Video Problem - Artifacts on Screen

Question

12/7/06

Problem: Video artifacts (colored dots, bars, and lines) appear randomly on screen.

PC Hardware:

      - Dell 82508250, Pentium IV, 2.4GHz
      - 512 MB 1066 RDRAM
      - ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128 MB Video Card
      - 120 GB Western Digital HD
      - NEC 1100-A DVD+RW Drive
      - Liteon LTD 163 DVD-ROM Drive
      - Iomega 250 MB Zip Drive
      - Dell 1900FP Monitor
      - Logitech Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
      - SoundBlaster Live 5.1 Soundcard
      - Altec Lansing 745 Speakers
      - Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro Joystick

Troubleshooting:

1. When powering up the system, the Dell LCD monitor displays a monitor logo for a
second or two. This looks fine. There are NO artifacts. This tells me
that LCD monitor is working OK.

2. When PC begins to boot, the BIOS displays a message for a second or two.
This looks fine. NO artifacts.

3. Artifacts first appear when Windows begins to load. You see them at the
Windows logo screen.

4. Artifacts appear on every subsequent screen in any user account with every
application.

5. Windows itself works fine. The PC itself, except for the video, works fine.

6. I tried updating the video driver. Update did not solve problem.

7. Windows System/Device Manager says video display adaptor is working correctly.

My diagnosis:

I think I have a failing video card.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Bobman101 · Answer

That's probably it. Do you have another card or onboard video you can test with to find out? ATI cards seem to be more prone to the artifact problem from what it seems. Check the fan and make sure it works, becuase I've heard some say that the stock cooling isn't the best and can fail (though if this happens right at startup, it's likely the card itself).

Justin_Palmisan · Answer

12/12/06 Update   Short Story: I successfully replaced the failing ATI Radeon 9700 Pro (128MB) card with a new ATI Radeon 9550 (256MB) card.  Artifacts are gone.  All is well.   Long Story:   I first bought a replacement ATI Radeon 1300 (256MB) card from CompUSA.  Upon opening the shrink wrapped/sealed box at home, I discovered a used card.  There was a lot of dust and grime on the fan. I returned the card to CompUSA.  There was no argument.  I got a new ATI Radeon 1300 (256MB) card. I installed same.  PC would not boot.  No post beeps; no nothing. I returned the card to CompUSA.  Tech Manager said he's experienced a lot of problems with the 1300. Even though the box said the card supported 8x/4x AGP speed.  The technical literature said it supported only 8x AGP. ATI Radeon 9550 (256MB) card installed easily.  No problems. I installed the latest ATI drivers.   Question:  Is the new card better (faster) or worse (slower) than the old card?  It's not a big deal because I plan on purchasing a new PC in February 2007 following Vista's introduction.  I'm not a gamer; I use the PC for word processing, spreadsheets, and browsing.  - Windows XP Professional SP2- Dell 8250, Pentium IV, 2.4GHz- BIOS A01- 512 MB 1066 RDRAM- ATI Radeon 9550 256 MB Video Card- Dell FP1900 LCD Monitor- 120 GB Western Digital Internal HD- 120 GB Maxtor 5000DV 'One Touch' External HD- NEC 1100-A DVD+RW Drive- Liteon LTD 163 DVD-ROM Drive- Iomega 250 MB Internal Zip Drive- Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer v 4.0- Microsoft Digital Pro Keyboard- Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro Joystick- SoundBlaster Live 5.1 Soundcard- Altec Lansing 745 4.1 Speakers- Motorola Surboard 5100 Cable Modem

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Video Problem - Artifacts on Screen

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