monitor cable to anywhere.
/* I Highly recommend checking your G Card for signs of over heating but if you either cant tell or jsut dont know if the G Card is over heating try this method */
Note: You can go to Start > Run > “Type in” DXDIAG and go to the graphics car settings, reduce all hardware acceleration, restart your pc and then run the tests on the DXDIAG page, if you pass them try increasing your hardware acceleration gradually until either u hit full accelleratio nwith no problems or you hit a accelleration level that causes a problem.
Thanks for reading hope ive helped if not contact me directly on
luke@wowsolutions.co.uk
-Luke
January 18th, 2007 at 7:20 am
/* Update /*
Another simple thing to do is ensure your G Card is firmly in the AGP, PCI or PCI-E port inside your pc. Check this by opening your pc case and locating the Graphics Card, (Usually and long thing circuit board in a AGP (Brown) PCI (White) PCI-E (Small White) port. remove the card totally and then re insert it firmly until it is level in the port and no parts are protruding (Sticking out of) from the mother board.
- thank again Luke
January 23rd, 2007 at 5:34 pm
I got a Dimension 9150
with a nvidia 7900gt/gto card in it i cant get rid of the BCOD (nv4_disp error) i have tried reinstalling grafic drivers like 30 times, updated my bios from dell and checked my hardware, but the problem is still there what a load of crap. Any ideas?
January 25th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Have a Dimension 4600 with the 128 mb ddr NVidia Geforce FX 5200 card. Will be 3 years old in March and the nv4_disp infinite loop error was occuring on boot with a BSOD. Went to Nvidia site and downloaded their driver(93.71) but on install It said no compatible hardware. Tried Dell site and installed ok(A07) but it did not help the problem. Then downloaded the driver(81.98) from your link which was different from my first Nvidia download. It also gave a incompatible message, but I was able to install it after a reboot by specifying the file I wanted to use. After this file installed I was able to boot again. I am up and running and it appears ok.
January 28th, 2007 at 4:08 am
Dell Dimension 4550 with GeForce 4 MX 420 recently stopped booting into Windows XP Home SP2. BSoD
Formatted HDD and installed Dell Reinstall CD SP1, then SP2 = No Problems
Microsoft update: 3 mandatory updates - KB892130, KB898461 and Installer 3.1 = No Problems
Back to Microsoft Update: 60 Critical Updates installed = Reboot = nv4_disp BSoD
Found this page.
Uninstalled Display Adapter in safe mode, but 93.71 Forceware would not find supportted hardware until I rebooted in Normal Mode.
My Conclusion: One of the Windows Critical Updates causes the BSoD if the NVIDIA Drivers aren’t up-to-date.
January 28th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Dell Dimension 4550 with NVIDIA 64MB GeForce4 MX 420
More Details:
NVIDIA website provided ForceWare 93.71 which installed Driver 6.14.10.93.71 dated 10/22/06 and my system works
Dell website provides V42.38 A03 dated 5/6/2003 - which I decline
Microsoft Update lists as a High Priority Update - NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420 v52.16 dated 8/2/2004 - I also declined
So, my conclusion, Microsoft Update is pushing out as a High Priority Update an old driver that breaks machines. In my case, Dell Dimension 4550 with NVIDIA 64MB GeForce4 MX 420
Users that automatically download all High Priority updates offered by Microsoft Update (as they should) are having their systems trashed.
January 29th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
ok well here goes my problem…
ive had the same issue with my BFG 6200 OC PCI card but it was when i was playing WoW, i would have control for 5 minutes then the BSOD would hit..at first i turned off the opengl for WoW. that did the trick but its like having a intergrated card in stead, ive uninstalled the drivers, got newer ones from Nvidia.com. after i got the new drivers i turned on the OPENGL and got hit the the BSOD again, ive had 2 differnt error, one is the nv4_disp.dll and the other on is a wpfd_disp.dll or something like that. ive called tech support for the Card and no help…i dont want a 164$ paperweight, pls someone help.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:50 am
Nice Work!
Dell should have a link to this site. This problem seems to be more with an issue with Dells then the Nvidia Chipset Display Card itself.
Just say NO to MS Updates concerning Nvidia products :>
Especially Dell….
Welcome back Mike.
February 3rd, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Dell Dimension 8300 with GeForce 5200 running great. All of a sudden BSOD with nv_disp problem. Booted in safe mode. Ran with flashes of light. It’s the capacitors. Two of four were blown. I think it is a hardware problem and software fixes are short term
February 4th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
i hope this will solve my 2 year old probelm im really tierd of it
thank you very much man
February 4th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Working my way through the same problem. Dimension 4600 with Nvidia FX 5200. Tried the driver update first, but after unsuccessful attempts with different versions I checked the hardware. Looks like two of the four large capacitors are blown. On hold waiting for Dell right now to see if they can send me a replacement.
February 4th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Update to my Dell experience: After talking to multiple tech support reps and getting nowhere, I finally asked for a supervisor. The regular reps would only give me a part number and transfer me to the spare parts department which is closed on a Sunday evening (of course). After I raised some hell, the supervisor agreed to send me a new (refurbished) FX 5200 after determining that there were not any other damaged parts on the motherboard. If you have to call Dell and you are outside of your warantee, call 800-385-3355 (expired warantee department) and ask for a supervisor. Tell him/her that you read about the known capacitor issues with this video card and see if that gets you a new one. Good luck.
