Boot display problem with HP w2007 monitor and MemTest86

[Skyking]

All,

I can boot my HP computer and the nice HP w2007 with no problem, to include using the DOS appearing BIOS/configuration menu, but when I boot to the MEMTEST86 disk the display is unreadable. The resolution and/or wrong frequency is my guess, but I have no idea how to force a particular resolution and/or frequency on boot. Any suggestions for how to boot to the ISO and have the display function?

Thanks,

Phillip

[David (PassMark)]

It is unlikely to be a resolution issue.
What are the specs of the machine?
How if the machine connected to the monitor (e.g. HDMI)?
Is there any chance you can take a photo of the screen and post it?

[Skyking]

"What are the specs of the machine?"

HP Pavilion a6130n (Athlon 64X2 2.6GHz, 3GB RAM, 400GB HDD, Vista Home Premium originally, Windows 7 32bit now) (other details here)

"How is the machine connected to the monitor?" - VGA cable

"Is there any chance you can take a photo of the screen and post it?"



The monitor is an HP w2007 (specs here)

Hopefully that is what you wanted. Thanks!

Phillip

[David (PassMark)]

We haven't seen this before. The video chipset in your machine is super old, but MemTest86 V4 doesn't need anything special.

Do you have a different monitor to try?

[Skyking]

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by "super old", but it was made in 2008. LOL Six years qualifies as super old? LOL OK, I will try another monitor and follow up. Oh, and to be clear, I do think it is a monitor problem as it is a wide screen monitor, but why I can see things fine at the command prompt, when booting into the safe mode and text is echoed to the screen, the bios/boot menu, etc., just not MEMTEST86...but sure, I'll change monitors to see if I can get the memory test that I need to run to function...ugh.

[David (PassMark)]

The chipset in the machine was a bit old when you bought it. The nForce 430 was released at CEBIT, March 2006. Let me know how a different monitor works, if you have one available.

[Skyking]

OK, figured it out. HP w2007 monitor required me to turn the power switch off and back on in order to detect the correct resolution. Once I did that, it worked fine. HP issue, not a MEMTEST86 issue.

[David (PassMark)]

Thanks for the follow up. Always nice to find out the solution.