Video issue (garbled output)

KGhaleon

I've got this hefty Ati Radeon X1950 Pro card(it's bigger than both my hands combined) that fits into a PCIe slot on a Asus A8N5X motherboard. It supposedly worked fine until recently. It still boots, but the video is horrible...with random characters and garbled text all over the screen. I thought it might be a driver issue.

I booted the machine with a random PCI(not PCIe) card and the video looked fine. I went into add/remove programs and uninstalled the X1950 video card along with programs associated with the card...but when restart and boot with the X1950 card in, it continues to give me crappy output. I tried a higher-resolution monitor and it did the same thing.

Problem:
Weird lines and random characters all over the monitor on boot.

Tried:
*Deleted drivers/programs in add/remove programs. Did not see the driver in device manager since it wasn't inserted.
*Tried high-resolution monitor
*Computer boots fine with PCI card.

I think it's either a bad video card or some software-related issue. I may try a system restore if I can't think of anything. I can't test the video card since I don't have any other machines with PCIe slots. Suggestions?

KG

Mishra

RMA the video card if drivers/safe mode is still not solving your issue.

james_

Sounds like a heat problem, it is getting too hot. Is it overclocked? I know some people who purchased the factory overclocked 8800GTX and are having similar problems.

seuss_ssues

Id bet money on the Video Card's memory being bad.

KGhaleon

Overheating or overclocking is the only thing that sounds plausible. I did a system restore to about a week ago, and nothing changed. It has a bunch of fans...so I'm not sure if it overheated. Everything is spinning fine.

I'm going to check and see if it's been overclocked. I don't see any settings on the video card, so I assume I should look at the motherboard jumpers? I'm overclocking-illiterate. Time for a google search.

KG

KGhaleon

I went into the BIOS and restored the defaults, but that didn't quite work.

I'm checking the motherboard for overclocking now, if I can't find anything I'm not sure what to do except have him get a new video card. I'm sure he could get a free one if he returns the one he has...I don't think it's old.

KG

KGhaleon

http://www.overclockers.ru/images/lab/2005/09/15/a8n5x/a8n5x-b.jpg

This is the motherboard, just below the PCIe you can see a heatsink with "asus" written on it. I want to see if perhaps the chip under there might be damaged, but I can't get the stupid thing off.
Anyone know how? I thought those black rubber things were screws, but they won't come off.

[edit]
Alright, accord to some websites it sounds like I need to remove the heatsink by pushing some pins together on the back of the board. This machine is rather large, so I'm going to have to take the entire motherboard out to do that.

KG

JDMurray

Try the card in another computer. If you see the same problems with the same drivers installed, the card has bad video RAM. RMA the card back to ATI by filling out the RMA form at ati.com (do a site search for "Warranty Service Request"). I know from plenty of personal experience that ATI is very good about quickly RMAing their stuff.

KGhaleon

Well, the problem is that I can't test the card. I don't have any machines with PCIe.

KG

KGhaleon

Just spoke with the owner and got some new information. Apparently his current card was put into the machine about three months ago. He had another card in the machine before, which gave him the same issue. I can only assume it might be a burned chip on the motherboard...so I'm going to check that. Any thoughts on something I've perhaps overlooked?

He said he never overclocked his system, and I don't see anything "configurable" on the card.

KG

blackmage439

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, so I'll give it a shot.

It could just be the PCIe slot itself or even a damaged bus on the motherboard. Obviously, the card is most likely not to blame, since this user you are trying to assist had a different card in the machine earlier that had issues as well. If the correct lead(s) inside the slot is/are damaged somehow, I think it could easily lead to garbage on the screen. A damaged bus on the motherboard could lead to the same thing. Plus, both are nearly impossible to detect upon a basic inspection. I would bet that video card would work perfectly in a different system.

Just my two cents. Good luck!

KGhaleon

Spoke with him again, and now he's "not really sure" if it happened with the last card or not. I had him bring his old card back and I tried it in his PC...and it worked fine. I gave the machine back to him and told him to watch it for a couple weeks to see if it really happens again. This will at least tell me if his new card is the problem. I appreciate the replies.

Guess I need to get with this newer technology.

KG