Display Problem

[jackgreat]

Hello Everyone,

I am using a PC with the following config -

-Windows XP
-2 GB RAM
-Intel pentium D
-Geforce 7600GT
-Creative sound card
-Pinnacle TV Tuner card
-LCD monitor (DVI output)
-PC more than 2 years old
-etc....

A couple of weeks ago while using my pc strange dots started to appear on my screen. Suddenly my pc wasn't functioning normally. It was getting slow at times and display was not normal. Inspite of reboot strange marks or dots etc appeared on the LCD monitor. I thought it to be a graphics problem. I switched off my pc, removed my graphics card, cleaned dust and put it in. Inspite of this the problem persisted. Then i re-installed my graphics card driver (latest) and restarted. The problem went away and I was like phew, its okay.

Now the problem arose again today. This time first I installed my graphics driver and rebooted and to my horror the problem was not fixed. I downloaded latest driver and installed it. Again problem is persisting. I cleaned up my RAM and graphics card but no result.

The problem is my display looks choppy (in bits) and after every 30-40 seconds my screen goes blank for a second and then comes back to life. The light on my monitor goes orange for a second and screen is blank as if system is off and then it comes back to life and light in monitor becomes normal (blue). This repeats at regular intervals.

I also pulled out each of my RAM to see if it was a problem but it was not. I took out each ram but still dots appear when system boots. When I boot my pc the Intel logo comes and from then only I can see a few dots.

If I watch something like a movie or something in youtube then after a while this flicker increases and my system then locks up.

What could be the problem? What should I do? Help will be appreciated.

Thanks a lot,

Cheers,
JG

 

[coozie7]

Could be the card on its way out.
But first download and install Rivatuner and CPU-Z and use them to check your temperatures (both GPU and CPU) and fan operation then get back to us.

 

[MegaGamer3]

It's either the card or the monitor. Take a screen shot, and when you look at it later, if there are dots in the screen shot that aren't moving, then you have a faulty graphics card, if not, then the monitor is the culprit.

 

[jackgreat]

I used GPUZ to check the temperatures. The temp is fine between 55-59 C.
If the mointor would be faulty then why would my pc lockup if i watch videos or something. I have a feeling that graphics card is to be blamed. What I can do is get a wire and connect my onboard graphics to my monitor and bypass my graphics card. This could be one way to narrow down on the problem. Any other advice guys?

 

[jackgreat]

After removing my graphics card I connected my monitor to my integrated onboard graphics. Now there is no problem. Thus i figured that my graphics card started malfunctioning. Man how come a 2 year old card die quickly.

By the way do you suspect that my DVI cable could be an issue as well. Right now i m using normal vga cable.