Like a kid in a candy shop...

[BigNorm]

after some more internet problems, i'm back! and i'm surfing the site like the title suggests. only problem now is my serious graphics problem. 2 months ago after installing an update for my video card, i got some serious problems, so now i can't play games at all it's so bad. i'm great with computers, but even now i'm clueless to fix it. looks like i'm gonna hafta dish out hundreds of bucks to fix it. *sigh* anyways, i got lotsa things to catch up on, so i'm off!

anyone have ideas, or how i can fix my computer for cheap, let me know.

 

[Goodieluver]

What exactly happened that is now affecting your graphics?

Push comes to shove. put your old vid card in and see if yer sys returns to normal

 

[BigNorm]

thing is, don't have an "old" video card, but i could yank the one from my sister's computer and try that 😀 whatever happens, i just don't wanna format my hardrive, cause i'd need a day to backup my files, and another 2 to re-install everything...

and i could try another monitor, it could be going kablooey.

thanks.

 

[Kalamos]

Well... unless you have XP [some of us still cling on to 98 or ME] you could simply your boot/system partition over a backup unit.

That, if you are like me, and you buy backup hds for the sake of it.

I know this is no tech forum, but you might give us more details. Maybe it's just a driver problem, or a vpu-fan clogged with dust.
I use Zalman passive sinks just for that reason...

 

[leopoldtyo1]

I might be able to help...

If you give me an in depth description of what you have on hand and what you did, I might be able to dig up some solutions for you. But as it is, you're brief explaination has me "shooting in the dark".

A couple of brief solutions might be that you completely uninstall your old graphics drivers, then reinstalling the new one(s)

You might also make sure you have the right drivers, or that you have a cpu/motherboard bios that supports your new graphics card.

Your OS shouldn't be a problem, but it sounds to me that you have hardware/driver config problems.

PM me if you have problems posting what you did, and I'll try and help...

 

[BigNorm]

ya, i meant this for a "hey! i'm back!" thread, and more of some idea for cheap repair solutions, as in cheap repair companies...

but since we're on the topic... i forgot, it can't be a monitor problem since i can take a screenshot of the graphics problem, and i posted a pic of it of how bad it gets, later this week i might try switching out video cards...

this in-game screenshot is from the Battlefield 2 demo i have:

 

[Goodieluver]

ya, i meant this for a "hey! i'm back!" thread, and more of some idea for cheap repair solutions, as in cheap repair companies...

but since we're on the topic... i forgot, it can't be a monitor problem since i can take a screenshot of the graphics problem, and i posted a pic of it of how bad it gets, later this week i might try switching out video cards...

this in-game screenshot is from the Battlefield 2 demo i have:

Heh sure its not the future or warefare? Lol

Looks like a monitor issue to me

 

[BigNorm]

but can you take an in game screen shot of it if it's a monitor issue?

 

[nessonite1]

He's run rings 'round you logically, goodie. 😛

 

[MistressValerie1]

What kind of "update" did you install, Normie? If it was a driver update, I'd recommend that you use Device Manager to roll back the drivers to the previous version and see if that helps.

 

[BigNorm]

What kind of "update" did you install, Normie? If it was a driver update, I'd recommend that you use Device Manager to roll back the drivers to the previous version and see if that helps.

oh yes, i've tried rolling back, and even uninstalling the video card all together then re-installing it with the old driver. even tried virus scan... when i can in a few days, i'll buy an anti spyware software to see if it's that.

 

[Kalamos]

Mmm... read somewhere that installing unofficial driver updates can mess things up.
Even uninstalling it's not enough. You have to track down the dlls and delete them by hand.

Why don't you try that vga on somebody's else puter? Even your sis's would be fine, especially if the older drivers fit.

 

[BigNorm]

tracking down the dll's is a good idea, even though the driver came directly from ATI which is the company of my video card.

 

[Kalamos]

Leaked and beta drivers can lead to trouble. Sometimes official releases too.
If you could, testing the card over a different system would be an effective test.
So you might even give a glance into your own puter for dust, clogged fans or fried circuitry.