February 5th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
The issue is with the BIOS and RTC. It’s not a short term fix for software. There is a hack for the nv4.dll which address the issue by adding some lines to nv4.dll. Also upgrade you MOB BIOS
nVidia by large have ignored the problem. By downloading the new drivers only gives you the same results as if you were to delete all drive and reinstall them one by one with the nVidia driver last. If that works, good your fixed (until microsoft release another $hit update)
Oh did I forget to mention that :) It’s not nVidia causing the problem but you knowew that.
February 8th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Ive seem to have found an easy fix for this. Go to Nvidia’s website and download(or redownload) the latest driver. After you download, restart your computer. After that, find the folder that you dowloaded into (Win2KXP)and click on the folder (ex.93.71) and the contents will pop up. Search for file names that have nv4_ in their name. Move them to the desktop/delete (removing the files will not affect performance). Restart and try it out :)
February 9th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
couldnt you just remove the device from the device manager and get a whole new video card? like if you were thinking of upgrading anyway. any problems with that?
February 10th, 2007 at 10:33 am
I read through all the fixes and patches here after I started to suffer big time from the nv4-disp / infinite loop problem. Having installed all latest nvidia drivers and after several days of thumping things, I decided to check the hardware acceleration settings in the nvidia control panel.
From the control panel homepage, go to 3D settings; Appearance; Manage 3D settings and then check Multiple Graphics Card Acceleration. Mine was set to ‘Multiple Display Performance Mode’. I changed this to ‘Single Display…’ and all my problems have gone away.
I can only think that recent driver downloads have had this setting as default - I certainly didn’t change it!
February 12th, 2007 at 3:14 am
excellent advice. dimension 4600 with fx 5200 had the bsod caused by nv4_dsp, downloaded the 93.71 update, quick and easy fix
February 14th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
My fix was realatively easy. For $59 I bought another FX 5200 card and replaced the old one. True to this thread, two of the capacitors were blown. Since tech stores are trying to move the old video card our of their stores, go buy a solution for a small price.
February 16th, 2007 at 6:55 am
Dell Dimension 4600
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X (Dell)
Problem identified by message online as faulty display driver
In addition to many of the problems described previously I find my keyboard frozen sometimes which generally returns to normal in a day or two.
My problem is that Uninstallation of original driver in safe mode just does not work, whatever I try, even though it is seemingly successful and after what appears to be successful installation of the 81.98 driver that I want after the seemingly successful uninstallation I find that if I check the computer system details the original driver provided by Dell is still there with its date of installation.
Would reinstallation of my Windows XP Home SP2 remove this original driver for good so that the 81.98 driver can replace it?
By the way I have tried unsuccessfully to remove this original driver in safe mode by going to Device Manager and trying both Uninstall as well as Update to NVIDIA 81.98. It seems to get uninstalled successfully but after what appears to be successful installation of the 81.98 driver it just reappears after the rebooting.
Please help.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:26 pm
hi guys! i had the same problem 2 days ago and it’s driving me nuts. i’d like to try out this fix.I’ll hit u back with the result.
Thanks!
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Thanks for the tip. You just rescued my sanity and (now naked) computer.
February 24th, 2007 at 3:44 am
read through your threads since i was in the same predicament except that my system wont give me anything in my monitor even after reinstalling old and new versions of the driver in safe mode or VGA mode. got a nvidia 6600 on a non-branded system. no capacitors blown and the fan is working perfectly fine. changed some device settings for the card to go PCI-to-PCI bridge but still wont work. any suggestions?
February 24th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
On Dell Dimension 8300, tried removing and reinstalling drivers for several hours; at one time or another got: BSOD with nv_dsp4; couldn’t change out of 640×480; 10280×1024 out of range; screen flickers on and off, mostly off. Windows Update history did not show any recent driver changes.
Replaced fx5200 card with geforce6200 and everything is fine.
One further test I could have done was switch from analog to dvi signal, to test the other output channel of the fx5200 card; but not going to do that now.
March 4th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I had the same problem, same computer. I tried the driver install and that didn’t work. I physically removed the graphics adapter and noticed 2 capacitors next to the heatsync have raised tops and are leaking fluid. Time to repair the adapter or replace it. The Dell repair tech that was sent to this owners house had no idea and was going to reinstall the OS.
March 5th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I have a Dell 8300 with NVidia FX 5200 graphics card and had the exact same problem ( PLUS an extra little quirk where I was unable to boot up into Safe Mode because I kept getting a Keyboard error which would not allow me to use either mouse or keyboard to log into Windows).
Here is what I did to correct it:
1. Restarted computer and pressed F12 to get into my BIOS where I changed the Boot Sequence to boot from the CD-ROM first, then Hard Drive. Put in my Dell boot CD for re-installing drivers and utilities.
2. Re-started my computer and pressed F8 to get a menu where I chose Safe Mode. This was a slow process so far, so be patient and wait for it to get into windows under Safe Mode. Screen may stay dark with only four corners saying Safe Mode for a while, but don’t panic, it will continue to load on its own.
3. Log into Windows with username and password.
4. Click start, then settings, thensystem, to get a tabbed window. Click on Hardware tab. Find Display, and click it to get your video card (NVidia FX 5200 in my case) and double click the video card name.
5. Click the button that says update Drivers. When offered the choice to do so automatically, or to choose from a list of available and compatible drivers, choose the second one where you manually choose the drivers yourself from a list.
6. The window that opens next will list all the compatible drivers. In my case, I had two to choose from: The first one was called simply NVidia FX 5200 and the second one was NVidia FX 5200 (Microsoft Corporation). I chose the second one with (Microsoft Corporation) after its name, clicked Install, and voila!
