Wallpaper Turns into Static

[Thomas]

I have a Dimension 4700 Desktop running Windows XP SP3 which has suddenly
started with a rather strange problem... Sometimes after I've locked my
computer and come back a while later, I'll log on to find my desktop
background turned into weird static. it just started happening recently, and
I can't remember having done anything to trigger it. To fix the problem I can
just reapply my wallpaper settings, but I'm afraid it's part of a lager
problem.

Windows seems to have been acting strange recently, but I couldn't put my
finger on a real issue until now. Other problems that I suppose could be
related (if this helps):
-I had to completely wipe the hard-drive a few years ago after what we think
was a hard-drive malfunction. To save my files I did some weird
dual-installation stuff, but that's all been wiped. I haven't seen any
related hard-drive problems since.
-My sound card goes into crazy static after the computer heats up too much.
-The "C:\Program Files\Microsoft" folder randomly pops up every time I log on.
-Sometimes when I'm using a menu (File, Edit, View, etc.) the button will
turn white instead of indenting like normal. Sometimes it works fine.
-I admit I've messed with the registry. I've been careful, but I could have
screwed something up.
-And yes, I have run a virus scan, to no avail.

If you don't think those are related, just ignore them. You can keep this
thread focused on the problem at hand.

If you don't mind copying and pasting the link below (I can't figure out how
to link...), it's a screenshot of the static:
http://cid-e825c7d9db9c6d37.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Problems/Blur.bmp?lc=1033

Thanks so much in advance for any reads or replies!

 

[nass]

I have a Dimension 4700 Desktop running Windows XP SP3 which has suddenly
started with a rather strange problem... Sometimes after I've locked my
computer and come back a while later, I'll log on to find my desktop
background turned into weird static. it just started happening recently, and
I can't remember having done anything to trigger it. To fix the problem I can
just reapply my wallpaper settings, but I'm afraid it's part of a lager
problem.

Windows seems to have been acting strange recently, but I couldn't put my
finger on a real issue until now. Other problems that I suppose could be
related (if this helps):
-I had to completely wipe the hard-drive a few years ago after what we think
was a hard-drive malfunction. To save my files I did some weird
dual-installation stuff, but that's all been wiped. I haven't seen any
related hard-drive problems since.
-My sound card goes into crazy static after the computer heats up too much.
-The "C:\Program Files\Microsoft" folder randomly pops up every time I log on.
-Sometimes when I'm using a menu (File, Edit, View, etc.) the button will
turn white instead of indenting like normal. Sometimes it works fine.
-I admit I've messed with the registry. I've been careful, but I could have
screwed something up.
-And yes, I have run a virus scan, to no avail.

If you don't think those are related, just ignore them. You can keep this
thread focused on the problem at hand.

If you don't mind copying and pasting the link below (I can't figure out how
to link...), it's a screenshot of the static:
http://cid-e825c7d9db9c6d37.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Problems/Blur.bmp?lc=1033

Thanks so much in advance for any reads or replies!

Try to change the wallapaer to another one and see if that will help.
It looks like an overheating issue to me.

SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

P.S Does your Anti-virus subscription current?

HTH,
nass

 

[Thomas]

Thanks for the response, nass. That sounds like the most likely problem. I'll
try another paper, but I doubt that'd make any difference. So let's assume it
is an overheating issue. I'll do what I can to keep the temp down, but do you
think the overheating is causing the wallpaper file to corrupt? If it can do
that, I'd think it could do much worse... Do you think this is a hard-drive
issue or maybe a graphics card thing?

 

[nass]

Thanks for the response, nass. That sounds like the most likely problem. I'll
try another paper, but I doubt that'd make any difference. So let's assume it
is an overheating issue. I'll do what I can to keep the temp down, but do you
think the overheating is causing the wallpaper file to corrupt? If it can do
that, I'd think it could do much worse... Do you think this is a hard-drive
issue or maybe a graphics card thing?

It can be hardware and Video Card issue.

About the overheating, you are the only one can rectify that if you feel
your system got very hot or smell a burning smell from the machine and you
can change the thermal component for the CPU that can ease the overheating
issue.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

HTH,
nass

 

[Jose]

Try to change the wallapaer to another one and see if that will help.
It looks like an overheating issue to me.

SuperAntispyware - Freehttp://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

P.S Does your Anti-virus subscription current?

HTH,
nass
---http://www.nasstec.co.uk

Wow. Me too. After a while I come back to my computer and press a
key or move the mouse and see weird static.

Oh wait, my weird static is actually the Starfield simulation screen
saver kicking in.

Right click your desktop, choose Properties and then the Screen Saver
tab, then Preview.

Is that the weird static you see? Is yours set to Starfield?

If your monitor is set to go into power saving mode after being idle
and that screen saver kicks in, it may show that stuttering for a few
seconds while things come back to life and then you will see your
desktop again.

Change it to something else, or, welcome to the final frontier.

 

[Jose]

Wow.  Me too.  After a while I come back to my computer and press a
key or move the mouse and see weird static.

Oh wait, my weird static is actually the Starfield simulation screen
saver kicking in.

Right click your desktop, choose Properties and then the Screen Saver
tab, then Preview.

Is that the weird static you see?  Is yours set to Starfield?

If your monitor is set to go into power saving mode after being idle
and that screen saver kicks in, it may show that stuttering for a few
seconds while things come back to life and then you will see your
desktop again.

Change it to something else, or, welcome to the final frontier.

Oh - I did not see your screenshot.

If it was overheating, then just changing your wallpaper setting to
fix it will probably not cool things down much.

What screen saver are you using, if any? Try no screen saver (None)
for a while and see what happens. This only
seems to happen after the screen saver kicks in? It never happens
during continued use?

This also reminds me of a marginal video connection. Completely
unhook and rehook your video connection on both ends and tighten them
down. Do you have another video cable maybe from another computer to
try temporarily if yours will unhook completely on both ends, or
another monitor to borrow?

Here is one bad comment about the 4700 and video:

Onboard graphics chip leeches system memory; only one graphics card
offered; case can't accommodate a media-card reader.

 

[Thomas]

Oh - I did not see your screenshot.

If it was overheating, then just changing your wallpaper setting to
fix it will probably not cool things down much.

What screen saver are you using, if any? Try no screen saver (None)
for a while and see what happens. This only
seems to happen after the screen saver kicks in? It never happens
during continued use?

This also reminds me of a marginal video connection. Completely
unhook and rehook your video connection on both ends and tighten them
down. Do you have another video cable maybe from another computer to
try temporarily if yours will unhook completely on both ends, or
another monitor to borrow?

Here is one bad comment about the 4700 and video:

Onboard graphics chip leeches system memory; only one graphics card
offered; case can't accommodate a media-card reader.

Hah, I'm not quite that ignorant... it was real static, not a screen saver.
And it's just the wallpaper. Well, actually a few times the right-click
context menu on task bar items had weird icons for close, cancel, minimize,
etc. It seemed related. As far as I'm concerned, it's probably a video card
problem that's brought on by overheating. I did take it out and reinstall it
once, thinking it would free up a pci slot, but alas, no. I can fiddle around
with it, but my first priority is to link it to the overheating.

I should say my real fear is not that my background might be a little weird,
it's that I could have hardware failure and lose my files. I don't have
anything too important that's not backed up, but I'd like to know if it's a
risk.