My bad screen is driving me nuts

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Elite Baiter Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 1693

My screen is acting strangely and this is happening more often and it is driving me nuts Any help or possible causes would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

Fashmo

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:50 am

A cell phone nearby?

Elite Baiter Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 1693

No cell phone near by This as only recently started and i know it will get progressively worse

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:08 am

Several possible reasons. as Dott. Giascopato said, a cell phone. I have seen them do that when some clown has changed the PC speakers for a more generic type of unshielded speakers.
The only way to quickly determine the cause is to have a loan replacement monitor, and take your monitor to another computer. That will clarify the problem.
If not the monitor, then most likely the video card or drivers.

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:12 am

Looks like your video card is cracking up.

Not knowing about your monitor,card, system etc it's a guess Smile

If you have a spare monitor handy swap over just to test.
It could also be a memory problem on the motherboard.

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:16 am

Yeah I'd isolate whether it's the monitor or the actualy computer itself by trying a new monitor. Looks like video card issues to me though...

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:38 am

If you graphics card is on a seperate board and not built in pop open the case and re-seat it in case it's come slightly loose, make sure you are also running the latest drivers for your GPU as well as it could be driver corruption.

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:53 pm

I have several ideas, none of which are likely to actually work but at least you have comfort that I care about your plight and I am considering your problem

Every time I ring my companies IT department with a problem they tell me to turn off what ever it is that is not doing as I wish, leave off for 5 to 10 seconds, then turn said item on again.

If the above does not work, perhaps you need to get a roll of tin foil and fashion a cover for the various parts of your computer that could be exposed to the signals created by various appliances.

And finally if the above does not work my carpentry training has taught me that if at first something does not fit or work, your hammer must be too small, get youself a very big hammer.

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:40 pm

Looks like Graphics Card to me.

Take the GPU out and reseat it then try uninstalling your card and drivers and then making a clean reinstall.

Question - does this happen only when you've got your browser open?

Elite Baiter Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 1693

During reboot as well

A bit of googling and reading for me then

Thanks for all answers

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

I had something similar a couple of months ago on this desktop, turned it on one day, all internet images displayed were completely bolloxed, pixilated and fuzzy colours, all text went large, as did desktop icons etc.

I checked what graphics where on my computer, did a Google for it, found a similar ATI driver, downloaded it and my computer was back to normal.

I see you have a link to Massey ratings, do you run make your own systems and use Adrian's ratings for it?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:58 pm

First the obvious, check all connections. Pull connectors in and out a few times to get metal to metal contact.

Second not so obvious. check that 'ALL' air vents and ports are clear. Make sure they are not clogged up with dust.
Overheating is a major cause of pc humpty dumpties. Check the ports at the rear of your screen too. Take out the graphics card and make sure the fan can spin freely (if it has one) and is not clogged up.

If there is dust blocking up the ports, get a soft brush to loosen it. Use a vacuum cleaner to clear around the ports. Don't get it near any sensitive parts though.

If you have wooden or stone floors in the room you keep your pc in, check that the ports are clean and clear on a regular basis, every couple of months or so. Dust builds up very quickly on hard floors, forms lumps 'bunnies' and gets sucked straight into a lovely hot electrical device with four or more fans humming away.

If it ain't dust, get your wallet out and whack your pc with it until the problem goes away. Wink

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:35 pm

Another thing is to try altering the refresh rate. My guess would be it's a graphics card problem rather than the monitor because of the way the interference looks.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

That screams video card issue. (Just interested, is it a CRT or a LCD scope?)

BTW: McAfee site adviser is a secret CIA program to log what sites you visit. (J/K Wink

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Elite Baiter Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 1693

After updating driver it seems my problem is cured Confused

The device is clearly not working

Wheres the hammer

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:29 pm

^^Is that the latest Catalyst driver from ATI's website?

Elite Baiter Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 1693

Sure is Rod

I will persevere as i think this drivers abating the problem to some extent as its not so frequent as it was. Tomorrow brings open heart tower surgery and then its HAMMER TIME Laughing

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:18 pm

What happens if you wiggle the video cord, fiddle with the connections, etc? I have had a cord go bad, especially if you have animals or small children in the house... Confused

Elite Baiter Joined: 01 May 2006 Posts: 1693

Fluff that was the cause!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A good going over with the henry(vacuum cleaner) seems to have solved the problem

Seems like my video card was in the black hole of Calcutta and needed air Embarassed

I wondered why the fan was so loud LOL_sign

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:01 am

Fluff! who'd of thunk it? Razz

A really good tip for those of you using a laptop, is to treat yourself to one of these:

A laptop stand. They only cost a few $-£'s and will add years of extra trouble free life. Even propping up the back of your lappy on a book is better than nothing. Keep the ventilation ports clear at all times. Heat is a killer.

In general. Try and get into the habit of taking a squint at the air vents on your pc every once in a while. Especially the one on the power supply unit. Next the processor, they run at temps around 100 deg or more on the latest computers. If the fan packs up on that you'll have a big hole right through it in no time.

Don't forget to check that any exit ports are clear too. These are oft overlooked and just as important. Sometimes they can be at the front of your unit behind the front case panel. That hot air has to be able to evacuate the unit if the fans are to do their job properly.

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