Grayed vertical panel in display

Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
I am helping someone with a problem affecting her Acer XP Home laptop. The
laptop is less than 3 years old and has been behaving fine. A few days ago
a
grayed vertical panel appeared toward the right of the display stretching
from top to bottom and being consistently present regardless of what
program
was being used. The only partial exception was when the initial Acer
splash
screen appeared. In that instance there was only about a half inch of the
grayed panel visible at the bottom of the screen.

snip

Any ideas/solutions would be much appreciated. I am writing here because
we
were able to solve it through utilizing Windows Restore Point technology.

Mary


A couple of suggestions / questions:

do you get the same screen issue if you boot into the BIOS setup?

do you get it if you boot into Safe Mode?

If, when Windows is running, you drag an open window over this area, does
the grey area 'disappear' behind the window, or does the window go 'behind'
this area, or can you not drag a window that far?
Try it with Task Manager - making sure that in Options, "always on top" is
checked. What happens if you drag task manager over this area?

Alister.

Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
I am helping someone with a problem affecting her Acer XP Home laptop. The
laptop is less than 3 years old and has been behaving fine. A few days ago
a
grayed vertical panel appeared toward the right of the display stretching
from top to bottom and being consistently present regardless of what
program
was being used. The only partial exception was when the initial Acer
splash
screen appeared. In that instance there was only about a half inch of the
grayed panel visible at the bottom of the screen.

snip

Any ideas/solutions would be much appreciated. I am writing here because
we
were able to solve it through utilizing Windows Restore Point technology.

Mary


A couple of suggestions / questions:

do you get the same screen issue if you boot into the BIOS setup?

do you get it if you boot into Safe Mode?

If, when Windows is running, you drag an open window over this area, does
the grey area 'disappear' behind the window, or does the window go 'behind'
this area, or can you not drag a window that far?
Try it with Task Manager - making sure that in Options, "always on top" is
checked. What happens if you drag task manager over this area?

Alister.

sweeneysmsm wrote:

Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

Then one of two situations exist: either your monitor is fried or your
video card (built-in or PCI) is fried.

Try another monitor if you can find one. It's the easiest way to find
out what's wrong.

sweeneysmsm wrote:

Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

Then one of two situations exist: either your monitor is fried or your
video card (built-in or PCI) is fried.

Try another monitor if you can find one. It's the easiest way to find
out what's wrong.

"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an
OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows
through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


It look like a fault in your laptop's built-in display adapter. If it
was the LCD panel at fault, the gray bar would remain a constant
size and shape at all video resolutions. Since the bar is smaller
when you first boot into 640x480 VGA mode, the on-board
video card is the likely culprit. If you set a lower desktop video
resolution, you should see something different, again. It could be
a video memory, or memory controller issue.




"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
I am helping someone with a problem affecting her Acer XP Home laptop.
The
laptop is less than 3 years old and has been behaving fine. A few days
ago
a
grayed vertical panel appeared toward the right of the display
stretching
from top to bottom and being consistently present regardless of what
program
was being used. The only partial exception was when the initial Acer
splash
screen appeared. In that instance there was only about a half inch of
the
grayed panel visible at the bottom of the screen.

snip

Any ideas/solutions would be much appreciated. I am writing here
because
we
were able to solve it through utilizing Windows Restore Point
technology.

Mary


A couple of suggestions / questions:

do you get the same screen issue if you boot into the BIOS setup?

do you get it if you boot into Safe Mode?

If, when Windows is running, you drag an open window over this area, does
the grey area 'disappear' behind the window, or does the window go
'behind'
this area, or can you not drag a window that far?
Try it with Task Manager - making sure that in Options, "always on top"
is
checked. What happens if you drag task manager over this area?

Alister.

"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an
OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows
through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


It look like a fault in your laptop's built-in display adapter. If it
was the LCD panel at fault, the gray bar would remain a constant
size and shape at all video resolutions. Since the bar is smaller
when you first boot into 640x480 VGA mode, the on-board
video card is the likely culprit. If you set a lower desktop video
resolution, you should see something different, again. It could be
a video memory, or memory controller issue.




