Strange problem, is it the video card?

[svadas]

I have been the content owner of an older ABS computer.
The main specs are as follows:
Athlon (T-Bird) 1.2 Gig
Motherboard FIC AD11
512 MB DDR PC-2100
300 watt power supply (not sure of type)
GeForce 4 MX 420

The problem that I have been experiencing is frequent screen going blank for a second. Especially if I click anything. On what may or may be a related note, last week the computer refused to boot into windows, saying some was missing (I forget what). I reformatted, reinstalled windows XP. From the initial install it didn't know the video driver and just used VGAsav. Funny thing is there was no problems with this driver. Updating XP and installing the NVidia driver immediately brought back the screen blanking problem. I have been playing with the hardware acceleration in the control panel and if I totally disable it, the problem disapears again. Do I have a bad video card? Is my motherboard bad? Is my power supply going? Any suggestions as to the problem or ways to further diagnose this? The video looks 100 percent fine, it's just really annoying for the screen to keep going blank. What should I do? Even though the computer might be considered out of date, I'm really satisfied with it.

 

[kitkat22]

After all is said and done I would point fingers at the PSU as the most likely to fail after "x" number of years. You could probably get a good reliable one for pretty cheap if you don't need the wattage. However, if it is the card you can easily find a replacement that is faster for about $40-50 or less.

 

[svadas]

Is there some way to test the power supply? Is there one that is recommended as a replacement? Should I not worry about the video card then?

 

[kitkat22]

The only way I've heard of testing the PSU is to use another PSU that is known to work. Sure you can use voltmeters and such, but unless you already have the equipment it's not worth it. Ask a friend if you can borrow their PSU. If it is the PSU don't go overboard on purchasing one. You don't need anything spectacular for your system.
This one should be good for your needs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817152019

 

[svadas]

I just replaced the power supply and still have the identical problem with the video card once I enable hardware acceleration. On a side note, what is the proper way to plug in the power to the floppy drive. I didn't take note unplugging it and it's hard to figure out which way to reinstall it. I think I may did it wrong as smoke came pouring out of the back and it doesn't seem to be recognizing the drive now. It's not like I ever use the floppy though. But back to my original problem, is it the video card then?

 

[mountcarlmore]

most likely, yes.