goddamn vista install black screen problem

[Darwin]

I didn't even expect the install to be without incident, but
GEEZUS. So I'm wanting to dualboot XP/Vista, installing with XP already resident on C. I repartition with a V: for the vista install, everything goes fine if unbearably slow.
first reboot, black screen and no mouse. Same thing happens if I try to F8, except for
one time where I got it to come up in safe mode, except it never finished loading and
all I got was mouse and safemode background. Asus a8n32-sli and 8800GTX. No. Idea. what to to next. I've tried to load the 8800 drivers during the setup, and for whatever reason vista rejects them.

I call upon the search-fu of SDN to help me get out of this problem. all the fixes I could find involved booting into safemode and loading the default VGA drivers, but I can't get into safe mode.

[Datana]

Try switching to a VGA cable if you're using DVI. My Sceptre Naga-IV monitor would not be properly recognized under Vista on my 8800GTS (even though it works fine under Ubuntu and XP), and I'd get a black screen like the one you described. The only workaround I've found has been to connect via VGA instead. My searches on the subject appear to implicate nVidia's drivers, with several monitors suffering from the same effect under the last few sets of Vista Forcewares.

[Darwin]

Try switching to a VGA cable if you're using DVI. My Sceptre Naga-IV monitor would not be properly recognized under Vista on my 8800GTS (even though it works fine under Ubuntu and XP), and I'd get a black screen like the one you described. The only workaround I've found has been to connect via VGA instead. My searches on the subject appear to implicate nVidia's drivers, with several monitors suffering from the same effect under the last few sets of Vista Forcewares.

That'd be a good guess based on what I've read, but I've got a CRT monitor via VGA cable here.

Another oddness, I guess I've never tried since upgrading to the 8800, and it may still have something to do with the vista install failure, but I can't boot off my XP or recovery disks: I get the same black screen problem with them now.

[Stark]

You're using an 8800, throught VGA, to a CRT? Hilarious.

Is there a reason to dualboot XP?

[phongn]

You're using an 8800, throught VGA, to a CRT? Hilarious.

There's some guys on ArsTechnica who game at 2048x1536 on 21" CRTs

[Stark]

phongn
That doesn't mean it makes sense. Just the difference using DVI instead of VGA is significant, I can't imagine it also being on an old CRT.