7. Next box says you must restart computer, so do so.
There should be no more black screen and nv4_disp BSOD error.
This seemed the simplest and least invasive change to try before doing anything more drastice. If you do this and it still doesn’t work, you can always reverse it the same way you just updated.
This solved my problem and I hope it solves yours. If you do not have a similar configuration as mine, just try downloading the very newest drivers as suggested in this main post.
(Note: I did not open my PC case and check the actual ideo card because I couldn’t figure out how to open the case. So I guess my card was all ok.)
Best of luck.
Jude
March 7th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
My card, just purchased, is the XFX version of the FX7600GT AGP8X in a P4 Intel board, with XP Professional SP2 and all O/S fixes. Latest board BIOS.
Getting BSoD on startup or after several hours of gentle use, indicating NV4_DISP.DLL infinate loop.
The drivers shipped with the card are installed.
Can anyone tell me the version of the latest drivers, as there is some disparity between Nvidia and XFX and do XFX modify the Nvidia drivers before shipping?
Finally who is responsible for fixing this problem, XFX, Nvidia, Microsoft, me?
Thanks,
Michael.
March 8th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Thanks so much for this post, this worked great for me.
March 13th, 2007 at 4:32 am
i had a BSOD recently with the error NV4_DISP.DLL drivers. i’ve tried all possible solutions and even went through reinstalling my operating system (windows XP) and still i had the same problem. replacing my video card resolved the problem.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:16 am
I had the problem, utilized the information on your site and everything works. I thank everyone very much. Mine was not a hardware problem, only software.
Also, the following “Driver Installation Tips” located on NVIDIA’s website helped me. Uninstalling the GeForce from my Device Manager was only part of the solution. Un-installing the NVIDA drivers from my Control Panel, in addition to uninstalling from the Device Manager, seemed to do the trick. See the tips, taken from NVIDA’s website below:
Before installing new drivers make sure you uninstall all NVIDIA display drivers from the Windows Control Panel. Browse to the Start Menu > Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and search for “NVIDIA Windows Display Drivers” or “NVIDIA Display Drivers” and select remove.
“Download Accelerator” utilities should be disabled when downloading any drivers.
Do not run virus protection software in the background while installing the drivers. This prevents the driver from configuring itself properly.
March 24th, 2007 at 1:00 am
Thanks for this info! Starting in “Safe Mode” got me pointed in the right direction.
Best,
Ken
March 30th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I just had this problem the first time tonight, on a Dell XPS 710 H2C, with dual Nvidia 8800 GTX’s….. rebooted and things are working, at least for the time being. If I get this repeatedly I will have to try your method….
Thanks for helping everyone here…
March 31st, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Thanks for your help. You might want to post this:
I got the dang “nv4_disp infinite loop” error. I have a Dell Dimension 4600 with an NVIDIA GE Force FX 5200 graphics card. I read all of the posts that I could and did the following:
1) I booted into safe mode without networking (f8), and logged on as administrator.
2) I tested the RAM on my machine using Prime95 (for 5 hours).
3) I removed the Nvidia drivers by entering the control panel > add/remove programs menu (and rebooted).
4) I cleaned all vestige of the NVIDIA programs and drivers with Driver Cleaner Pro. I used six different drivers (one at a time, rebooting and removing as above) available on the NVIDIA and Dell sites.
5) I removed and replaced (re-set) the video card.
None of the above helped.
I finally replaced my video card - and it works fine now! (I got a Radeon Diamond Stealth 9250 AGP-type card with 128 MB memory.)
Good luck to you.
April 4th, 2007 at 7:15 am
The only time I got the dreaded nv4_disp.dll problem, was when I first installed my bfg gs7800oc.
Basically the problem was my psu, it just wasn’t up to the task. New 550watt psu, and all is well.
However a friend of mine is getting this problem, can’t remember what gfx card he’s using, but its definitely and nVidia, hopefully this will work for him.
April 5th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Please listen to the follow up from the guy who originally posted this thread!
Your Video Card is most likely bad, and deinstalling and reinstalling drivers will only prolong your anguish!
If you aren’t comfortable doing it, have someone else remove the card and check the bigger capacitors on it. I just replaced a friends because out of the blue her computer started getting the BSOD. She is not computer savvy, so I knew that she had not put anything new on the system, or changed configurations. I tried reinstalling the drivers just in case, but when that didn’t work I immediately checked the card and 3 of the capacitors looked blown to me, with gunk coming out. I replaced with a Matrox card I had, and she is back in business.
April 10th, 2007 at 11:24 am
i didnt know nothing about computers. and i had the same problem. thank you
April 11th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
The suggestion about checking the board’s capacitors that dead-on! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Two of the caps were bulging, showing failure. I’ve been tearing my hair out over this problem — now I have the solution.
April 12th, 2007 at 11:40 am
I had a Dell 8300 with the GeForce 5200 card, with a DVI output. After three years of great service my screen started to flash after I booted this past week. After calling Dell and believing that I have a virus I decided to follow their request and reinstall XP.
This was going fine till I installed the video card drivers, the same flashing started and I could only boot in safe mode.
After 2 more hours of chatting with tech support I found this website and looked at the video card.
Sure enough the two capacitors next to the heatsync had burst (with a raised top and yellow crusty crud on top of each of them).
I ordered a new video card from Dell but the cheapest one they had came out to be $100 with tax and shipping.
