hieroglyphics

Operating system is windows 98. Every now and then when I have been on the computer for about an hour, the entire page turns to hieroglyphics. A reboot will temporarily fix the problem. This seems to indicate an overheating problem, as it doesn't happen when the computer is in use for less than an hour, but the computer is getting good air flow and the fan is working properly. Does anyone have an idea about what is causing this and how to fix. Thanks

 

Excludes overheating, IMO. Overheating is 'fixed' by shutting down so the CPU etc. can cool off. It may be a problem with the graphics card or the motherboard graphics pathway Can you post the specs for your machine? You can download Everest Home Edition v2.01 (free) to get the information.

 

The machine actually belongs to a friend of mine, and I will not be able to get to it for another couple of weeks. The last time this happened, it got bad enough to start messing up other things and I finally reformated. The problem had not shown up again until recently - about a year after the reformat. Should I suspect the memory? About the specs - I know it has 128 memory and a 13 gb hd. It's a dell and I can't remember the processor speed. Not sure what else you may be looking for, but don't have all the specs at hand anyway. Just thought someone else might have had this problem and could share how they corrected it.

 

"the entire page turns to hieroglyphics "???

What do you mean by this? What page?

 

Meaningless letters and symbols. And it happens at any given time. Makes no difference whether on the internet in explorer or in a program.

 

It sounds like something is corrupting the graphics.

Could possibly be overheating. You would need to open the case, turn the machine on, and check that any internal fans are spinning freely. Appart from the main fan that is in the power supply unit at the back, there may be fans that cool the components inside and another at the front of the case. If there is a build-up of dust, you can take the case outside and blow out the insides with a can of "compressed air ". If there is a build up of dust in the fins of the heatsinks under the fans, you could carefully loosen it with a long bristled brush. Be careful not to touch the electronic components.

If reformatting has fixed this problem in the past, it more likely to be a Windows, drivers or programs problem. Check for spyware (Spybot). Use Ctrl-Alt-Delete and msconfig to check what programs are running in the background (at startup). Find out the model number of the system and see if there are updated drivers at the Dell website. Dell has a "community forum ", you could search there.

One thing that may be relevant is the version of DirectX. Run dxdiag, enter dxdiag at the Start > Run command line (or do a Find for dxdiag.exe and run it). It will tell you the version of DirectX and has some tests for the graphics. Get version 8.1 from the Microsoft website if the version is less than that. Version 9.0 will not run on some older machines, if it has version 9.0 and you suspect that is the problem, you will need to reformat, then install version 8.1.

Matt

 

One fan at the back and have already checked it out and cleaned it. Have previously run av check, spybot, and adaware - no problems. Latest drivers were put on at last reformat and none since then. Will check out the direct x version, but direct x has only been updated through windows update and it SHOULD only be giving updates for windows 98. As I said, I will not be able to sit down at this computer for a couple of weeks, but will let you know if direct x is the issue. Will also try reseating the memory sticks just in case. In the meantime, any more suggestions are appreciated.

 

You can download everest on your computer and put it on the faulty one when you get it back. That'll tell your what mobo it has and the CPU and its speed, the memory, etc. so we can look it up and have some idea of what we're up against. Intermittant problems, which this seems to be, are difficult to diagnose, as you can guess by the variety of suggestions so far.

You can also download Windows Memory Diagnostic and run it on that computer.

Suggest you also check msconfig startup tab (at the run prompt) and download startup.exe from Mike Lin's Home Page and run it because there may be some trojan that hasn'r shown itself yet.

Like I said. Good suggestions, matt.

 

I would just about bet dollars to donuts that the problem will turn out to be memory. I COULD be the video card but if so it would be rare that it works for a while and then messes up. I think it is more likely that there is a problem with RAM.

 

Good bet,jaylach, but non-specific. Minory on the graphics card, mobo, L1 cache (on cpu) or L2 cache???

 

Thanks guys - memory is what I am thinking as well. When I can, I will run the memory diagnostic and see where that takes me. Will also try other suggestions. Hopefully it will eventually be resolved.

 

Gonna get ya on this one Sparrow!!

Since I said the while it could be video I would bet memory that leaves out video ram. It's part of the video card...

Since I stated that I thought that it would be a memory problem, not a CPU problem that would leave out the L1cache.

Since I stated that it was a memory problem, not CPU or mobo that leaves out L2 cache

Don't get mad!! Just playing!

P.S. What IS Minory??

P.P.S. And remember that if all else fails it's probably P.I.C.N.I.C.!

 

Forgot.