Graphics Card malfunctioning

[jalebi]

I use my computer monitor for both my Xbox 360 and my desktop PC, unplugging the PC's VGA cable when I need to connect the Xbox. This has been working flawlessly for several months until yesterday when I unplugged the Xbox cable and reinserted the PC's cable. All of a sudden the PC's image started shaking, turned orange and was essentially frozen.

I don't believe that this is the problem but that it merely began at that point. After restarting the computer the the image the monitor showed from the PC was off-center beginning with the windows login screen. Once logged in, the image would shake left and right slightly and appeared unfocused, but at least the desktop was being displayed. If I opened a folder or a program, within a few seconds the screen would begin to distort, get all jaggedy and ultimately turn orange or black except for a thin row of pixels at the top which displayed the actual desktop. I would restart the computer but this happened over 15 times, everytime I restarted.

Plugging in the Xbox, the monitor displayed the image perfectly, without any of the above errors, likewise, by laptop outputted perfectly. I'm lead to believe that the monitor is not the problem. I also switched the VGA cable and tried it with all three devices, and again, the problem only occured with the desktop, leading me to believe the cable wasn't the problem.

When I booted into safe mode on the desktop, the image took the entire surface of the screen and worked flawlessly. Within safe-mode I disabled the graphics card drivers, and after restarting into normal mode, everything worked perfectly. I reinstalled the graphics card drivers, tried the newer ones and the older ones, but none seem to work. I've checked the computer for viruses and malware but I didn't find any. I've tried several system restore points, but the problem persists. I opened the tower, and ensured the graphics card was properly powered and connected, the fan runs perfectly fine.

I'm nearing my wit's end. The computer and all its components are only 4 months old. My graphics card is an HD4850, and I'm starting to think its a problem with the card. Any help/advice in diagnosing and solving this problem?

Thanks

 

[Commodore Pet]

Have you tried reseating the card in it's slot? With the power off of course.

 

[jalebi]

Reseating the graphics card didn't change the situation. Any ideas on a diagnosis or a solution?

 

[Commodore Pet]

It is sounding more like a card problem to me. Can you check the temperature of your card with your ATI software and make sure the cooling fans are actually cooling the chip?

 

[jalebi]

The problem I have is that I can't access ATI CCC in safe mode, but I can't access it in normal mode either as the screen freezes up.

 

[Commodore Pet]

How many connectors are on your card and what type?

 

[jalebi]

My graphics card has 3 connectors: DVI, HDMI and VGA. The DVI and HDMI slots are not in use, and have never been. The VGA cable has not been unplugged for the last two months, and was only unplugged after multiple malfunctions.

 

[Commodore Pet]

If your monitor can support it and you have a cable, switch to the DVI port and see what happens.

 

[jalebi]

My monitor doesn't have a DVI port. This whole problem just happened out of the blue, I wasn't doing any graphically intensive activity. So frustrating, thanks for helping so far. Any other ideas?

 

[Commodore Pet]

I am trying to determine if it is just a bad port or the card. What about connecting your HDMI to a TV?

 

[jalebi]

I'm at college/university right now and as such don't have access to a TV at all. And another question, as the image displays perfectly when in safe mode or when the driver is disabled, could it still be a port problem?

 

[NeroDevil]

Probably not, although it's worth checking the card with one of the other ports to be sure. If the problem still persists and the other options already mentioned fail, then I'm pretty sure your Radeon is knockin' on Deaths door.

 

[jalebi]

Would the graphics card really fail after only 4 months? I haven't done anything intensive with it, and definitely not within the last 24 hours before the problem started.

 

[Commodore Pet]

It certainly could fail that quickly and how hard you are working it would only be an issue if overheating were a problem. It could just be a defective card.

One last thing to try, uninstall all ATI software, then unplug card power and remove the card from your machine. Reinstall the card, plug in power and reboot. See what happens. Then if all is well, install the latest ATI 4850 driver for your card from the AMD website. Then see what happens again.

Also, you said your laptop worked with the monitor, did this occur using the same cable as the desktop?

 

[jalebi]

I'll try that as soon as possible, thanks. My laptop worked perfectly with the same cable the desktop is not working with.

 

[jalebi]

I have yet to perform the reinstalling and reseating but I wanted to ask whether or not it could be a PSU problem? While searching for similar problems on the internet someone mentioned that the PSU may not be providing continuous power, possibly correct or not?

 

[Commodore Pet]

Yes that could be a issue as well. Do you have access to another power supply to try it?

 

[jalebi]

So I tried the reinstalling and reseating and that doesn't seem to have solved the problem.

I do have some further information though:

I changed the windows theme to Windows Classic, and now, with the graphics card driver enabled I am able to access the desktop and perform some basic functions. When I went to device properties (of the Radeon HD4850) it said "This device is working properly." Is that at all accurate, or should I take it with a grain of salt?

Additionally, with the graphics card enabled I am able to browse my documents, change settings and open basic programs among other things. As soon as I open anything remotely graphics intensive, a large .bmp or any video the screen turns jaggedy before turning black. Everything else is still running though, as I am can hear the sound of the video playing, and I am able to pause and rewind said video. Does this point to a faulty graphics card?

 

[Solarstarshines]

I think i had a 4670 agp that burned out as soon as it was installed

But other cards i have had by ati work great just that particular series just sucked

But keep in mind it is luck of the draw im just saying it sucked cause it killed my whole p4 and i had to build a new unit because of it not everyone has that issue though

sounds like you might have some MoBo issues too PSU could make it run choppy and all as well but if you cant get the ccc to go when you are not in safe mode try using a different monitor by a neighbor see what it does on thiers

 

[jalebi]

I managed to get CCC open with windows classic theme enabled. What should I do now?

EDIT:

Temperatures are around 32-34 celsius (90-93 F), ATI overdrive is enabled. Activity is constantly 0% but occasionaly goes to 3-4% for a second or two, I haven't tried anything intensive in fear of crashing.