I guess it’s better than a new computer, but if I only checked the card before I reinstalled Windows (it would have been a much easier fix)
Let me know if you have any questions, cpmeller7751@yahoo.com
April 17th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
strangely, I was curious to what nv4_disp.sys was about. Now I know it’s an Nvidia thing. What I was looking for was the .pdb or the Symbol file for this module. It appears that there isn’t any. First of all some of the Kernels SSDT is hooked by this module. Being a Kernel/Rootkit developer I was interested in looking in further. For example:
lkd> lm m nv*
start end module name
bf012000 bf463580 nv4_disp (deferred)
f64ac000 f687b400 nv4_mini (deferred)
It appears that Nvidia created it’s own System Dispatch table.
April 24th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
my problem is solved !
April 24th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Have the same BSOD problem with nv4_disp. Chat with Dell 4 days after the warranty expired. Dell Support sends me to the same NVidia Download and the driver did not fix the problem. Dell recommends replacing the card on a Dimension 4600. I removed the card and found 3 out of the 5 capacitors bulged out with chemical residue. Bad card. BAD BAD CARD.
April 28th, 2007 at 11:47 am
The problem is caused by service pack 2 of windows xp
April 28th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
WINDOWS UPDATE CAUSES THE PROBLEM.
April 30th, 2007 at 11:37 am
The blue screen appears wenever I (try to) start up the Sims 2 on my XP! need help!!!! I miss the sims….
April 30th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Windows update causes it??? then y does it start up on sims 2???
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:08 am
My computer will go BSoD (nv4 infinite loop) on either launching a game (LEGO Star Wars is one) or iTunes 7.
The strange thing is, the computer is fine after it restarts - for as long as it’s switched on.. Games and iTunes load without problems.
I’ve been through most solutions here including uninstalling and re-installing different NVIDIA drivers, adjusting hardware acceleration, disabling dual monitor display (I only have one) and checking the video card (a GEforce FX 5200) and RAM for damage/bad parts.
I should also explain the computer is 2nd hand and maybe 4 years old. Bought from a friend, it worked fine when he had it. I formatted the HDD and installed XP (with SP2) with all my apps and drivers.
So, just from scratch really this problem has been happening.
Can the CMOS battery be the culprit? Or does anyone have a suggestion - something I might have missed?
Thanks.
May 5th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Heres a tip , i didnt have time to read every post, but when your getting the NV4_disp.DLL bsod, Unistall your Nvidia display driver, then reboot when asked to do so, when it loads up again ignore the windows driver installer. Instead, go to find, and search for nv4_disp Delete every entry you can find and i mean every single one. then empty your recycle bin, defrag. and restart when it comes back into windows install your desired Driver version, and you should be good to go. if it still continues to BSOD, check your memory using memtest 86, and prime your CPU to check for errors Both should be let to run for 10+ hours min. if both pass, consider the Powersupply’s rateings and and how much your computer draws total ( if you dont know search for extreme Power supply Calculator). i just struggled with this problem for about 3 days diagnoseing my computer as to why it was crashing durring gaming,
ran prime. 12Hours
passed.
ran Memtest. 12Hours
Passed.
Ran ATItool Scan. 6hours
Passed.
so then i installed a newer nvid drive right over top, still had the same Bsod
so then i figured well it must be the PSU, because the CPU passed by it self, the Ram passed by it self, the Video card passed by it self,
but when your playing games, your using them all at the same time. needless to say i was about 20 seconds away from buying a 1000W powersupply. then i figured out from doing my own research on the problem rather than complaining to someone else in a forum hopeing theyed for find the answer for me, that you need to manualy remove some files.
May 8th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Had the exact same problem since this morning..and with me not exactly being a computer genius I only found out how to run on safe mode! Done that followed your steps but only got as far as trying to install the new drivers. It said something like the hardware wasn’t compatible. Anyway I restarted and everything is going fine at the moment.
Thanks very much mate.
May 13th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
i had the same problem. i have nVdia geforce fx 5200. i followed all the instructions but i still get the BSOD. i tried downloading the driver from dell, still the BSOD. the prob happened right after i updated windows =(… i performed system restore but it didnt work either. HELP!!!
May 14th, 2007 at 2:08 am
Also had the problem first outlined by Chris Jason, also had NVidia GeForce fx 5200. With phone help from a very obliging son, I stepped through Chris’ fix and it worked perfectly. Many thanks. Another fine example of the Internet community’s self-help ethos.
May 14th, 2007 at 3:01 am
Having the same problem, took the card out and my capacitors were blown. Anybody know if Dell’s
“Complete Care” plan will cover this sort of stuff? I’m out of warranty, but I still have the complete care thing.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:06 am
WONDERFUL information. Thank you for making life with a computer much easier.
I first checked the card and found two blistered capacitors. Purchased new card ($34.99 after rebate). Installed card and now computer performance seems faster than when it was purchased. MANY THANKS.
Try-Us
May 19th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I only get this problem when I play sims 2. I went to NVIDIA website to get a new driver but they don’t have the one I have.. I have a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300…wat shud I do?
