Red and blue lines on screen

[goshjosh182]

Recently, my LCD monitor started showing red and blue lines in certain areas of the screen, especially outlining images. I at first thought that someone had tinkered with the monitor display settings and made the reds and blues more intense, but I found that messing around with the color settings did nothing to get rid of these lines.

My monitor then died a few days later (although I'm not sure if it's a coincidence), so I replaced it with an older monitor, and that one as well showed the red and blue lines, so I replaced it again with the same result.

I figured that it's not a problem with the monitor because I took a screenshot of my problem, saved it as a .png file, and emailed it to myself on another computer, and on that computer the red and blue lines do not appear in the image.

I have an NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 video card that came with the computer, and my OS is Windows 7 (64-bit). Any help is much appreciated, thanks.

 

[captaincranky]

You have to swap out the graphics card. It's really the only way to eliminate the video card as the source of the problem. Goofy lines like that can be symptomatic of the video card failing. If the driver in the machine didn't have a problem before, and there haven't been any other major changes in the hard or software configuration, stands to reason that the card is the prime suspect.

I'm not exactly sure where in the video system a screen shot is taken, but it seems certain it's well before that actual screen output. Were we using the same video connecting cable on all the different screens? Beause you might try another monitor cable first if it was.

 

[goshjosh182]

Would I have to pay for a new graphics card? If so, how much do they typically cost?

 

[captaincranky]

Would I have to pay for a new graphics card? If so, how much do they typically cost?

One would suppose yes, unless a friend has one for you to try. As to price, it could be anywhere from 25 bucks to several hundred. Perhaps somebody here is more familiar with your specific model card, and could recommend an equivalent unit, to be considered as a replacement part, rather than an upgrade.

Unless this machine is under warranty, why wouldn't you think you'd have to pay for another?

 

[mailpup]

Your graphics "card" is built into the motherboard and is otherwise known as onboard graphics. As such you can't remove it. If the graphics has failed, you can replace the motherboard or buy a discrete graphics card.

I would try uninstalling and reinstalling the graphics driver before deciding to buy a separate graphics card. I have read that that family of GPUs has a high failure rate and may have an extended warranty. You can check with the PC manufacturer as to what the status of the warranty is.

 

[steve mcqueen]

probably a graphic card issue.