Lenovox61

This problem started last summer, until then, all games and applications could run as they should. When summer heat came I noticed that small colored dots started appearing now and then on the screen. For instance; when scrolling down a page the dots are often cyan and become lines when I scroll downwards. Often red when I watch movies etc.

After some time, games started crashing and I got an error message. As this was last yearim afraid I dont remember the message, but when I googled it, it was connected to the graphics card, and the results I found usually pointed out that drivers had to updated or that the card was dead. I made sure I updated the drivers but that didnt help.

After summer the problems with colored dots went away (I assume because of the heat reduction in the room), but the graphic card problem was still there. Whenever a game is turned on the dots appear a lot, and if I dont switch the game of right away I get a blue screen saying the computer was turned off for my safety.

The rest of the pc functioned well throughout the year, I could watch movies, go online, work etc. without any problems. They only occured when I tried to open games (3D). I checked if fallout worked (2d), which id did, but with some colored dots problem.

Now that summer is back, so are the problems with the dots, and now it seems to be worse. The screen just flickered (black/normal/black/normal) when I watched a movie, and I decided to hold the power button in to shut it down as the flickering became faster and it seemed pretty bad.

What can I do? I hope someone can give me some advice. As ive got very limited knowledge of computers I can simply guess and not really do anything about it without help.

I assume the graphics card is dead and that there is also a problems with the fans or at least heat in general?

Hope that someone can help me out, thank you in advance!

dai

in the device manager uninstall the video card
reboot tapping f8 and choose low resolution mode
when windows finishes rebooting
disable a/virus
install your drivers
reboot the computer

what are you running
video card
cpu
m/board
ram
power supply
brand
wattage

check the listings in the bios for voltages and temperatures and post them

Lenovox61

Thanks for your reply dai!

As im quite hopeless with a computer, could you tell me how to get the information you need? I will be able to uninstall the video card, but need help with how to access BIOS and find the info you need.

Do I find all the info on hardware in BIOS too so I can list them? Or can I find that info using a command in "run"?

Edit: Using a Dell dimension if that matters :)

dai

check the specs on the dell site if you do not know them

for the power supply if dell does not list it take the side off and look at the label

press the delete key when booting to enter the bios

on the advanced page look for
system health,h/ware monitoring

the wording may vary depending on the brand of bios

this will also give a list

http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

Lenovox61

As the computer isnt new I dont think ill be able to find the specs on dell.

During boot it said F12 for system set up (delete didnt do anything).
I believe I entered BIOS (sorry for being hopeless), but I didnt find any tab named "advanced".

At least I found a couple of lines of info to put down for now (will continue trying right away):

Processor: Inter(R) Core(TM) 2 cpu 6600 2.40 GHz

Under video:
Primary video (2 options) PCI - PEG (Peg was selected)

Most of this is probably useless, I will do my best to find the info you need though

Update:

Processor Type: Intel Core 2 CPU 6600 2.40 GHz
Mainboard: DellOWG855
Physical memory: 4096 MB (4x1024 DDR2-SDRAM
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS
Hard disk: Array 320 GB

Used to software you linked me to find the above info, also checked some temperatures while having a couple of internet tabs open and a video running on half the screen.

GPU temp: 57 c
GPU diode: 57.5 - 57.9 (went up and down around those figures)

Opened up and tried to check the power supply thingie; this was what it said:
Dell Model NO: L375P-00
DC output 375 W

Uninstalled drivers and installed the newest from NVIDIA like you suggested, but the problems are still the same. While at it I opened up the computer and cleaned away dust, which did not affect anything either.

vladimirb

You should try with more powerful PSU...
See if you can borrow from a friend...
Or the best way to check if your graphic card has a lack of power is to try with brand new PSU but more powerful than 375W...

Keep us posted...

Lenovox61

Hello and thank you

I see your point, but this should have nothing to do with it (I think.. I mean.. Dell made it? :S). The computer worked perfectly for over a year (playing games, 3D, viewing films etc.).

To sum up how it stopped working:

1. I play game x daily- no problems
2. Game x starts freezing occasionally (maybe once or twice every 2-5 hour of gaming) over a longer period
3. Game x starts acting strange (graphics start looking messed up) and freeze more often.
4. Game x freeze after only minutes of playing.
5. Game x crashes with a graphics error message.

Then I tried with 3-5 other games, all crashing with the error message.

Finally they dont even crash, the computer shuts down with a blue screen warning.

The point of all this is: The computer worked perfectly before. And if there is a compatibility issue here, I trust that it is Dells fault.

Lastly... I have noone to swap components with to test your advice out, but thank you for the tip vladimirb.

How about getting a brand new graphics card? What card should I get? How powerful? Specific advice (Geforce xxxx) hugely appreciated.

UPDATE:

Tried running the game "half life"
It actually runned (fan running like a jet engine); and I got some screenshots of whats happening to the graphics. Will upload them here.

Pic one: Can see that one character is green, and also several small color dots.

Pic two: Background should be fully black, but lots of white dots flashing there.

