Ok I'll try and break it down a little...

Do I have a graphics card? I don't know hehe, where do I check :/

What exactly are we looking for? Graphics Card? Not Sure

I was thinking you had onboard graphics? Don't Know

SiS? SiS 730s is under Monitor Driver or whatever

What is Optima? Optima is the computer manufacturer (like dell, hewlett packard).

What else came with the computer? Well everything basic I suppose, mouse, keyboard, speakers, sound card, motherboard, Windows ME...and so on...

How can I check if I have a graphics card, all I know in Device Manager there is a display drivers part...I can't find graphics drivers or anything.

Also when I installed the driver there was VGA in the name when I searched. How do I take it off VGA mode?

ok... as I am fading fast into my real world I would speculate that you have onboard graphics & no card.

what changed & why

I will look back tomorrow but must fade out for now

found this:

http://www.optima.com.au/products_ca...=Desktop%20PCs

I tested out another monitor which works perfectly. If everything goes well I should get the monitor tomorrow and install the network card properly.

Also, Im pretty sure I have onboard graphics, not a graphics card. If I bought a seperate graphics card would I be able to use it?

Oh and also, thanks for all the help!

Certainly you can upgrade to a graphics card.

What is the exact model of your Optima?

You need to verify that it has an AGP slot or else you will need to use a PCI but other than that there should be no problem. When you install the new card you will disable the on-board chip.

Let us know how it goes & if we can help further.

& thanks for the thanks

Ok thanks, I wont be buying any of this until I have a job though, I'm only 15.

And i'm going to buy a monitor off eBay, i've seen a lot go for just over $100 AUD but postage is a little steep, but cheaper then buying it from the shops.

I don't know whether this will be much use to you but it sounds similar to a problem that I answered for someone else last night (and have submitted to D-A-L as a suggestion for an FAQ). You might be surprised how often settings appear to change themselves just because you've moved your system! If it does help, it could save you some money so it's worth a go ...........

"New graphics settings mean the monitor switches off / the image is streaky / the image is shaky"

Your problem appears to be that the refresh rate of the graphics card settings aren't compatible with the monitor. I'm not sure how to explain that very clearly but, basically, your image on your screen is updated dozens of times every second. A typical setting is a refresh rate of 75 Hertz - this means the screen image is recreated 75 times every second. Your eyes see the updates but it's so fast that your brain doesn't actually register it. Different systems support different refresh rates - better graphics cards and better monitors support higher / faster refresh rates. This reduces eye strain or fatigue because, like I said, you can see the screen "flickering" each time it is refreshed - you just don't actually realise that you're seeing it because it's so fast (kind of like when they used to show subliminal images of ice creams at the cinema and you didn't realise that you'd seen it!). Anyway, that sounds like WHAT has happened.

The reason WHY it has happened is because your monitor can only handle certain refresh rates. By changing your display settings, the graphics card appears to now be set to a refresh rate that your monitor can't display.

The SOLUTION to the problem should be as follows. Boot the system up into Safe Mode, like you did before. Go into the display settings and confirm that it is set to 640x480 resolution, 16 colours and then go to the Advanced options and change the Refresh Rate setting to "Default" or "75Hz". Click 'OK' on each of the screens and reboot the PC normally. If that didn't work, reboot the PC and repeat the Safe Mode process again, selecting a different refresh rate. As different systems support different refresh rates, I'm afraid that I can't tell you which one will work.

Once you've got it working properly, go back to the display settings and put it back to 800x600 resolution with an appropriate number of colours and an appropriate refresh rate. To know what is "appropriate", you may need to consult the documentation for your system.

Incidentally, this problem is often caused if the correct drivers for your graphics card and monitor are not installed. If the Display Settings screen, above where it shows the resolution, says something like "Default monitor" or "Plug 'n' Play monitor" or "Standard PCI graphics adapter", then you often won't have the right settings available for your system.

Well i just payed for the monito this morning hehe, I'll test the refresh rate out aswell...

I do know about refresh rates because I asked my teacher why computer screens flicker on tv, he said because the refresh rate of the camera is slower than the computer heh

thanks!