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General discussion

Help ! Monitor crashing desktop .

by Pumpkinhead Apr 13, 2007 9:56PM PDT

Friends,

I recently got a used CRT monitor from "Craigs list". It looks nice.
It is a 19" Sony Trinitron A440. The problem is that it is causing my PC to crash. Yep , it just flicks off and the next thing I know, my desktop is rebooting !
This has happend during gamming. Once was a simple "flash" game my son was playing on a website. Other games were Counter Strike and Day of Defeat.

I have the resolution set to 1280x960 at 70 hrz. This isn't pushing it on this size monitor is it? When I lower the res, the screen looks out of proportion compared to my
17" monitor.

Any ides? I can't have the PC keep crashing .
__________________
Intel P4 2.66 GHZ/ Memory 1.5 GB RAM(PC2700 DDR SDRAM)/GeForce 5700LE/ WIN XP home/Soyo P4I 845PE (lite) MB

Discussion is locked

18 Posts
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Hey, I have a 5700LE too.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 12:26AM PDT

It's now years old and last cleaning had some lint in the heatsink. Have you done your PC yearly cleaning? The GPU does indeed work harder as you up the pixel and refresh and it's possible your driver has a bug.

I'd clean and check my fans first.

Bob

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Cleaned it a week ago, but problem persists
by Pumpkinhead Apr 14, 2007 2:13AM PDT

Yes, I've done that. I blew out the dust, and re-seated the module.
I also added another case fan near the GPU.
What do I do if the driver has a bug ?
Also, some of my games look strange, like the graphics are "tearing".

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When you reseated did you?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 2:17AM PDT

Pull off the heatsink and fan unit, put a drop of heatsink compound on the chip and reassemble?

"What do I do if the driver has a bug ?
Also, some of my games look strange, like the graphics are "tearing"."

This is a sign of a failing or overheating GPU. As to the driver, I just go get the latest.

Bob

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No, I did'nt want to hear...
by Pumpkinhead Apr 14, 2007 2:27AM PDT

....that my GPU may be failing. I did not take it chipset and fan off. I just did a surface clean.

I thought the new case fan would have helped the GPU temp.

Have you experienced problems with this same card ?

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I own a 5700le and other similar 5x00 cards.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 2:34AM PDT

The issue did occur once but I popped the heatsink+fan unit off to discover almost no heatsink compound. I caught that issue years ago so any heat damage was avoided. It's 10 cents of compound and worth every dime.

A "clean surface" there will not transfer the heat away from the GPU.

Bob

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Ok, so you think this is more of a GPU problem...
by Pumpkinhead Apr 14, 2007 2:59AM PDT

..than a monitor problem ?

Since this I just started noticing this a few weeks ago, do you think there is damage already done ? Or maybe I caught it in time ?

Is this the same compound used for CPU chipsets ?

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Hmm...
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 3:08AM PDT

Didn't I write that in prior replies?

Sorry if it was unclear.

Let me ask this. Why not put a dab of heatsink compound on it and get the latest drivers to see? Cost is minimal.

Bob

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YES, I'll try that next
by Pumpkinhead Apr 14, 2007 3:12AM PDT

Bob,

Thanks for the help. I'm off the the local PC shop for some compound.
Then get the latest drivers. Previously I had rolled the drivers back because I thought the new drivers were the problem, but probably not.

I'll let you know how this works.

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Let me share what version I'm running on my 5700LE.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 3:19AM PDT

It says Forceware 93.71 The bios version on this card is 4.36.20.37 but I rarely find the BIOS to be a big issue on these.

After I installed this from nvidia.com I ran the directx updater too.

Bob

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Son of a ...
by Pumpkinhead Apr 14, 2007 5:42AM PDT

...Gun ! That didn't work !
I took out the heatsink/fan unit, put some new compound on ,replaced, and updated the drivers.

Still the graphics in these games is awful. I wish I could describe them better than "tearing" or "artifacts".
It seems to be with "Steam " games: HL2, Day of Defeat. My Call of Duty looks ok.

>Should this thread be moved to PC hardware since we don't think it is the monitor anymore?

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So you did refresh the GPU and not the CPU?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 5:57AM PDT

The GPU is on your video card. Some will think about the CPU instead.

You can try the hardware forum but I think we're close here. Sadly I'd be swapping out the video card for a test.

Bob

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Man you may be right
by Pumpkinhead Apr 14, 2007 6:10AM PDT

I went to test out the game again and I could barely see anything.

Would a failing graphics card show up elsewhere ? Say surfing the net, viewing photos ?
Or just on graphic intense processes?

I may have an old card in an old PC. A GeForce 440mx or something like that. Would one that old be worth trying out ?

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The 440mx would be a step back but...
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 6:19AM PDT

The changeover might be painless since it's a nvidia card. I usually only need to run the nvidia driver install then directx again.

Bob

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Narrowed it down
by Pumpkinhead Apr 14, 2007 11:42AM PDT

Thanks to you , I think we narrowed it down to the Graphics card.

I put the GeForce 440Mx back in. I tried 3 "problem" games and although they don't look great, at least they played without any "tearing" or "artifacts".
And the montior nor PC didn't spontaneously reboot.

This GeForce 5700LE isn't THAT old, is it? The box said lifetime garantee and 24/7 live tech help. Have you had any experience with nVidia support ?

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Nvidia is not who you call.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 14, 2007 12:33PM PDT

They made the chips, someone else makes the boards and that's who you call to get it replaced.

Bob

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Problem sloved !
by Pumpkinhead Apr 26, 2007 1:13AM PDT

Thanks for ALL your input and suggestions.
It turns out it was an overheating problem on the graphics card.
I sent it back to BFG , the manufacturer, and they just didn't replace it, THEY UPGRADED IT !
Now I have a NEW GeForce 6600 ! There were no questions asked. I didn't have to prove where, when I bought it, submit a blood test, prove citizenship or anything. The whole process took 1 week.
I am so happy.
This new card has it's own power and monitors it's own temp. It will slow it's self down if thing get too hot. Now it is between 66-70 C.

I think this happened because I changed the circulation of the fans in the case.
I wanted the air to flow IN the front of the case and OUT the back.
The problem was that my graphics card sits nearer to the back of the case. So when I changed the direction of the air flow, it started overheating. Now my air flows in the back and out the front.

I think we can consider this a HAPPY ENDING.

Thanks again for all your help !

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You're welcome.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 26, 2007 1:21AM PDT

I think you are a great troubleshooter and will avoid many a trip to the service counters.

Bob

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Thanks for the compliment
by Pumpkinhead Apr 26, 2007 1:28AM PDT

It means alot.

I am in the middle of a career change right now, and I want to get started in computers. I need to start at techsupport somewhere, so it helps that I am able to troubleshoot my own PC.

My instructor always told us to make 1 change at a time, document it, then try it out. He was sure right.

I can't wait to get my first real job in this exciting field.

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