help needed (what else is new)...

okay so a couple of days ago, my computer "froze"...

i say "froze" (in quotation marks) because i was not able to press control, alt and delete to get that little box to come up so that i could exit out of a program that was not responding...

so i turned off the computer by pressing and holding the power button...

i turned it on and it still did this (sometimes even on the windows loading screen)...

subsequently, i decided to ghost the computer...

i did it the "wrong" way first (i installed windows on a patrician that already had it on there), in an attempt to save my files...

this was so bad because the hard drive didn't get any extra gigs back...

and, to top it all off, the screen size was way off (it was way too much to the left and way too much up)...

even ghosting the computer didn't work...

so, then, i backed up my files (somehow i was able to get the computer to work long enough to do that) and ghosted the thing completely (erasing windows on the patrician)...

this didn't work and so i simply turned off the computer for a day and made sure that no electricity was going through it (because i thought that this problem of freezing occurred because my family literally never turns the computer off)...

now i have all my gigs back, but the screen size is still messed up...

i was able to center it, but there are still black bars on the sides and on the bottom (the screen should take up almost all of the monitor)...

and the problem of "pixelation" happened once so far...

i call it "pixelation" because, when it "freezes," white pixels show up when i move the mouse and then other colored pixels show up if i continue to move it around...

this is the weirdest problem that i have ever experienced...

and, o0o yeah, now the screen is "choppy" when i scroll up and down on the internet...

any ideas on what's going on???

thanks!!!




[edit on 17-9-2007 by they see ALL]

Hmm. Possibly a graphics card problem. Try re-installing the graphic drivers. Also you might want to re-boot in safe-mode and inspect your pc to find what all is loading at startup. Type "msconfig" in the Start->Run box and inspect the "Startup" tab. Don't mess with anything other tabs and don't uncheck the boxes unless you know for sure what they do.

Your best bet is to make good friends with a geek and have them check it out in person. It's much easier to assess the situation sitting at the computer.

Originally posted by dbates
Hmm. Possibly a graphics card problem. Try re-installing the graphic drivers.

possibly...

i ghosted the computer so the drivers should be gone...

this makes sense...

but, then, i wonder what originally caused the problem...

Also you might want to re-boot in safe-mode and inspect your pc to find what all is loading at startup. Type "msconfig" in the Start->Run box and inspect the "Startup" tab. Don't mess with anything other tabs and don't uncheck the boxes unless you know for sure what they do.

hehe nothing should be running, as i ghosted the computer (the startup and shut down times are amazing)...

Your best bet is to make good friends with a geek and have them check it out in person. It's much easier to assess the situation sitting at the computer.

i am actually planning on majoring in computer science

thanks!!!

downloading the video card drivers have made the screen size look much better (but the black bars on the sides and the bottom are still there)...

before this everything was large, but now everything looks normal...

ATS looks perfect right now, that's all i care about

i'll update this thread if any problems continue...

thanks dbates

I had a similar problem once with an older computer. I solved it by strapping an extra fan to the graphics card. Maybe this will work?

Edit to add: you could also try uninstalling the previous graphics drivers before you install the new one. Sometimes it's because of one corrupted driver dll or some tripe like that.

[edit on 18-9-2007 by Beachcoma]

Originally posted by they see ALL
downloading the video card drivers have made the screen size look much better (but the black bars on the sides and the bottom are still there)...

Don't forget the hardware tweak on the monitor. Most let you change the horizontal and vertical size so you can stretch the image to fit the monitor. As for what caused this? Who knows. Computers do weird things some times.

Computer Science is a great major!

Originally posted by Beachcoma
I had a similar problem once with an older computer. I solved it by strapping an extra fan to the graphics card. Maybe this will work?

Edit to add: you could also try uninstalling the previous graphics drivers before you install the new one. Sometimes it's because of one corrupted driver dll or some tripe like that.

[edit on 18-9-2007 by Beachcoma]

everything seemed fine last night...

it worked long enough for me to get some windows updates (service pack 2 included), so that is a good sign...

and i turned it off for the night, when i was finished...

i am on a school computer right now, so i hope my computer is fixed (it looks that way)...

Originally posted by dbates
Don't forget the hardware tweak on the monitor. Most let you change the horizontal and vertical size so you can stretch the image to fit the monitor.

i tried that...

it stretched both the screen and the black bars...

As for what caused this? Who knows. Computers do weird things some times.

yes they do...