May 20th, 2007 at 2:12 am
Subject: nv4_disp fix
Original Message
Name: zenno
Date: May 19, 2007 at 00:43:18 Pacific
Subject: nv4_disp fix
OS: dell xps 600/dxgo51
CPU/Ram: p4/3.8ghz/2048 ram/nvidia dual sli 256mb 7800gtx
Manufacturer/Model: dell /dxgo51
Comment:
if theres anyone out there that has a problem with nv4_disp error stuck in an infinite loop (bsod). i know how it feels.i have spent ages trying to track down the problem. alot of people said it is caused by the nvidia driver which is all wrong. i have done test after test and found compatability issues with spysweeper and nvidia drivers on a major scale. if you have spysweeper on your system then go into add/remove programs and remove it. then go into safe mode. when in safe mode go into regedit,{hot key local machine} go to current control set. look in all control set keys 3/4/5/6/7/8 for this system file SSKBFD.SYS which belongs to spysweeper and has to be removed. this is the problem that nvidia drivers get stuck in an infinite loop. or irq less or equal to errors. delete this key and any other keys that are from spysweeper. only do this if you know the registry. as removing a wrong key or keys could cause serious problems. dont forget the main key or sys.file to remove is SSKBFD OR SSKBFD.SYS. it has to be removed from the registry before you can delete it from the windows/system32. when your happy enough that spysweeper is fully removed from the registry, click start then click search. type in SSKBFD only. and click search wait till you see the file coming up and then delete it. restart your pc straight away . but you might notice a bsod as your shutting down but dont mind it. if this happens just manually power off the sys and you wont get that again. if your successfull that should be the end of your nvidia problem. this worked for me and i havint got the problem since. its 2 and a half weeks and everything is perfect. just tought id share this info with you cause it is a pain getting these bsod.
best wishes
zenno
May 20th, 2007 at 2:18 am
ps. it’s a hint as well that a program is causing this conflict .
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:00 am
Okay I’m having this same problem but when I restart and try to go into safe mode I can’t even see the screen because it’s all fuzzy. Someone help?
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:04 am
In other words can someone provide me with a screenshot of the screen after you press f8? So I can blindly select the safe mode with networking. Much appreciated.
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:51 am
i got this problem and it seems to be connected to my internet security program F-secure. when we got the nv4_disp problem in the beginning we solved it by re-intalling windows. then we got mcafee for a month. then our subscription expired and we went back to F-secure. suddenly we got the nv4_disp problem. I tried your sollution the first time and it didnt work. im going to try it again but if it doesnt work i would appreciate some help. i got alot of stuff on my computer i dont want to loose. and i’m not into the idea of buying DVDs for 100$ so if you got any ideas, please E-mail me.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:53 pm
if that doesnt work for you and if its a dell system. then try this… first download DRIVER CLEANER PRO. NOT drive cleaner pro. and install it. dont use it just yet. go into add/remove programs click remove nvidia drivers,and a small screen will come up, only place a check mark on (remove only the following) check mark nvidia display driver.remove it. when done go into safe mode when in there read the instructions in driver cleaner pro. to remove nvidia display driver, scroll down the list in driver cleaner pro for (NVIDIA) only NVIDIA and left click it. then on the right click start. a message will say are you sure you want to remove display driver files or something like that. click yes. when its done it will show you the deleted files. exit driver cleaner pro. if its a dell system you have. then when the above is done. click start then click search all files and folders, type in nv4 click search and it should still find nv4 disp.sys/32. and nv4 sys32 miniport. if you see these remove them. their from dell old display drivers which im sure are conflicting with the newer nvidia display drivers. driver cleaner pro does not notice these files so its best to search them. when removed start the pc up and install your new display driver. hope it works for you.
best wishes
zenno
system
May 28th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
The nvidia website does not have display drivers for xp2000, at least not that discription. Is it a graphics driver or platform driver or what? Help please
May 28th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
nv4 disp error, a known issue with DELL computers and Nvidia cards. Nvidia and DELL both knew very well about this issue before the launch of the dimension 8300. This is a Marketing Tactic cover up used to exploit further money from unsuspecting customers.
May 28th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
I got BSOD constantly no matter which driver I installed. I am using Geforce FX 5200. I uninstalled the graphics card drivers and have found my computer works fine without it. If you are not a gamer or do not need high end graphics, I suggest this. Nvidia have alot to answer for with the dismal quality of their cards to be honest. I was never a fan, but I cannot get any other graphics card (ati etc) to work in Dimension 8300. The truth is that both DELL and NVidia knew about these problems before even marketing these machines, this information was witheld from the public as money was given priority.
Frankly, I think it has put me off both DELL and NVidia in the near and distant future! I would never dream of spending good cash on this rubbish ever again.
May 29th, 2007 at 4:43 am
VERY IMPORTANT : CHECK YOUR NVIDIA’S CARD FAN !!!
I was struggling my computer for a week like an idiot, tried all drivers possible, but always got the nv4_disp BSOD. The only thing that worked was a very old Microsoft driver from 2001 who haven’t even let me run the media player.
As an act of despair I removed the case of my computer and turned it on, looking at my card’s fan.
I saw the fan was not turning, so i took the card to the nearest technician who replaced the fan (10$)
and walla - my computer works again.
May 29th, 2007 at 9:23 am
The Geforce FX 5200 problem is Electronic, I have repaired mine and it takes a soldering iron and two minutes of your time. If you had picture support here I could show you how very easily.
May 30th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
I had the same problem and I follow the advise of Blov:
[url]http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=6232[/url]
[i]Right click-mouse over My Computer
Properties
Hardware(Tab)
Device Manager(button)
Click [+] next to System devices
right-mouse on CPU to AGP Controller (or whatever your controller is called)
Update Driver(button)
Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)
Next(button)
Select Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install.
Next(button)
Select PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge
Next(button)
Finish(button)
Reboot.[/i]
It did work no more blu screen but the screen seems to go off and come back on like intermitent…any idea why is this happening?
