Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Hi everyone, I posted about 2 weeks ago that my main desktop computer had run into what I believe were graphics card issues. I received some advice from other members here and unfortunately nothing worked. I went as far as doing a full computer system restore to the factory settings. I wanted to be sure there were no corruptions from any systems files. Unfortunately, that did not fix it (Btw, Cameron, I'm going to need to re-download every X-Aviation plane I've ever purchased ). Anyway, I'm curious as to what the signs of a dying video card are as I've replaced my video card with the same 6850 that I purchased online this afternoon. The first signs occurred the morning of the dreadful day. My PC unintentionally split my screens and started showing strange static. The computer than froze to a fully white screen. I rebooted assuming it was just a glitch, and after the reboot, I arrive at the password screen with thick black lines that are spread across the entire screen. I've tested my monitor and there are no issues with it. All software testing aside, could this be a video card that has essentially died? Since my system restore, the computer has been working fine using the onboard graphics. Any help is appreciated! Quote
Goran_M Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 (edited) First thing you need to do is check that ALL your fans are working. Especially the CPU and Graphics card fans. I once put together a computer and the fan was properly secured and was hanging off the 2 bottom pins with the 2 top pins completely detached and the fan not doing much cooling. The computer would die after booting up.Also, check that all fans are free of dust. You would be surprised how many people don't blow the dust out of their PC case, particularly the graphics card. I've seen some PC cases look like the cookie monster was stuck inside. Take the acrd out and really blow all the dust out of it.. Make sure you earth yourself before doing so. Static electricity to circuit boards is like a lightning bolt to humans. Edited June 1, 2014 by Goran_M Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 First thing you need to do is check that ALL your fans are working. Especially the CPU and Graphics card fans. I once put together a computer and the fan was properly secured and was hanging off the 2 bottom pins with the 2 top pins completely detached and the fan not doing much cooling. The computer would die after booting up.Also, check that all fans are free of dust. You would be surprised how many people don't blow the dust out of their PC case, particularly the graphics card. I've seen some PC cases look like the cookie monster was stuck inside. Take the acrd out and really blow all the dust out of it.. Make sure you earth yourself before doing so. Static electricity to circuit boards is like a lightning bolt to humans. Thanks for the reply, Goran. I checked the fans and they're all working fine. Even the GPU fan is spinning. The odd thing is that a few months ago I took my computer apart and cleaned all the dust out of it and it was spotless. I'm just confused as I had opened my computer, and it was only about 2 months after having cleared the dust that the issues began. I suppose that would possibly cancel out the static electricity factor since that would have fried it right away? Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 By the way, I'm loving the new developments on all your projects. I haven't had much time for X-Plane.. in the planning stages of a real life aviation business, but once I get my computer working again I'll definitely need to pick up all your latest planes! Quote
Goran_M Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Best bet would be to take it to a computer store and have it looked at properly. Quote
tomcat357 Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Oliver, those are all signs of video card dying. You could uninstall your video drivers and see if you get clean video, at low res of course, if so, it's deffinatly video card..Good luck.. Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 Yeah I've fully uninstalled the video drivers and I get clean video from the onboard graphics, even if it's at low res. The video card is supposed to arrive here this week, if it's still giving me issues I'll take the whole computer to a computer store. Thanks guys! Quote
tomcat357 Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Great, I have had half a dozen video cards crap out on various boats. These guys want to keep them under the binnacle shelf which is open to engine room heat. Not good. Heat, that is. Have a great weekend Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 Great, I have had half a dozen video cards crap out on various boats. These guys want to keep them under the binnacle shelf which is open to engine room heat. Not good. Heat, that is. Have a great weekend Uh oh... do you run a company that has to do with boating? Thank you, you as well! Quote
