Do I need to replace my video card?

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm on the internet at a specific site for days at a time without
rebooting. By the end of the 2nd day, my graphics start to fade so that
there are beige areas where text should be and by the end of the 3rd day,
only the outline of a pop-up box can be seen. There is no info inside of the
box . . . I see through the box to what is behind the box. These graphics
problems happens only at this site. If I go to another site (to check my
email, etc), I have no problems with my graphics. I stay on my computer
this long because I will lose much time and info if I stop to reboot. I
periodically do a disc clean-up, empty temporary folders, etc, during the 2
or 3 days but it doesn't help.

I have Windows XP Pro, an AMD Duron Processor, 945 MHz, 256 MB
Ram. In System Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager > Sound, Video and
Capture Devides, it says that I have "Legacy Video Capture Devices."

My computer was made for me 4 years ago and the person who made it
is no longer with us so I can't find out the specifics of what is inside my
PC.

I've read some of the other posts here about video cards, BIOS,
whether the video card is part of the motherboard or separate, and raising
the AGP aperture size. If these are possible solutions to my problem, please
tell me how to get into BIOS, how to raise the AGP aperature size, and how to
find out whether my video card is part of my motherboard.

I don't do gaming so I don't need a video card that's fast but I need one
that can work for days on end without the need to reboot. Someone suggested
that the size should be at least 1G. I have no other problems with my
computer when I stay on line for 2 or 3 days without rebooting except that I
lose my graphics.

If I need a new video card, what type of video card will I need to buy? If
you need more info, I'll be happy to supply it.

Denise

 

[Galen]

In HartsVideo <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi,

I'm on the internet at a specific site for days at a time
without rebooting. By the end of the 2nd day, my graphics start to
fade so that there are beige areas where text should be and by the
end of the 3rd day, only the outline of a pop-up box can be seen.
There is no info inside of the box . . . I see through the box to
what is behind the box. These graphics problems happens only at this
site. If I go to another site (to check my email, etc), I have no
problems with my graphics. I stay on my computer this long because
I will lose much time and info if I stop to reboot. I periodically
do a disc clean-up, empty temporary folders, etc, during the 2 or 3
days but it doesn't help.

I have Windows XP Pro, an AMD Duron Processor, 945 MHz, 256
MB Ram. In System Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager >
Sound, Video and Capture Devides, it says that I have "Legacy Video
Capture Devices."

My computer was made for me 4 years ago and the person who
made it is no longer with us so I can't find out the specifics of
what is inside my PC.

I've read some of the other posts here about video cards,
BIOS, whether the video card is part of the motherboard or separate,
and raising the AGP aperture size. If these are possible solutions
to my problem, please tell me how to get into BIOS, how to raise the
AGP aperature size, and how to find out whether my video card is part
of my motherboard.

I don't do gaming so I don't need a video card that's fast but I need
one that can work for days on end without the need to reboot.
Someone suggested that the size should be at least 1G. I have no
other problems with my computer when I stay on line for 2 or 3 days
without rebooting except that I lose my graphics.

If I need a new video card, what type of video card will I need to
buy? If you need more info, I'll be happy to supply it.

Denise

I'll take a stab at this but I'm not able to be 100% certain without more
information. To make sure that I understand you there's one site and ONLY
one site that if you leave it open for days at a time (and you've tested
other sites left open for days at a time as well) the colors fade out? My
guess would not be graphics card but rather a slowly failing monitor and a
graphics intensive site??? Do you have a link to the site perhaps? As for
your general use - unless you're a gamer or doing video rendering in real
time or CAD system work then chances are that you'd get away wonderfully
with an inexpensive 128 MB RAM AGP card (and the age of your PC pretty much
assures me that that will work fine assuming it was "modern" when it was
built) and I really suspect that the card isn't to blame. I'd guess the site
was graphics intensive in some way (failure to optimize the site well or
using something heavy in graphics like basing it on flash or something
perhaps) and that the monitor itself might be failing. I guess that's where
I'd start looking and remember, this is only a stab - not anything I can be
too certain about.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of
existence." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

The first two or three lines of your post say it all.. there is only a
problem at one particular site.. any where else. and the graphics card
appears to be fine.. so it isn't the graphics card, is it..

