[ARCHIVED THREAD] - PC Gods, help. (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 3/1/2013 5:02:55 AM EDT
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I was playing Battlefield 3 last night, and my computer suddenly shut itself down and restarted. Upon the restart, the graphics on the boot screen had about 2" long yellow lines running all over the screen and I could not boot the operating system past the "Starting Windows" screen. All of my fans are running properly, it's not too dirty, and it shouldn't have overheated. The only way I'm able to type this is in safe mode, and the graphics are still glitching out everywhere hardcore. It's to the point where reading this is hard to do. halp |
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WTF version of Windows are you running? Server 2k8 R2? Edit: It could be your RAM. It could be your graphics drivers. It could be your motherboard. It could be your processor. First, I would... Uninstall graphics drivers :Reboot: Start Windows Normally Does it start right? Yes- continue loading into windows, dload newest driver package, update windows. No- Attempt to use known good gfx card, if still no then remove gfx card and use onboard graphics if available. If still no, then Continue below... Second- Run a memtest 86+ test on your RAM Did you have errors? Yes - Remove all but one stick of RAM, attempt to boot. If does not boot, cycle through the sticks of RAM 1 at a time in RAM bank 1 attempting to start windows. If you cycle through all RAM and cannot start, you might have bigger issues. No - It might be a bad motherboard. :( It might be a fried processor. :( :( |
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Quoted: WTF version of Windows are you running? Server 2k8 R2? windows 7, but it's running in safe mode. i can't boot up the operating system otherwise. |
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The first thing I do in any "WTF?" pc problem is to test my PSU. If you don't have a tester available, go to any PC repair shop or even BestBuy if you have to - see if they'll give you the 30 seconds it should take to test your PSU.
If your PSU is good: did you recently update your video drivers for any reason? Do you have a spare video card that you can use to replace/test your current one? Or, if your MOBO has a dedicated video chip (video outputs on your motherboard and not just your video card, try using those outputs instead of your video card. |
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Your screen shot looks normal; as in no yellow lines visible.
It looks like you are looking for the driver to re-install as evidenced by the NVIDIA Driver tab at the top of your browser. That's the first step I would take too. If that doesn't work; I would take the video card out and clean the contacts and re-seat it in the motherboard. Be sure to blow all the dust and crap out as you put things back together. If that doesn't work, it's likely that your video card has gone tits up... |
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Quoted: No beeping at all. I don't know how to roll the specific driver back for the card.Quoted: Sounds like your card has taken a shit. Yeah. You can try rolling back the driver but you may have fried the card. Was the computer beeping at all during gameplay? What kind of card do you have? It's a GeForce GTX 660 |
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Quoted: my experience with nVidia is that once you have a card installed, you NEVER touch it again, you don't update the drivers, or anything. They do so much sharing among the drivers that 1 little thing can throw off your card. dont know if srs....hope this is a joke. Always keep your drivers updated.
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Quoted: Your screen shot looks normal; as in no yellow lines visible. It looks like you are looking for the driver to re-install as evidenced by the NVIDIA Driver tab at the top of your browser. That's the first step I would take too. If that doesn't work; I would take the video card out and clean the contacts and re-seat it in the motherboard. Be sure to blow all the dust and crap out as you put things back together. If that doesn't work, it's likely that your video card has gone tits up... Hm, it's all jacked up on my end. I haven't installed new drivers recently. I took the card out of the mobo and checked the connections and re-seated it and made sure everything was locked-in properly. There's virtually no dust inside the case. It happened out of the blue. This is a new computer that I built a few months ago. I have another video card in another machine I could try to use, but I would have to wait until Monday to get to it. |
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If you're getting graphic anomalies at POST (the very first screen that you see when you start your computer, usually with the mfg logo) you've got a bad video card, period. There's a small chance that it could be the monitor in that case, but I tend to agree with your analysis. |
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Your screen shot looks normal; as in no yellow lines visible. It looks like you are looking for the driver to re-install as evidenced by the NVIDIA Driver tab at the top of your browser. That's the first step I would take too. If that doesn't work; I would take the video card out and clean the contacts and re-seat it in the motherboard. Be sure to blow all the dust and crap out as you put things back together. If that doesn't work, it's likely that your video card has gone tits up... Hm, it's all jacked up on my end. I haven't installed new drivers recently. I took the card out of the mobo and checked the connections and re-seated it and made sure everything was locked-in properly. There's virtually no dust inside the case. It happened out of the blue. This is a new computer that I built a few months ago. I have another video card in another machine I could try to use, but I would have to wait until Monday to get to it. For ~20 bucks you could get a replacement video card to test with at your local mom and pop 'puter shop. |
