Huge problem with distorted graphics in Win XP

[Guest]

Recently i had an game running for about an hour when suddenly the graphics
went crazy, everything started to flick and you could'nt make out anything on
the screen. I turned off the game only to find the graphics on my desktop and
mousepointer to be distorted.

I tried rebooting the computer but the distorted graphics would'nt go away,
i even tried to change the resulotion a few times, no luck.

I also discovered that the graphics on the computer boot up and self-test
sequence was distorted as well.

I have'nt been able to get the graphic to work properly in any program or
game, not even when started without using windows.

I've tried:
rebooting
Installing newest graphic drivers
changing the resulotion back and forth
run adaware and antivirus programs
uninstalling the graphic drivers
reinstalling the graphic drivers
changing computer screens
run checkdisk
run automatic system retstore point (forgot what it's actually called)
formating C: and reinstalling windows
updating windows
formating all drives and reinstalling windows

And nothing seems to have worked so far.
Only time i seem to be able to get rid of the graphic distortions is when i
run windows in "safe mode". tho the boot up sequence still remains distorted.

The computer im using is a P4 3ghz, 1gb ram, Ati radeon 9800 pro graphic card.


Anyone have any idea what could be wrong and how i might be able to fix it?
Im all out of ideas, thanks.

 

[Guest]

Just wanted to also mention that windows has become really slow, for example,
when i take an folder window and drag it around the screen, it lags behind
quite heavily and the system usage bar goes up considerly.

 

[R. McCarty]

The quickest fix might be a System Restore back to before the
game play/distortions started. Actually, I think I saw a new ATI
Catalyst driver posted today. I would uninstall the complete ATI
package and update to the latest. You might also want to shut the
PC off and completely reseat the card in it's slot. The unusual
thing about your description is the distorted BIOS post, but Safe
mode is OK - which means the VGA driver is in charge.
Also, if it's an AGP card is the adjacent PCI slot populated. XP
handles IRQ sharing well but if Slot #1 is populated, I would
move that card to either Slot #2 or #5.
I would also update the Intel Chipset Driver package as that does
affect the AGP functionality.
The latest version is found here:
http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scr...uctID=816&OSFullName=Windows* XP Professional

 

[Guest]

from device manager, uninstall device. reboot computer. run through setup
wizard again.

also try checking within display properties, troubleshoot tab. lower the
hardware accelertation and see if you notice a difference. this may tell you
whether your video card has bit the dust.

good luck.

 

[Malke]

from device manager, uninstall device. reboot computer. run through
setup wizard again.

also try checking within display properties, troubleshoot tab. lower
the hardware accelertation and see if you notice a difference. this
may tell you whether your video card has bit the dust.

good luck.

This does *not* sound like a Windows issue. This sounds like a severely
overheating and/or dying video card. Messing about with uninstalling
the device in Windows is useless. Open the computer and clean it out,
removing any dust bunnies. Now run the computer and observe all fans,
particularly the one on the video card (assuming it has one). You
didn't tell us what video card you have, but if it is elderly, it is
time to replace it. To be sure the card is the failing component, swap
it out for a known-working one.

Hardware troubleshooting usually involves swapping out parts, which
means having some extra items on hand. If you don't, then take the
machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigStoreUSA) and have them diagnose and fix the problem.

Malke

 

[Guest]

No overclocking has been done to the card and it worked perfectly before all
this happened.

The card is an Radeon 9800 pro 128 ram or something like that. It's about 2
years old i reckon.


So think the card is what's causing all the problems?

 

[Malke]

No overclocking has been done to the card and it worked perfectly
before all this happened.

The card is an Radeon 9800 pro 128 ram or something like that. It's
about 2 years old i reckon.


So think the card is what's causing all the problems?

See my previous post to you in this thread. From the information you
provided, yes it does seem to me that the video card is failing. Swap
it out for a known-working one to test.

Malke

 

[Bob I]

Is the fan on the video card still functioning?

No overclocking has been done to the card and it worked perfectly before all
this happened.

The card is an Radeon 9800 pro 128 ram or something like that. It's about 2
years old i reckon.


So think the card is what's causing all the problems?




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