Perhaps you might like to share the URL such that one of us could go see for
ourselves..

 

[Guest]

Hi Galen and Mike,

Thanks for responding. The site is graphic intensive . . . winmx through
private servers. I share old movie and cartoon files from the 1920's to the
70's with others. Movies take about 2 days to get from #100 in que to #1 and
they take at least 24 hours to d/l. I haven't stayed on any other site for 2
to 4 days, such as eBay or my email, so I don't know if my graphics would
start to go when I'm there. But when my graphics start to go and have almost
completely gone at winmx, my graphics are fine when I check my email or go to
eBay while winmx is still running. My computer doesn't even slow down after
a few days. My computer is 4 years old and my monitor is 3 years old, it's a
KDS 17" flat screen.

The reason that I thought that my graphics card might be the problem is
because, about 2 years ago, I used a program named Leechammer while at winmx
for winmx. When Leechammer "hammered," the image of winmx on my monitor
would "shake" quickly for about 5 seconds. This would happen more than 50
times in a few hours. When I started to receive the beige areas after using
Leechammer for about 6 months, I uninstalled the program and haven't used it
since because I thought that it was ruining my graphics card, but the
graphics continued to turn beige if I was at winmx for more than 2 days.
Then, about a year later, the pop-up boxes started to be clear with only the
border showing about a day after the beige areas show up (about the 3rd day
at winmx). When my grapics get bad after being at winmx for a few days, if I
reduce winmx to system tray and then maximize winmx, I can see everything at
winmx again, but as soon as someone sends me a PM or if I need to open any
other boxes, my graphics go crazy. . . almost all white/beige/clear, so I
again minimize and maximize winmx and I see everything again until the next
time that I want to open a box, which is fairly often. If you would like the
program, the patches and the guides so that you can try it yourselves, I'll
upload them to you if there's a way to do that here.

I hope this info helps.

Denise

=====================

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Harts

Perhaps you should pay to get the really fast downloads from this site.. and
have you considered that what you are doing probably breaches every
copyright law, or don't you care about that aspect..

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Don't you just turn off the monitor? I wouldn't waste a good video card on
what you are doing. The way I would solve this is to buy Virtual PC and use
that to link to the site and wait for my place in line. You can't damage an
emulated video card and you don't have to tie up the system.

 

[Galen]

In HartsVideo <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi Galen and Mike,

Thanks for responding. The site is graphic intensive . . . winmx
through private servers. I share old movie and cartoon files from
the 1920's to the 70's with others. Movies take about 2 days to get
from #100 in que to #1 and they take at least 24 hours to d/l. I
haven't stayed on any other site for 2 to 4 days, such as eBay or my
email, so I don't know if my graphics would start to go when I'm
there. But when my graphics start to go and have almost completely
gone at winmx, my graphics are fine when I check my email or go to
eBay while winmx is still running. My computer doesn't even slow
down after a few days. My computer is 4 years old and my monitor is
3 years old, it's a KDS 17" flat screen.

The reason that I thought that my graphics card might be the problem
is because, about 2 years ago, I used a program named Leechammer
while at winmx for winmx. When Leechammer "hammered," the image of
winmx on my monitor would "shake" quickly for about 5 seconds. This
would happen more than 50 times in a few hours. When I started to
receive the beige areas after using Leechammer for about 6 months, I
uninstalled the program and haven't used it since because I thought
that it was ruining my graphics card, but the graphics continued to
turn beige if I was at winmx for more than 2 days. Then, about a year
later, the pop-up boxes started to be clear with only the border
showing about a day after the beige areas show up (about the 3rd day
at winmx). When my grapics get bad after being at winmx for a few
days, if I reduce winmx to system tray and then maximize winmx, I can
see everything at winmx again, but as soon as someone sends me a PM
or if I need to open any other boxes, my graphics go crazy. . .
almost all white/beige/clear, so I again minimize and maximize winmx
and I see everything again until the next time that I want to open a
box, which is fairly often. If you would like the program, the
patches and the guides so that you can try it yourselves, I'll upload
them to you if there's a way to do that here.

