Is my video card dead?

[Hank Kinsley]

Yesterday, when opening Picasa, my computer crashed. It didn't crash in the normal BSOD manner, this time coloured vertical lines appeared on the screen, then coloured squares and shapes, then a large black rectangle. The complete freezing.

I reset the computer and noticed immediately that there were graphical errors on my Asus boot screen (e.g strange characters and letters). The Windows XP boot screen also looked slightly strange because the 4 coloured windows logo looked like it was in 8-bit colour quality (lower quality than normal).


I have tested each 1GB stick of RAM for the computer and get the same results. I have reset the BIOS (after the computer stopped booting up completely). I have an evga nvidia 8800 GTS 320mb video card. I have tried to uninstall/reinstall the 8800 but, alas, nothing works. The card just won;t function properly.

Right now, I'm typing to you in SafeMode, and everything is running slow! I attached a picture of what it looks like in windows.


Does anyone know what is wrong with my machine and how I could fix it?

Thanks

[guns1inger]

Have you checked the cable connections at both ends ?

[aedipuss]

check your receipts, a lot of vid cards of that time frame had a lifetime warranty. and yes it is most likely dead. try a vid card stress testing program if you want. furmark should do the trick.

[El Heggunte]

I have tried to uninstall/reinstall the 8800 but, alas, nothing works.

Do you mean, you removed and then re-inserted the video card?

IF the answer is "no": have you also checked whether your PC hasn't been infected by a rootkit?

[Hank Kinsley]

Yes, I have removed and reinstalled my 8800, with many many errors. I don't even really know what is installed and what isn't at this point because there have been so many crashes while installing drivers!

What is a rootkit and how can a safely test for that?

[Poppa_Meth]

It's unlikely a rootkit would cause this, but it's always possible. Rootkits are nasty pieces of code that load before Windows even starts and keep you from doing much to get rid of them. Usually you'll notice odd things like browser redirection but not hardware issues like this. I'd download a Linux Mint Live CD and run that to see if the problem persists. That should rule out most of the software related issues since you are running Linux from a CD. I recommend Mint because it seems to be less problematic with graphics drivers that Ubuntu.

[Bjs]

Having a local technician who can test the video card would be an advantage but cost a couple of $.

The video cards internal bios fires shortly after system bios posts the power ok signal then system continues we pre boot operations prior to engaging the operating system. In this event there are four places where these problems appear.

1: Video card bad = bad port / damaged card ... reseat the card and try again ... if no good , replace
2: Gpu heatsink = heat sink compound failure ... if this has continued undetected for a while it may be too late.
3: Psu = irregularities in power supplied
4: Apic chipset , possible damage = replace motherboard

Apic chipset controls power management and if it has suffered any damage it can cause a number of system issues from garbaged graphics (power issues), add on gpu's overheating (hot enough to cook eggs in 30 seconds), inability to reload clean os (freezes during install), ect.

If after replacing the video card all is well then no need to go further.

Should problems continue you need to dig further ... it points to psu or the motherbord

====

Liftime warranty

You need to read the manufacturers policy related to "lifetime warranty" ... take evga as an example

1: Products purchased must be registered within 30 days of purchase
2: Refer to the > EAR FAQ ... one for each purchased product.

[El Heggunte]

It's unlikely a rootkit would cause this, but it's always possible. Rootkits are nasty pieces of code that load before Windows even starts and keep you from doing much to get rid of them. Usually you'll notice odd things like browser redirection but not hardware issues like this.

YMMV. Some rootkits may "think" the video card is not "at an appropriate resolution and/or refresh rate", and then they may try to set the card to an unsupported refresh rate or display resolution.
I mentioned the possibility because it already happened to me.

[Anonymous8443434]

Removed.

[jagabo]

Most likely a failing video card. Just get a new one.

[wrathofbod]

OK it looks like yes the card is just about gone.
here is a trick that i have used to fix 2 8800gts cards
remove any plastics from the card like fans heatsink & power connector.
wrap in tin foyl & place in the oven pre heated to 170.make sure the components are on the top side
or they may fall of when getting hot leave in for 20 mins then remove & cool down.put back together with new heatsink paste
& give it a go.
the 2 cards i had fixed bith had same effects as you have posted & then both died with no out put.
i did the heat trick a year ago & both are still working fine.
only try this if you are cofident enough.
i am not responsable for you trying this.
but it did fix 2 very good cards.

[aedipuss]

in the u.s. 370 degrees f. is the melting point of soldier, if you are suggesting he re-melt it all.

[wrathofbod]

sorry should say 270 f
270 is ample for the re seat of the componants.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_taI-CkPD3M

[Hank Kinsley]

I baked it, and much to my surprise, it actually got rid of all the bizarre characters that were on the screen. At first everything seemed fine (at least graphically). I just spent the last 8 hours trying to get my PC to run normally. Windows XP repair, full driver installs, flashing of the BIOS, etc etc. Why won't this thing run properly?!!!!! Upon entry into my windows account, I'm greeted with a svchost error "memory can't "read"" message. Then, it will show my desktop background, with no start button or task bar, for approx 4-5mins, before slowly displaying the icons and start button. When they finally appear, the background image disappears, leaving only gray colour. Then I get more odd error messages: Demon tools tell me that I have to be running at least Win2000 to be operating. All Nvidia control panel options give me an blank error message. 2 WAN components in my device manager have yellow question marks on them, and worst of all, my internet doesn't work at all.

I also get a message telling me that the "kernel debugger must be deactivated". How do I deactivate this?


What should my next step be? I bought a new video card (9800GT) already and it is in the mail. Are these new problems caused by the video card though? Perhaps in my attempts to make repairs when the video was f'd up, I f'd up something else?

[neomaine]

Hank,

At this point, re-install Windows.
And if that doesn't work, you've got other hardware issues. I'd suspect a bad/failing PSU first. But doesn't look good...