Resolved Monitor(s) Flash On and Off and Lock Up

My wife's computer recently started acting up after I put two 1GB memory cards in her computer to take it from 2GB to 3GB - removed two 512 cards. Not long after that, 1 of her computer monitors started flashing on and off. We would try to close out the programs but the mouse had no effect and I had to resort to manual shutdown. Seems to happen with IE more than any others or when IE is running. I put the old memory cards back in but no impact. At one point I did get a blue screen with the NV4_disp message.

I can restart the computer and all might be well for a while and the computer will operate OK. Even if we don't get the flashing screens, the monitors will freeze and when we try to close the programs and we have to resort to hard shut down. Today I couldn't get the computer to boot completely normally. I was able to get into Safe mode. I was able to get to the NVIDIA site to scan for latest driver (GEForce 5200) and it confirmed that I did have the most current. I went ahead and downloaded the driver, uninstalled the one in the computer, and installed the one I downloaded.

The computer appears to be acting a bit better but I still haven't been able to shut the computer down in the normal manner - have to resort to hard shutdown. The computer will shut down normally if I haven't opened any programs. Any suggestions?

 

Hi Robert,

What OS is running on your wife's computer?

 

Sorry 'bout that.

Dell 4600, Win XP Home SP3.

 

Thanks,

I'm suspecting overheating, are you comfortable running a desk fan inside an open case and stressing out your wife's computer (no, not your wife )?

 

No problem. I have the side of the case off right now. I left it off when I put the old memory sticks back in. I have a small fan that I can put sight beside it.

 

Ok use the computer as normal and let us know how you get on

 

Status Report.

Computer case is open. Small table fan on low setting is directed to the inside of the computer case. It has been operating without problem for the past 5 hours or so. We just closed out all the open programs - genealogy program, Mailwasher, Outlook Express, and IE with three or four tabs active. It closed down with no problem - no monitor freezes.

You may be on to something regarding the heat. Let's give it another day or so to see if all goes well. If so, then my question will be "What do I do to fix the heat problem? ". I will keep the case open with the fan operating while the computer is running.

 

Wildfire,

We just closed my wife's computer down for the evening - it has been running all day with no problem. The shutdown went smoothly except at one point some small black boxes appeared (perhaps icons closing out) and then disappeared. Otherwise, all went well.

Should I assume that the next step is to put the side panel back on and remove the external fan for tomorrow's action to see how it goes? Or should I leave the panel off and the fan running for another day?

 

Leave it off for now and clean out any dust bunnies, pay particular attention to the fans and gills in the heat sinks. A can of compressed air should be enough.

Once done, power up the system one more time with the case off and make sure all fans are spinning freely (including the one(s) in the PSU).

If you're happy put it all back together and run the same kind of tests you did earlier, let us know how things go.

 

Wildfire,

Was testing the unit for a couple of more days before posting back. Yesterday I put the side panel back on and let it run normally without the external fan. Didn't have any problems during normal use during the day but at shutdown we got some monitor on and off action and it locked up and I couldn't use the normal Start-Turn Off-Turn Off sequence to get it off. Rather than power it down manually, I tried Task Manager and was able to get it to shut itself off. However this morning when I turned it on, it was a bit strange on boot up and a couple of the programs took a long time to open. I did a restart and then it seemed to operate normally.

Today, I took the side panel off and used the fan again. It ran normally all day and closed without a problem when we shut it off a while ago. So that's two days with the panel on and problems. Two days with the panel off and an external fan with no problems. So it appears that your thought about excess heat is on track. I do feel air coming from both the motherboard fan and the PS fan - but I can't say whether it is normal amount of air or not. So - if I want to attack the problem from a heat standpoint, where should I start?

 

You may be able to buy more fans but that would only hide the issue not fix it.

We need to find out what's overheating...

Can you post your wifes system specs (Just like you did with yours but post rather than add them to your profile.

Whilst you're in SIW look in hardware-> sensors and post any temperatures (along with devices) shown there. Obviously have the system running for a couple of hours before getting the temperatures.

