Sudden Video Problem

[gyrene81]

C) This is what seems most likely.  I fired up MS Flight Sim 2004 and had graphics issues that I did not have before.

Hey Eagleclaw...you missed this part didn't you?

It's not just AH.

[Eagleclaw]

Hey Eagleclaw...you missed this part didn't you?

It's not just AH.

Im tired man, right now I have the attention span of a goldfish, will admit my bad. Sorry bout that

[RufusLeaking]

Well, knowing me, Im immediately going to suggest a virus, being sudden and that severe I can't rule out the possibility of a driver issue, but also cannot ignore the possibility of a virus. Make sure your anti-virus is up-to-date and be sure to check your programs for processes that haven't been there before and shouldn't be there now. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Didn't consider the possibility of a virus. 

Big question, how do I check for processes that haven't been there before?

[gyrene81]

Last check there was only 1 virus that affected a computers graphics...and it was a Mac virus.

Rufus you're looking for unknown processes running in the background...grab Process Explorer and try an online virus/malware scan using Housecall from trend micro.


I'd be surprised if it's a virus but anything is possible. 

[Eagleclaw]

Last check there was only 1 virus that affected a computers graphics...and it was a Mac virus.
I'd be surprised if it's a virus but anything is possible. 

There are millions of new viruses being created every day, it could be a mix of a couple, or a completely new one, the thing about viruses, the people who make em' have no life and are really good most of the time, wouldn't be surprised if this was a new virus, try different settings on a few scans and see where that takes you. Good luck. 

[RufusLeaking]

The motherboard has an AGP 4x/8x slot.  Which stinks on ice.  The upside is that if I can find one, the card will be inexpensive.

Anyway, I am off to Fry's to browse.

Picked up an AGP Diamond Radeon HD 4650 only to come home and realize that I only have 300 Watts instead of the 400 W required.  D'oh.

So, back to return it for the best I can get in AGP and 300W.

It is an HP Pavilion circa 2004.  I am trying as best as I can to get 512M DDR.  The card that is crapping out had 256.  I saw a GeForce 5200 with 128M for $35.  It seemed like a step backwards, but probably would not be a power hog.

[Stogie]

Really does look like a bad card.. good luck

[gyrene81]

Hey Rufus...not sure about this but if you can find one of these, you might be in good shape with the PSU you have.

DIAMOND Radeon HD 4650

SAPPHIRE Radeon X1950PRO

The only thing with the AGP Radeon products is drivers.

I have a BFG Tech GeForce 7300GT with 512MB memory that works ok...nothing like it used to, but it requires a min 350watt PSU.

[RufusLeaking]

Hey Rufus...not sure about this but if you can find one of these, you might be in good shape with the PSU you have.

DIAMOND Radeon HD 4650

SAPPHIRE Radeon X1950PRO

The only thing with the AGP Radeon products is drivers.

Picked up an AGP Diamond Radeon HD 4650 only to come home and realize that I only have 300 Watts instead of the 400 W required.  D'oh.

Already have the Diamond card.  No go.  I will be happy with anything forward of the now dead ATI X600 w/256.

Before I go online, I am going to hit the other local Fry's as I have to return the card anyway.  I think they had a few in the range of the x1950.

[RufusLeaking]

The saga continues...

I bring home a GeForce 7300 GT AGP card.  It "recommends" a 350W power supply vs my 300W, but I do not have a lot on this machine.  I was ready to risk it.

Pop out the old card and it is a f&#@ing PCI-E.  Which is good in terms of performance and selection, but was bad as I held in my hands an AGP card.  What ticks me off is that I entered my machine's serial number into the HP website and it said that I had an AGP slot.  The moral of the story is to conform this with the old mark 1 eyeballs prior to getting the replacement.  Lesson learned.

Sooooooo, back to Fry's to get an ATI 4350 512MB card for just under $60 after tax. 

Happy ending: it went in and runs detailed terrain and water satisfactorily.  And I must concede, it is better with the upgraded graphics.   

[gyrene81]

Sorry Rufus...ROFLMAO!!! 

The things we take for granted as being fact...I really thought you had pulled the orginal card before shopping for a new one.