Help! Monitor only has 16 colors!

Ok while visiting my family in Florida my sisters computer only has 16 colors. We tried a new video card but that did not get it. The error message says Rundll has caused an error in MMSYSTEM.DLL. Anyone got a clue? It is a Windows ME OS and a compaq computer. Please help asap!!!!!!

You need to remove the old video drivers before you install the new ones, let me re detect the new card. What is the model of compaq, how old, was the old video card 'onboard' or was it an AGP, what model is the new video card and what type of monitor monitor.

Model Presario 5006H, about 3 years old, APG video card NVIDIA M64 Pro 16M, New card is a NVIDIA gforce 2 MX 200. We put the new crad in bc it gave this error and a coputer "friend" told her it was the video card. So I put it in Assumeing their diagnosis was correct. Ill try to remove the old and reinstall the new.

That did not work.... Anyone?

What happens when you try to tell the driver to use more colors?

btw - you probably know this, but you do that by right-clicking on the desktop to bring up a men and then select Properties. Another way to get there is to select the Display icon in the Control Panel. Select the Settings tab.

Check to make sure the correct driver is loaded by pressing the Advanced button and matching the listed driver with the installed card. Go back to the Settings screen.

Does the Screen Area slider bar allow you to change to at least 1024 x 768? If not, the computer is not recognising the video memory. That could be caused by a hardware or software failure. Re-install the OS to eliminate software failure. I really hate saying that.

If you can select a 1024 x 768 resolution, then see what colors are available in the Colors drop-down box. You should be able to select anything from 16 to millions of colors. If not, same instructions as above. If the OS reload doesn't work, the AGP chips may be faulty, but that is rare.

hth

My computer has the regular video card,plus two Monster Video cards stacked back to back. Graphics are amazing to say the least! I know this doesn't help you,I just wanted to brag :laugh:

Tucker said:

What happens when you try to tell the driver to use more colors?

btw - you probably know this, but you do that by right-clicking on the desktop to bring up a men and then select Properties. Another way to get there is to select the Display icon in the Control Panel. Select the Settings tab.

Check to make sure the correct driver is loaded by pressing the Advanced button and matching the listed driver with the installed card. Go back to the Settings screen.

Does the Screen Area slider bar allow you to change to at least 1024 x 768? If not, the computer is not recognising the video memory. That could be caused by a hardware or software failure. Re-install the OS to eliminate software failure. I really hate saying that.

If you can select a 1024 x 768 resolution, then see what colors are available in the Colors drop-down box. You should be able to select anything from 16 to millions of colors. If not, same instructions as above. If the OS reload doesn't work, the AGP chips may be faulty, but that is rare.

hth

Click to expand...

Don't forget also to make sure that the right monitor is specified (Video properties / settings /advanced / Monitor), because Windows will limit the options for scan rates, size and color depth to match the monitor and prevent damage. So if, for example, it thinks you have a standard VGA or SVGA monitor, it will not allow high color at most resolutions.

I have also had to install a different driver for my monitor. The one my XP had was compatible with my monitir but it wasn't ideal. I had a similar issue except mine wouldn't allow me to change to certain screen resolutions, but the driver did the trick.

No options....

It will not let you select any resolutions except the smallest one. I really think the OS (Windows ME) dumped something to cause the original card to go but I thought a new card with new drivers would fix the problem. So GA Mike, Bite ME! As for the correct monitor I believe that is is properly selected. The thing that makes me believe it is the OS is the .DLL error messages that reference MMSYSTEM.DLL. Maybe one of our network guru's will post tomorrow morrning.

Nope. Right click on the My Computer icon and select 'properties'. Go to the device manager, it may be on a 'hardware' tab, i don't remember with ME. either way, select the video adapter and click the button to remove it. Then reboot and let ME do the rest. Also, ME uses a restore point, so you can just return the computer to the state it was a few days ago from the accessories menu.

Ok I removed the video adapter and let ME install the new card but it was the same. Any other sugestions?

Ghost said:

Ok I removed the video adapter and let ME install the new card but it was the same. Any other sugestions?

Click to expand...

I still think that if it won't even give you the option of higher resolutions, it must think you have the wrong monitor. Have you tried right-clicking the desktop, going to "properites," then "settings," then "advanced" then "monitor," and reselecting the correct monitor?

I tried that and got this error message.... Rundll32 has caused an error in MMSYSTEM.DLL Rundll32 will now close.... Ok I checked and the computer says that it is runnign 565. The monitor is a Mag Innovision LT 565. I am thinking it is something in windows. What would happen if I upgraded her to XP?

From ME to XP is always a good idea. Windows Mangled Edition has the same problems as 9x did.

Rundll32 is a method for invoking functions in dlls without having an executable program call them, usually used in applets like those found in the Control Panel. mmsystem.dll is the multi-media library, and handles audio, dvd, some cd functions, and other multimedia stuff like video streams.

The problem is most likely caused by a program that has installed a different version of mmsystem.dll but that is by no means certain, and is difficult to fix ... you've landed in what developers call "dll hell", and the most common fix is to re-install the OS.

I (personally) do not like ME (no pun intended). I do like XP. The upgrade issues are to make sure that if you have any onboard devices such as audio, LAN, SCSI, or RAID, that those devices are supported by XP. Compaq is noted for making almost-compatible devices. A quick call to Compaq will confirm, but I don't anticipate any problems with such a recent machine.

If you have the original ME installation cds you certainly have a fallback, so go for the XP immediately.

There are few, if any, user interface issues to deal with. XP looks a lot like ME, with a few exceptions, but the transition should be painless.

hth

The reason I'm leanign toward an XP upgrade is b/c she cannot find nor does she believe she has the original OS disks.

Ouch ... then you will need to either get the install cd from Compaq or do the XP thing.

Otherwise you will need to sequentially un-install programs untill the problem is fixed or the machine breaks down altogether ... the chance of either is 50/50 down that road. I don't recommend that, for the risk.

A quick search of Compaq's site revealed no issues outstanding with the 5000 series and XP.

At the risk of stating the obvious (sorry in advance if this is the case) note that, of course, you will need to back up all data (pics, addresses, letters, etc.) before the install, and that all installed programs will need to be re-installed if desired.

PLEASE NOTE:

There is probably a simpler fix ... if there is someone local who can look at the machine, by all means get them to do it... it is difficult to diagnose problems via this type of forum, there are just too many variables.

Another possible option is to go to Start / Run and type in "MSCONFIG". On the startup tab that appears, see if there is some program running that might be causing the problem with rundll32. TweakUI and "Load Power Profile" both use it. You can temporarily uncheck everything except explorer and systray, and see if it helps. If it does, then start rechecking things one by one until the problem reappears. If it doesn't help, you can recheck everything and won't have caused any harm.

Any luck?

We went the Xp route. It is back to normal and now she has the same OS on her desktop and laptop. thanks guys...

Glad to hear it worked out!