9700 display corruption

[MC]

After 2 years of flawless operation my 9700 pro is giving me some problems.
It starts with 4 -5 corrupted video lines running vertically. Sometimes the
whole screen is messed up sometimes only small sections. I've already
deleted and upgraded the drivers and catalyst to the latest version. After
the clean software install I lowered the refresh to 60, reduced with the agp
settings, reduce the hardware accel, and many other things in the windows
and catalyst control panels. Even on reboot during the memory check I get
corrupted characters.

Now, I again removed the drivers and I am booting on as windows vga, no
drivers and no display issues.
Any ideas?

 

[Bill]

After 2 years of flawless operation my 9700 pro is giving me some problems.
It starts with 4 -5 corrupted video lines running vertically. Sometimes the
whole screen is messed up sometimes only small sections. I've already
deleted and upgraded the drivers and catalyst to the latest version. After
the clean software install I lowered the refresh to 60, reduced with the agp
settings, reduce the hardware accel, and many other things in the windows
and catalyst control panels. Even on reboot during the memory check I get
corrupted characters.

Now, I again removed the drivers and I am booting on as windows vga, no
drivers and no display issues.
Any ideas?

Have you tried cleaning all the dirt off the card and checked to see
if the fan's still turning in case it's a heat problem.

Bill

 

[Greg Campbell]

After 2 years of flawless operation my 9700 pro is giving me some problems.
It starts with 4 -5 corrupted video lines running vertically. Sometimes the
whole screen is messed up sometimes only small sections. I've already
deleted and upgraded the drivers and catalyst to the latest version. After
the clean software install I lowered the refresh to 60, reduced with the agp
settings, reduce the hardware accel, and many other things in the windows
and catalyst control panels. Even on reboot during the memory check I get
corrupted characters.

Now, I again removed the drivers and I am booting on as windows vga, no
drivers and no display issues.
Any ideas?

It sounds like cracked BGA solder joints, a problem that affects most
vidcards if they are run long enough. Try squeezing the chip to the
card while it's running (ground yourself first!) If the corruption goes
away, it's likely because you are pressing the damaged joints together.

It's also possible that the memory chips' joints are fatigued. You can
try a similar test.

AFAIK, there is no cost effective cure for an older board. (You could
remove the heatsink, spooge the underside of the chip with flux, and try
a gentle reheat with a high temp heat gun. With luck, you might be able
to reflow the solder before burning up the board/chip. A 'proper'
repair shop will have a well profiled conveyor oven.)

-Greg

 

[MC]

I've done that and reseated the card.

Have you tried cleaning all the dirt off the card and checked to see
if the fan's still turning in case it's a heat problem.

Bill

 

[MC]

Ouch! That sounds like new video card territory.

 

[Kent_Diego]

Ouch! That sounds like new video card territory.

I just had the same thing happen to my 9700 Pro. I went to ATI.com and
submitted RMA and sent to ATI. They try to repair card and send back within
10 days. So lets hope it shows up next week. I hope you have genuine "Built
by ATI" card. The new ATI cards now only have 1 year, so it may be time to
quit buying ATI cards. BFG has lifetime warrantee.

-Kent