[elgorilagrande]

Hi guys, I've been having a problem with my computer, I'm pretty sure it's either a motherboard or video card problem (leaning towards video card).

When I boot up, as soon as the BIOS screen comes up, the text becomes broken up (looks scrambled, and different rows/columns are misaligned).

Once I boot into the OS (whether Windows or Linux) my screen looks exactly like this:

So I unplugged the videocard's power cord and booted up. As you would expect the computer gave some message "You video card is not connected to the power supply", but the screen was perfectly clear.

Is this most likely a video card problem or is this not enough info to tell? If it is the video card, can it be fixed?

Everything else works fine, internet (LAN), sound, etc.

Hardware info
motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813180061
video card (AGP 4x/8x): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127127

 

[Tumbleweed36]

Have you used drive eraser to clean the system of drivers and then reinstalled the drivers? If not, I would do that.

My second thought since I had that card in an older computer I used to own. (BTW, nice card):

Some times when the ATI drivers don't work, you can get better success with the Omega drivers. Here is a link if interested that tells you how to uninstall others and then a link for Omega and the way to uninstall the old drivers:


Before you start this full uninstall procedure, make sure you have downloaded and installed the latest version of Driver Cleaner; if you are using other drivers then a special version of Driver Cleaner is already included.

Driver Cleaner Link

Clean procedure to remove old drivers

1. Go to the Windows Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs section.

2. Uninstall the ATI Control Panel or Catalyst Control Center, don’t restart.

3. If uninstalling the Omega Drivers, uninstall Radlinker (if using an old driver set).

4. Uninstall the existing driver set, restart.

5. Boot your PC in safe mode.

6. Run Driver Cleaner, restart afterwards.

7. If uninstalling the Omega Drivers, now uninstall the Setup Tools from the Start Menu.

8. Now you can install any driver you like.

Here is the link to Omega Drivers:

http://www.omegadrivers.net/

 

[Tumbleweed36]

Forgot to ask....tell us what power supply brand name and wattage is in there.

 

[elgorilagrande]

Thanks for the advice, but I'm almost 100% sure it's not a software problem. I've had this setup running since 2004 without any problems. I've also formatted a bunch of times since I put the computer together, and formatted once since this problem started.

Here's my power supply (Antec TRUE430 430W ATX): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103908

 

[Tumbleweed36]

That additional information helps some since your info didn't include that data.

Do you have access to another video card you can slip in there to see if that is the issue?

 

[elgorilagrande]

That additional information helps some since your info didn't include that data.

Do you have access to another video card you can slip in there to see if that is the issue?

No, wish I did. Worst case I'll buy a video card, pop it in, and if it turns out to be something else I'll eat the restocking fee.

 

[Tumbleweed36]

That is a good plan and some place like BestBuy is very good to deal with if you have one close. I think you will find it impossible to find an on the shelf AGP video card like the older 9800, so you might have to settle for something else in the AGP video card line. Let us know what happens.

BTW, that power supply is not very good in the longevity area (had a couple of those and both died way before the warranty ran out) so that could also be an issue with not enough power. Did you check the voltages and temperatures in the bios? Might tell us something if we see those figures from the Bios.

 

[elgorilagrande]

Actually I don't think it has any PCIe slots (meaning PCI Express X16 right?).

Which cards usually have a better value these days, AGP4x/8x or PCI? You're right, I checked BestBuy and they don't have any AGP cards. The cheapest card they have is a PCI for 70$, whereas Newegg has AGP cards starting at 25$. I was hoping I could find an AGP card in a store somewhere but I guess not.

 

[Tumbleweed36]

You are correct, it has only an AGP slot. I have corrected my incorrect statement, sorry, my bad.

Did you try Staples for an AGP card? They are getting scarce, but sometimes one can find an AGP card if you look hard enough. I do not recommend a PCI card under any circumstances, they simply are not very good in comparison to to either AGP or the later pci-e cards. No way would I pay $70 for a PCI card.

I will keep an eye out for a decent AGP card while being online and get back if I find something that will work for you.

 

[Tumbleweed36]

Hi again,

Many of our techs on here deal with Mwave.com and purchase a lot of their refurb items. I don't know if you are in to that, but you can save money with them and some of our techs who purchase from them say some are just overstock new items. I don't buy off them (I use NewEgg and ZipZoomFly mostly), but wanted to pass this on for your evaluation. Here are three AGP cards you might want to consider:

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=CC07144

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=CC10208

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=CC05268

 

[elgorilagrande]

I ended up buying a 512MB card for $45, my system works fine now. Thanks for your help Tumbleweed.

 

[Tumbleweed36]

I am happy you got it up and going and it didn't cost you too much either. Enjoy your weekend and don't be a stranger on here, stick around and enjoy the many features we have on the forum.