Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Interests > Tilted Technology


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 02-20-2011, 09:38 AM   #1 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
Vista won't run graphics card

I'm having a problem with my PC, where Vista will no longer run my GeForce 8800 GT. It says it's disabled because of a "problem."

This started happening when I restarted after a Windows Update, and the display went all wonky. It's low-res, which I think means it's reverting to my motherboard adapter. Things were a bit wonky otherwise (freezing, my Rogers Online Protection program not launching), so I reverted to a restore point before the update.

However, things are still not working. I'm not freezing anymore, but my Online Protection doesn't launch correctly (but it does eventually), and my graphics card isn't working.

I'm also getting the kind of artifact you see in the attached image showing at startup, both here, at my Vista load screen, and at the BIOS screen.

What gives?

Worst-case scenario is that my graphics card is fried, but it seems unlikely because I haven't been giving it any heavy use lately (not much in gaming) and the problem started with a Windows Update.

I've updated my graphics driver, I've done a virus/spyware scan, etc. I'm not all that keen on hardware problems.

Can anyone help me out? What should I be doing to try to get Windows to switch to the graphics card? If it can't or won't, does that mean the card is screwed? Is it just a coincidence, or can OS updates mess up graphics cards like this?

WTF?
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 2011-02-20 11.34.44.jpg (93.6 KB, 78 views)
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 02-20-2011, 10:55 AM   #2 (permalink)
Paladin of the Palate
 
LordEden's Avatar
 
Location: Redneckville, NC
Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the video card drivers? That's the first thing I would do. I could walk you through it, if ya would like.

PM me.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru View Post
In my own personal experience---this is just anecdotal, mind you---I have found that there is always room to be found between boobs.
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich
LordEden is offline  
Old 02-20-2011, 10:59 AM   #3 (permalink)
... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.
 
Willravel's Avatar
 
I only have limited experience with this, but I can think of a few things that could help.

First, unplug your computer from power/monitor, open it up, disconnect the card from power, pull it out, and put it back, making sure to gently push it until it's entirely secure. Put everything back together, ensuring that it's all 100% secure and try again.

Second, as LE said, uninstall and reinstall your drivers.
Willravel is offline  
Old 02-20-2011, 11:30 AM   #4 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
I thought of uninstalling/re-installing the drivers, but I wasn't sure if it would have mattered.

I'll try the driver re-install first. If that doesn't work, I'll try removing and reinserting the card.

EDIT: I uninstalled/re-installed the graphics drivers.

When I rebooted, it found the new hardware, searched for the driver, installed it, and it went okay. However, when I rebooted again, the same problem occurred, and so I'm back to square one.

Will removing the card and putting it back really do anything at this point? It seems more of a software issue at this point, since it could find the card when the drivers were removed...and the OS reinstalled them just fine.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 02-20-2011 at 11:49 AM..
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 02-21-2011, 12:22 AM   #5 (permalink)
Addict
 
Shadowex3's Avatar
 
Location: Florida
Which video card on what power supply getting what kind of temperatures?
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hectonkhyres
I'm imagining crazed dwarves doing profoundly weird things. Urist McNutcase has developed a compulsion to jam anything colored blue up his anus, or alternately other peoples anuses
Shadowex3 is offline  
Old 02-21-2011, 07:52 AM   #6 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
It's a GeForce 8800 GT. I don't know about the power supply. I'd have to open it up again to look at it. Why do you ask?
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 02-21-2011, 07:55 AM   #7 (permalink)
Paladin of the Palate
 
LordEden's Avatar
 
Location: Redneckville, NC
It could be that the PS is not giving the video card enough juice to run, which would cause these problems.