"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
I am helping someone with a problem affecting her Acer XP Home laptop.
The
laptop is less than 3 years old and has been behaving fine. A few days
ago
a
grayed vertical panel appeared toward the right of the display
stretching
from top to bottom and being consistently present regardless of what
program
was being used. The only partial exception was when the initial Acer
splash
screen appeared. In that instance there was only about a half inch of
the
grayed panel visible at the bottom of the screen.

snip

Any ideas/solutions would be much appreciated. I am writing here
because
we
were able to solve it through utilizing Windows Restore Point
technology.

Mary


A couple of suggestions / questions:

do you get the same screen issue if you boot into the BIOS setup?

do you get it if you boot into Safe Mode?

If, when Windows is running, you drag an open window over this area, does
the grey area 'disappear' behind the window, or does the window go
'behind'
this area, or can you not drag a window that far?
Try it with Task Manager - making sure that in Options, "always on top"
is
checked. What happens if you drag task manager over this area?

Alister.

"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an
OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows
through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

Hi Mary,

Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier, but as Nate and Ian have said, It
looks like a hardware issue with either the display or the graphics adapter.
If you have the option on that machine, and have a spare monitor, try
connecting another monitor to the laptop and see if you still get the same
problem. If you do, it's the graphics adapter that is faulty, if not then it
is the laptop's screen that is the culprit.

You do not have to worry about the test with Task Manager - we have already
ruled out that it is not a software problem.

Just to explain, because you see the same issue in BIOS means that it cannot
be a software problem in Windows - as you are not running Windows, and are
not using the Windows graphics driver when in the BIOS.

Unfortunately, your choices to get this repaired are fairly limited.
Depending on the results of further tests you are looking at replacing
either the laptop screen, or the laptop's motherboard, as the video hardware
is almost certainly part of the motherboard circuitry, rather than being a
seperate replaceable card.

Sorry, this is probably not what your friend wants to hear!

Alister

"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an
OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows
through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

Hi Mary,

Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier, but as Nate and Ian have said, It
looks like a hardware issue with either the display or the graphics adapter.
If you have the option on that machine, and have a spare monitor, try
connecting another monitor to the laptop and see if you still get the same
problem. If you do, it's the graphics adapter that is faulty, if not then it
is the laptop's screen that is the culprit.

You do not have to worry about the test with Task Manager - we have already
ruled out that it is not a software problem.

Just to explain, because you see the same issue in BIOS means that it cannot
be a software problem in Windows - as you are not running Windows, and are
not using the Windows graphics driver when in the BIOS.

Unfortunately, your choices to get this repaired are fairly limited.
Depending on the results of further tests you are looking at replacing
either the laptop screen, or the laptop's motherboard, as the video hardware
is almost certainly part of the motherboard circuitry, rather than being a
seperate replaceable card.

Sorry, this is probably not what your friend wants to hear!

Alister

Hi Alister,

You and all the others have been very helpful, even though the answer is, as
you said, not probably what she would like to hear.

I will get back to her sometime this week and see if I can try a second
monitor just to do the last piece in the diagnosis, and then it really is up
to her to get some costings and do a discernment. She is going overseas and
wants everything to be ship-shape for what she needs to do. Getting Tech
support in a foreign land is not on one's wish list.

One last question, if you're still listening.... Is this likely to crash on
her? Get worse? Do damage to something else? At one level, she could live
with it, but she doesn't want to get stuck without resources she needs.

Any final words?

Thanks so much.

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an
OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows
through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

Hi Mary,

Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier, but as Nate and Ian have said, It
looks like a hardware issue with either the display or the graphics adapter.
If you have the option on that machine, and have a spare monitor, try
connecting another monitor to the laptop and see if you still get the same
problem. If you do, it's the graphics adapter that is faulty, if not then it
is the laptop's screen that is the culprit.

You do not have to worry about the test with Task Manager - we have already
ruled out that it is not a software problem.

