Hi there.

sorry if this is posted in the wrong section of the forum first of all.

I have recently been having problems with my PC , its running fine then all of a sudden without warning the screen just goes as is shown in the picture below.

I have tried this with a different monitor and it still happens so that rules out the possibility of it being a monitor problem.

Has anyone got any idea as to what i can do to sort the problem ??

any help is appreciated. cheers

First of all, is this a desktop machine or a laptop?

Onboard display or add-in PCI/AGP card?

Can you post any specs on this machine? (ie; Manufacturer, model, etc.)

I gather you're running XP-SP2. Pro or Home?

Originally Posted by Dan Penny

First of all, is this a desktop machine or a laptop?

Onboard display or add-in PCI/AGP card?

Can you post any specs on this machine? (ie; Manufacturer, model, etc.)

I gather you're running XP-SP2. Pro or Home?

Its a Desktop machine.

Onboard display

Running on XP sp2 home.

as far as specs go all : AMD sempron 3000+ processor and 512 RAM is all i can say off hand , ill take that hardware scan in the hardware section an post the results here .

Originally Posted by pepperami

Its a Desktop machine.

ill take that hardware scan in the hardware section an post the results here .

Operating System
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600)

Processor
1.80 gigahertz AMD Sempron
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
128 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Drives
81.95 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
26.86 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-W162C [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

Maxtor 6Y080L0 [Hard drive] (81.96 GB) -- drive 0, s/n Y2BTTGXC, rev YAR41BW0, SMART Status: Healthy

System Model
Enclosure Type: Desktop

Main Circuit Board
Board: K8M800-M2
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG 06/17/2005

Memory Modules
448 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'A0' has 1024 MB
Slot 'A1' is Empty

Local Drive Volumes
c: (NTFS on drive 0) 81.95 GB 26.86 GB free

Controllers
Standard floppy disk controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller]
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller]
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller

Bus Adapters
VIA SATA RAID Controller
VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller

Multimedia
Realtek AC'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller

Other Devices
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
PS/2 Compatible Mouse
USB 2.0 Root Hub
USB Root Hub (4x)

This is interesting;

"Memory Modules
448 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'A0' has 1024 MB
Slot 'A1' is Empty"

Do you have your RAM "limited" in either the bios or the O/S?

Or do you have half of your RAM allocated to the display? If so, 256 MB would be sufficient for the display (unless you're a "gamer"), thereby freeing up more for the O/S.

Since you've swapped out monitors, that narrows it down to either the onboard display chip, it's drivers, or it's a memory related problem.

Is the machine relatively clean (free of dust build-up) inside? Especially around the onboard display chip(s).

If this machine has a floppy or CD/DVD burner, you could make a bootable media memory tester and let it run overnight to check out the RAM;

http://www.memtest.org/

If the RAM checks out OK, and you have an open motherboard slot (PCI/AGP) the next step would be to install a video card.

I'll search around for the latest video drivers for your motherboard.

Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Dan

This is interesting;

"Memory Modules
448 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'A0' has 1024 MB
Slot 'A1' is Empty"

Yeah, that is odd. I note that 512 - 64 = 448. The system stealing 64Mb for on-board graphics is typical...

...but

Originally Posted by pepperami

as far as specs go all : AMD sempron 3000+ processor and 512 RAM

(my bold added) - where did the extra 512Mb come from??? I wonder if the HWScan is misinterpreting, or if the system is reporting incorrectly. I might suggest trying Belarc Advisor.

That said, it does not make sense to me that the missing RAM would cause the display to become totally garbled like that, unless, as Dan suggests, the RAM itself if bad. The typical indication of insufficient RAM would be jerky display. That to me looks like a problem with the graphics, as in corrupt drivers, failing graphics hardware - which in your case, means the motherboard as Dan suggests. A failing or overstressed PSU can also cause graphics problems. If you have not added additional hardware, then overstressed can be ruled out.

That motherboard number (K8M800-M2) crosses to an ECS board and according to this specs page, it does support AGP. Although AGP is obsolete and fading, there are still many good and affordable AGP graphics cards out there. The good news with adding a graphics card is you can then disable on-board graphics, which will free up that 64Mb of RAM - and hopefully clear your problem, assuming all else if fine.

You can find your latest drivers from ECS. You must first determine your motherboard version as there are 3 for your board. This will be printed on the motherboard somewhere and sadly, is not always easy to find. Look around the edges, between the PCI slots, any place where there are no circuit traces.

The ECS sites (UK and US) have only RAID, Sound and BIOS updates (along with a RAID manual and User manual).

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Dow...nuID=6&LanID=9

The BIOS update contains ATI update information (which I assume is your graphics chip), however flashing the bios should be left as a last resort or to fix a serious problem.

So first, to get some more detailed information, download, install, and run Everest Home Edition on this machine. (Clean FreeWare) Once it's finished loading and running, look under Computer, Summary, Display, or under Display, PCI/AGP Video. This will tell you what display adapter/chip you have.

Post that information. (Video Adapter and 3D Accelerator.)

It looks like I beat Dan in there by just a couple minutes. You do not need to run both Belarc and Everest. One or the other will do. Everest provides much more detailed information.