[Lines showing on display]

I really have no idea why these lines began to show up. On day I was just gaming, and boom I'm struck, Im not sure what went wrong, but heres some pictures of whats wrong. I tried re-installing the drivers, I tried updating ( none to be found ) I tested my pc on another monitor, and yes the problem continued.Im running a emachines AMD 64bit 3200+ 1.9gghz
My video card is a ATI radeon xpress 200

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8983/img12ie.jpg
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5974/img29rr.jpg

 

Just the areas I would check.

Go to the website or check the manual of the monitor for the recommended refresh rate.

Change resolution to another and then back again.

See my recommendation for removing the ATI drivers and software here:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=53013

If you are running 32bit colour change to 16bit, then back again.

Do you know if special drivers are required for the monitor? Try uninstalling the monitor in Device Manager.

Matt

 

No, there is no drivers for the monitor, its a 'plug and play' monitor. I tried lowering and all that, but still nothing.., I opened up my pc to help let the air out, just incase its being trpped, but nothing, and +i dont have a fan on my vid card, cause its intergrated

 

Hi Killero.

It appears that the video settings for the integrated video card were changed by the game and wern't changed back. I don't think there is any permanent damage to the equipment.

I always tell clients to always reboot after playing some of the games to reset the computer back to normal. Some of those games go way outside Windows in their settings and can cause wierd things to happen when running normal Windows applications.

To try and get things back to normal you might play the game again, possibly a few times and see if it resets the video when exiting back to Windows, reload the motherboard drivers from the cd that came with it, check the motherboard manufacturer's site to see if there are any bios updates or driver updates, email the manufacturer and see if they have run into that problem before also the game manufacturers, check the video properties in Control Panel/Display to see if there are any specilized settings for that video under Settings/Advanced.

The monitor should be fine. Those lines are being sent by the computer. Oddly enough, I remember those same type of lines on the old monochrome monitors from years ago. Back then we usually just turned down the brightness and they disappeared but I don't think it's the same thing here.

If you're running ATI Catalyst Control Center you might find some of the settings changed.

What we're looking for here is a way to reset the basic settings in the video chip. That should clear up the problem.

Giles

 

There were no updates, I went into the game, tried lowering the game setting, and reopening/closing it, a few times, and still no help. I installed the catalyst center, and tried changing some of the settings, but still nothing. Checked for updates, for everything, nothing. Can one solution to be just to buy a new PCIE video card, install that, and just leave my older intergrated one there?

 

Hi Killero.

Yes, but, I would try and borrow a video card from somewhere just to try and verify it works. If you do, be sure and turn the built-in video off in the bios and reset to look for agp or pci depending on what you get.

I ran a search for this problem and ATI cards and there seems to be a splatter of the same problem. They all seem to have different circumstances that causes it and no simple solution. Some reset from 32 to 16 bits on color quality and some reduced scan rate. There was also a change in screen resolutions that did the trick. It is probably a problem in the drivers. Most did what you are suggesting. Also the splatter of problems covered both built-in and plug-in cards. I didn't find any sound solution that anyone ran across. I'm still running this one to ground. If I find anything I'll post here.

I run an ATI Radeon 9200 AGP and I tried duplicating the problem by changing various settings but no dice.

One other thing, it could be memory. You might change the memory around if you have more than one stick.

Please let us know progress. Thanks.

Giles

 

Well, I have about 6-hundred mb ddr2 ram, (part is corrupted, long time back problem) Well...I'm not sure if i can get a hold of a 'testing' video card, but I'm probably gonna go out and buy one today, not sure if i'll have time to install it, but I'll see what the return policies are, just incase It doesn't help. I'll reinform you when its installed, thanks for your time.

 

Hi Killero.

In view of your comment on the memory let me amplify.

In more than half of the comments I found on ATI cards (or built-in) there were indications of possibly bad memory (memory on the cards or main memory in the case of built-in). Since your card is built-in it shares main memory. If you have a bad stick of memory it could be the problem. Some of the individuals replaced the video card (non built-ins) and the problem went away. They also installed the cards in other computers and the cards worked fine with no vertical lines. Most AGP cards use main memory as well as the memory on the AGP cards so bad memory could have an effect. All it takes is one bit bad to change a trigger for scan, write, screen position, etc. Some individuals changed the voltage for the memory and others changed the controls for the memory in the bios to slow it down and they all worked.

A new card will probably use the main memory differently so the problem should disappear if in fact you have a bad stick. Some other problem may crop up tho. Never know till you try.

I would get a good memory checker and run it from dos. Well worth the effort. There's quite a lot of free ones around but I don't have a url for one at the moment. If you whistle a tune I'm sure a few posts will pop up pointing to some good ones before you're through.

Mattman was right on target with this one. My comments are really just an amplification of his pointers.

Interesting problem. Good luck. I'll keep checking the thread.

Giles

 

Giles, I may been on target, but you seem to be getting very close to the bullseye.

That memory is a worry. It may be getting worse. Try the MS memory diags in my signature.

Have you checked for patches (updates) for the game?

Does the graphics have enough memory for the game? If you are not certain of the amount of memory used for graphics, run dxdiag (search and open or type at the Run command line) and look at the information about the graphics on the Video tab.

One setting in the BIOS settings (at startup) which may help is "AGP Aperture" it is best set to half your total system RAM, so if you have more than 512Mb of system RAM you can set it to 256Mb. This may only be useful to "skirt" the RAM problem, getting good RAM would be best long term.

Matt

 

Umm yes, the game updates automatically, and The game requires a minimum of 16 mb, but i play on 32mb, my video card is a 128mb, and yes it can easily support it, I'm gonna run that test in a few minutes, and I will reupdate.

 

Ok guys!
Thank you to everyone who helped!
Problem Solved!
I installed my new ati radeon x550, and lines were gone, i disbaled old card in bios, so i should be good.
Thanks again to veryone who helped.

 

Hey, good to hear Thanks for letting us know.

Matt