tomcat357 Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Been on the water since late 60s, owned a half dozen boats, built a small trawler/yacht in the late 80s. Retired now, I keep the plotting/satalite commumacation systems working on about 20 on so boats for a couple of companies here on the east coast. I'm also renovating my house and I havn't work so hard in all my life.. I use X-Plane as stress relief, sometimes you have to just get away.... Quote
eaglewing7 Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Sounds like exactly what happened when the video card on my old iMac crapped out. Starts out insidiously, then gets progressively worse, and finally, your computer kernel panics, and you are SOL. I had the same thing with screwy graphics in X-Plane, then black lines over all screens, even faint image burn in, and then the computer would kernel panic. Got the computer in for a repair, replaced the card (I believe I had to pay for the first repair), then it crapped out just beyond the repair warranty, but the company repaired it for free. Then it crapped out again, and I was able to get a ticket through Apple, who repaired it, and ended up costing them around $1500 for all the things they ended up replacing... Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 Sounds like exactly what happened when the video card on my old iMac crapped out. Starts out insidiously, then gets progressively worse, and finally, your computer kernel panics, and you are SOL. I had the same thing with screwy graphics in X-Plane, then black lines over all screens, even faint image burn in, and then the computer would kernel panic. Got the computer in for a repair, replaced the card (I believe I had to pay for the first repair), then it crapped out just beyond the repair warranty, but the company repaired it for free. Then it crapped out again, and I was able to get a ticket through Apple, who repaired it, and ended up costing them around $1500 for all the things they ended up replacing... Wow, that's awful. Did they ever tell you what they ended up replacing? I'm crossing my fingers that my issues will stop at the video card. Did you check if your computer was able to run fine with just the on board graphics? Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 Been on the water since late 60s, owned a half dozen boats, built a small trawler/yacht in the late 80s. Retired now, I keep the plotting/satalite commumacation systems working on about 20 on so boats for a couple of companies here on the east coast. I'm also renovating my house and I havn't work so hard in all my life.. I use X-Plane as stress relief, sometimes you have to just get away.... Very nice! Word smarter, not harder! I'm currently starting my own online business. I was tired of getting tickets so I created a lawyer directory service for traffic tickets and criminal driving violations. That way, I can do road rallies and it's considered work since it's where I meet a lot of clients and leads Quote
tomcat357 Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Good one !! I could have used you...... 40 years ago..... Have a good one dude... 1 Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 Good one !! I could have used you...... 40 years ago..... Have a good one dude... Well if you ever need me again email me... Olivier@DriverDefense.com and I'll find you the right attorney We're getting ready to launch this week in Florida and we'll be expanding based on client needs Thanks again for your advice, I'll report back once the new GPU comes in! Quote
eaglewing7 Posted June 1, 2014 Report Posted June 1, 2014 Wow, that's awful. Did they ever tell you what they ended up replacing? I'm crossing my fingers that my issues will stop at the video card. Did you check if your computer was able to run fine with just the on board graphics? Yes, Apple replaced the NVIDIA video card, the Logic Board (which was why the cost was so high), and the aluminum case. No idea if the computer could have run without the card, probably not. It was only a 512mb card, but the computer was only two years old, so it was a lousy time to fail... Now I of course get the Apple Care extended warranty, so I end up with four years of warranty to take care of these issues. Quote
Oliver Posted June 1, 2014 Author Report Posted June 1, 2014 Yes, Apple replaced the NVIDIA video card, the Logic Board (which was why the cost was so high), and the aluminum case. No idea if the computer could have run without the card, probably not. It was only a 512mb card, but the computer was only two years old, so it was a lousy time to fail... Now I of course get the Apple Care extended warranty, so I end up with four years of warranty to take care of these issues.Gotcha. Unfortunately the computer is passed the mark of warranty from HP. But yeah it's definitely a good idea to get the extended warranty when this kind of stuff happens. Quote
Oliver Posted June 4, 2014 Author Report Posted June 4, 2014 Well... the new card arrived. And it is to my pleasure that I can say that my desktop is fully functional again! Thanks to everyone who gave advice, I'm off to re-install X-Plane and all my addons... 1 Quote
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