Problems with graphic card (i think)

[ZeroxoreZ]

hi i'm currently using an ATI RADEON 9200 graphics card and i am having some rather anoying problems with my computer and i dont know why

Here are the symptoms

• Playing a game such as EVE Online or Arx fatalis and my computer suddenly shuts of and reboots
•All of a sudden my monitor looks like it cannot find my computer and it goes back to the way it is when my computer is not on even though it is
•screen quality deteriarates and any game i had running will not come back up and i cannot start a game so i have to restart my computer and framerate slows down almost to a hault

I have service pack 2 and i am using windows XP home edition and all the latest Catalists so why is this happening ??? and how can i fix it ???

 

[eazy_duz_em]

your problem sounds like the most common overheat um....problem!...
try to add a case cooler over your video card.

 

[Mugsy]

Cracked vcard.

• Playing a game such as EVE Online or Arx fatalis and my computer suddenly shuts of and reboots

It really sounds like your video card has a cracked trace. When it gets hot, the gap expands to the point where power is cut from your card and the whole computer crashes.

Though a serious driver issue can, on rare occasion, cause the same thing, though Windows XP will typically let you know that was the reason for the crash after you recover, and since you didn't say you got this message, I'll assume that's not the cause.

The only way to test a card for a cracked trace without pulling it out is to keep track of how long your computer runs after a cool boot before it crashes again. If you have temp monitoring on your card, and the temperature is not spiking due to a lack of cooling, then the likelihood is you have a bad card that must be replaced.

Any chance you have another old card lying around that you can use in the meantime?

 

[ZeroxoreZ]

do you mean the box that comes up "Microsoft has recovered a serious error" then yes i do get that report and it takes me to a page saying it was a serious hardware malfunction or something like that

and no i dont as i cannot afford a new card and the only other card i have is in another computer and i dont have temp monitoring,

though usually when the computer crashes if i feel the back near the fan area it is hot,

also another syptom i forgot about is the screen goes black and i can only see about a centimeter of the left side of the screen and the rest is black

also the shop i bought the computer from has shut down and packed up and i am getting in touch with trading standards aswell and i still have over 8 months on my guarentee

i was really hoping i could fix this without having to alter anything in the actuall hard-drive,

hope this helps find a more absoloute reason so i dont waste money on things that dont work


more info about my computer

•512 MB Ram
•80 GB Hard-drive space
•No virus/mallware

 

[wolfram]

That`s definetively a harware problem. I agree with eazy_duz_em, that sounds like an overheating problem.

Does your card have a fan on it?

 

[ZeroxoreZ]

my computer has a fan at the back but i dont know about on the actual card should it ?
i dont know much about the inside of computers and what should and shouldnt be there

 

[wolfram]

The card should have a fan on it, to prevent overheating. Just check it, nothing bad will happen

 

[Mugsy]

Diagnosing

do you mean the box that comes up "Microsoft has recovered a serious error" then yes i do get that report and it takes me to a page saying it was a serious hardware malfunction or something like that

If it doesn't specifically say the Driver was at fault, the problem is likely the hardware.

though usually when the computer crashes if i feel the back near the fan area it is hot,

Depending on where you are feeling, "hot" is a relative term, and if you don't have any temperature sensors in your computer, it is difficult to know how hot is too hot.

I suspect that "hot" isn't "ouch" hot or the computer would likely be dead by now.

also another syptom i forgot about is the screen goes black and i can only see about a centimeter of the left side of the screen and the rest is black

"See" a centimeter? Does it look like the screen is "covered up" or "compressed"?

If something is blocking your screen, there is definitely something else going on. But more than likely, your screen looks like it's being compressed into a thin strip down the side (usually characterized by an extra bright vertical line to the left or right of the image as multiple lines overlap). This may indicate that the signal processor on your card is damaged (the monitor itself could be damaged, but it would not cause a reboot).

All evidence seems to point to a damaged card, and w/o additional means of checking your hardware, it would be difficult to diagnose otherwise.

You mentioned having another PC. Last resort, try putting the bad card in it to see if it does the same thing.

 

[ZeroxoreZ]

Depending on where you are feeling, "hot" is a relative term, and if you don't have any temperature sensors in your computer, it is difficult to know how hot is too hot.

I suspect that "hot" isn't "ouch" hot or the computer would likely be dead by now.

no its just really warm not burny hot

"See" a centimeter? Does it look like the screen is "covered up" or "compressed"?.

its not compressed, its more like it is being covered up its like most of the screen is being blocked of and i can only see a little bit of it,

when this happens it does not reboot itself i usually have to reboot it myself to get it fixed,

another computer uses this screen (they are switched every so often) and the other one does not experience these problems, i have also used a different screen with this computer.

i cannot alter anything inside the computer right now untill trading standards have been contacted because my guarentee is still active for another 8-10 months or so but the shop has shut down and packed up and my guarentee will be voided if i try to open it (there is a little sticker over the seams of it that says "gaurentee void if seal is broken" so i cannot open the computer up) i think this was put there to try and help the shop cover there backs and i have probably been scammed so a little warning to anyone,,, if Tryst Computers comes to town,, steer clear because thats were i got my computer :-(

 

[kirock]

You have 8 months left on warranty, so your PC is only 4 months old and these snake oil salesmen left town already?
Give up on the warranty from them. All the components inside should still be under warranty from the manufacturer though. Putting a sticker on a PC case is the stupidist thing I've ever heard. So in a year (asssuming the length of warranty), a standard home use PC will NEVER EVER EVER need to be cleaned of dust? :knock: :haha:

Just open it up and blow out all the dust and crap on the CPU HSF (heat sink fan) and the video card fan. You prob need to blow out the PSU fan too.
If you are really concerned about the warranty, call the video card manufacturer and see if they'll honor the warranty for the card first.

Take care.

 

[Mugsy]

Depent on manu warantee

You have 8 months left on warranty, so your PC is only 4 months old and these snake oil salesmen left town already?
Give up on the warranty from them.

I think I'll have to agree here. Name brands like Dell and Gateway with their own support systems seal their cases for warantee repair, but any minor distrubuter that does this and then disappears most likely would never honor any warrantee to begin with.

If all the equipment is new, the manufacturer of each periferal should still cover any defects, and most name brand manufactureres will provide better warantee service than any local shop that most likely would just ship your parts to the manuf themselves.