I hope this info helps.

Denise

=====================

You say WinMX. The site's been down for forever and a day - though the
application can still be downloaded from quite a few places. Just an FYI:
The servers no longer connect except for the OpenNap P2P servers which it
seems you're doing. That'd not be a site - that'd be an application if I'm
understanding you correctly. You said flat screen and not panel or LCD so
I'm guessing it's a CRT monitor? It could be, as I suggested, the monitor
failing.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of
existence." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[Guest]

Colin, if it were that easy, I would do just that. Oftentimes a que times
out and if I don't see it, I go from being 100 in line to 12 and back to 105
again. My monitor is shut off for about 10 hours a day.

This is my hobby. I don't do it for money. I'm housebound and the activity
keeps me entertained and occupied. It's like putting a jigsaw puzzle
together . . . I get one piece from here and another piece from there and all
the piece are put together to create something . . . a file in this case,
which could be the 1928 release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Lon
Chaney (a silent film), or the 1933 Popeye pilot cartoon. These files are
treasures to me. If this were your favorite passtime, such as golfing,
collecting stamps or coins, skiing, reading, watching tv, camping, etc,
spending $300 every few years on it would be acceptable to you and anyone
else who knew that you put that money into your hobby. That's how I feel
about my computer hardware. It's expendable compared to the enjoyment I
receive from piecing the files together. If I have to buy a new monitor
every 3 years or a new graphics card every 4 years, I don't mind. They're
there to serve me, not the other way around.

I'll buy a new monitor and hopefully that will resolve the problem. If it
doesn't, I'll buy a new graphics card.

Do you know the type of graphics card I'll need to buy from the info that I
posted or is more infor needed?

Denise

============================

Don't you just turn off the monitor? I wouldn't waste a good video card on
what you are doing. The way I would solve this is to buy Virtual PC and use
that to link to the site and wait for my place in line. You can't damage an
emulated video card and you don't have to tie up the system.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)

Hi Galen and Mike,

Thanks for responding. The site is graphic intensive . . . winmx through
private servers. I share old movie and cartoon files from the 1920's to
the
70's with others. Movies take about 2 days to get from #100 in que to #1
and
they take at least 24 hours to d/l. I haven't stayed on any other site
for 2
to 4 days, such as eBay or my email, so I don't know if my graphics would
start to go when I'm there. But when my graphics start to go and have
almost
completely gone at winmx, my graphics are fine when I check my email or go
to
eBay while winmx is still running. My computer doesn't even slow down
after
a few days. My computer is 4 years old and my monitor is 3 years old,
it's a
KDS 17" flat screen.

The reason that I thought that my graphics card might be the problem is
because, about 2 years ago, I used a program named Leechammer while at
winmx
for winmx. When Leechammer "hammered," the image of winmx on my monitor
would "shake" quickly for about 5 seconds. This would happen more than
50
times in a few hours. When I started to receive the beige areas after
using
Leechammer for about 6 months, I uninstalled the program and haven't used
it
since because I thought that it was ruining my graphics card, but the
graphics continued to turn beige if I was at winmx for more than 2 days.
Then, about a year later, the pop-up boxes started to be clear with only
the
border showing about a day after the beige areas show up (about the 3rd
day
at winmx). When my grapics get bad after being at winmx for a few days,
if I
reduce winmx to system tray and then maximize winmx, I can see everything
at
winmx again, but as soon as someone sends me a PM or if I need to open any
other boxes, my graphics go crazy. . . almost all white/beige/clear, so I
again minimize and maximize winmx and I see everything again until the
next
time that I want to open a box, which is fairly often. If you would like
the
program, the patches and the guides so that you can try it yourselves,
I'll
upload them to you if there's a way to do that here.

I hope this info helps.

Denise

=====================

 

[Guest]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your advice but my hobby isn't so much about having the files as
getting them, as I explained in another post here.