Thanks,
Rick
May 31st, 2007 at 12:09 am
Same problem with Geforce FX 5200 in dell. My advice before wasting alot of time with software, take the card out and look at the caps. I spent hours trying to get mine working and finally took the card out to replace it. Sure enough the two caps right next to the processor
where blown.
June 4th, 2007 at 4:44 am
I have had the same problems with my computer I have the Nvidia Geforce 6200, and I kept getting that same blue pain in the u know screen with the infinity loop and nv4_disp message, i tried everything you can think of and finally we just went and bought another Nvidia Graphics card this time it was a nvidia e-Geforce 6200 AGP 8x LE and i now can play my games again. EQ2. Now I haven’t seen the fatal blue screen and i’ve been up and running since.
June 4th, 2007 at 4:48 am
oh and i forgot one thing I payed $64.00 for my Graphics card. It use to go for $200.00 big difference.. I live in NH just for ref.
June 4th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
i did what you said,and im not sure if its just because im in safe mode,but my computer is now really slow,and wont run my game program…please write me back.
June 4th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
my game program or anything else…
June 7th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Dell Dimension 4600 had same problem. Used ‘The nv4_disp fix’ but driver would not load. Then realised that driver was for US only. Loaded international driver and rebooted, now everything works fine. Thanks.
June 7th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Thanks so very much. Went to use my Dell 8300 (3 years old) and was locked up. Power it down and that is when the problems started. Booted twice and got the same error (stuck in loop). Came up in safe mode fine. Lucky I have a laptop. Quick google search and found you site. Followed your directions and 20 Mins later back up and running. again Thanks really appreacite the help…
June 8th, 2007 at 2:27 am
Thanks!! The driver replacement worked.
June 17th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
none of the solutions seem to work for me i may have a slight diferent problem because instead of the blue screen of death i get a dark red screen and also when i reboot in safe mode my screen is completley screwed up and impossible to read which is y i have to use my parents laptop to even look at this site maybe its cause i have the nvidia 6800
June 18th, 2007 at 3:38 am
the bsod and lockups are on account of the mhz frequency problem that incurred on thousands of peoples 6200 models,i got sick of trying to patch it as there is no software patch because its a hardware problem. i underclocked my card and it worked fine as if it hadnt taken any fps from when it came stock. f.e.a.r runs fine.my fix is found on google by typing nvidia 6200 loop fix, im digital demolitio,and one last note i even brought this up to nvidia that i had found a fix for there f-up and i got no reply, i wasnt even rude either. i just said i underclocked and they never replied. jerkoffs..
June 19th, 2007 at 4:07 am
Thank you so much for this WEB-site. It has helped me a lot. I also have a Dell 8300 - 2 years old. I tried to download the newest driver - that did not help, then I tried to take the videocard out (FX 5200) and put it in again - still same problem.
In same operation I deleteed the driver, deleted all nv4_ - files from my hard disk, used the Reg Fix and DRIVER CLEANER PRO - install the new driver and yopti.. the display functioned again. I have used 10 houres to fix the problem but only with help from this Web site. Thank you to everyone.
June 27th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Zenno thanks so much your posting on May 23 2007 for nv4_disp_fix
I followed most of what you posted, but had to do it a little differently but it worked.
I have a Dell 4600 with Nvidia FX 5200 with Windows XP Pro. One problem I kept having was the system would reboot then reinstall the adapter when I used the add/remove programs way of removing the nvida driver. I think I got around this with the following steps. Mostly the same steps as what Anne, France Says:
June 19th, 2007 at 4:07 am
1. Download new driver from NVIDA.
(With Windows XP Pro download driver for XP not the 64 bit version, it would not install on my computer) (The driver I tried from Dell R75461.exe for the 4600 was old and did not work or fix my problem.)
2. Download DRIVER CLEANER PRO and install. I may have also used Reg Fix.
3. In safe mode then go to Control Panel (switch to classic view)/System/Hardware/Device Manager/ select the display adapter, double click, select Driver tab, select Uninstall the driver button.
4. Run DRIVER CLEANER PRO only select only “NVIDIA” add to right pane then start/run. May have also ran Reg Fix here.
5. Then delete old files from Dell: click start, click Search select C drive then search by typing “nv4” in search box. I deleted all the files windows would let me that had nv4 in the name.
6. Then in Device Manger, right click on NVIDIA display adapter and select Uninstall.
7. Run the new driver downloaded from NVIDA. Then reboot when it ask.
July 1st, 2007 at 3:29 am
I’m telling ya man underclocking is the only way, i even told nvidia that ,thats the only fix and they didnt even send me a positive feedback. i’m glad i helped anne france,at least some more people are fixing there fRIGGIN CARDS! :D
July 7th, 2007 at 11:51 am
regarding …. i formated the partation C and installed fresh copy of windowsXP .. the problem changed and when i try to log in windows ablue window appears for amoment and the computer reboot …
damn , i think it is my card , it damaged :(
July 8th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Thank you so much for posting this. I had no idea what to do about this problem, and your directions were easy to follow and seemed to work just fine.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Ok well I am having this problem with my nvidia 6600 on a Dell XPS 400. It has did it once while playing a game and at first i hadn’t a clue what happened. It did it again when bringing up mcafee secuity center followed by the BSOD which is when i realized something was really wrong. Upon getting that i booted up my machine and investigated as to what the nv4_disp was, walked away from the computer to get a drink and apparently when the screensaver came up, it had frozen and what not again. So i again booted up the machine so i could research it like im doing now and it will now immediatly have the color/screen distortion right at startup and after the window xp loading screen finishes, the screen goes black. I have tried to launch up in safe mode but after hitting F8 repeatadly the screen to select safe mode or whatever comes up but it is so distorted i cant read it to get out of safe mode or get to anything at all. Therfor i can’t get it online to download driver updates ect ect. I can’t get on my computer to uninstall it or do anything. I’m really quite clueless as to waht to do.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Also oddly enough, i have had my card (which i bought with the computer) for only about 10 days over 18 months….
