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Gilgamesch
54 Posts
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87288
June 6th, 2010 09:00
Monitor Blinking Problem
I have a four year Dell XPS 410 with a Nvida GeForce 7900 GS graphics card. Recently I have started to have a problem where the monitor will randomly blink on and off. There is no set interval to the blinking and I can get rid of it by rebooting the computer but it will always come back. I have tried replacing the monitor but have the same problem. I am starting to think it is a problem with the graphics card, but I have no idea how to test the card. I know the weather has heated up recently and I am wondering if the card overheating might be causing the problem. I am thinking of getting an Nvida Geforce 8400 GS which I think would fit in the same slot and would fill my needs. I am not a heavy graphics user and do not play video games. I am open to any suggestions or recommendations. Thanks for the help.
582
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Posted June 6th, 2010 12:00
Have you scanned for malware lately?
Are you always running the same app, when the blink happens?
Open the Windows Event Viewer and click System. Look for error messages around the time of a blink. That may point you in the right direction.
Ron
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Posted June 6th, 2010 15:00
I did run the diagnostics and they did find video problems. I didn't write down the error codes, but this is leading me to believe my video card might be failing. I have tried installing the latest drivers but this did not correct the problem. I plan to open the case and clean out any dust to see if that might be causing the card to overheat. Thanks for the help.
582
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Posted June 6th, 2010 20:00
Sounds like you need to go shopping for a new video card.
Ron
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Posted June 7th, 2010 01:00
Just wonder if anybody knows if I will have any problems running an Nvida Geforce 8400GS card in a stock XPS 410 system. My concern is if the power supply will support the card. Thanks.
582
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Posted June 7th, 2010 03:00
You should have no problem running a GF 8400GS in your system. Even with stock power supply this card would be fine.
582
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Posted June 7th, 2010 08:00
Thanks. I thought the card would be okay but just wanted to be sure.
582
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Posted June 7th, 2010 18:00
Okay no luck installing the Nvida 8400 GS card. When I powered the computer up after installing the new card I had nothing on my Dell E 196FP monitor. I installed it in the same slot as the 7900 GS card and I noticed that the 7900 had a power connector while the 8400 had no power connector. I assume it is powered by the slot. Any suggestions would be appreciated. At least I managed to clean fours years of dust out of the computer so it was not a total loss.:emotion-1:
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Posted June 7th, 2010 20:00
Did some research and found that the general power requirements for a 8400 GS is 300W, while the power requirements for 7900 GS is 400W. So that card should run with you current power supply. However this very same thing happened to me when I tried to put an 8600 GT in my system with 300W PSU. Wouldn't boot. So settled on a 8500 GT. Finally my PSU died and I replaced it with a 430W power supply.
582
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Posted June 7th, 2010 20:00
That's usually the sign of not having enough power. You do have a 375W power supply right? That should be more than enough to power that card. What's the specs on the card (brand, memory)?
jsktx
729 Posts
582
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Posted June 6th, 2010 09:00
Suggest you run the Dell Diagnostics. Instructions can be found HERE.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed / replaced from this post by Dell>
Post back your results and someone should be able to help you.