Cold Start Problems...


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Hey everyone,

For some reason, after a first successful boot after installation (I had to do a full refresh to fix this problem the first time, because it went too far), it's come back again and I was wondering if anyone else has been having the same problem.

Basically, after the boot screen, the computer gets stuck on a black screen, sometimes with a cursor, usually without. Most times, putting the computer to sleep then waking it up again shows the cover photo, before being able to go to the login screen (as it should). This is a lot of extra effort to simply boot the computer.

However, if that doesn't work, after the black screen comes a white screen, then a new screen (with the cursor) and the background colour of my start screen.

I have a feeling this has got to do with drivers, but have no idea where to start to troubleshoot this properly.

I'm running this as the only operating system on my Dell XPS L502x (full specs here), after originally running the .exe downloaded from preview.windows.com, rather than an ISO.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I hope you guys are having more luck with the Consumer Preview. :)

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So it seems the most likely cause is the graphics drivers.

I did a clean installation from a Windows 8 DVD, and rebooted repeatedly without problems. The moment I installed these drivers, and selected '3D Settings' in the Nvidia control panel, I got a BSOD. On next boot, I got the problem described above.

This means I can't play games! :(

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Try re-installing the drivers. Do a custom installation and uncheck all the 3D Vision stuff and Nvidia Update. Be sure to check "Perform a clean install"

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Try re-installing the drivers. Do a custom installation and uncheck all the 3D Vision stuff and Nvidia Update. Be sure to check "Perform a clean install"

Alright, so I've done that. Now I have no boot problems, but still get a BSOD when trying to access the "Manage 3D Settings" (ie. defining GPU per program) page of the Nvidia control panel.

The error provided by the BSOD is IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. Will check Event Viewer now.

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Does your laptop have switchable graphics ("Nvidia Optimus") If so, have you installed the Intel Graphics drivers?

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It does, and I currently have the Microsoft WDDM 1.2 Intel HD Graphics drivers.

That might be your issue there. My guess is it's throwing a fit when switching from Intel to Nvidia.

I would try installing the latest drivers from Intel: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=20842&ProdId=3231〈=eng&OSVersion=Windows%207%20(64-bit)*&DownloadType=Drivers

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That might be your issue there. My guess is it's throwing a fit when switching from Intel to Nvidia.

I would try installing the latest drivers from Intel: http://downloadcente...oadType=Drivers

Installing now, I'll let you know how it goes.

Edit: "This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software."

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don't forget that this is only a preview.

Of course, but I never had any problems with Windows 7 6801, and that was a leaked build. Although, I had a completely different laptop.

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Of course, but I never had any problems with Windows 7 6801, and that was a leaked build. Although, I had a completely different laptop.

when i tried to install this new cp from the .exe it told me my cpu wasnt qualified because it wasn't 1ghz or more.

i have an i7 2600k.

then i tried from an iso and it told me that i didn't have a 64 bit processor.

lots of tinkering and finally got it running. never had issues with the 7 previews/betas/leaks. but i didnt have the same system.

i hope you find your way, this is the best place to ask for help. (unless budman treats you like you're a total ******* like he always does.)

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So, still no luck finding a proper working driver for the Intel HD Graphics card. :(

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After a few hours of troubleshooting hoops, I finally have installed compatible Intel display drivers that fix the issue altogether. Damn system requirement checks made it all the more harder.

Thanks for the help David, really appreciate it.

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After a few hours of troubleshooting hoops, I finally have installed compatible Intel display drivers that fix the issue altogether. Damn system requirement checks made it all the more harder.

Thanks for the help David, really appreciate it.

So, I've got the exact Same problem. I've got an xps 15z. What'd you actually do to get the intel driver to install? I can't get it to :/

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So, I've got the exact Same problem. I've got an xps 15z. What'd you actually do to get the intel driver to install? I can't get it to :/

Try this for x64 and this for x86. As I said, it took a while to get working drivers.You want to try getting them off the Dell website too, rather than the Intel one.

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yuppers :/

I tried so many different things to figure out how to fix this, I lost track of what worked. Sorry about that.

This, from the Dell website, will work.

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The real pain about the Intel graphics drivers is the newer versions of the driver have a specification in the INF to NOT install on Windows 8. You can modify the INF but win 8 will spit the driver back because of an invalid hash. Only way around it is to modify the INF, disable driver signature enforcement for one boot, install the driver, and reboot.

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I tried so many different things to figure out how to fix this, I lost track of what worked. Sorry about that.

This, from the Dell website, will work.

That worked! thank you very much!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi all,

Have had many issues with this on my i7 2670QM Dell L1702X on 64bit. I tried all the drivers posted in this thread to no avail to see if one fixed my issues for good (Screen flickering, randomly not switching to HDMI out and metro apps going black/flickering -> login screen).

Have you tried the new Intel HD 2nd/3rd gen beta driver for Windows 8?

http://communities.i...om/thread/29226

So far so good, no Metro issues at least.

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Hi all,

Have had many issues with this on my i7 2670QM Dell L1702X on 64bit. I tried all the drivers posted in this thread to no avail to see if one fixed my issues for good (Screen flickering, randomly not switching to HDMI out and metro apps going black/flickering -> login screen).

Have you tried the new Intel HD 2nd/3rd gen beta driver for Windows 8?

http://communities.i...om/thread/29226

So far so good, no Metro issues at least.

Since my recent reinstallation of Windows 8 I have not installed any video card drivers for my Intel GPU. Tonight I shall try the one you provided, thanks for that. :)

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