Random + frequent blank screen

Gareth S · 12-10-2008, 02:57 AM

Help!

I have a PC which was built for windows XP a few years ago and in the care of my unwitting parents became infested with all kinds of horrible bugs. I have recently formatted it and am trying to look after it but have one problem to solve before it works well. Basically my pc seems to jam and the screen goes blank randomly for a few seconds then when it comes back the graphics are slightly corrupted. This happens randomly, but on average twice every minute or so. What I have recently reliased is that I lose no information and in fact while the screen is jammed the computer responds normally: for example if I click somewhere (which seems to help the screen come back to normal) I may find a window closed or another opened. I have used Sandra Lite and it said that the video BIOS is out of date and needs updating. I have also been through all of the trouble shooting steps and none have worked. There have been no other symptoms of viruses for weeks so am crossing that off the list and I am running Windows Live One Care to be sure.

I'm running an AMD Athlon 1.67gHz with 576 MB RAM. I have Windows XP with SP3.

I appreciate any help on the matter.

Cheers

dai · 12-10-2008, 03:05 AM

video bios out of date by sandra is a red herring
check the temp of the cpu and the 12v line voltage
blow any dust from the inside with a can of air

Gareth S · 12-15-2008, 09:03 AM

Cheers for the adivce Dai,

I've used SpeedFan to look at the temperatures and voltages but don't really know what to look for as being out of the ordinary. Temps 1 - 3, which I think the main sensors read 45C, 144C and 23C and the 12v line voltage reads 12.05v. Does this look odd? The Temps seem fairly consistant.

I've not yet managed to get hold of a can of air to spray out the dust but am on the case.

Cheers

dai · 12-15-2008, 09:08 AM

the 144 will be no sensor and can be ignored
run

chkdsk /r

12-10-2008, 02:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
Gareth S Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP	Random + frequent blank screen Help! I have a PC which was built for windows XP a few years ago and in the care of my unwitting parents became infested with all kinds of horrible bugs. I have recently formatted it and am trying to look after it but have one problem to solve before it works well. Basically my pc seems to jam and the screen goes blank randomly for a few seconds then when it comes back the graphics are slightly corrupted. This happens randomly, but on average twice every minute or so. What I have recently reliased is that I lose no information and in fact while the screen is jammed the computer responds normally: for example if I click somewhere (which seems to help the screen come back to normal) I may find a window closed or another opened. I have used Sandra Lite and it said that the video BIOS is out of date and needs updating. I have also been through all of the trouble shooting steps and none have worked. There have been no other symptoms of viruses for weeks so am crossing that off the list and I am running Windows Live One Care to be sure. I'm running an AMD Athlon 1.67gHz with 576 MB RAM. I have Windows XP with SP3. I appreciate any help on the matter. Cheers

12-10-2008, 03:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,797 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Random + frequent blank screen video bios out of date by sandra is a red herring check the temp of the cpu and the 12v line voltage blow any dust from the inside with a can of air __________________

12-15-2008, 09:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
Gareth S Registered User Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP	Re: Random + frequent blank screen Cheers for the adivce Dai, I've used SpeedFan to look at the temperatures and voltages but don't really know what to look for as being out of the ordinary. Temps 1 - 3, which I think the main sensors read 45C, 144C and 23C and the 12v line voltage reads 12.05v. Does this look odd? The Temps seem fairly consistant. I've not yet managed to get hold of a can of air to spray out the dust but am on the case. Cheers

12-15-2008, 09:08 AM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,797 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Random + frequent blank screen the 144 will be no sensor and can be ignored run chkdsk /r __________________