[p71p]

Hi Guys,

Desperatly in need of some advice. Once or twice my pc has struggled to start, well i say struggled but the truth is i cannot see if it has started or not. This morning i switched the pc on and instead of getting the writing on screen on startup i got a jumbled mass of letters and numbers. Once that goes off i then get a jumble of colours on screen and you cannot see what is happening in the background. When i switch it off and back on i get the option to go to startup repair. When i do it then states startup cannot repair.

I am at a loss at what to do. My pc is zoostorm, i do not know the full spec apart from it being quad core processor. I am on vista.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

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Well so far i have eliminated that my monitor is not at fault. I now suspect the graphics card to be at fault so i am going to replace it.

My current card is 8400 GS. I am tempted to upgrade to something better as i now have to change it. I do not play games so dont need anything to high spec.

I am not sure what to look for when upgrading, any suggested cards i could upgrade to?

Edited by p71p, 08 November 2011 - 10:49 AM.

[p71p]

Well so far i have eliminated that my monitor is not at fault. I now suspect the graphics card to be at fault so i am going to replace it.

My current card is 8400 GS. I am tempted to upgrade to something better as i now have to change it. I do not play games so dont need anything to high spec.

I am not sure what to look for when upgrading, any suggested cards i could upgrade to?

Edited by p71p, 08 November 2011 - 10:49 AM.

[phillpower2]

Hi p71p
Before suggesting any new graphics cards it is best to determine if the present one is bad as there are other possible causes of what you describe, bad power supply, bad drivers, heat and possible malware infection as examples.
Are you comfortable working inside your computer, does your PC also have an integrated video chip on the MB and do you have the Vista installation disk?

[p71p]

Hi phillpower2,

Yes i am happy to work inside the pc. I do have a installation disk. I also have the integrated video chip (that i had totally forgotten about). I have plug the monitor lead in to this and it is back up and running after a few adjustments to the resolution.

Would this now mean that the graphics card is at fault?

[phillpower2]

Hi p71p, I am happy to hear that you can at least use your computer, it will also help with the troubleshooting.

Would this now mean that the graphics card is at fault?

Unfortunately no, it could still be the PSU, drivers or heat so can I ask you to do the following before anything else;
1: Download and save on your desktop the latest drivers for the 8400 GS. Do not install them yet.
2: Download and run Speedfan then post a screenshot of the readings, see below;

Download Speedfan 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.If you are running on a vista machine, please go to where you installed the program and run the program as administrator.


(this is a screenshot from a vista machine)

To capture and post a screenshot;
Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload...
then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.

Screenshot instructions courtesy of happyrock

[p71p]

Not sure if this makes a difference, i could not get a display with the graphics card plugged in even though i am connected to the integrated port. I had to leave the graphics card unplugged from the pc

Edited by p71p, 09 November 2011 - 12:01 AM.

[phillpower2]

Not sure if this makes a difference, i could not get a display with the graphics card plugged in even though i am connected to the integrated port. I had to leave the graphics card unplugged from the pc

The above is correct, unless you disable the facility in the BIOS the MB automatically disables the integrated video chip when an add on video card is detected.
Speedfan readings, temps look ok (the two -128 will be anomalous) but the +3V and the +12V readings are very low and need to be double checked so please download then run HWMonitor http://www.cpuid.com.../hwmonitor.html and again post a screenshot of the results, I would however swap in a known good PSU if you have or could borrow one, a bad PSU would cause the symptoms you describe as I suggested in posts #3 and 5.

[p71p]

Thanks again for your reply. Unfortunatly i have no PSU to swap. I have downloaded and run the monitor, results below.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[phillpower2]

Hi p71p, temps and +5V confirmed as ok but no +3.3V or +12V readings so we need to try something else;

Download and install Free Everest Home Edition http://www.filehippo...d_everest_home/
Open it.
1: In left pane expand Computer folder.
2: Click once on Summary
3: In upper menu, go Report
4: And then to Quick Report-Summary
5: Save it in text file, and paste it in your next post.
Click the + by computer, click on Sensor. Get a screenshot and post it so your temps and voltages can be checked.


DO NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING UNDER THE LINE THAT SAYS "DEBUG- PCI"

NB: I would uninstall all but one of the testing software when we are finished.

