Wierd Problem

[captkrusty]

Hello, I want to say how much I have enjoyed reading this forum, I just recently found it and have learned a lot.

I have a problem and I was hoping everyone could provide me with some possible causes and cures for the old PC

It started yesterday, while surfing the net, the screen started to pixalte and change colors when ever I used the scroll button. I tried to reboot the system, the start up screen, windows start up screen all looked normal.

Once the desktop came on, the pixalation and discolorations were present on the background. I launched IE and the screen was normal, colors were normal, I used the mouse scroll and it discolored the entire screen.

I reduced the screen size and and hit refresh and everything was normal again and the problem did not repeat it self as long the screen was reduced, maximize it and it happens again.

Anyway, sorry for the long winded post, this is something I havent seen before and I was hoping to get some ideas.

Thank you again for your help

captkrusty

PS I thought it might be the video card, initially, it is a BFG GeForce 6800 GS AGP card, about 1 year old

[Mithosphere]

First off
WELCOME!

Secondly, try switching back to the onboard video if you have it, and see if the problem continues. Also possibly download another type of browser, like Firefox, to see if the issue occurs with another popular browser.

[sbohdan]

check the video card's temperature...

[captkrusty]

Thanks for the welcome

I will try switching the video card out and see what happens.

Now this may sound like a dumb question, so dont laugh to hard :) but how do you tell what your video card temp is?

Thanks for your replys

captkrusty

[polobunny]

Most probably the video card or the memory.
Check if your video card fan spins properly.

[sbohdan]

Originally Posted by captkrusty

Thanks for the welcome

I will try switching the video card out and see what happens.

Now this may sound like a dumb question, so dont laugh to hard :) but how do you tell what your video card temp is?

Thanks for your replys

captkrusty

hm, the temps can be checked 3 ways:
1. easiest: if your card has a temp sensor, than it would show in the control panel (right click desktop--properties--settings--advanced--geforcexxx--temperature setting (if it's an Nvidia card)
2. if no sensor, you could install one with a little display going from the GPU core (this isn't really an option if you not familiar with how to do this exactly)
you could also check out how I did that here and try to do it yourself if you are adventureous. do it at your own risk though: 6800LE cooling mod with Thermalright SI-97 - Putting It All Together
3. just touch the cooling fins of your card and see if it's hot or not :)
in case its hot, try blowing air with a table fan on it directly from the side (after you opened the case) and if that solves the problem, then it is ovrheating - in this case improve your cases airflow, cooling and you could also check and reapply the thermal paste on the GPU chip on the card.

if overheating isn't the problem, then the cards memory chips might be damaged...

[Hitman]

I will agree this does sound like a dieing video card. Please post a SIG with your system specs to help us with trouble shooting. Thank You and Welcome.

[captkrusty]

I want to thank everyone for their replys and help. I went to Compusa and purchased a cheapy video card to trouble shoot my system and everything works fine now.

I am going to call BFG tech support and see if they will replace the card, it is only one year old.

Thanks again for all your help and I will let you know how my experience with BFG customer support go's

captkrusty

ps I am planning a new system within the next two weeks, I will post that and a signature when I am done with it.

[gvblake22]

Just post up what your system components currently are and you can always change it later

As for your problem, it does sound like something that might be caused by a malfunctioning video card. If you cannot see the temperature displayed in the display driver menu options for your video card, you could try downloading, installing, and running a 3rd party utility like Everest Ultimate Edition to display your system temperatures.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by captkrusty

I am going to call BFG tech support and see if they will replace the card, it is only one year old.

You should have no problem here - BFG offers lifetime warranties with great customer service.