[Blacklion213]

Dell 8300, 4GB RAM, P4 3.00GHZ, 128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Pro, Dell E193FP Monitor, C: & D: physical Hard Disks, Windows XP Professional Version 2002 (OEM) Service Pack 2. The system is about 3 years old. It has run just fine until this problem.

My computer is experiencing video pixelization (little dots and stripe paterns), which worsens with time. It happens immediately upon boot up (cold). Also, when I run an old DOS game of Backgammon it worsens quicker. Initially I can improve it but not completely fixing the pixelization by 'Refresh', change the desktop picture, and log off/on.

I have swapped the monitor with a functioning monitor, disabled the display adapter, rolled back the driver, changed resolution, adjusted the hardware accelleration to 0, disabled mouse pointer shadow, disabled write combing, opened the computer and inspected the graphics card (the fan was alittle wobbly but seemed OK), cleaned the dust (hardly none at all). The computer is still experiencing the pixelization.

I have not uninstalled the 128MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Pro or uninstalled the driver (I don't know how).

Is there a way to check to see if the problem is a driver or a adapter? I have access to a Dell 4800. It may have an adapter in it but I'm not sure what one. Would swapping the graphics card from the 4800 help the diagnosis process? I don't want to do a 'repair' of Windows XP if it isn't the problem. Any helpill be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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yes, swapping the display adapter would immediately tell us if the ati 9800 is dying....you could also be experiencing heat issues. The ati9800 has a fan on it...is the fan clean (no dust)

The ati 9800 also has a secondary power adapter, using an old floppy power conenctor....if you have two, try using the other one,

[gerryf]

yes, swapping the display adapter would immediately tell us if the ati 9800 is dying....you could also be experiencing heat issues. The ati9800 has a fan on it...is the fan clean (no dust)

The ati 9800 also has a secondary power adapter, using an old floppy power conenctor....if you have two, try using the other one,

[Blacklion213]

Yes, the fan had a tiny bit of dust but I vacuumed it off. I didn't notice if it had two power adapters on it. If it does I'll swap it. The fan was a little wobbly but other wise it looked OK.

My Dell 4800 has a graphics card (not sure of make & model) in it. I'll move it to the Dell 8300. Is the short version of installing/uninstalling go as follows? Uninstall the 9800 via 'Device Manager', physically remove the 9800 card. Physically put the new graphics card in the Dell 8300, then install the new graphics card software. I have never done this before so your help is appreciated.

Thank you.

[gerryf]

that is pretty much it...if you want to be extra clean

Download the latest driver for your NEW card from the manufacturer website

Download driver cleaner pro from here:

http://www.driverhea...ead.php?t=76416

Install it.

Start > Control Panel, choose add/remove applet

Remove any drivers or utlities for your card.

Reboot into safe mode, by tapping f8 key at startup, about once a second...you will be given a text mode menu....choose safe mode

Run driver cleaner pro and select the video driver you had from the drop down menu and let driver cleaner wipe out all the remaining files from the uninstall.

Shut down

Remove old card

Insert new card

reboot into normal mode...cancel the hardware installation wizard.

Use the driver setup routine you downloaded above to reinstall the driver.