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my experience with nVidia is that once you have a card installed, you NEVER touch it again, you don't update the drivers, or anything. They do so much sharing among the drivers that 1 little thing can throw off your card. That makes absolutely no sense at all. |
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This is as far as the start up gets when restarting in normal mode: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p206x206/540895_10151308634317001_698422607_n.jpg What it looks like in safe mode on here: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/72296_10151308634327001_1700081372_n.jpg That's ugly man; your video card is almost certainly toast...use your other card as a replacement to test it and go from there. |
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Quoted: This is as far as the start up gets when restarting in normal mode: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p206x206/540895_10151308634317001_698422607_n.jpg What it looks like in safe mode on here: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/72296_10151308634327001_1700081372_n.jpg Toasted gfx card. Bad chip. Fan probably stopped spinning/slowed on your card, and fried the cards onboard processing unit. Try and pull a temp from the gfx card if you can. Also, I still advocate going into safe mode, uninstalling the graphics driver, and trying to boot into windows normally. If you can get in that way, there could be hope in saving your card. What company manufactured your card? EVGA? MSI?
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Quoted: Quoted: This is as far as the start up gets when restarting in normal mode: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p206x206/540895_10151308634317001_698422607_n.jpg What it looks like in safe mode on here: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/72296_10151308634327001_1700081372_n.jpg That's ugly man; your video card is almost certainly toast...use your other card as a replacement to test it and go from there. I give up on life. I've had 3 computers in the past with ATI cards that always fucked up on me and figured I would switch it up finally and go with GeForce. Fuck my life. I are sad panda.  |
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Things to look for... On POST, does your BIOS setup/Spash screen look ok? This is that whole period of time between dead stop power on, up to when you see the Windows logo. If it looks ok, you are looking at a video driver issue. If it has the lines, then you are looking at a graphics card hardware issue. Looking at the borders of the monitor makes me think it isn't the monitor itself. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: This is as far as the start up gets when restarting in normal mode: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p206x206/540895_10151308634317001_698422607_n.jpg What it looks like in safe mode on here: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/72296_10151308634327001_1700081372_n.jpg That's ugly man; your video card is almost certainly toast...use your other card as a replacement to test it and go from there. I give up on life. I've had 3 computers in the past with ATI cards that always fucked up on me and figured I would switch it up finally and go with GeForce. Fuck my life. I are sad panda. ATi and nVidia are both as solid as they get. I prefer nVidia over ATi for driver purposes and CUDA support, but to each their own. I personally think nVidia makes a better product and driver than ATi though, and has consistently throughout the years. Just keep in mind, when you buy a new gfx card....DO NOT BUY IT FROM A NO-NAME COMPANY. Stick with known brands, like EVGA. |
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Quoted: Things to look for... On POST, does your BIOS setup/Spash screen look ok? This is that whole period of time between dead stop power on, up to when you see the Windows logo. If it looks ok, you are looking at a video driver issue. If it has the lines, then you are looking at a graphics card hardware issue. Looking at the borders of the monitor makes me think it isn't the monitor itself. What's "POST"? During the initial startup, the BIOS/mobo screen flashes up but the graphics are still jacked up on it too. |