Really, at this point it's Trial and Error. Keep trying fixes till one of them works.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru View Post
In my own personal experience---this is just anecdotal, mind you---I have found that there is always room to be found between boobs.
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich
LordEden is offline  
Old 02-21-2011, 08:40 AM   #8 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
The PS came with the system from Dell. I've been running this machine for at least a couple of years.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 02-21-2011, 07:08 PM   #9 (permalink)
Upright
 
Location: Birch Bay, Washington
I had that problem with my Dell laptop when I first got it almost two years ago. Dell gave me the same advice of reinstalling the drivers, pulling the card and re-seating it. They insisted for about a month that my card was just loose. Finally ended up having to return it and get a new one after many re-installs of Vista.

You might want to try re-seating the card first, but it may just have gone bad like mine did. There was never really a clear answer as to why it happened but it was also after an update.
__________________
Never make someone a priority in your life when you are just an option in theirs - Author Unknown
LaLa1 is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 04:49 PM   #10 (permalink)
Addict
 
Shadowex3's Avatar
 
Location: Florida
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru View Post
The PS came with the system from Dell. I've been running this machine for at least a couple of years.
8800GT's are very hot power hungry cards and off-brand power supplies are LEGENDARY for being anything from worthless to outright dangerous. Dell themselves are famous for using some of the worst power supplies out there, for a while they weren't even using standard wiring.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hectonkhyres
I'm imagining crazed dwarves doing profoundly weird things. Urist McNutcase has developed a compulsion to jam anything colored blue up his anus, or alternately other peoples anuses
Shadowex3 is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 04:57 PM   #11 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
Okay, then, more info about the power supply: Liteon PS-6351-2 350W

It might also help to know that I have the Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz processor and 2GB RAM.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 02-22-2011 at 05:01 PM..
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 07:31 PM   #12 (permalink)
Young Crumudgeon
 
Martian's Avatar
 
Location: Canada
Liteon isn't top of the line and definitely doesn't have the rep they used to. Still, I don't know if I'd call it an off-brand. Doesn't seem like a PSU issue anyway, though I suppose it's possible. It's been good for what, a couple years now? When PSU's go, they usually go with a bang (sometimes literally).

Reseating the graphics card also doesn't seem like it's going to help, although I suppose it couldn't hurt. PCI express cards are fairly idiot proof when it comes to it, and I'd expect a contact issue to be a lot more random than what you're describing. On the other hand, artifacts or errors during boot-up seem to rule out OS problems -- if it was a Windows thing it would be confined to the times when Windows is actually running.

I suspect your graphics card has, as we say in the biz, shit the bed.

I'm happy to come take a look at it at some point in the near future; we're probably due for another one of our Aroma coffee things soon anyway. If it comes to the worst and the card has gone to peripheral heaven, I have an 8600GT kicking around here somewhere that you're welcome to. It's not as fast as what you have, but I can confirm it worked when I pulled it and it's not like I can actually get any money for it these days.
__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
Martian is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 07:34 PM   #13 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
That would be rad, Martian. (Do we still say rad these days?)

After a few days of it being like this, and after several trial-and-error attempts (everything except re-seating it), I'm more inclined to belief the card's just toast.

It's just odd timing. I hadn't been using it much. Beyond basic OS stuff: Firefox, OpenOffice, etc. Though I suppose it has a lot of miles on it.

I really don't want to pay for a new card if I can avoid it.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 07:55 PM   #14 (permalink)
Young Crumudgeon
 
Martian's Avatar
 
Location: Canada
Your Windows update likely caused a restart. If your graphics card's BIOS managed to get fucked, that's when errors would be most likely to begin manifesting -- it was good up until power was cut and then it wasn't anymore.

That's my working theory, at least. I'll bring the other one and we'll swap it out. Easiest way to get conclusive.

Name your time, sir. A weekend is preferable for me, since I'm a soulless corporate shill during the work week.
__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
Martian is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 07:58 PM   #15 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
Saturdays are good. The Missus coaches at tourneys these days.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 08:03 PM   #16 (permalink)
Young Crumudgeon
 
Martian's Avatar
 
Location: Canada
Saturday is fine for me.

