Graphics card problem

[KarlosCarlos]

Hi,
yesterday out of the blue, my pc switched off, when I turned it on, the screen displays random characters and colours...ended up then with horizontal stripes of green and grey colour...then "no signal" message was displayed on the monitor...each time I reboot my computer, I ended up with the same sequence of patterns as above.
I connected my monitor to my laptop and it is not faulty...I guess hence it is a graphics card problem? any idea...my friend has a spare pc he does not use...any precaution to take if I have to use that computer graphics card in my pc...will there be a danger for my motherboard to be damaged? Any help will be greatly appreciated as alll my files are in that pc

Thank you

 

[Cycloid Torus]

If it were mine, I would first remove and examine the graphics card - strong light & magnification - any brown spots or damage? I would do same around the PCI slot - I would also inspect the heatsink very closely for a loose connection (the symptoms sound like this is possiboly the real problem). If no obvious issue, then I would put it all together again and try it one more time.

If that failed to work and if onboard video, I would try that to confirm everything else works.

If no onboard video, I would try a cheap graphics card in place of the old one - just to see if it works.

 

[Technician]

Remove the card, wipe the contacts at the edge with IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) then used compressed air to blow out the slot the card fits into and the card itself thoroughly, try it again. If it still fails, try a different (known good) card. You need to start eliminating variable.
You already checked all the connections from the PC to the monitor I assume, if not, start there.