Computer Science is a great major!

i think so...

Originally posted by they see ALL

Computer Science is a great major!

i think so...

The people I work for actually pay me to write C++ code for them. Suckers!

Originally posted by dbates
The people I work for actually pay me to write C++ code for them. Suckers!

why are they suckers???

what's your job???

as for my problem, everything seems fine

downloading the drivers helped me get rid of those pesky black bars...

i am happy...

here's a new and probably more serious problem:

my monitor (on my dell desktop) keeps on turning off...

even after i turn it off and restart it, the problem continues...

its happing maybe 2-3 minutes after startup...

yes, for some reason, the computer was set up to turn the monitor off after a couple of minutes (for some strange reason, it was never like that before)...

i kept that option off now and this problem continues...

actually, this was happening even before the "pixelation" problem...

so, anyway, i turned off the computer a while ago, unplugged it for a couple of hours and now its working (it has only been a couple of minutes so far, though)...

any ideas smart ones???


:shk:

Originally posted by they see ALL
what's your job???

C++ software developer of course. Don't let anyone sell you on committing to C#. It really sucks compared to C++. The speed is nowhere near as good. Both are good to know but C++ is still king.

As far as your problem, you may have a bad video card. If you already changed your display settings to not turn the monitor off I'd look there.

Of course there's the whole heat issue too. I had one pc that was eternally unstable until I added an extra case fan. Make sure you pc is clean and has good air-flow. It's a real crap-shoot but you could try uninstalling the video card and reinstalling it. That may or may not change the situation. If the card is going bad the problem will return

There were several errors in the way you did things.

By ghosting your computer when it was having issues, means after you ghost it, it will still have the same issues.
It was a good idea to update the video driver, but did you reinstall direct X 9C???
It is common, when one removes a video driver, that it "may"...often..removes the direct x, try installing it and see if that helps..LINKY:
www.softwarepatch.com...

after loading that, reboot-we live to reboot windows- and try setting yoiur monitor settings:
Right-click anywhere on the desktop away from icons.
A dropdown menu will appear, click on "properties" and "display properties box will appear. Pick the tab on top and to the far right "Settings".
From there you can set your resolution settings.
Basicly, keep going up until your screen seems squished-then go back one level.
There are more settings available, but that should only be used by someone with advanced skills-no insult, but you can hose your computer very easily that way.

Originally posted by dbates
As far as your problem, you may have a bad video card.

i hope not...

Of course there's the whole heat issue too. I had one pc that was eternally unstable until I added an extra case fan. Make sure you pc is clean and has good air-flow.

it should have good air flow...

Originally posted by mrmonsoon
It was a good idea to update the video driver, but did you reinstall direct X 9C???

probably not...

after loading that, reboot-we live to reboot windows- and try setting yoiur monitor settings:

i am fine with the way the screen looks now (it looks normal)...

the only thing i am worried about is why the monitor keeps shutting off...




[edit on 20-9-2007 by they see ALL]

The Monitor turning off "may" be part of the screen saver function.

Does it turn off while you are actively using it??

What settings do you have for the screen saver as well as "hibernation" mode??

Both of these could be miss-set as to cause this issue.

Do you have another computer??? Can you try that monitor on another computer to make sure your issue is not the monitor itself dieing???

Originally posted by mrmonsoon
The Monitor turning off "may" be part of the screen saver function.

i don't think so...

Does it turn off while you are actively using it??

yes...

What settings do you have for the screen saver as well as "hibernation" mode??

the settings for the screen saver was set for it to turn on after ten minutes...

hibernation settings were off...

Do you have another computer??? Can you try that monitor on another computer to make sure your issue is not the monitor itself dieing???

i was thinking about that...

the only other computer i have is a really old packard bell (and i don't think the monitor works)...




[edit on 20-9-2007 by they see ALL]

hmmm...

turns out it was my video card (whoever said that it was, great job)...

i was curious one day and switched my two video cards (the one that was in and my old one, thank god i saved it)...

i did a bs job and the screen was all messed up (probably because of the drivers)...

so i put the one that was in there already back in and the loud noise (that i may have failed to describe in this thread) came back and so did the freezing / pixelization...

then, yesterday, i tried again and i even uninstalled the old drivers and installed ones for that video card in and everything worked fine (no noise and no freezing / pixelization)...

so thanks all who tried to help me!!!

this is why i love the ATS universe!!!