I use my computer as a data storge facility only. . . it's a back-up area
for off-site storage of legally acquired material. Storage of files does not
imply use of files and access to them is on an honor basis only. Certain
individuals and agencies who enter my computer must agree to abide by my
warning not to enter or download files from my computer or that person and/or
agency will be in violation of code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act of
1995, signed into law by Bill Clinton and this means that he/she/they cannot
threaten my ISP or any person(s) or company storing these files, and cannot
prosecute any person(s) affiliated with my site or computer. I also deny
access to any and all files in my possession to these individuals and
agencies and if these individuals or agencies access any files in my
possesion, that individual or agency is in violation of code 431.322.12 of
the Internet Privacy Act. Any and all persons entering or downloading files
from my computer must affirm that he/she/they are in compliance with federal,
state, and local laws concerning the content that is in stored in my computer.

Denise

============================

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info Galen. Computer/internet terminology isn't my strong
suit so I appreciate your input. I don't know what a CRT monitor is and I no
longer have the paperwork that came with it. I mentioned in another post
that I will be buying a new monitor in the near future but if I still have
the problem, would it be the graphics card then? If so, do you know what
kind of graphics card I'll need from the info that I posted or would you need
to have more info?

Denise

=====================================

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If your monitor is as deep as it is wide and tall (or deeper, as much as
15") then you have a CRT (cathode ray tube) based monitor regardless of how
curved or flat the glass is. If it is only about 3 or 4 inches deep then it
is an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor.

The point is that CRT's are illuminated by an electron gun shooting
electrons against a coating on the inside of the display screen, and keeping
the same image on the screen for very long periods like you are doing will
eventually degrade the coating to the point where the monitor becomes
useless. Sometimes the image is permanently ghosted into the coating. This
is why people run screensavers. LCD screens are not subject to this type of
damage.

 

[Guest]

By the definition, I have a CRT monitor. I've been looking at the prices of
the thin ones on line and they've come down in price a lot. Several of them
at Staples are under $300.00. They might not be the best but if I wait 6
months, I'll get a better one for the same price

Thanks Colin. . . I very much appreciate your help

If your monitor is as deep as it is wide and tall (or deeper, as much as
15") then you have a CRT (cathode ray tube) based monitor regardless of how
curved or flat the glass is. If it is only about 3 or 4 inches deep then it
is an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor.

The point is that CRT's are illuminated by an electron gun shooting
electrons against a coating on the inside of the display screen, and keeping
the same image on the screen for very long periods like you are doing will
eventually degrade the coating to the point where the monitor becomes
useless. Sometimes the image is permanently ghosted into the coating. This
is why people run screensavers. LCD screens are not subject to this type of
damage.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)

Thanks for the info Galen. Computer/internet terminology isn't my strong
suit so I appreciate your input. I don't know what a CRT monitor is and I
no
longer have the paperwork that came with it. I mentioned in another post
that I will be buying a new monitor in the near future but if I still have
the problem, would it be the graphics card then? If so, do you know what
kind of graphics card I'll need from the info that I posted or would you
need
to have more info?

Denise

=====================================

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You're welcome.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)

By the definition, I have a CRT monitor. I've been looking at the prices
of
the thin ones on line and they've come down in price a lot. Several of
them
at Staples are under $300.00. They might not be the best but if I wait 6
months, I'll get a better one for the same price

Thanks Colin. . . I very much appreciate your help

If your monitor is as deep as it is wide and tall (or deeper, as much as
15") then you have a CRT (cathode ray tube) based monitor regardless of
how
curved or flat the glass is. If it is only about 3 or 4 inches deep then
it
is an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor.

The point is that CRT's are illuminated by an electron gun shooting
electrons against a coating on the inside of the display screen, and
keeping
the same image on the screen for very long periods like you are doing
will
eventually degrade the coating to the point where the monitor becomes
useless. Sometimes the image is permanently ghosted into the coating.
This
is why people run screensavers. LCD screens are not subject to this type
of
damage.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)

Thanks for the info Galen. Computer/internet terminology isn't my
strong
suit so I appreciate your input. I don't know what a CRT monitor is
and I
no
longer have the paperwork that came with it. I mentioned in another
post
that I will be buying a new monitor in the near future but if I still
have
the problem, would it be the graphics card then? If so, do you know
what
kind of graphics card I'll need from the info that I posted or would
you
need
to have more info?