July 9th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I did what is in the post at “June 27th, 2007 at 3:23 pm”.
First it didn’t work i was like OMG what to do now?:(
Turned off the computer…
But som1 said check the fan so i turned on and watched the fan. It’s worked correctly. Then i looked at the monitor and OMG!!! its good a working WTF??!?!
So don’t just reboot after. Turn on and off.
July 12th, 2007 at 2:09 am
Dear Chris,
I can not thank you enough. I was on the phone with a Dell Tech for 1.5 hours with no success. The final suggestion was that I reinstall Windows, which would have meant two weeks of agony to recreate my system. Your solution has worked so far, and I am keeping my fingers crossed. Dell had my reinstall a GeForce 5200 driver–apparently that is not the file needed to fix the problem.
July 12th, 2007 at 11:55 am
My 3 year old Dell Dimension 8300 & Nvidia FX 5200 also produced the nv4_disp error.
Having spent several days installing different drivers and actively resisting Dell’s repeated recommendation to reinstall the operating system (XP Pro), I googled nv4_disp and found this article.
I’m glad I refused the re-install option !
When I dug in the heels, mentioned this article and insisted that the graphics card be thoroughly checked, Dell finally decided to send out an Engineer.
He took one look at the card and said “a couple of capacitors are blown”.
Ten minutes later a replacement (refurbished) card had been installed and I was up and running. Fortunately, being still within the 4yr warranty, there was no charge.
Just one thing - recognising a damaged capacitor can be a bit tricky. In my case, the difference between good and bad was minute. Having read this article, I had examined them several times yet still failed to see the problem.
The capacitors are cylindrical in shape and stand at right-angles to the board. On top of each cylinder there is a metal disc with an “X” engraved on it. The metal disc should be absolutely flat.
In my case, two of the metal discs were very slightly dome-shaped and the now-stretched “X” threw a tiny shadow.
I hope the above helps anyone else who may be trying to check for similar damage.
Also, I’ld like to thank all the contributors … without this article I would now be tearing my hair out re-installing and re-registering all my software !
July 21st, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Thank you. I had the same problem and these steps solved it for me. However, when I rebooted everything appeared too large on my screen. How do I shrink things down the way were before all this happened?
July 21st, 2007 at 11:40 pm
I’ve got a custom built rig. I’ve tried drivers from latest ones to back drivers. Still doesn’t solve the problem.
And the weird thing, only happens when I play FEAR.
I’m still looking for a remedy. T_T
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:33 am
GeForce MX4000 here. My problem turned out to be blown capacitors.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Just want to say Thanks for posting the information on the nv4_disp problem. I got the blue screen this morning with the error message. I was able to start in safe mode and search the web and then I found your step by step solution. It worked and save me a lot of aggravation! Thank you so much!!! Well, this error is still out there - so keep it posted - it may continue to help others.
Thanks for your time and efforts on distributing this type of information.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
The nv4_disp problem found me last night. Thanks to Christopher’s instructions and Penny’s tips on recognising damaged capacitors (comment #141), I was able to fix the problem easily by replacing the blown card with a new one.
Thanks!
IM
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
The nv4 blue screen surfaced a few days ago on my 37 month old Dimension 8300 with the 5200FX card. I updated the drivers and the BSOD at bootup time disappeared, but, I would still get a Microsoft detected serious error on my graphics driver at boot-up. I contacted Dell support and by reading this problem scenario, I believe I knew more than the Dell tech who wanted to reinstall XP. I convinced him to send me a new 5200 card out. Upon installation of new card, everything was fine again. Thanks, for this advice and knowledge.
August 4th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
hello all.
dell xps 600/ dxgo51/p4/3.8ghz/2000ram/dual geforce 7800gtx sli 256mb/650watt psu/raid 0… windows xp home. sp2.
everyones talking about driver issues for their new cards but this problem is going on for as long as i can remember nv4_disp stuck in an infinite loop. nvidia have got to sort this out immediately if they don’t then i’ll never be buying their hardware again and the same is true for a hell of alot of people. i have had enough at trying to sort this issue out. example, last month i got this bsod nv4_disp error for no apparant reason. it just happened. then it started happening while playing games. so i tried to track down the problem for a day or two but could not find it.i uninstalled the driver and then used driver cleaner pro in safe mode to delete the nv4 dlls and mini files. and then restarted the sys. and installed the latest whql certified driver. but that did not fix the problem. so then i took out one graphics card and restarted the sys. then took out the other one and mixed them around still the same problem. so then i decided to do a complete clean format of the drive, and reinstalled xp. at this stage i never installed any programs or antivirus software because i wanted to make sure there was no incompatabilities with anything. the install went perfect and then i installed the nvidia whql driver for xp. to my astonisment after all this the problem was still there. so enough was enough and i rang dell xps technical support and they said to do what i already done factory install and the rest. so they sent out a technician with a new motherboard and two new geforce 7800gtx’s and installed the whole lot. and when he went i tried a game farcry and quake 4 they worked for a while and then believe it or not bsod nv4_disp stuck in an infinite loop error again. i could not believe it they just put in a new motherboard and two new graphics cards and the problem was still there. im lost at this stage. its the weirdest sys problem i ever came across. for gods sake NVIDIA will you at least try to find out the source of this problem it has been going on for years i have looked up lots of other sites and it goes back a long way..