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Quoted: How old is that monitor and what kind is it? Is the video cable seated firmly in both ends? I ask, because the screenshot in your OP looks normal. If it was a cable problem he wouldn't be seeing banding. He would see a missing color or the screen just wouldn't even work. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: This is as far as the start up gets when restarting in normal mode: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p206x206/540895_10151308634317001_698422607_n.jpg What it looks like in safe mode on here: https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/72296_10151308634327001_1700081372_n.jpg That's ugly man; your video card is almost certainly toast...use your other card as a replacement to test it and go from there. I give up on life. I've had 3 computers in the past with ATI cards that always fucked up on me and figured I would switch it up finally and go with GeForce. Fuck my life. I are sad panda. ATi and nVidia are both as solid as they get. I prefer nVidia over ATi for driver purposes and CUDA support, but to each their own. I personally think nVidia makes a better product and driver than ATi though, and has consistently throughout the years. Just keep in mind, when you buy a new gfx card....DO NOT BUY IT FROM A NO-NAME COMPANY. Stick with known brands, like EVGA. I think that's the one I bought it from, EVGA. That's what it says on the manual. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Things to look for... On POST, does your BIOS setup/Spash screen look ok? This is that whole period of time between dead stop power on, up to when you see the Windows logo. If it looks ok, you are looking at a video driver issue. If it has the lines, then you are looking at a graphics card hardware issue. Looking at the borders of the monitor makes me think it isn't the monitor itself. What's "POST"? During the initial startup, the BIOS/mobo screen flashes up but the graphics are still jacked up on it too. POST = Power On Self Test Example:  Edit - Since it is screwed on POST, it is either your Motherboard, Ram, or GFX card. You need to follow my instructions listed above in my first post. Edit- You can also see in the post if the RAM is the culprit right off the bat, assuming it is readable. If your computer isn't registering the correct amount of RAM installed in your computer...that's a surefire sign. All you have to do is remove the offending stick of RAM and everything will work fine. |
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How old is that monitor and what kind is it? Is the video cable seated firmly in both ends? I ask, because the screenshot in your OP looks normal. The monitor is a gateway, and I've had it since 2009. Cables are good. Do you have a different monitor that you can use? Can you plug an hdmi cable into it and try using a TV? |
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Things to look for... On POST, does your BIOS setup/Spash screen look ok? This is that whole period of time between dead stop power on, up to when you see the Windows logo. If it looks ok, you are looking at a video driver issue. If it has the lines, then you are looking at a graphics card hardware issue. Looking at the borders of the monitor makes me think it isn't the monitor itself. What's "POST"? During the initial startup, the BIOS/mobo screen flashes up but the graphics are still jacked up on it too. POST -> Power On Self Test. I have to agree with some of the others. Dead graphics card. |
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Quoted: Most likely card, If you go in device manger,right click on the card, select properties I would almost bet it will say Windows have stooped this device due to a failure. BTW nice post screen, I like Gigabyte boards also  Gigabyte or Asus, only way to fly when it comes to Mobos |
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Things to look for... On POST, does your BIOS setup/Spash screen look ok? This is that whole period of time between dead stop power on, up to when you see the Windows logo. If it looks ok, you are looking at a video driver issue. If it has the lines, then you are looking at a graphics card hardware issue. Looking at the borders of the monitor makes me think it isn't the monitor itself. What's "POST"? During the initial startup, the BIOS/mobo screen flashes up but the graphics are still jacked up on it too. Power On Self Test - the text that flashes on the screen before windows starts. If there are problems there, it's hardware and not drivers or software. Someone else suggested EVGA brand video cards - I've had several and not only do they have good hardware, they have good customer support and supporting software. They put out a utility that allows you to tweak your card from the desktop and it's awesome. ETA check into warranty service EVGA will hook you up. Hope you saved your receipt. |
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my experience with nVidia is that once you have a card installed, you NEVER touch it again, you don't update the drivers, or anything. They do so much sharing among the drivers that 1 little thing can throw off your card. dont know if srs....hope this is a joke. Always keep your drivers updated. I was being serious...I still run XP Pro sp2 with the same vid card (my second one) that I have had for 3 years. No updating the drivers. I used to run SLi and when I updated the drivers, it totally screwed my system. Same thing happened to my buddy. If it ain't broke, I don't try to fix it. The vid card is the only thing I have replaced in my system in the past 6.5 years. |
