Is my graphics card my problem ?

[ajajaj]

Hi all,

I am working on fixing my old Dell 8500 computer. It only completely boots up in safe mode. When I try to normally start windows, the screen goes black with 1/2 inch horizontal columns and then dies.

I remember when it died 4 years ago, I left it on my bed and when I came back it was dead. I'm sure it overheated.

I am going to try to include a couple of pics in the bottom of this post. I'm wondering if it's my memory, graphics card or motherboard. I'm not good with hardware.

Should I just take it to staples or can you steer me in the right direction.

Thanks.
AJ.

 

[nboy22]

I would say that looks like video card artifacts so either one of two things is going on here.

1. You may have overheated the video card, completely ruining it.

2. The video card is just overheating when you turn it on. A possible solution would be to make sure the fan on the video card is still spinning. Also you may want to re-seat the heatsink on the video card if possible.

Is it a very old computer? looks like you're running win 2000, or 98 or something. Is it a laptop or desktop? You might be looking at either fixing the existing video card, or buying a new one. If it's an older computer you're probably looking at making a purchase of either a PCI or an AGP card depending on what expansion slots you have available in this computer.

 

[ajajaj]

Hi, thanks for your answer.

It's a dell inspiron 8500 laptop i bought in 2003. The retail was $2300 but i got it for $1600. It was great. I could play gta vice city on it with no problems for hours, which i did a few times back in the day.. LOL

I run windows XP pro on it and have 3 partitions.

I tried fiddling with the graphics card (nVidia 4200 go) like you said but the screen just kept getting worse and the fan doesn't turn on at all, maybe because i'm in safe mode. I can't boot up regularly in normal windows xp.

I will probably grab a graphics card on ebay if i can get one cheap because it's a great little laptop. I need it as a back up to my regular laptop. 🙂

Thanks for your help.

 

[gaidensensei]

It's either the LCD monitor, the cable between the LCD and the motherboard, or the graphics card itself.

Do you get the same artifacts when you turn on the system and it is in the bios and prior to loading windows?

Some of the parts might be costly depending on the scarcity. If it runs for like a hundred or so you might want to consider newer model laptops can run you $200-300 used these days.

 

[ajajaj]

It's either the LCD monitor, the cable between the LCD and the motherboard, or the graphics card itself.

Do you get the same artifacts when you turn on the system and it is in the bios and prior to loading windows?

Some of the parts might be costly depending on the scarcity. If it runs for like a hundred or so you might want to consider newer model laptops can run you $200-300 used these days.

Last year, when I initially had the problem, I hooked up the computer to an external lcd monitor, and the artifacts show up from the very beginning of boot up process. So, it's probably not the monitor or monitor cable, right ?

And i understand your point about used laptops being cheap these days. I will consider that. But maybe it's worth getting the $50 graphic card and take a risk. It's a good solid laptop.

 

[pcgeek11]

It only completely boots up in safe mode. When I try to normally start windows, the screen goes black with 1/2 inch horizontal columns and then dies.

When it boots in safe mode or in the BIOS do you have the same symptoms? If so the card is toast. If not it could be the driver.

Most times these indicate a bad video card.

 

[nboy22]

I would say the card is no longer good. Depending on your budget, it might be best to just get a new laptop. In this case, I would highly recommend Asus's laptops. I've seen some and they are incredible in terms of staying cool. My compaq laptop (essentially an HP) overheats quite easily since it's a budget computer, but my friend's Asus never gets even close to how hot my Compaq gets. Asus is more expensive, but in my opinion it is worth it.

 

[ajajaj]

When it boots in safe mode or in the BIOS do you have the same symptoms? If so the card is toast. If not it could be the driver.

Most times these indicate a bad video card.

Yeah, the artifacts appear in safe mode too. It's definately a bad video card. I'm gonna order one from ebay because this is basically going to serve as a spare laptop. The card is like $50-$60 bucks on eBay.

Thanks everyone for your help.