Edited by phillpower2, 10 November 2011 - 02:36 PM.

[p71p]

Details as follows

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition © 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Quick Report
Computer PANDP-PC (My PC)
Generator PandP
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition 6.0.6002 (WinVista Beta)
Date 2011-11-10
Time 20:36


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name PANDP-PC (My PC)
User Name PandP

Motherboard:
CPU Type 2x Intel Pentium III Xeon, 2500 MHz
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset Unknown
System Memory 3317 MB
BIOS Type AMI (08/23/07)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter Standard VGA Graphics Adapter (8128 KB)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter High Definition Audio Controller [NoDB]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel® 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF
IDE Controller Intel® 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7 Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C0
SCSI/RAID Controller Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Disk Drive WDC WD5000AAKS-00A7B0 ATA Device
Disk Drive Generic- Compact Flash USB Device
Disk Drive Generic- MS/MS-Pro USB Device
Disk Drive Generic- SD/MMC USB Device
Disk Drive Generic- SM/xD-Picture USB Device
Optical Drive ATAPI DVD A DH20A4P ATA Device
SMART Hard Disks Status Unknown

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 469933 MB (315010 MB free)

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse HID-compliant mouse
Mouse HID-compliant mouse
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8101E Family PCI-E Fast Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.0) (192.168.1.65)
Modem PCI Soft Voice SoftRing Modem

Peripherals:
Printer HP Photosmart C5200 series
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Send To OneNote 2007
USB1 Controller Intel® 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C8 [NoDB]
USB1 Controller Intel® 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C9 [NoDB]
USB1 Controller Intel® 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CA [NoDB]
USB1 Controller Intel® 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CB [NoDB]
USB2 Controller Intel® 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 27CC [NoDB]
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device

When i click on sensor nothing is shown, the pane remains grey ??

[phillpower2]

p71p I am sorry but I cannot suggest anything further other than swapping the present PSU for a known good one which must have an equal or greater power output or get the present PSU tested by a Tech who has the required equipment and knowledge, the one complete set of readings we got are a concern and suggests the PSU could pop at any time taking the rest of your PC with it.
Provide the details of the present PSU, brand and output please.

[p71p]

Well that doesn't sound good.

PSU is-

Enlight
Model GPS350ABC
AC input - Peak 350w, Rated 300W
DC output 285W Max

[phillpower2]

Never heard of that brand of PSU so can`t comment on their quality or reliability, see the attached link for good and bad PSUs http://www.10stripe....d/psu/brand.php What I can say however is that you PSU should have been upgraded to run the 8400GS as it requires a PSU with a minimum 400W output so I am surprised the card ever worked at all, 8400GS specs;

Graphics Processor: 8400GS
Memory Installed: 512MB
Interface: PCI
Main Specification:
Output: VGA, DVI-I, TV-OUT
Memory Capacity: 512MB
Memory Interface: 64-bit DDR2
Core Clock: 567MHz
Shader Clock: 1000MHz
Memory Clock: 1400MHz
Bus connector: PCI
Minimum System Requirement:
Intel Pentium 4 Prescott class processor or higher (LGA775 processor package) or AMD Sempron/Athlon
Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, VISTA
PCI compliant Motherboard
128MB System RAM (256MB recommended)
A minimum recommended 400W system power supply
100MB of available hard disk space for full installation
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
VGA or DVI-I compatible monitor

[p71p]

I have had the pc for 3 years so quite shocked to hear that. The graphics card came with it so i will be contacting Zoostorm tomorrow to enquire about my setup.

If the PSU is on it's way out then it would be better to upgrade?

Just to add, on my graphics card it states 256mb and not 512mb as shown in the spec you listed, might not make a difference but thought i would add.

Edited by p71p, 10 November 2011 - 04:26 PM.

[phillpower2]

Just to add, on my graphics card it states 256mb and not 512mb as shown in the spec you listed, might not make a difference but thought i would add.

That does make a difference but the PSU is still 15W under powered!

Product Specifications
General
Brand: Nvidia
Item Height: 10 millimetres
Item Width: 10 millimetres
Additional Specifications
Wattage: 300 watts