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my experience with nVidia is that once you have a card installed, you NEVER touch it again, you don't update the drivers, or anything. They do so much sharing among the drivers that 1 little thing can throw off your card. dont know if srs....hope this is a joke. Always keep your drivers updated. I was being serious...I still run XP Pro sp2 with the same vid card (my second one) that I have had for 3 years. No updating the drivers. I used to run SLi and when I updated the drivers, it totally screwed my system. Same thing happened to my buddy. If it ain't broke, I don't try to fix it. The vid card is the only thing I have replaced in my system in the past 6.5 years. Then you're misinformed. If you use your graphics card for anything other than running notepad, you should update your graphics drivers regularly. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: my experience with nVidia is that once you have a card installed, you NEVER touch it again, you don't update the drivers, or anything. They do so much sharing among the drivers that 1 little thing can throw off your card. dont know if srs....hope this is a joke. Always keep your drivers updated. I was being serious...I still run XP Pro sp2 with the same vid card (my second one) that I have had for 3 years. No updating the drivers. I used to run SLi and when I updated the drivers, it totally screwed my system. Same thing happened to my buddy. If it ain't broke, I don't try to fix it. The vid card is the only thing I have replaced in my system in the past 6.5 years. That's because Windows XP isn't a supported product anymore...not even by Microsoft.... Yes, SLi on XP is screwy because.....THEY DON'T HAVE DRIVER SUPPORT FOR LEGACY SYSTEMS!! And the SLi drivers they DID come out with for XP, were TERRIBLE because SLi was just starting out. Sorry, but when you re-join us in this century of computing, you will want to keep your drivers up to date. It's a security issue, it's a computer horse power issue, and it's an all around good idea. Edit- And SLi // Crossfire work just fine these days |
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Most likely card, If you go in device manger,right click on the card, select properties I would almost bet it will say Windows have stooped this device due to a failure. BTW nice post screen, I like Gigabyte boards also Gigabyte or Asus, only way to fly when it comes to Mobos I agree, I have had great luck with gigabyte boards and evga cards, gigabyte cards suck though. |
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Sounds like your card has taken a shit. Most likely case scenario right here. OP, if your computer's motherboard has onboard video, you might try removing your add-in card and running off that to see if it behaves. If it does, you've identified the problem. |
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Quoted: Ok, I uninstalled the video card and restarted. It actually booted to the operating system this time without having to go to safe mode! But, the graphics are still kaput. Kaput meaning......seeing the exact same thing as you did before? Or the graphics are just large and ugly looking because the desktop resolution got blown up? Try resizing your desktop background Edit - If the yellow banding is gone, get your receipt and contact EVGA for an RMA request.
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Quoted: Quoted: Ok, I uninstalled the video card and restarted. It actually booted to the operating system this time without having to go to safe mode! But, the graphics are still kaput. Kaput meaning......seeing the exact same thing as you did before? Or the graphics are just large and ugly looking because the desktop resolution got blown up? Try resizing your desktop background Same thing as before. Different colored lines all over the place and pretty hard to read. |
| Yup, it's sounding like it's the card. EVGA is great and this should be warrantied. I would head over to their site and email them about RMAing the card. They're a great company, sucks that you'll be out of a card for a bit but they'll fix you right. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Ok, I uninstalled the video card and restarted. It actually booted to the operating system this time without having to go to safe mode! But, the graphics are still kaput. Kaput meaning......seeing the exact same thing as you did before? Or the graphics are just large and ugly looking because the desktop resolution got blown up? Try resizing your desktop background Same thing as before. Different colored lines all over the place and pretty hard to read. That sucks man. Sounding like graphics card.....Next you need to pull the card and put the good one in so you can be sure. If you put the "good" card in, and it still does it...test RAM. If RAM checks out, it's your motherboard and you're most likely looking at a system rebuild :( But if you put good card in, and everything works fine, it's RMA time.
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my experience with nVidia is that once you have a card installed, you NEVER touch it again, you don't update the drivers, or anything. They do so much sharing among the drivers that 1 little thing can throw off your card. dont know if srs....hope this is a joke. Always keep your drivers updated. I don't know if he's serious or not, either, but I WILL say that updating NVidia drives has never caused me any significant trouble. I update them as I get notifications that a new driver is available. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Things to look for... On POST, does your BIOS setup/Spash screen look ok? This is that whole period of time between dead stop power on, up to when you see the Windows logo. If it looks ok, you are looking at a video driver issue. If it has the lines, then you are looking at a graphics card hardware issue. Looking at the borders of the monitor makes me think it isn't the monitor itself. What's "POST"? During the initial startup, the BIOS/mobo screen flashes up but the graphics are still jacked up on it too. Power On Self Test. This happens right after you push the power button. It's also before your OS starts loading things like graphics card drivers. If it's jacked... Your card is fried. Replace it. |