This conversation is probably better handled via text message at this point.
__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
Martian is offline  
Old 02-22-2011, 09:56 PM   #17 (permalink)
Addict
 
Shadowex3's Avatar
 
Location: Florida
Bright side in all this is that for the same price point more or less Nvidia's put out another "8800GT" class card that's ridiculously good for it's price range.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hectonkhyres
I'm imagining crazed dwarves doing profoundly weird things. Urist McNutcase has developed a compulsion to jam anything colored blue up his anus, or alternately other peoples anuses
Shadowex3 is offline  
Old 02-23-2011, 05:24 AM   #18 (permalink)
Paladin of the Palate
 
LordEden's Avatar
 
Location: Redneckville, NC
I'm glad martian finally showed up, I was writing a post that basically said, "Why don't you call martian and see if he has any spare parts."

It helps to have tech friends nearby.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru View Post
In my own personal experience---this is just anecdotal, mind you---I have found that there is always room to be found between boobs.
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich
LordEden is offline  
Old 03-12-2011, 04:13 PM   #19 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordEden View Post
I'm glad martian finally showed up, I was writing a post that basically said, "Why don't you call martian and see if he has any spare parts."

It helps to have tech friends nearby.
I just met Martian for coffee, and he passed his 8600 GT on to me.

I dropped it in after failing to get the 8800 GT to take. I booted the system up and immediately noticed the artifacts were missing from the boot screens. Upon Windows loading, it searched for the driver, found it for the 8600 GT, and installed it. After rebooting, bam, back to high-res graphics.

I haven't tested any games out yet, but the OS is running normally once again.

Thanks, Martian!
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 03-12-2011, 04:45 PM   #20 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Hektore's Avatar
 
Location: Greater Harrisburg Area
This may or may not be true anymore, but it used to be...

The driver windows installed is probably a windows driver for the card(as opposed to an Nvidia driver). It's probably worthwhile to get theirs, should be available free from the website.
__________________
The advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore all the others for the good of the game.
Hektore is offline  
Old 03-12-2011, 06:43 PM   #21 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
I often check for updates to the driver. I'm not too worried about it at the moment.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 03-12-2011, 08:44 PM   #22 (permalink)
Young Crumudgeon
 
Martian's Avatar
 
Location: Canada
Glad to know it worked out okay. I was actually considering an inquisitive text message, but decided to log in first.

If I'm not mistaken, all 8 series cards should share drivers. If that's the case, the drivers you had installed for your 8800 should be equally happy running an 8600.

Interestingly, while attempting to confirm this information I found this:

Quote:
The reason for the high failure rate was because of improper selection of the underfill material for the chip. Underfill materials are a sort of glue that keeps the silicon die firmly attached to the packaging material, which is where the connection to the actual pins takes place. On this chips, the working temperature of the underfill material was too low for the task and allowed the chip to move slightly if temperature was raised above a certain level, weakening the solder joints by which the die is attached. This eventually leads to a catastrophic failure, although the way the chip fails is quite random.
A possible culprit for your troubles.
__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said

- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
Martian is offline  
Old 03-12-2011, 08:48 PM   #23 (permalink)
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martian View Post
A possible culprit for your troubles.
Possibly. The card probably ran pretty hot.

As for the driver, I looked into it, as Hecktore planted a seed in my brain and I got curious.

I think Windows grabbed a driver that was perhaps embedded in its Windows Update records or something. It installed a driver that was released in July 2010. I normally upgrade the driver separately from Windows Update. So I just went ahead and installed the most recent driver, which is the same one I downloaded when I tried to fix my busted card.

I'm good to go now.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
Baraka_Guru is offline  
Old 04-10-2011, 06:45 AM   #24 (permalink)
Banned
 
Hello baraka. I have also faced this problem.I reinstalled windows in my computer , reinstall graphic driver but failure.and now i am using windows xp. So what should we do if vista not work. Tell us friends.Thanks
Vorson is offline  
 

Tags
card, graphics, run, vista


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 11:58 PM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76