Just to explain, because you see the same issue in BIOS means that it cannot
be a software problem in Windows - as you are not running Windows, and are
not using the Windows graphics driver when in the BIOS.

Unfortunately, your choices to get this repaired are fairly limited.
Depending on the results of further tests you are looking at replacing
either the laptop screen, or the laptop's motherboard, as the video hardware
is almost certainly part of the motherboard circuitry, rather than being a
seperate replaceable card.

Sorry, this is probably not what your friend wants to hear!

Alister

Hi Alister,

You and all the others have been very helpful, even though the answer is, as
you said, not probably what she would like to hear.

I will get back to her sometime this week and see if I can try a second
monitor just to do the last piece in the diagnosis, and then it really is up
to her to get some costings and do a discernment. She is going overseas and
wants everything to be ship-shape for what she needs to do. Getting Tech
support in a foreign land is not on one's wish list.

One last question, if you're still listening.... Is this likely to crash on
her? Get worse? Do damage to something else? At one level, she could live
with it, but she doesn't want to get stuck without resources she needs.

Any final words?

Thanks so much.

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi, Alister,

Re your questions:

When I boot into Bios, yes, the vertical gray panel is still there.

I tried going into Safe Mode but the usual way of tapping the F8 key
accomplished nothing and the POST never offered me a way of choosing an
OS.

When I drag a window on top of the gray panel, the gray panel shows
through
the taskbars at the top but does not show through the window area.

I am sorry. I forgot to do the part with the Task Manager. I will write to
her tonight and ask her to test this out and report back.

Is any of the above info helpful?

Mary

Hi Mary,

Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier, but as Nate and Ian have said, It
looks like a hardware issue with either the display or the graphics adapter.
If you have the option on that machine, and have a spare monitor, try
connecting another monitor to the laptop and see if you still get the same
problem. If you do, it's the graphics adapter that is faulty, if not then it
is the laptop's screen that is the culprit.

You do not have to worry about the test with Task Manager - we have already
ruled out that it is not a software problem.

Just to explain, because you see the same issue in BIOS means that it cannot
be a software problem in Windows - as you are not running Windows, and are
not using the Windows graphics driver when in the BIOS.

Unfortunately, your choices to get this repaired are fairly limited.
Depending on the results of further tests you are looking at replacing
either the laptop screen, or the laptop's motherboard, as the video hardware
is almost certainly part of the motherboard circuitry, rather than being a
seperate replaceable card.

Sorry, this is probably not what your friend wants to hear!

Alister

"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi Alister,

You and all the others have been very helpful, even though the answer is,
as
you said, not probably what she would like to hear.

I will get back to her sometime this week and see if I can try a second
monitor just to do the last piece in the diagnosis, and then it really is
up
to her to get some costings and do a discernment. She is going overseas
and
wants everything to be ship-shape for what she needs to do. Getting Tech
support in a foreign land is not on one's wish list.

One last question, if you're still listening.... Is this likely to crash
on
her? Get worse? Do damage to something else? At one level, she could live
with it, but she doesn't want to get stuck without resources she needs.

Any final words?

Thanks so much.

Mary


Hi Mary,

Yep, still here!

Um... in answer to your question... I don't know!

If it is the screen that is faulty then it could conceivably carry on like
that for ages without getting worse, on the other hand, if it is the
graphics hardware on the motherboard then it is likely to pack up much
sooner, or spread to some other part of the motherboard as the broken parts
may be causing a short circuit or otherwise raising the temperature of the
machine.However this is pure guesswork, and the laptop could keep going as
it is for months.

My advice, however would be to start considering a replacement. If you can
narrow down the culprit to the screen only, then you can get a replacement
screen for the laptop without to much trouble - or even just ignore the
built in screen and attach an external monitor.

HTH

Alister

"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi Alister,

You and all the others have been very helpful, even though the answer is,
as
you said, not probably what she would like to hear.

I will get back to her sometime this week and see if I can try a second
monitor just to do the last piece in the diagnosis, and then it really is
up
to her to get some costings and do a discernment. She is going overseas
and
wants everything to be ship-shape for what she needs to do. Getting Tech
support in a foreign land is not on one's wish list.

