You might want to try the Dell Laptop forums. I saw several entries 
about video drivers, but didn't have the time to get more specific.
Go here:  http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums?~ck=mn
Jump to the Inspiron/Video forum.

Lois Powers wrote:

>Greetings!  For 2 months I've been working with Dell techs because my daughter's Inspiron 8500 crashed.  To make a long story short, almost every part of the laptop has been replaced (some more than once) and the OS (Windows XP Home) has been installed five times.  I think that there is a problem specifically with the video driver because after I reinstall the OS and begin downloading the drivers (either with assistance from Dell Support or independently), when I get to the video (ATI Mobility Radeon 9000) and extract the files, the laptop restarts and, once it boots up, the screen (desktop start page) is completely black.  The laptop is not currently hooked up to the Internet (I have never made it that far in re-loading all the stuff.)  I have been using the Dell CD (Drivers, Utilities, and Applications) each time.  I have spent more than 50 hours on the phone with Dell without being able to resolve this problem and would appreciate any suggestions that you could offer.
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