Odd graphics problem, advice greatly appreciated!

Hey guys! I am just having a bit of trouble with my computer, and would love some advice if anyone has the time. Apologies for the length of the post, but I am trying to add as much info as possible from the get go! I have a Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop, and am running Vista Ultimate 32bit, which has been installed for just under a week. Until now I had no problems with it at all. I have 2 megs ram, and the GeForce Go 6800.

A couple of hours ago I came back to the computer while the screen saver was running (and I think the hard disk might have been shut down), hit some buttons, and the next thing there were a bunch of graphics glitches all over the screen. On rebooting I found that this glitch was present right from the word go (on the Dell logo screen). Then as windows starts to load you can see about 10 vertical blue bars that extend all the way down the screen. Each one is made up of dozens of thin horizontal blue lines, and they are all flickering and flashing and whatnot. The loading continues for longer than usual, and then eventually just ends at a black screen. I never get as far as seeing the vista logo etc.

Now, the odd thing (to me at least) is that if I go to the advanced boot menu at the start, the glitch is totally gone on that menu screen. Then if I load windows in safe mode it works absolutely fine, with no graphics glitch at all. I guess I find it strange that it appears to start right from the second I turn the computer on, but then disappears when I go to that menu and load windows in safe mode.

I reinstalled some video drivers just in case, and have tried loading with various configurations, and doing system restores and all sorts, but other than that am not really sure what to do. It seems like it could possibly be a gpu issue, but it is strange that the boot menu and safe mode have no sign of the error at all. I have also noticed that I get the following message when a screen saver tries to run in safe mode,

"The screen saver can't run because it requires a newer video card or one that's compatible with Direct3D".

Perhaps this is normal for safe mode? I am not sure, but my computer has always run Direct3D apps fine. I should also add that it is not a driver issue (as it worked fine before and installing newer ones since this has not helped), I am not overclocking anything, and the computer is not under warranty.

I wondered about an overheating issue, and after leaving the computer to cool down all night I booted up this morning, and noticed the glitch on the Dell boot screen again. As windows started loading the blue lines I described earlier were confined to the little loading bar, but over the course of 20 seconds or so built back up to full screen vertical lines. Maybe this adds to the idea of the gpu on the way out, but again the safe mode lack of problems is strange to me.

I can normally solve all my computer problems, but am a bit stuck on this one! If anyone could help point me in the right direction before I go ahead and try a format and reinstall (which I doubt will do anything) it would be very much appreciated!

 

It seems to be a video card issue.

Because the screen works fine in Safe Mode. Have you tried running the PSA tests by holding down the Fn Key and pushing the power button. Check if you see the bars during the test. Also try running a diagnostic on the video card.

Is your computer covered under warranty. If so, call tech support they will probably replace your video card and if needed the motherboard too..

 

Thanks mate. I have run the PSA tests, and I do see the colored bars, but they do have the flickering glitches all through them. Unfortunately none of the video card diagnostic testing apps I found seemed to work in safe mode.

The machine is not under warranty anymore. I guess my options would be to buy a new computer, or buy a warranty and repair for this issue. Although I would love to hear from anyone else as to whether they think there could possibly be any non-hardware fix for this, just in case I can get away without having to spend a fortune!

Thanks very much!

 

My advice is dont go for an out of warranty repair from Dell for this. It would be way too expensive. Now I am not an expert or anything, but i read in these forums that the video card is soldered to the motherboard, so I think you cant replace just the video card, which would have been cheaper.

Maybe you could contact a reliable local technician who could suggest a better and more inexpensive way to get around this.

 

It seems to be a fried GPU.. And your GPU is socketed, not soldered. It is possible to find one on ebay etc.. Dell might supply you one too, but they tend to charge exorbitantly..

 

You can use the site www.zolved.com to find local techs in your area who will replace the video card.

 

Thanks a lot for your help guys. I guess I will do some looking around at parts and so on to see how I can best get this thing up and running.

Just out of interest, if the gpu is on its way out, what is it about safe mode in windows that would cause there to be no problems?

 

Thats because safe mode does not use your current video driver for the display. Instead it uses the windows driver VGA.sys.

If you run safe mode in enable VGA mode, then your current video card is used although at a lower resolution. Try the enable VGA mode to see if you still get the wierd lines. If you do, then thats sureshot confirmation that the problem is with the video card.

 

From the boot menu I see the option to boot windows in low-resolution mode (640x480). Is this what you mean? Unfortunately I have tried this one before and I still get the blue lines for a while after which the computer stops dead on a black screen, before windows fully loads.

 

Oh, I thought your computer was running on windows XP. the Enable VGA mode is there in XP but not sure about vista.

the VGA mode is essentially same as the safe mode. The only difference is that it uses your current video card instead of the VGA.sys driver. So if the problem exists in VGA mode and not in safe mode, it has to be the video card.

I am not sure about the low resolution mode in Vista that you mentioned. Will check and post back.