Video card issue or something else?

Pauleeeeeeee

A while ago my screen started to freeze every now and then.
This was followed by a freeze with the displayed looking screwed up (dark lines, pixelation, etc).

Now when I try and boot up my monitor isn't detecting anything and I can't see the boot screen. After a few tries at taking out a stick of ram, or swapping ram around, etc I was able to get the boot screen but as soon as the windows logo came up when the OS was booting the computer would restart. I'll add that there dark lines and wierd distortions on screen could be seen at the boot up screen and the windows logo.

Now my monitor isn't even detecting anything when I turn on the computer.

I was literally about to put this PC up for sale and everything. Typical haha.

So before I go replacing the video card, would the general consensus on here be that the video card is the issue?

Thanks

chin_grin

Would the card be an ATI by any chance?

Boot in to safe mode and see if you can uninstall or update the drivers.

(Safe mode is by tapping F8 when the machine boots up).

You'll need to go in to Device manager to check the driver status.

Pauleeeeeeee

Nah it's not an ATI.

And as I said chin_grin, I can't actually get anything to display on my monitor at this stage, never mind being able to boot into safe mode.

mp22

If there is a second vga socket on the back of your pc,remove the graphics card,and see what you get from the motherboard vga socket.

Pauleeeeeeee

No, there's no onboard video on my motherboard.

Also, I tried the other output on my video card but nothing happening there either.

Overheal

what card is it?

Pauleeeeeeee

It's a Gainward 8800gtx. About 4 years old now.

Overheal

Pauleeeeeeee wrote: »

It's a Gainward 8800gtx. About 4 years old now.

Had a hunch.

Gonna have to bake that card. They were built faulty, with sh*tty soldering. Class action lawsuit and everything, happened 3 years ago with the mobile chips but it was only ever a matter of time before the same desktop chips failed also, and there you go. Read this:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055805374

Pauleeeeeeee

Haha. Wow.

I haven't got any thermal paste lying around so I'll have to grab a tube tomorrow and try baking the card then!

Thanks, Overheal.

Pauleeeeeeee

10mins at 190C and I have a perfectly working video card again haha.

Thanks again Overheal.

quaidox

wow, mad story, never heard you could do that with graphics cards before!! :cool:

Overheal

just cover them in foil to stop the edges from crisping up and yeah it's a pretty easy procedure, if not a tad stressful :P

yomamasflavour

It will still need to be replaced though.

Baked cards usually fail again after a few weeks of use.