[yoda76]

Ok so yesterday in the morning I turned my computer on. I hadn't had my computer on at all the day before. When the DELL Load screen comes up it loads, but then it says Floppy Disk Fail (40), so I looked it up and found some help on this site. I don't have a floppy drive in my computer, and there are no cables plugged in. I also went through the bios and did some changes like take "diskette drive" off the setup and all of that. Then later that night I was playing come Call Of Duty 4. I was playing this game like crazy yesterday. But at night it decided to crash on me twice. I think it may be my gfx card, because the screen froze, then went all pixelated, and then a huge gray bar formed at the top of my screen and made the noise of a bluescreen error.

Really, i don't know why this is all happening, I didn't modify my computer in any way for this all to happen.
The only thing I can think of is that I installed a new G5 Laser mouse but there were no problems even days after I installed it.

I know there are a lot of topics out there like this, but so far I haven't found the solution.

My computer is a DELL XPS630i

Thanks.

Edited by yoda76, 31 August 2009 - 09:31 AM.

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Hello yoda76.... Welcome to GeeksToGo,

I'm sorry to hear about your issue. We will try to help you resolve this as soon as possible.
Please understand we are all volunteers and we are not here all the time. Sometimes it may be a extended amount of time to get back to you. If it has been more then 3 days please shoot me a PM and I will try to get back to you quickly then.


Download Speedfan (The download link is to the right), and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows. The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
To make sure we are getting all the correct information it would help us if you were to attach a screenshot like the one below of your Speedfan results.

To do a screenshot please have click on your Print Screen on your keyboard. It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key
Now go to Start and then to All Programs
Scroll to Accessories and then click on Paint
In the Empty White Area click and hold the CTRL key and then click the V
Go to the File option at the top and click on Save as
Save as file type JPEG and save it to your Desktop


Attach it to your next reply

[rshaffer61]

Hello yoda76.... Welcome to GeeksToGo,

I'm sorry to hear about your issue. We will try to help you resolve this as soon as possible.
Please understand we are all volunteers and we are not here all the time. Sometimes it may be a extended amount of time to get back to you. If it has been more then 3 days please shoot me a PM and I will try to get back to you quickly then.


Download Speedfan (The download link is to the right), and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows. The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
To make sure we are getting all the correct information it would help us if you were to attach a screenshot like the one below of your Speedfan results.

To do a screenshot please have click on your Print Screen on your keyboard. It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key
Now go to Start and then to All Programs
Scroll to Accessories and then click on Paint
In the Empty White Area click and hold the CTRL key and then click the V
Go to the File option at the top and click on Save as
Save as file type JPEG and save it to your Desktop


Attach it to your next reply

[yoda76]

Thanks for the quick reply! Most help sites take hours or days for even a single reply! And I understand you're all volunteers so no rush at all


Ok I ran the test:

Edited by yoda76, 31 August 2009 - 11:16 AM.

[rshaffer61]

Well GPU is alittle warm.
Have you opened the system up and checked the fans on the inside?
If the system is not under warranty then you can do this. If it is then stop here
Looking from the front of the system remove the left side panel.
Make sure you ground yourself by touching a unpainted surface of the case before reaching into the case.
Now turn the system on and check the following fans.

CPU Fan
Video Card Fan
Second case Cooling Fan(located normally in the front or back of case
PSU fan


Are they all turning?
Is the inside full of dust bunnies and if so do you have a can of compressed air to blow it out.
Pay close attention to the fans and make sure they are cleaned and nothing is possibly stopping them or slowing them down like a cable or wire.
Reply back with your findings please.

[yoda76]

I always open up my comp. All my fans are working just fine. And I do a monthly cleaning inside the computer.

[yoda76]

Ok well now I am using my parents computer because mine crashes now, almost instantly after startup and I'm still getting that pixelated effect.

Once again my fans seem to be working fine. No floppy cables are plugged in. But I'm getting crashes now.
And earlier this summer I had a Boot Sector virus and I had to reinstall everything and clean my harddrive completely. I have no idea what to do.

[rshaffer61]

It sounds like the video card has died.
When you say you had to reinstall, did you unpartition the drive.
Repartition, format and then do a fresh install?
Or did you do a repair installation?

[yoda76]

I have never had a partition drive and have never partitioned it since my last install. The re-installation of my entire computer was done by a professional and not myself. The harddrive had to be wiped clean of everything.

Originally I thought my video card died as well. But I thought if it totally died, than how could I view the internet and such. But it makes sense because of the pixelation and I have been thinking my gfx card has been getting weird anyway.

I ran my computer in safe mode and ran all my antivirus software. (Avire and MalwareBytes) I did full system scans and nothing was found. Unlike where my last crashes months and months ago were caused by a boot sector virus.


Sorry again for the late reply, I'm using my parents comp which I can't get onto a whole lot.

But is there any way to tell if it is the gfx card?
I mean I'm still stumped that this Floppy error and these crashes just appeared at the same time.

[rshaffer61]

When you run the system in Safe Mode you are loading generic drivers for the video card.
Do you get the pixelation then?
If so then the card is going bad.
If not then we may be dealing with a driver issue then.

[yoda76]

I do not get pixelation when I run it in safe mode.

I just don't see why it's acting up now, I have had this driver for a while.

[rshaffer61]

Drivers get corrupt at times.
What is the make and model of your GPU?
I will hunt down the newest drivers for you if I can.

[The Skeptic]

If you have a built-in video card please move the monitor's cable to the other connection and see if the computer is stable. If not, remove the add-on card from the computer and try again. Most modern motherboards have a built in video card.

[yoda76]

When we are talking about video cards you mean, like nvidias and ATI's right?
If so, I have an nvidia 8800GT

[The Skeptic]

What I say is this: most modern motherboards have a built-in video card. Many people add another video card either because they look for better video and computer prformance or because the seller wanted to make extra money and sold them an add-on video card which they probably never needed in the first place.

Look at the back of the computer and see how many video connections you have at the back. If there are two, move the cable that connects to the monitor to the other connection, which is presently not in use, and see what happens. If you don't have a second connection then follow rshaffer61's lead. What I suggested is a short way to diagnose if the problem is with the video card which is currently working.

[yoda76]

I checked, there is only one. So should I just wait for an update on my 8800GT than?