Denise

=====================================

:

In HartsVideo <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi Galen and Mike,

Thanks for responding. The site is graphic intensive . . . winmx
through private servers. I share old movie and cartoon files from
the 1920's to the 70's with others. Movies take about 2 days to get
from #100 in que to #1 and they take at least 24 hours to d/l. I
haven't stayed on any other site for 2 to 4 days, such as eBay or my
email, so I don't know if my graphics would start to go when I'm
there. But when my graphics start to go and have almost completely
gone at winmx, my graphics are fine when I check my email or go to
eBay while winmx is still running. My computer doesn't even slow
down after a few days. My computer is 4 years old and my monitor is
3 years old, it's a KDS 17" flat screen.

The reason that I thought that my graphics card might be the problem
is because, about 2 years ago, I used a program named Leechammer
while at winmx for winmx. When Leechammer "hammered," the image of
winmx on my monitor would "shake" quickly for about 5 seconds.
This
would happen more than 50 times in a few hours. When I started to
receive the beige areas after using Leechammer for about 6 months, I
uninstalled the program and haven't used it since because I thought
that it was ruining my graphics card, but the graphics continued to
turn beige if I was at winmx for more than 2 days. Then, about a
year
later, the pop-up boxes started to be clear with only the border
showing about a day after the beige areas show up (about the 3rd day
at winmx). When my grapics get bad after being at winmx for a few
days, if I reduce winmx to system tray and then maximize winmx, I
can
see everything at winmx again, but as soon as someone sends me a PM
or if I need to open any other boxes, my graphics go crazy. . .
almost all white/beige/clear, so I again minimize and maximize winmx
and I see everything again until the next time that I want to open a
box, which is fairly often. If you would like the program, the
patches and the guides so that you can try it yourselves, I'll
upload
them to you if there's a way to do that here.

I hope this info helps.

Denise

=====================

:

The first two or three lines of your post say it all.. there is
only
a problem at one particular site.. any where else. and the graphics
card appears to be fine.. so it isn't the graphics card, is it..

Perhaps you might like to share the URL such that one of us could
go
see for ourselves..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/User


message
Hi,

I'm on the internet at a specific site for days at a time
without rebooting. By the end of the 2nd day, my graphics start
to
fade so that there are beige areas where text should be and by the
end of the 3rd day, only the outline of a pop-up box can be seen.
There is no info inside of the
box . . . I see through the box to what is behind the box. These
graphics problems happens only at this site. If I go to another
site (to check my email, etc), I have no problems with my
graphics.
I stay on my computer this long because I will lose much time and
info if I stop to reboot. I periodically do a disc clean-up,
empty
temporary folders, etc, during the 2
or 3 days but it doesn't help.

I have Windows XP Pro, an AMD Duron Processor, 945 MHz,
256 MB Ram. In System Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager

Sound, Video and
Capture Devides, it says that I have "Legacy Video Capture
Devices."

My computer was made for me 4 years ago and the person
who
made it
is no longer with us so I can't find out the specifics of what is
inside my
PC.

I've read some of the other posts here about video cards,
BIOS, whether the video card is part of the motherboard or
separate, and raising the AGP aperture size. If these are
possible
solutions to my problem, please
tell me how to get into BIOS, how to raise the AGP aperature size,
and how to
find out whether my video card is part of my motherboard.

I don't do gaming so I don't need a video card that's fast but I
need one that can work for days on end without the need to reboot.
Someone suggested
that the size should be at least 1G. I have no other problems
with my computer when I stay on line for 2 or 3 days without
rebooting except that I
lose my graphics.

If I need a new video card, what type of video card will I need to
buy? If
you need more info, I'll be happy to supply it.

Denise

You say WinMX. The site's been down for forever and a day - though the
application can still be downloaded from quite a few places. Just an
FYI:
The servers no longer connect except for the OpenNap P2P servers which
it
seems you're doing. That'd not be a site - that'd be an application if
I'm
understanding you correctly. You said flat screen and not panel or LCD
so
I'm guessing it's a CRT monitor? It could be, as I suggested, the
monitor
failing.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces
of
existence." - Sherlock Holmes