During all black loading screens: White dots flashing.
Almost all the time: different color dots flashing.
Some textures become like the character on the pic. For example a doorway turned out to be black with lots of colors.

Didnt dare to run it more as I know it will crash or turn off computer if I keep it on for long. Hope you guys can work something out of the pics.

____


Edit:

At this point I would simply like to establish if its the graphics card that needs fixing, and in that case, replace it. Methods to find out if its the card or other component?

Had a look at this card:
Gainward GeForce GTX 260 896MB PhysX
PCI-Express 2.0, "Golden Sample", 2xDVI, HDCP, Core 216, Graphics Plus, 55nm

Anyone that can tell me if it would work with my set up?

Attached Images

	Error1.JPG (182.2 KB, 3 views)
	Error2.JPG (40.2 KB, 3 views)

vladimirb

What are the error messages about???
Go START>RUN...>type MINIDUMP and hit Enter...
If you have dump files, post them here...

This graphic card should work with your PC but with better PSU...

Take a look at these two threads:

Power Supply Information and Selection

Video card quick list

High end (Performance better then console) 600w minimum to run , 650 to 700w or higher is best. 512mb to 1gb DDR3 is best on high end gpu's...

Lenovox61

Half life 2 test 2:

I actually played quite a long time 15 mins without the computer dying.

Several graphic errors were present though, but only occasionally.

Like before, at all black areas = flashing white dots.

Sometimes (look at pics) happened.

Temps:

Before game (only internet):
GPU TEMP + GPU FAN = 57c/20%

Game started, some seconds of gaming:
60/40
..
67/40
71/40
73/40
78/40
79/40.

I never observed temps over 79c

Processor cores steady at 44/45 during gameplay.

Note: All games I test worked without issues before, so cant have anything to do with unsupported hardware(?)

Attached Images

Error4.JPG (172.3 KB, 4 views)

dai

pre-built computers are built to a price

for your current card you need to be here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...corsair%2b550w

for the 260 here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...corsair%2b750w

see if you can borrow another psu to try with your current card

80%+ efficiency 550w or better

Lenovox61

Didnt find anything in MINIDUMP :( Sorry about that...

Are you guys saying that Dell gave me a graphics card that the PSU thingie cant handle? And why did it take over a year for the problem to show?

Im really grateful for the help so far, and hope we can solve it :)

I dont really have anyone to test other components with, and my knowledge on this field is highly limited, so dont know how succesful I would be poking about in there. Any advice? :S

I did a little bit of googling and found an error message:

"The nv4_disp display Driver has stopped working normally"

That is the error message I used to get!

dai

in the device manager uninstall the video card
reboot tapping f8 and choose vga mode
when windows finishes rebooting
disable a/virus
install your drivers
reboot the computer

the drivers can be corrupted by insufficient power being available when it needs it

Lenovox61

Already tried re-installing drivers, will try it again though :).

I understand that the power may be an issue, but I still dont understand why a power issue would come suddenly? I mean, why did it work perfectly for so long? :(

It does seem to make sense though, as the comp handles videos and "normal" use but not gaming...?

EDIT: http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=339898
Safe link. Is this the same power supply as you linked to above?
Do you think I will be able to handle to installation of it with my limited knowledge?

dai

over time the m/b demands more power due to aging capacitors

the psu supplies less for the same reason

pre built computers usually have sufficient power to run as is with very little or no

surplus leeway

most last out the warranty period then it's your problem that's why it is best to build your own at least you know the quality of what you are putting in it

gaming,video conversion,disc burning will cause problems on a under powered computer

surfing,email and the like is not much above idle and has little power demand usually less than 100w
gaming demands can range from around 100w to over 500w depending on the card setup

Lenovox61

The driver re-install did it this time!!! No annoying dots, no strange graphic errors!

Or.. at least for a while.. heh, still some dots appeared after some mins in the game. Something must have improved. Thank you so much for the help dai! Was really an issue that bothered me so badly.

Could you please check the link above regarding my question on the power supply? And would it be better to get one thats 620w just to be "sure"?

dai

yes that's the one,the higher you go in wattage the better if you are planning on upgrading the video card go for the higher wattage now to cater for it to avoid having to replace it again
the 550 will run your present card if you upgrade go for the 750 or better

Lenovox61

Think it'll be a 750 and a slightly better video card.
Know if the processor will handle it, or maybe that doesnt have anything to do with it?

Either way, I truly appreciate your help with this matter. This is why I bring my problems to Tech Support Forum. :)

I'll get back to this thread once I have some new parts, if you wouldnt mind, I would really appreciate it if you could give me some advice on how to install them once they are received.

Edit: should I get the "modular" one or the "other"?

http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=460922
http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=340678

dai

i prefer the non modular it's personal preference

Lenovox61

I see, what does it mean though? From some comments on the "non-modular" some seem to say that modular is "easier" somehow?

dai

modular keeps the case tidy and improves air flow more easily,because you only plug in the cables you need
but the extra connection in line reduces power output slightly