Microsoft KB Archive/139615

= Blank Screen May Be Caused By Corrupt Video Driver =

Article ID: 139615

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51

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This article was previously published under Q139615



SUMMARY
If you start Windows NT and notice a blank screen, the video driver you are using may be damaged. This article describes how you can verify that the video driver is damaged.



MORE INFORMATION
To verify the video driver is damaged:

 Boot Windows NT in /basevideo mode. If the video driver is not the standard VGA compatible driver (VGA.SYS), this operation should work. If the video driver is VGA.SYS, do not boot Windows NT in /basevideo mode. Instead, start Windows NT "blind." For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: 103615

TITLE : Recovering From an Incompatible Video Driver

 Shutdown Windows NT "blind" and reboot your computer. To verify that the Windows NT has restarted, attempt to connect to a network share on this computer from another computer.

After you verify that the video driver is damaged, do one of the following:


 * Boot your computer using the Windows NT Setup Boot Disk (for your version of Windows NT) and select R for Repair. Enable the "Verify Windows NT system files" option, and continue with the Repair process.

-OR-
 * Copy VGA.SYS from the I386 directory (for Intel platforms) on the Windows NT Server or Workstation CD-ROM disc to the following directory:

%SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS

Additional query words: prodnt corrupt black

Keywords: KB139615

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