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Resolved Question

Pink screen

Jan 11, 2014 3:42PM PST

I am running a P-4, 2.36, two HD's one, 80GHD, the other 1TBHD, 1G ram. Using firefox latest version, ATI video card 9550, Win XP Pro. When my computer goes into screen saver mode, after it sits there for a while, it goes into hibernation. When I hit a key and it starts to come out of hibernation mode, the scree fades in from a very pale pink and then finally goes into the normal color mode. Any one else have these types of problems? Thanks, Bill

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Best Answer

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That definitely
Jan 11, 2014 11:18PM PST

That definitely sounds like a video card issue, and I do believe the 9xxx series of ATI cards was kind of notorious for various problems. Even if you had one that was not so afflicted, the card is pretty old by now so it wouldn't be at all surprising for bad caps (google it) to have developed just as part of the natural entropy of the world. This problem will likely only get worse as time goes on and if that is an AGP motherboard, I hope you still have a free PCI slot, since despite all the claims of being the future of graphics card slots, AGP was unceremoniously dumped by manufacturers as soon as PCIe came along. You still see the odd PCI card in retail stores, but I can't remember the last time I saw an AGP card.

Given the age of the system and that XP is in its final few months of supported existence, I'd personally use this as an excuse to finally break down and get a new computer. You could always buy the cheapest PCI video card you can find and install Linux on this venerable beast to breathe a little new life into it. You could use it just to expand your horizons a little by playing around with Linux or maybe turn it into a HTPC using XBMC. You shouldn't have too much difficulty running even 1080p content on that system and if the new video card has HDMI output you can even connect it to a home theater audio system if you have one. Then you could make copies of your personal DVD collection and store them on the computer's HDD instead of having to put a disc in every time. That way the original disc stays nice and safe in its protective case, less likely to get scratched up being put in and taken out of the optical drive of the computer, there's that much less ambient noise from the optical drive motor, and optical drives fail quite often, so since you've probably got an IDE drive, replacing it would be difficult. Better to save it for when you might actually need it. That's just one possibility anyway, there are plenty of things you could do with that computer, but I would make sure it's not connected to the Internet if it's running XP come later this year. As soon as the first post-support vulnerability is found in Vista, 7 or 8, every ne'er do well will immediately rush to check if XP is also vulnerable. If it is, your defensive options are significantly hampered by the lack of support from MS in fixing the problem.

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Pink screen
Jan 11, 2014 11:32PM PST

Thanks to you both. I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and get a new computer. I am sure going to miss XP though! Thanks again, Bill

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Answer
Re: pink
Jan 11, 2014 7:46PM PST

This could be an issue with the video card or with the monitor. Since monitors are very easy to swap, I'd start with that for a diagnosis.

Kees

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Answer
IF A REBOOT FIXES IT
Jan 12, 2014 1:49AM PST

That's one of those really old issues that came up over the years. It can be either hardware or software but if the issue is recent we often find the user had updated drivers or used registry cleaners.
Bob

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Pink screen
Jan 12, 2014 2:14AM PST

Bob, I have just recently done both. I use CC cleaner and had just updated the drivers for the card. Thanks, Bill

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CC cleaner is tame.
Jan 12, 2014 2:29AM PST

I'd go back to the prior drivers. Glad you were nice enough to reveal this as some won't.

My nod is to the drivers.
Bob

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Pink screen
Jan 12, 2014 6:22AM PST

Bob, you were right. Thanks to you and all that helped. Bill

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Thanks for the update.
Jan 12, 2014 7:19AM PST

And thanks for taking my advice on that. I've lost how many times some want proof before they go back.
Bob