Help: display corrupted

[ArminTamzarian]

Hello. I haven't been here for years, but I don't know where else to ask this.

Starting two days ago for no apparent reason, my display is corrupted. In Windows, there is a grid of small colored boxes, each composed of four vertical lines. When I move a Window, the boxes leave trais, so the window becomes a colored smudge. When I minimize and restore the window, it looks better. When I booted to a command prompt, the text had random characters and colors in it. I thought I had a software problem or a virus, but I replaced my hard drive with a brand new one (yes, I had one sitting around), installed Windows, and the problem's still here. I can't set the screen resultion too high, or I get a black screen and the system crashes. What's really strange is that when I took a screen capture and zoomed in, the corruption is in the image.

Anyone know what's wrong?

[sorry for all the edits - didn't want to post in the wrong forum, but everyone else seems to do it.]

 

[quackerww]

Sounds like your vid card is fried.

 

[ArminTamzarian]

That's what I thought, but the screen captures had me wondering.

 

[Nocturnal]

Normally when this happens it's the video card going out.

 

[quackerww]

The thing is, what is displayed is from the hd and has nothing to do with the video card.
So screenshots would not show it.
You would have to take a digicam photo for it to show...

 

[ArminTamzarian]

Originally posted by: quackerww
The thing is, what is displayed is from the hd and has nothing to do with the video card.
So screenshots would not show it.
You would have to take a digicam photo for it to show...

That's what's strange: it does show on screenshots. I don't know enough about how screenshots work. Do they capture output from the video card or input to the video card?

 

[quackerww]

Think of it this way....
Windows is on the hard drive, and runs off that... All the video card does is render what is on the hd (I'm using this term loosely do don't scream at me). So for you are basically taking a screenshot of what is on the HD. Not of what the video card is showing.
I hope that makes since....

HD (Screen shot) Not --------> Video Card or -----> Monitor

 

[Bozo Galora]

even a teenie weenie bit of info on your system might be informational

 

[ArminTamzarian]

Originally posted by: quackerww
Think of it this way....
Windows is on the hard drive, and runs off that... All the video card does is render what is on the hd (I'm using this term loosely do don't scream at me). So for you are basically taking a screenshot of what is on the HD. Not of what the video card is showing.
I hope that makes since....

HD (Screen shot) Not --------> Video Card or -----> Monitor

That's what I thought. So if all this junk shows up on a screenshot, is it still a video card problem?

I e-mailed you a screenshot.

 

[ArminTamzarian]

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
even a teenie weenie bit of info on your system might be informational

Pentium 4 system, Intel 850E/RDRAM, Windows XP, MSI GeForce Ti4400. It's a little over three years old.

 

[quackerww]

OK that is a bit wierd.....Ummm, I might have to bite my lip... Maby it does take a screen shot from what is rendered in the vieocard...
Well if you think about it It would have to because people take pics of games and stuff. With higher AA etc....
I think I was wrong, it prob is taking it from the video card and It seems like that is fried...


Sorry for the wrong information. Learn somthing every day I guess....
*Walks off in shame...

I would still go with the video card is fried...

 

[ArminTamzarian]

Hmm, now if I have to drop $300 for a good video card, I might as well replace everything else. Not what I wanted to spend money on now, but oh well.

 

[quackerww]

Well if your system is three years old, you do not have to spend 300 you could get away with a $50 card... a $300 card would be pointless.

 

[quackerww]

Sorry for Dl Post, Even better how about under 20?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Microstar-MSI-128Mb...8QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Bozo Galora]

If it just happened out of the blue, the first thing to try is removing vidcard, blowing off dust and crud, wipe card edge leads with 99% Isopropyl alcohol, reinsert.
Then try jiggling cable to monitor/vidcard when on to see if anything happens.
Next, make sure vidcard fan is spinning (not overheating)
Then, as always, check mobo for bulging or leaking filter caps.

 

[Research]

I had the same problem for years with my ATI AIW .. I tried 100s of things from hardware acceleration tweaks to cleaning the card. Ulimately RMAed it with ATI .. Never had a problem since then ... So time to replace/RMA your card .. or atleast try a similar model from a place where you can return it ... I wouldn't mind screwing these greedy coporations like Best Buy for 'buy and return' to test your stuff. .. as long as you do not get slapped with a restocking fee.

 

[ArminTamzarian]

Thanks for all the tips. I found that the cooling fan on the GPU had not been spinning because the retaining disc that holds the shaft in place had disintegrated. I cleaned out the pieces and now the fan spins, as long as I leave the box turned upside down(!). However, the problem remains. I suspect the GPU suffered heat damage, which would also explain why the problem seemed to get worse over the past couple days. I further theorize that the retaining disc was itself weakened by heat from the GPU, as the bottom of the fan is nearly touching the heat sink, and the stticker covering the bottom of the fan was warped and bubbled, as if exposed to heat over a long period. I conclude this is a design flaw caused by insufficient insulation between the fan and the heat sink, which caused a tiny, quarter-cent part in a 20 cent fan to fail, thus runing a $300 solid-state device.

MSI must be owned by the government.