Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
UPDATE (12/22/08):
- 7.15.10.1537 is last working version, 7.15.10.1545 and later have the problem
- Problem only affects notebook monitor, not external displays (via VGA connection)
- adjusting brightness and gamma to certain levels fixes problem, but results in extremely bright screen (so, doesn't really fix problem)
- pictures taken from camera attached to this post, where newx.jpg and oldx.jpg correspond to the screen with the newer driver versions and 7.15.10.1537, respectively.
/UPDATE
Hello, first some specs:
Dell Inspiron 1525
Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 2.0GHz
3GB RAM
Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family
Alright, now onto the interesting stuff!
So, I bought this laptop, and the display driver version that comes from Dell is 7.14.10.1409 - from Jan 2008. Well, that couldn't do, as Intel has been very good with updating this chipset, giving it vast performance enhancements and better support for games. So, I went to Intel's site to get the latest driver - at the time, it was 7.15.10.1537. So I installed it - it gave the whole "this isn't supported, get the driver from the manufacturer" routine, but after uninstalling the old driver and trying again, it worked like a charm. Without any surprises, my games had a HUGE performance boost (despite the fact that the Vista experience rating dropped from 3.4 to 3.1....pff), so I was a happy man.
Now things get ugly.
So, today I decided it's been a while so I should check if there have been more recent drivers - turns out Intel pushed out 2 newer versions, first 7.15.10.1545 in August, and the more recent 7.15.10.1554 a couple weeks ago. Having read the changelog, I found some nice support features, especially for OpenGL 2.0, so I was happy about getting some new drivers. So I download and install the more recent one with the .exe first. I immediately knew something was wrong - the colors on screen looked like they were melting and were supersaturated, like someone had just spent an hour eating skittles then threw up on the screen. Naturally, it was hard to see or do much in this condition, but I managed to go through some display options, thinking maybe some tweaking was necessary.
I tried everything.
Resolutions, color complexity, messing around with contrast, saturation, etc, you name it. Just for kicks, I took a screenshot and sent it to one of my friends, and he said it looked fine, nothing was wrong. Clearly, this driver was screwed up pretty badly... Well, I installed 7.15.10.1537 again, and everything returned to normal - no problems. Now I thought, well, if the most recent version is messed up, I'll try the other one - 7.15.10.1545. Installed it, same exact thing happened.
I've been going back and forth, trying all methods of install (.zip extraction, executable, update through device manager, etc) and same results. I've nearly spent all day going through Intel's site and just seeing what I can find on Google, but to no avail (Intel's support hasn't been any help, either).
I come here to you now, exhausted, asking for any suggestions anyone may have to fix the problem - it could very well be that the last two drivers are bad, but I seriously doubt it - I've seen other threads where people are using it just fine.
I've ruled basically everything I can think of - including all "dumb" stuff like corrupt files, right version for OS, etc. Will these two simply not work on my machine? I hope the trend doesn't continue with new releases... maybe I can just skip these two and wait for next month's?
tl;dr
Dell came with 7.14.10.1409
I installed 7.15.10.1537 from Intel, works amazing
Tried 7.15.10.1545 and 7.15.10.1554, colors completely screwed up on screen
Thanks in advance, guys. I appreciate anything you can think up on this.
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
Ah, didn't see this before, this guy is having the exact same problem as I am - http://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/showthread.php?t=60920
Yep, even the whole screenshot thing...
I've been posting this on some other tech support forums, but no answers at all in the last couple days.... does anyone here have any idea as to what's going on? I'm at the end of my rope here.
Again, thanks in advance for anything - anything - you can think of.
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
Hello, first some specs:
Dell Inspiron 1525
Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 2.0GHz
3GB RAM
Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family
Alright, now onto the interesting stuff!
So, I bought this laptop, and the display driver version that comes from Dell is 7.14.10.1409 - from Jan 2008. Well, that couldn't do, as Intel has been very good with updating this chipset, giving it vast performance enhancements and better support for games. So, I went to Intel's site to get the latest driver - at the time, it was 7.15.10.1537. So I installed it - it gave the whole "this isn't supported, get the driver from the manufacturer" routine, but after uninstalling the old driver and trying again, it worked like a charm. Without any surprises, my games had a HUGE performance boost (despite the fact that the Vista experience rating dropped from 3.4 to 3.1....pff), so I was a happy man.
Now things get ugly.
So, today I decided it's been a while so I should check if there have been more recent drivers - turns out Intel pushed out 2 newer versions, first 7.15.10.1545 in August, and the more recent 7.15.10.1554 a couple weeks ago. Having read the changelog, I found some nice support features, especially for OpenGL 2.0, so I was happy about getting some new drivers. So I download and install the more recent one with the .exe first. I immediately knew something was wrong - the colors on screen looked like they were melting and were supersaturated, like someone had just spent an hour eating skittles then threw up on the screen. Naturally, it was hard to see or do much in this condition, but I managed to go through some display options, thinking maybe some tweaking was necessary.
I tried everything.
