Hardware Problem from Nowhere

Hi all.

My PC has been working like a dream for a couple of years and I regularly defrag, set retsore points, remove malware etc etc.

The other day ot starts crashing with terrible graphics errors just before hand (spots, stripes and corruption all over screen). When this happens if I reboot I get this corruption even before windows (XP Pro) loads and it gets worse as XP loads and then blank screen. I then need to leave it off for some time to boot without the problem, but as soon as I play a game (WOW) it is back in a few minutes.

I assumed that this meant it may be a temperature issue with the graphics card, or a memory issue. I have tested memory and it is ok. CPU temp is fine but gfx is running a little high, but still below throttle threshold.

Wierd thing is - if I boot to safe mode the glitches that are there in POSt diappear...once xp loads.

I have tried new drivers for the gfx card and still get the problem. I have also restored to points recently that were running fine...no change.

I am now thinking that it is either my cpu or fx card that are broken, but have no replacement to swap and check for them.

Any ideas?

TiA
Silver

EDIT - Now I cant boot it at all except safe boot - it never makes it - corruptiuon all over screen before xp finishes loading
Is it possible that Windows has become corrupt? Or is this, as I first thought, most likely a hardware problem?

 

Pull the video card and reseat it. If that doesn't help you may want to start shopping for a new one.

 

Christer read my mind. Things working for years and then all of a sudden they don't.

Do you blow out your box for dust every now and then?

 

Something is getting worse and worse.

I would get another power supply to try.

Check the motherboard for swollen or leaky capacitors.

Bad hardware will be either the gfx card or motherboard. You will need to borrow another card to test the graphics.

Matt

 

Many thanks for the good suggestions - I have my replies below:

Dust - PC is cleaned reasonably often. I have used an air spray to clean the fan on the GFX Card = this was the first thing I tried as I suspected heat may be an issues, but it did nothing to help. My card also throttles down when it is hot and that works well (has dust build up before).

Reseating - I reseated the gfx card and all of the memory in my first analysis - no change.

The motherboard is an ASUS and is pretty new (my previous identical one died and needed replacement a while ago).
When you suggest "Check the motherboard for swollen or leaky capacitors." do you mean purely by sight? I have never considered this and not sure what I am looking for

Power Supply - is a very good Tagan, I may have an ANTEC I can try, but my feeling is that it is not power, but definately worth trying if you think it could be a cause.

Nothing is over clocked at the moment and the ambient and CPU temps are fine. The case is well ventilated with excellent air flow and fan system.

I hope its not gfx card as I don't want to get another AGP and will have to shell out for a new mobo, cpu and RAM too..

 

Yes (excuse me for cutting in, Matt )

The silver tops of the caps should be perfectly flat. If there is even the slightest appearance of a bulge, they are on their way to going bad. With the problems you're stating, I'd probably suspect a cap that already burst and is leaking though.

I just saw some pics on the net comparing normal and "bad" caps but I don't have the link. The difference in appearance was almost unnoticeable. But as the caps expand, it becomes easily noticeable.

 

Hello again,

I have managed to locate the culprit. It is the graphics card.

I found an old pc in the cupboard and it had a TNT card in it so I swapped that with my G800gt and it laods ok. So I take the 6800gt cover off and remove all the dust - give it a good clean (with static band ofc) and try it again, but it still fails.

It looks in perfect condition and I have no idea why it has failed like this - I am disapointed to say the least.

My old gforce3 cards ran for years and years..

I take it there is nothing other than cleaning it I can do? I have tried it with a different power lead from PSU too - still no good.

 

The only other "repair" I know of is to clean the connectors of the card. You can use a soft pencil eraser or a pure form of alcohol.

If you were to run the card in another computer, that would confirm it is faulty. (If it seems to work, test it using safe mode so that it does not interfere with the original drivers).

If you want to try it "outside" of Windows, boot to a bootable CD or floppy disk.

Matt

 

Thanks again.

I have no other pc to try it in at the momenty, but will try to clean the connectors, finding any unused alcohol around here may be tricky though

Can anyone recommend such a cleaning product?

Also, the thing I find strangest is that the card works ok when booting to safe mode..... even though the picture is corrupt before hand (POST and logo)...

 

I have seen this problem before - its the RAM on the graphic card. Once in a while, it decides to go south all by itself.

 

OK - well that sounds fatal and like no amount or rubbing will mend it

I will have to buy a new card, would like to get a PCI-e card for future proofing and use a converter, but I don't beleive that such a converter (pci-e card in agp slot mobo) exists....

Otherwise this will cost me a fortune.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

So the card that "failed" is a 6800GT? That's not good. I paid $230US for a used one about a year ago. You said you've been using it a couple of years. Not that it's important but are you sure it's a 6800GT?

What's piqued my curiousity is that your TNT card and a 6800GT have different voltage requirements. I doubt very much that a 6800GT could work in a mainboard in which a TNT card works.

Gary

 

Absolutely poistive Chiles4.

I have a Point of View 6800GT 256mb DDR3 TV/DVI. Core = 350mhz

The TNT card does not use its own lead from the PSU, unlike the GT. The Tagan PSU has a dedicated connection for GPUs.

I got the GT in July 2005 - they had only just been released then and were quite pricey - but I still rate it as one of the best value for money cards I have ever owned.