Rolling & distorted screen on boot up

Several months ago we had an electrical storm which caused our electricity to go out. I (stupidly) had my computer running during the storm. When the power was restored, I booted up my computer and on the boot up screen, all the way up to the Windows XP logo screen, the screen was going crazy doing a horizontal roll and it was distorting all over the place. After that, everything starts normally when it boots to the desktop and continues with no issues. I was willing to live with this problem since it wasn't affecting my computer use, until I tried running a game demo I downloaded. When the game starts (in full screen), the rolling and distorting happens. I looked into my DirectX diagnostics and found that this problem also occurs with the full screen "bouncing white box" graphics test.

However, the problem doesn't happen if I watch a DVD movie or a Youtube video in full screen mode. I also have a copy of a Sims game installed and also this problem doesn't happen when I play that. So I'm confused as to what this problem is.

If it was caused by the storm knocking the computer off when the lights went out, what was shorted out if anything? The graphics card? the monitor?

I'm running Windows XP Home Edition SP3, and my graphics card is a VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

It is not likely something was shorted, but burned "open ", if the storm had anything to do with it. It sounds like a communication (handshaking) problem between the graphics solution and your monitor. Note you don't have a card, you have an IGP - integrated graphics processor on the motherboard. I would try another monitor first. That's the easiest, no cost way to conclusively eliminate the monitor from the equation and isolate the problem to the computer.

Note the problem with storms is not really the power going out. It is when it flickers (often faster than you can see) and power goes BANG, BANG, BANG, on all your electronics. That why I recommend all computers be on a good UPS with AVR - automatic voltage regulation. A good decent size UPS with AVR can support and protect your computer, all your network gear, and multiple LCD monitors. Now nothing can stop a direct lightning strike, but those are rare.

Don't over look the obvious and make sure the cables are tight, there's no build up of heat trapping dust and dirt inside, and your system is free of malware.

 

Thanks for the advice Bill. And for the info about my IGP not being a "card ". I thought all graphics hardware in computers were cards, but I guess mine is a cheaper alternative they put in here since when this computer was new (around 6 or 7 years ago), this was a cheaply priced computer for it's time and they added as many cheaper versions of things to keep the cost down.

I'll have to wait to try and get a hold of another monitor to try that test. I'm currently using one of the old fashioned bulky monitors.

In the mean time, I'll try your other suggestions of checking the cables and all.

 

Given your description (particularly as it's a CRT) my money would be on a monitor issue. Start putting money aside for a new LCD as I suspect the problems will only get worse not better.

It won't do any harm as Bill said to check the cables or test the monitor on another system though.

 

Price is certainly a factor but age has nothing to do with it. There are many high-quality systems (notebook and PCs) today with integrated graphics. In fact, many PCs designed for home theater use (HTPC) use integrated graphics for watching HD content on big screen TVs. Cost is one factor. A card requires a slot and all the electronics on the motherboard to support the slot. Then the card requires a board and connections to connect to the slot. And the case needs to be big enough to support the space needed for a card standing up in a slot. Integrated is just devices soldered flat to the board.

I figured you were using a CRT monitor when you said the display rolls. LCD displays don't roll. Still, many prefer the image from a good CRT. If they weren't so big and bulky, power hungry, and such heat generators, they would be more popular.

 

Thanks Wildfire. I definitely want to get a newer monitor anyway since I don't know how much life is left in this old monitor I'm using now. It would be a nice relief if it turns out to be the cables just being loose or dirty. I'll keep you all posted.

 

I see what you mean Bill. So in general just because my graphics hardware isn't a card, that doesn't necessarily mean it's cheap. That's good to know, thanks.

Yes, you're right about the image from a CRT from n LCD monitor, I did have an LCD flat screen monitor a few years ago, but it ended up blowing out on me after only having it for a year. It wasn't brand new when I got it anyway so it probably was on it's way out when I got it. But when I had the LCD, the image was only really good when i was right in front of the thing, if I viewed it from off to the side, the image would fade. I don't know if the latest LCD monitors still do that or not, but the one I had did.

 

They're getting there poetink, still far from ideal though. When shopping around look for FOV (Field of view) in the specifications. The larger the better (it's measured in degrees in case you hadn't guessed).

 

But then again, the Field of View specification is only one display characteristic. If you are the only one using your monitor (no one over your shoulders) and you sit right in front of your monitor or monitors (as most computer users do) then a wide FoV may not be an important factor when buying a monitor.

 

Agreed Bill but my response was in reply to poetink's comment...

 

And that's still the optimal position. I'm just saying, for most people, a wide field of view for LCD computer monitors is not a critical criteria. They tend to sit at their keyboards and that tends to sit right in front of the monitor. If used to a very wide view from a CRT, I think getting used to a LCD is similar to wearing a brand new pair of bifocal glasses. Takes some getting used to. Now if used as a TV or movie monitor, and you or other viewer will be off to the side (or above or below the screen), then a wide (and tall) field of view may be very important.

In any case, as wildfire noted, newer LCD monitors, even budget models, are much better than older LCDs in probably all areas related to quality of the image.

 

Just out of curiosities sake, have you tried to DeGauss your monitor?

 

Chris, degaussing won't have any affect for this issue. Magnetic problems would cause distorted colours but not rolling screens on certain resolutions or graphic modes.

 

Unless it is really, really, really old, it probably self-degausses during each power cycle. And I agree, that would have nothing to do with a rolling picture. Rolling is always a sync/lock issue.

 

Also it doesn't always just do a horizontal roll, it also causes the picture to get squeezed to the side, and it sometimes widens out to fill the screen. I doubt it'll make a difference to mention this, but whenever I run the error scan, during the whole process the problem will happen. The screen will squish to a letterbox format then widen completely, the roll horizontally, then flash on and off, then suddenly look normal, and then start up again.

 

OK that may make a difference, now I'm thinking graphics problem here...

Can you confirm you only see horizontal movement (eg left/right) but no vertical movement (up/down)?

During the movement is the picture stable or zig/zag?

 

Roll horizontally? Understand that would be left to right or right to left. Normally if the picture loses sync, it rolls up or rolls down.

The squishing in could be sign the tube is failing, getting weak.

 

@Bill,

I'm going to leave this with you if you don't mind. Obviously you have more experience with these kinds of problems.

 

I may have caused confusion in the way I worded this, sorry.

The screen is rolling up and also rolling down. I called it a "horizontal roll" because I'm seeing the horizontal line across the screen. So it's actually rolling vertically. Also, as it's doing this the image on the screen is all squished to the right side. I just rebooted my computer so I could more exactly explain what happens.

On the first screen, it was rolling up, on the next screen, it was rolling down, and finally, on the XP logo screen it was rolling up again. And then after the logo screen is done, everything clears up and is normal and stays that way. As for if it zig-zags or stays put, what happens is while it's squished to the side it's sort of jiggles (or shakes maybe is the better term?)

As I mentioned before the other problems with the letterbox squishing and the picture widening happens during the error checking process. And It doesn't affect the scanning process at all. Sometimes during boot up though, the picture (not the monitor itself) will blink on and off.

 

Possibly since as I mentioned, my monitor is an old CRT. So is it possible that the storm I mentioned that cut the electric off fried something in the monitor? Because it only started happening when I booted my computer back up when the lights came back on.