Resolutions, color complexity, messing around with contrast, saturation, etc, you name it. Just for kicks, I took a screenshot and sent it to one of my friends, and he said it looked fine, nothing was wrong. Clearly, this driver was screwed up pretty badly... Well, I installed 7.15.10.1537 again, and everything returned to normal - no problems. Now I thought, well, if the most recent version is messed up, I'll try the other one - 7.15.10.1545. Installed it, same exact thing happened.
I've been going back and forth, trying all methods of install (.zip extraction, executable, update through device manager, etc) and same results. I've nearly spent all day going through Intel's site and just seeing what I can find on Google, but to no avail (Intel's support hasn't been any help, either).
I come here to you now, exhausted, asking for any suggestions anyone may have to fix the problem - it could very well be that the last two drivers are bad, but I seriously doubt it - I've seen other threads where people are using it just fine.
I've ruled basically everything I can think of - including all "dumb" stuff like corrupt files, right version for OS, etc. Will these two simply not work on my machine? I hope the trend doesn't continue with new releases... maybe I can just skip these two and wait for next month's?
tl;dr
Dell came with 7.14.10.1409
I installed 7.15.10.1537 from Intel, works amazing
Tried 7.15.10.1545 and 7.15.10.1554, colors completely screwed up on screen
Thanks in advance, guys. I appreciate anything you can think up on this.
Hi,
How did you install the newest driver? Did you just run the setup straight away or you uninstall the older driver first. Usually, to get the most advantages from the new drivers, I uninstalled the older first and setup the new one. Hope this little experience may help you.
Regards.
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
Hi,
How did you install the newest driver? Did you just run the setup straight away or you uninstall the older driver first. Usually, to get the most advantages from the new drivers, I uninstalled the older first and setup the new one. Hope this little experience may help you.
Regards.
"I've been going back and forth, trying all methods of install (.zip extraction, executable, update through device manager, etc) and same results."
Yep, that includes uninstalling old ones first as well. I'm sure the problem isn't in the way I installed them, because I've just about gone every possible route to do it. Thanks for the suggestion - any others?
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
"I've been going back and forth, trying all methods of install (.zip extraction, executable, update through device manager, etc) and same results."
Yep, that includes uninstalling old ones first as well. I'm sure the problem isn't in the way I installed them, because I've just about gone every possible route to do it. Thanks for the suggestion - any others?
For some reasons, when I install the newest driver by uninstalling the previous drivers first ( also uninstalled the relating software asked by Device Manager), I don't have OpenGL tab or Video Tab from the newest driver. Therefore, this may be the reason why my computer doesn't get saturated. In your case, how about trying to disable property tab in service management.
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
For some reasons, when I install the newest driver by uninstalling the previous drivers first ( also uninstalled the relating software asked by Device Manager), I don't have OpenGL tab or Video Tab from the newest driver. Therefore, this may be the reason why my computer doesn't get saturated. In your case, how about trying to disable property tab in service management.
I'm not sure what you mean exactly - where are you seeing these tabs? Are you using XP by any chance?
And to clarify what I meant by saturation....you may want to read the other guy's post that I linked to....he may have explained the actual effect better - basically, all the colors are messed up and it's extremely difficult to make out anything, like the colors are melting.....if that makes any sense.
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
Yes, I am the guy you reffered too. I noticed a topic about a "memory leak" which advised a BIOS upgrade, but that doesn't fix anything. the newest BIOS, A13, doesn't help. If anyone has ANY info PLEASE share!
Also, it seems that the Topic creator and I are the only people having this problem. =(
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
Thanks man, like I said I just want to get this problem out there for other people in the same situation, as I sure as hell know there basically isn't anything useful out there.
I did contact technical support, but they just directed me to their online FAQ, which i've only read through 10,000 times already. Whatever, I guess I'll try again, and point them to this thread to show it's not an isolated incident. Keaton, thanks for being here, honestly it's hard being the only person in the world with a certain problem lol.
Any further comments/help/ideas are much appreciated, I'll post back here later with what support tells me.....now I just have to find my digital camera...
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
Maybe you read the FAQ 10,000x, but you didn't read the e-mail your recevieved sufficiently careful, did you?
It starts like this: "Thanks for contacting Intel Customer Support ... automated search ... these links ..." and then the important line: "..., do you still need help? You can escalate your question to a technical support representative." And the word escalate is a hyperlink.
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Re: Inspiron 1525 w/ GM965 does NOT like new Intel drivers -- thorough description
Maybe you read the FAQ 10,000x, but you didn't read the e-mail your recevieved sufficiently careful, did you?
It starts like this: "Thanks for contacting Intel Customer Support ... automated search ... these links ..." and then the important line: "..., do you still need help? You can escalate your question to a technical support representative." And the word escalate is a hyperlink.
Sorry I didn't clarify, yes - I did read it entirely and escalated the problem, but I was referring to the representative's response I received after that. Like I said, I've opened another case pointing them to this thread, so hopefully I'll get a better response this time.
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