having problems with 3D

i've been having problems lately with my video card, or with something.

it seems like it doesn't support 3D anymore. when i play Mu (3D game) the window blinks, then an error-window appears, i press "Ok" and the screen fades black and the comp freezes (or if i'm lucky it returns to windows, the game closes).

the first time this happened, when windows started up it said NVidia caused the problem.

i thought i could be a virus... so while it was checking for viruses, i was mapping a little. the 3D window in hammer started to blink, then the whole screen faded black and comp froze.

and anytime in windows, the screen blinks.

i downloaded and installed the last driver, but it didn't work.

does anyone have any idea of what is happening? :shocked:

What type of video card do you have? Did you change anything before this happened? Did you make sure that the fan on the card is working properly?

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

satchmo said:
What type of video card do you have? Did you change anything before this happened? Did you make sure that the fan on the card is working properly?

nvidia geforce fx5200 128mb, i did not change anything, the fan... i don't know. (i can't open the case because i'd 'break' the warranty)

some mins ago the screen faded black, then a lot of little lines of many colors appeared... so 3D isn't the problem.

i restarted the comp and a msg appeared on the screen (generated by the monitor) it said "Hz ?".

i changed the resolution to 1024x768 and colors to 16. it's working fine.

maybe the video card is dying

A)
The chip isn't getting cooled. You can actually check without opening the case. Obviously, there's a sensor on it, otherwise Windows wouldn't be shutting down.

You can get Everest Home Edition, the current one, and it will tell you all the temperatures.

Your video card should be about ~40-55?, 80? for example, means the fans isn't running (or something else is wrong)

If you have a computer with a warranty, I have a sneaking suspicion that the video card is built on. Which leads to situation B

B)
The Video card is dying, you have to put a new one in.

And also, just to let you know, the warranties on pre-built machines is garbage. If you do send it in, You may or may not still have the data that's on the machine currently. Also, I couldn't imagine not being allowed to open my computer to fix something. Nothing takes that long to fix, so the very idea of sending it somewhere is a very distasteful idea to me.

Anyway, there could be a video card without a fan ... like ... this 5200:
http://www.superwarehouse.com/images/products/hp_QuadroFX-5200.jpg

Actually, it looks like that's the card that comes with some HP computers. In which case, obviously, it wouldn't be heat, since there never was a fan to cool it, just a heat sync. Which is a clear clue that it's dying, so that's a valid option as you surmised.

Not sure what else could cause video screwing up like that. Besides just bad video settings ... But, it was working before, so I think it's safe to say that isn't it.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

i found "everest ultimate edition", it doesn't say the video card temp because it's a trial. what do you mean by "video card is built on" ?

the comp hasn't froze or anything in 1024x768 16-bits, but i don't want to use it like this for the rest of its life!

should i break the warranty and open the case? :rolleyes:

i don't want to have it opened by any unknown person, who knows that they could do, :redface: and who knows what I can do.

it's not hard to clean a comp is it? you just need patience and be a little careful...... right?

my card is.. "its a card, and it has a heatsink, but no fan" <<

I just looked, they stopped distributing the home edition? I grabbed that literally a couple weeks ago. That's ridiculous.

I'll upload the zip file ... I don't think there should be anything wrong with that.

Everest Home Edition 2.20

It'd be a good idea to check to see if the computer is still even under warranty.

Clean a computer? Who said anything about cleaning it? It's not a virus, checking the temperature is an easy way to find out. There's also programs you can download that check for dying cards (I can't think of any off the top of my head, though)

Your card, like many low market cards, doesn't have a GPU that burns blazingly hot, so some conduction takes care of the heat (That's what a heatsync is for). It doesn't get hot enough to need a fan. That's why I'm thinking heat isn't an issue. (Most pre-built machine companies don't put in parts that have extra fans and stuff like that. Besides maybe some case fans)

An "build in" vga card is just that ... build in. Otherwords: onBoard. But, I'm not sure if it is or isn't. There's ways to find out.

But, check the temperature. If it's reasonable, then there's a chance the card's dying (almost likely).

And, companies who pre-build stuff don't usually give diagnostic tools for you to figure out the problem on your own. They wouldn't make money that way.

If you call any sort of tech support they'd say, "Send the machine to us". There might be a "take it in" policy from the place you bought it from, but I don't know.

I'd say check the warranty ... see how much it actually costs you to get something fixed. Just weigh the cons and pros and see if it'd be cheaper just to do it yourself.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

where do i check the temperature in everest? i can't find it.

nevermind, wil5on found it.

temp is ok. it's not burning.

it could be a virus or a cheap video card. it was made in china, is that good? lol.

Virus? No. It can be done, I'm sure, but it's very unlikely.

The 5200, generally, is considered a cheap video card. Most things are assembled in china ... doesn't mean anything.

Sounds like it's just dying. I'd say pop in a different video card and give stuff a whirl ... as that's the easiest way to check, but you, or whomever owns the computer wishes the warranty intact.

If they don't care, open it. Change out the Video (if you can). If they want the warranty start asking the manufacturer questions. As the only way to keep your warranty is to deal with them.

Not much else I can do unless you want to open it up.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

my parents don't want to lose the warranty.

thanks for your help, Crono.

but say, if i had to get a new card, what would you say i should get? which one's good?

It doesn't matter, you can't open the computer. You have to send it back to the people who built it :\

You actually have to buy a video card FROM them and pay them to install it. And it isn't cheap usually.

But this'll be good. It'll teach your parents to not buy pre-made computers :smile:

(Especially because if you buy the parts separately and put it together yourself most likely all the parts will have an individual warranty)

To answer your question: lots of cards are good. Chances are you wouldn't have a choice of what they put in the computer unless you pay a heavy chunk of extra money.

Dunno. For all I know the video card is onboard, in which case they will probably change out the entire motherboard. (Some are elaborate expansion cards, some are built right in)

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

no, the video card isn't onboard. it's a card. i think i'll have to replace this one for a new one. we bought the comp and we chose what parts we wanted, we saw how the built it! wow. but if we had to buy a new card, which one should i buy? i dont know which is good and which is bad. is the expensive-est always the best?

No. But, you're still missing the point. Even if it's a card and can be replaced, OPENING the computer would violate your warranty.

Wherever you bought it from, they probably have a list of cards you can choose from. Unless it's some independent shop or something like that, I doubt you could buy a card, give it to them and tell them to put it in.

And if that IS the case, why the hell can't you open it? (As in why is that against the warranty.)

Research cards. I can only assume the computer is using AGP, so that limits you to the GF6800 and the equivalent ATI. Those are ~$200-300 (USD). However, I still doubt you could buy whatever you want and just have whoever made it put it in. And if you're going to put it in yourself ... why whine about the warranty?

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.