I don't even close my puter's case anymore... 🙂

 

[leopoldtyo1]

Ugh... ATI... I actually like their cards, but their driver work has a lot to be desired.

The good news is, it's definately not your monitor.

The bad news is, it's definately your video card and/or driver support.

The ugly news is... well... depending on the video card, motherboard, and what settings you run the card at (or even the settings on the game for that matter) you may never get it completely resolved.

If you're set at using this particular card, I'd research 3rd party drivers (ie NOT DIRECTLY FROM ATI) - they tend to work a little better (and you can tweak them better, too!). Otherwise, I know that the market is flooded with decent video cards out there for a fraction of the cost they were even 6 months ago. A newer card would mean less headaches and you'll get product support, if anything, for at least a week to six months after your purchase. Just don't expect to get a first rate price or support at Best Buy or Compusa. Try pricewatch.com to find the best deal and dont forget to check the merchant ratings...

I'd plug my friend's internet site here, but I'm afraid that I'd get flamed or deleted for spamming.

Good luck, though! If you have any other questions or problems let me know!

 

[BigNorm]

great idea, i installed this updated driver since the default driver was screwed up itself, it seemed to work with my games, but the video card showed up as unknown hardware in in my hardware list.

any idea where i could get a 3rd party driver?

 

[Duke Diablo]

Well... looks like graphic card probs.
Try reinstalling both graphic drivers and directx, might help. Sometimes directx interferes with graphic card drivers, although i really doubt that's the prob here. But might work.

 

[Kalamos]

A third party driver?
Just google it: -> +driver +ati +model +vendor
... or something like that.

 

[leopoldtyo1]

Best way to do it is to do a google search for ati drivers, but I believe the Omega drivers are the best and most useful. Umm... omegadrivers.net should be a good bet - you'll need to know the exact card type and update with the latest drivers. If you happen to want to experiment, you can install "ATI tool" and play with the overclock setting to find something that works a little better with your motherboard settings... just be sure that you find the most compatible driver for your specific card before playing around with it, it could make things worse.

Remember that I'm only working from pure experience here and since i dont have your hardware in front of me, I can only guess at what the exact problem might be. Try the 3 latest drivers and if that doesn't work, I'd consider the card shot. $50 US will buy you a nice AGP card from either ATI or Nvidia with 128MB onboard - installation software included - from just about any vendor online.

If you do happen to find someone who would be willing to lend you a card, you can try that, just to be sure you're motherboard isn't shot. Monitors (unless they're flat panels) tend not to go like the picture sample you uploaded. The connectors or the AGP port on the motherboard (maybe even the controller itself) might have easily been damaged if you installed the card yourself. It does happen, usually due to static discharge or some other freak event.

Hope you eventually work things out...

 

[BigNorm]

been doing some thinking, and ati has been giving me problems from the start, not to mention i don't think my card's for gaming like i wanted it for. what's a good video card for gaming, like a really high end one?

 

[leopoldtyo1]

well... that depends on the type of card your motherboard can except and your budget. If you have a newer (less than 1 year) computer, you may have a slot for a PCI-express video card... those are the benchmark and range from 64 to 256 MB of ram. They also cost anywhere from $90 to $800+!

Most likely, your has a computer with an AGP slot. These can range from 16 to 256 MB of ram. While the higher RAM cards are the way to go for high end gaming (256), you can still get away with using a 128 MB card and get great results. 128MB cards start at $50 while 256MB cards can start about $85. Since you're having mixed results with your ATI, go Nvidia. The higher the numner the better. GeForce 6600GT's and 6800's are all the rage in the higher end AGP cards, but check your computer to see if it will accept it. To wring the most out of the AGP cards you're motherboard will need at least an AGP 8X setting (the norm for most pc's out there is AGP x4), otherwise the price for the higher end card isn't worth it.

Hope you get it fixed soon!