 

Wildfire,

Here are the specs you asked about:

Windows XP Home, SP3
Processor - Intel P4 16kb primary memory cache, 1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Western Digital 320 GB (Just installed about a month ago after a HD failure)
1TB Maxtor 1 Touch External HD
NVIDIA GeForce 5200 Display Adapter, Dell 19" and 17" monitors

I located SIW and downloaded it - first time using it. Here is what I see at the Sensor heading:

WDC WD 3200AAKS00VIAO
Temperatures HDD Shows 3 columns, all with the same result.

1st - 85 F - With side panel off, desk fan running.
2nd - 89 F - 1/2 hour later. Side panel on, no desk fan.
3rd - 93 F - 1 & 1/2 hours later. Side panel on, no desk fan.
4th - 94 F - 2 hours later. Side panel on, no desk fan.

 

Thanks Robert.

What was listed alongside tempreture readings (which you've done). I was hoping for more than just the hard drive though.

Please post what is listed under Hardware->Motherboard-> Manufacturer and Model.

 

Wildfire,

Under Sensors, the HD was the only listing. Aside - I took a look at my computer and it doesn't list anything - just my name beside a Monitor icon.

The Motherboard is Dell, Model OF4491.

Don't know if this would make any difference but in looking at a BELARC scan I did this morning, it appears that I must not have gotten one of the memory sticks seated properly when I was messing with the memory (initial post). BELARC shows one slot, Channel B DIMM 1 as being empty but I know a 512 stick is in there. The other three all show 512.

 

That could be the problem

What does SIW show under H/ware->Memory?

 

Wildfire,

Side panel has been on all day with no desk fan help. Just checked the temp and it is at 93F (is this a normal reading?). I checked the SIW Hardware Memory and it showed 4 slots avaialble but only showed 3 filled. 3 Device Locators listed in slots 1, 2, & 3. So I obviously need to reseat the memory. I will do that after shutdown tonight.

Just shut down and all went well - OE didn't close on the first try but the system shut down normally. I will work on the memory tonight and then monitor the temps tomorrow. It seems to be returning a bit towards normal.

Watching the snow come down. We have a monster storm hammering Northern Virginia (Washington DC area) - may top 30" - isn't that getting close to a meter? 2" is generally enough to paralyze this region.

 

Ok Robert,

Three things can be going wrong here (I think you can forget about heat)

1) Best - Memory isn't seated properly, remove and try again.
2) Bad - Memory is damaged, you may have to replace the module.
3) Worst - Slot is damaged, remove the module and leave slot empty (but if there's damage there other parts of your Motherboard may also have problems.

Test 2 & 3 by swapping the modules around, if you consistenly have problems with the same slot then it's motherboard, if the problem moves around it's the memory.

Good luck with the snow, I think we've survived the worst of it over here but more cold weather coming next week

 

Wildfire,

It looks like we may have hit the best of the alternatives you outlined. When I checked the memory sticks, one of the end clips on one stick wasn't snapped in. I removed the stick, reseated it, and all seems to be well now.

The machine operated without problem all day and shut down normally. I checked the memory in SIW and it found all four modules. I will monitor it for the next couple of days and if I don't see any problems, I will mark this one "Resolved ". Thanks for your patience and persistence.

 

Looks good, you may want to test the memory using memtest or similar but be aware...

 

The original problem I had when I started this thread is back. After the computer has been operating several hours, one or both of the monitors begin cycling on and off. Then the machine may just freeze and I am forced to do shutdown with the power button.

Although I suspected a heat problem - as pointed out by Widlfire - we discovered that a memory stick was not seated properly. I reset the stick but before I could really give it a test, we where hit with malware and Crunchie spent several days helping me get that all sorted out. Now the original problem is back.

I am suspecting a heat related problem again. I have tested it for several days and am able to operate with no apparent problems when I have the side panel off and a table fan blowing toward the inside of the computer. We were able to go several days without the monitor/freeze problem (we shut the computer down each night). When I put the side panel back on and position the unit in it's normal enclosure, the problem returns.

My first inclination is to suspect the graphics card because, as I noted in my original post, I did get a blue screen once with the NVIDIA_4 error message. But of course some other problem could be causing the graphics to act up. Any help out there on how I can go about troubleshooting this problem?