Hardware Compatibility
List
Safe Mode
is one administrative tool for recovering from video problems. If
Windows can start in a limited capacity with the default drivers you can
investigate the settings in the Control Panel.
Most folk’s first experience with the
Blue Screen of Death comes from
bad video drivers. A Blue Screen is a Stop Error—meaning that the entire
system crashes. The keyboard and mouse are dead. There is a blue screen
filled with the system dump. Bad video drivers can render a computer totally
useless.
Microsoft
developed the Hardware Compatibility List to identify hardware
that plays nice with their operating system. All of the devices and
equipment on the HCL have been independently tested to insure that
they will be stable.