August 9th, 2007 at 4:26 am
Does your mouse freeze up as part as the problem. Its starts with the arrow for the mouse not responding and then the screen goes into stand by if this is a symptom please let me know someone!
August 11th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Omg you saved my life thx
August 13th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
I have Dell dimension 8300 with Nvidia geforce FX 5200. I had pretty much exactly the same symptoms. Thanks to this I finally stopped going mad. Wasted days downloading and installing drivers. Opened the case and the video card had 4 blown 100uF 6.3V capacitors (Skywell SHT).
Checked the badcaps web site and followed in part the tutorial on replacement of capacitors. 4 new capacitors @ 70c each (1000uF 16V) and system seems to be okay.
I still sometimes get a power down/green light flashing on the e173fp display. Various reports on faulty transistors in monitor. Nearly opened up the video case but thought better of it. Tested the monitor on HP laptop and seems to be okay.
Instead opened up the Dell computer again and had a good look. Found 1 leaking capacitor and possibly 2 bulging capacitors on motherboard near the power supply.
All out of warranty of course. A client focussed company would consider a motherboard replacement policy. From the various forums out there including Dell’s it seems as though the company has known about the problem for quite some time.
Thanks to this site I am much the wiser and will probably steer clear of Dell entirely.
DB
August 18th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Hey, thanks — am in a foreign, developing country, and am the closest thing to a computer expert around. You’re making me look brilliant! Thanks for describing the fix in such an elementary fashion.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:30 am
I’m just trying to do this. Been googling for hours and the official microsoft website didn’t gave me enough information. I’m a learning student in a company and this is good enough to try. Will contact later if it works :)
August 20th, 2007 at 7:35 am
OMG i loooove this website! It worked yaa =D thanks a bunch!
My boss will be proud
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I need HELP!!If somebody can help me with this BSOD of Nv4_disp, that would be very helpful. I made a mistake by removing the previous NV4_disp from control panel, then download the new one into PC, but it appear that the new driver cannot find the compatible version from the previous driver. I wonder is it because I remove the previous driver or is it because I don’t know how to fix it. I kinda depressed here and need help from everyone of you. Please…..???
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:55 pm
My computer is Toshiba with Windows XP Proffesional.
August 24th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
I have Dell dimension 8400 with Nvidia geforce 8600GT. Facing similar problems too, hope to have some guidiance. Ty
August 25th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I’ve had my custom built workstation for quite some time now (4 years at least); and I rarely turn it off. The other day my keyboard decided to not respons so I was force to restart. KB still wasn’t responding so I thought I was the kvm switch. Connected the kb directly to the workstation and got the 1st bsod. Didn’t pay attention as it all looked like a kb problem. Switched keyboards and got another bsod. This time I paid attention and saw the nv4_dsp msg. I googled, found your site, and fixed. I don’t use mcrappie, sorry mcafee, and I don’t own a dell. Must be a glitch in the nvidia matrix couple with a glitch and several other “matrixes”.
August 29th, 2007 at 9:55 am
you are so the man! followed your instructions and all is well now!!!
thanks so much!
September 5th, 2007 at 1:57 am
I was getting this error with Nvidia’s 162.18 drivers on a 8600GT while playing a WMV video. The solution involved just uninstalling the current drivers, and installing an older version of the driver.
September 5th, 2007 at 8:41 am
I am having the EXACT issue that Post 155, Anila is having. I followed the instructions and removed the old drivers via the device manager, but when I went to install the new drivers that were listed on the linked site above the software didn’t recognize any compatable hardware on my computer! What now? I’m lost!!
September 5th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
seams that Nvidia chip sets and there drivers cause all kinds of prob, i never seen such a wide range of prob i have a dell xps 600 with there chip set and there video card it is the most unstable pc i ever work on, all comes down to there drivers. dont work well if you have a Nvidia chip set and a Nvidia video card dont expeck a fix till new drivers are release. i would of went with intel if i new of these prob beforhand
September 7th, 2007 at 8:45 am
same problem i got in my machine and it really sucks! i tried all i know to fix it but i fail. i even tried reformatting my computer, and reinstall everything…
i hope your suggestion will work… i’ll be back here if it work or not…
September 7th, 2007 at 11:02 am
i’m back, after few moments, i doesn’t work… i tried exactly what u stated in your instruction but still does not work… how can i fix it? my video card is geforceFX 5500.. please help me
September 8th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I have a dell laptop running with GeForce Go 7800. I have the same problem, it suddenly happen when I run a 3D software, it gave me a static screen and then the blue screen of death related the nv4_disp. I talked to dell for 2 hours, he recommended me to reformat the entire windows. i don’t want to do it. I said the problem is related to the hardware, it is the graphic card problem. However, he doesn’t want to believe me. People who have sucessfully fixed the problem, please give me some guidance.
September 10th, 2007 at 12:56 am
Thanks so much! I’ve had my pc for 5 years and nothing like this has ever happened. I thought my pc was dead… Thanks for the guidance!! :)
September 10th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Thanks alot bro, helped alot.
You have no idea how close this is to my case…
I have the same computer, model, video card, same problem. Freakiest part… is we have the same name, and I was thinking the same thing about the error. Damn man, this is creepy… anyway thanks alot for the help.
Peace
Christopher