One last question, if you're still listening.... Is this likely to crash
on
her? Get worse? Do damage to something else? At one level, she could live
with it, but she doesn't want to get stuck without resources she needs.

Any final words?

Thanks so much.

Mary


Hi Mary,

Yep, still here!

Um... in answer to your question... I don't know!

If it is the screen that is faulty then it could conceivably carry on like
that for ages without getting worse, on the other hand, if it is the
graphics hardware on the motherboard then it is likely to pack up much
sooner, or spread to some other part of the motherboard as the broken parts
may be causing a short circuit or otherwise raising the temperature of the
machine.However this is pure guesswork, and the laptop could keep going as
it is for months.

My advice, however would be to start considering a replacement. If you can
narrow down the culprit to the screen only, then you can get a replacement
screen for the laptop without to much trouble - or even just ignore the
built in screen and attach an external monitor.

HTH

Alister

Alistair,

Thank you so much. I will close the book on this subject. I now feel armed
with enough understanding to help her to decide what she wants to do. The
most informative thing will, of course, be trying it out with a second
monitor.

Thank you again.

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi Alister,

You and all the others have been very helpful, even though the answer is,
as
you said, not probably what she would like to hear.

I will get back to her sometime this week and see if I can try a second
monitor just to do the last piece in the diagnosis, and then it really is
up
to her to get some costings and do a discernment. She is going overseas
and
wants everything to be ship-shape for what she needs to do. Getting Tech
support in a foreign land is not on one's wish list.

One last question, if you're still listening.... Is this likely to crash
on
her? Get worse? Do damage to something else? At one level, she could live
with it, but she doesn't want to get stuck without resources she needs.

Any final words?

Thanks so much.

Mary


Hi Mary,

Yep, still here!

Um... in answer to your question... I don't know!

If it is the screen that is faulty then it could conceivably carry on like
that for ages without getting worse, on the other hand, if it is the
graphics hardware on the motherboard then it is likely to pack up much
sooner, or spread to some other part of the motherboard as the broken parts
may be causing a short circuit or otherwise raising the temperature of the
machine.However this is pure guesswork, and the laptop could keep going as
it is for months.

My advice, however would be to start considering a replacement. If you can
narrow down the culprit to the screen only, then you can get a replacement
screen for the laptop without to much trouble - or even just ignore the
built in screen and attach an external monitor.

HTH

Alister

Alistair,

Thank you so much. I will close the book on this subject. I now feel armed
with enough understanding to help her to decide what she wants to do. The
most informative thing will, of course, be trying it out with a second
monitor.

Thank you again.

Mary

"Alister" wrote:


"sweeneysmsm" wrote in message
...
Hi Alister,

You and all the others have been very helpful, even though the answer is,
as
you said, not probably what she would like to hear.

I will get back to her sometime this week and see if I can try a second
monitor just to do the last piece in the diagnosis, and then it really is
up
to her to get some costings and do a discernment. She is going overseas
and
wants everything to be ship-shape for what she needs to do. Getting Tech
support in a foreign land is not on one's wish list.

One last question, if you're still listening.... Is this likely to crash
on
her? Get worse? Do damage to something else? At one level, she could live
with it, but she doesn't want to get stuck without resources she needs.

Any final words?

Thanks so much.

Mary


Hi Mary,

Yep, still here!

Um... in answer to your question... I don't know!

If it is the screen that is faulty then it could conceivably carry on like
that for ages without getting worse, on the other hand, if it is the
graphics hardware on the motherboard then it is likely to pack up much
sooner, or spread to some other part of the motherboard as the broken parts
may be causing a short circuit or otherwise raising the temperature of the
machine.However this is pure guesswork, and the laptop could keep going as
it is for months.

My advice, however would be to start considering a replacement. If you can
narrow down the culprit to the screen only, then you can get a replacement
screen for the laptop without to much trouble - or even just ignore the
built in screen and attach an external monitor.

HTH

Alister