Don't you hate it when everything is working fine, and then for no good reason something fritzes?

I'm having video card/driver/etc. issues beyond my understanding. I'll give you the scenario.

- I'm at my desk playing WoW on my notebook, but as always I am using my external monitor for the game. I quit playing WoW yesterday eve and shut down my notebook.
- I go downstairs, turn it on (regular notebook monitor being used), configure my wireless network card, log onto work and work on some contracts. Success, everything's fine.
- I shut down the computer and hook it back up to my peripherals on my desk upstairs before turning in for the nite.
- This morning, I get up early and turn it on to do a bit of WoW.
- It comes on normally, and it is on my secondary screen (an older Dell monitor, which has been working with WoW fine).
- I try to start WoW and it tells me it can't start 3D acceleration. It says check DirectX and Video Drivers.
- I check dxdiag, and DirectX is correct - V 9.0.c
- I disable wireless network connection (cable connection still active), thinking since it was the last thing I did, it may help -- it did not, of course.
- I reboot a few times, cold and warm - no good.
- I flip over to my main notebook monitor screen w/ my hotkey toggle. It won't work from that screen either.

Now, it starts getting really weird:
- I try to switch back to secondary monitor. Nope. No good. I just get 5 or 6 screen flickers (on the notebook) and then nothing. My laptop doesn't indicate success or failure, but still operates fully otherwise. Secondary monitor is blank.
- I pull up display features and try to troubleshoot secondary monitor. No good. I can't use the display to make it active or to "extend my desktop onto monitor," though both monitors 1 and 2 are present in the settings box. The #2 monitor just won't work.
- I reboot a couple of times to see if it helps -- nope, no good. Secondary monitor being ignored on bootup, when it had previously been the only monitor that would be active if it was plugged on boot up.
- I had to give up and go to work, so I didn't have time to check to see if other games would work.

Any ideas? The most frustrating thing is I don't know WHAT I did to cause this SNAFU.
Any help you can offer would be vastly appreciated.

[ 10-17-2005, 09:56 AM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]

bump.

I hate to begin with the obvious, but could it be something simple like your Dell monitor has snuffed it? Any way you can test it separately from your laptop? Can you get the Dell monitors own menus up on the screen?

As for simply turning off the wireless link, assuming you're using XP then try a system restore - it will have created a restore point just before the driver installation. I can't imagine that this would be the cause though...

You could also reinstall your video drivers - never hurts to be thorough! Sorry I have no suggestions more concrete than those...

[ 10-17-2005, 04:34 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

<font color=ggffcc>1. Check your video display properties.
2. Check video driver.
3. Fix whichever one dumped it's load.
4. Enjoy the game.</font>

Thank for the assistance. I fixed it for now, but I fear it may be indicative/symptomatic of a looming video card problem, but I hope not.