Need help, screen distortion
Hi, so for the past week my screen has been distorted with dots and shapes across the screen. Sometimes it goes away for periods of time. I have tried reinstalling my graphics driver and at first the problem went away, but shortly after it came back. I have also tried things such as unplugging my monitor from the computer and/or the power, no luck. Has anyone experienced this before? I believe it could be the graphics card, but I'm not sure. Another possibility is the monitor, I have no other monitors to use to test if it really is it. Here are images of what it has looked like during periods of my usage. Any help is greatly appreciated, links to helpful computer forums or sites with some form of help would be appreciated.
Pictures
OK I can't seem to post images because it says bad image url. you can not post IP urls when I'm trying to post links to imageshack and tinypic, any help to deal with this would also be appreciated so I can show photos of how my monitor appears when I'm using my computer.
[url=]http://i48.tinypic.com/33cly87.jpg[/url]
[url=]http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2me1grp&s=6[/url]
3 Comments • Newest first
In almost all cases this means your video card is about to fail
Normally this starts in video games and other GPU intensive tasks.
If it is already at the stage where you are experiencing this in the desktop environment, your problem has already progressed to a stage where your only option is likely to purchase another GPU. Judging from your lack of experience, you probably have an OEM dedicated GPU, so you probably aren't looking for anything expensive. ~$50 or $60 will get you a nice replacement, probably a much better one too.
[quote=Frozenvarice]Any help is greatly appreciated[/quote]
The pictures indicate the video card is having RAM problems with the built-in RAM on the video card itself.
This happens sometimes if the video card RAM "goes bad", and unfortunately the only solution if that's the problem is to replace the video card.
However- two other things to try first-
If you're comfortable working inside the computer, open the case and remove the video card. Use a soft pink pencil eraser (the eraser on the end of a pencil is fine), and GENTLY rub the gold fingers that plug into the computer slot with the eraser to remove any corrosion that might have built up over time. Do this for the gold fingers on both sides of the card. Clean the fingers with a Kleenex to get all the dust and gunk off, then reinstall the card and see if it helped at all. Sometimes what happens is dust or corrosion may cause a poor connection between the video card and the motherboard, and cleaning the contact fingers may help. Make sure the card is solidly seated all the way down into its slot.
Second, if the video card has a fan on it, examine it closely to see if it's all clogged with dust, and if it is, GENTLY brush the dust out of the fan and off the heat sink below the fan with a small brush, like a watercolor paint brush. You can also use "canned air" from a computer store to blow the dust out. A dust build-up can cause the card to overheat and cause the RAM "artifacting" you're seeing on your screen. Cleaning the fan and heatsink should help if that's the cause.
Also, while the card is plugged in normally, turn on the computer and see if the fan on the video card is running. If the fan is dead, it will also cause the card to overheat, causing the artifacting. Unfortunately that too means you'll have to replace the card.
Look at replacing the card as an opportunity to upgrade to a better card.
Finally, to post links on Basilmarket, just past the URL into the message. Don't bother with the "tags", Basil will see the URL and insert it for you.
BUT- when using TinyPic, DON'T paste the picture page URL from your browser's address bar because that lets people edit the tags on your picture, which often results in some pretty obscene stuff on your picture (and likely having it deleted from Basilmarket). Instead, use the URL they give you on the lower left side of the picture page where it says "Direct Link". That will paste JUST the picture, and no one will be able to edit the tags.
Yes, it's your graphics card. One of my other computers started doing this not even a week ago - slapping in an older card fixed the problem immediately.