Acer TM3200 Display Problem

hello everyone,
i've been having this problem with my laptop over the last few weeks and have not been able to fix it on my own. It happened while gaming (playing BF2). Everything was playing fine, but then all of a sudden my screen went to hell (see attached picture). At first the lines on my screen were permanently there, but now they come and go randomly (which is weird).

From the different forums i've asked around, all signs point to my gfx card dying. Here's my laptop's specs:

*Acer TravelMate 3200
*Intel Pentium M @ 1.5 Ghz (Intel i855GME)
*512 MB DDR-SDRAM PC-2700 (166 MHz) [DDR-333]
*Ati Mobility Radeon 9700 - 64 MB

I have had the laptop since early 2004, and have definitely used it to the max. I do not plan on investing in this laptop anymore to fix it as it's an outdated system anyways and i'd rather put that money towards a new system.

Here's what I have already tried:

1) Updated Ati drivers = updated sucessfully but did not solve the problem.

2) Installed RivaTuner to try and underclock the card = graphics card does not have any underclocking capabilities, so increasing voltage to card/underclocking is not an option.

3) Opened up the laptop and cleaned out dust = at first I thought it was an overheating issue, but the problem persisted. HWMonitor indicates normal operating temperatures.

Here are a few things to note:

1) The garbled images register in screen shots, so it's not an LCD/VGA out problem. Since the garbled image is showing up in screen shots, this points to a problem with the video memory, right?

2) The second attached screenshot shows how only certain spots on my screen were affected. This is not always the case, but how can some parts of my screen be fine, and the other half bad?


Any advice would be appreciated! To tell you the truth, I still plan on buying a new laptop to replace this one. I still want to make sure i'm not getting rid of a working laptop because of something I could have easily fixed.

Thanks!!

 

Ok ... at desktops this problem happens when you overclock you video cards memory .

The overclocked video memory cause this type of idols.

If you use any ATI overclocker software ... remove it .

 

nothing on my laptop is overclocked. I installed RivaTuner to try and underclock the card to see if that would help anything.

 

Good idea .. report any news.


Also you can try to downgrade your video driver .

 

I tired that as well... unfortunately my video card is soooo old there are very few drivers available for my specific card. All things considered, I do not think it's a driver problem as the problem randomly occurred, not after a driver update.

My laptop had been getting quite hot (to the touch) before this happened, so I think I may have literally fried my gfx card. Considering how hot it's been getting in my apartment and the circulation in my room hasn't been the best, all signs point to: dead gfx card...

 

Ok i do understand the problem ... if the notebook motherboard are injured,
and you do not like to spent money on it , read and the rest.


One lets say positive idea, are to get one notebook plate ( base ) with fans , it will keep it cool , and the problem it will not show up , even if it is there .

 

I do plan on getting a cooling pad for my new laptop when I get it.

Do you know of any software which is available to check for problems with the motherboard? (like physical problems)