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Strange video artifacts that eventually lock up PC

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Slythe

Technical User
Apr 27, 2008
1
US
I have a Intel duo core 6600 with 2gb ram and a 8800 gtx.

It's a custom system I ordered from cyberpowerpc.com and I had it for 6 months with absolutely zero problems, then one night shortly before I turned it off I noticed a slight flickering of video artifacts on the screen. Very subtle, didn't think much of it. I powered down for the night as I usually do. The next day after the PC had been on awhile I noticed them again, this time a bit worse, but it was the end of the day and I was about to power down anyway. Now the next day the rows of artifacts (little hash marks or bent lines) got worse until eventually the screen froze. Now occasionally when I boot the PC it doesn't even finish booting, there's no video signal. Rebooting will fix it, and sometimes the PC will run fine for quite awhile, maybe hours, but eventually I see the artifacts and it locks up. Other times it happens immediately after boot up. And when I do get the artifacts, the icons and windows on the desktop don't seem to be updating. Sometimes I can move the mouse pointer around but can't click or move anything, then eventually even it freezes.

It's not a heat issue as I've checked the temps of the video card and CPU, and as I said this can happen from a 'cold' bootup after the PC's been off all night, or if it's just sitting idly at the desktop under no stress. All the fans are working properly as well. I also did a full virus scan and nothing detected.

Now I had let the system sit unplugged for literally months without trying to address the problem because it wasn't pressing; I used my other older system. Well last week I finally decided to tackle the problem and I replaced the PS first. I boot up the PC after it had been sitting unplugged for months and everything comes up fine. I leave it on all day and night and no problems, so I thought that maybe that fixed it. The next day, no problems again. Then, oddly enough, I started noticing the problem again and it started subtly just like the first time. First day I saw only slight brief flickering lines. Next day they got worse. Third day the system eventually locked up. Rebooted and within 2 mins I see the artifacts and it locks up again.

What in the world could cause a problem like this and for it to seem to start subtly then progressively get worse? Any help is appreciated.
 
Slythe,

Have you contacted Cyberpower about this? From what I've heard their support is excellent. If it were my PC I would uninstall the video card drivers and reinstall the latest ones. As for WHY this is happening it could be a faulty video card or motherboard, but I would start with fresh drivers.



Tony

Users helping Users...
 
Sounds like you have a memory issue on the card, I had something similar with an old 7900GTX, if I enabled SLI I had artifacts all over the place, if I swapped the cards around then I had issues whether I enabled SLI or not.

I had the card RMA'd and haven't had an issue with it since (it's sitting in an old Compaq box now days).

SimonD.

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 
I agree with Simon, it looks like a marginal timing problem with the memory chips on the graphics card. It may be a known issue at the manufacturer. Sometimes it can be solved by reflashing the BIOS of the graphics card, as most of the memory timings are programmable. Sometimes not, so I suggest that you get the card RMA'd.

Felixc


 
I agree, with all of you...

but I would try wahnula's suggestion first, by installing the latest drivers, as it could be a driver issue...

if that does not improve it, then RMA it if you still have warranty on the card, if you do not then you may be out of luck in getting it replaced... but still worth a try...

if the above do not help any at all... then you may need to flash the card with a newer firmware, can be found on the manufacturers website (e.g. PNY, XPC, etc. who ever made your GFX-Card)...

Beginners Guide: Flashing a Video Card BIOS



Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
This may sound crazy but I was having the exact same problem and it just turned out that my surge protector had gone bad. When I plugged the computer into the wall, it was fine.
 
TVC15, thanks for the input, as it sounds is that your whole system was not getting enough power and the gfx-card was the indicator (it is the one component that sucks the most power these days), the info may come in handy to some with similar problems...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
Have you solved your problem.....I started getting the same squiggly lines, so your experience might help me.

thanks,
 
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