Windows not starting!!!

[ayandelhi]

Hi!!

for the past 3 days my pc is troubling me...
Firstly, when it boots up, it shows my Nvidia Graphics card details, like made n copyright.. but now the dates have been replaced by arrows and other symbols in place of digits..

secondly if somehow i manage to start it up, it hangs n then i need to restart...

thirdly, if it works for some time.. it starts getting nvidia driver failed... it again restores it... but y???

fourth, during boot up, it shows a fatal error abt some table... it's not getting removed.. i havent tried formatting to remove this error...

plz.. help me out... plz let me know which part is causing such trouble...

ayan

 

[Carl Lawrence]

Have you got the latest driver for graphics card?

 

[whs]

Can you set back to a restore point that is more than 3 days old (from before the problem started)?

 

[MacGyvr]

The arrows and symbols indicate corruption of some sort. If this is the nVidia bios portion of the bootup sequence, it is apparent that the graphics card has failed, either from overheating or some other issue.

 

[MacGyvr]

Note that the OP is not getting into Windows. The problem is happening at post. A system restore won't help anything.

 

[Carl Lawrence]

Check your fans.

 

[1Bowtie]

Try reseating the graphics card and make sure all connections are solid then reinstall the drivers

 

[ayandelhi]

So... how shud i get it done.. i cant boot up my os... how can i update my nvidia graphics driver without an os... and u sure na this is only a graphics card problem... and to let u know i recently updated my graphics card driver to the latest one... when i first saw this starting.. on the first day when i encountered this issue, i upated my driver...

 

[MacGyvr]

Try reseating the graphics card and make sure all connections are solid then reinstall the drivers

Again, if he is seeing corruption BEFORE windows loads (as he clearly states), a driver is not the issue.

 

[whs]

Note that the OP is not getting into Windows. The problem is happening at post. A system restore won't help anything.

He can do a system restore starting with the installation CD, even safe mode may work.

 

[MacGyvr]

Note that the OP is not getting into Windows. The problem is happening at post. A system restore won't help anything.

He can do a system restore starting with the installation CD, even safe mode may work.

Wow, this is getting ridiculous. The OP clearly states that the video post has corrupted characters showing on screen. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WINDOWS. Not a driver issue, not a problem that system restore will fix. He has a hardware issue.

Read this part again:

"Firstly, when it boots up, it shows my Nvidia Graphics card details, like made n copyright.. but now the dates have been replaced by arrows and other symbols in place of digits.."

This is his video bios, and it is showing corruption.

 

[1Bowtie]

Note that the OP is not getting into Windows. The problem is happening at post. A system restore won't help anything.

He can do a system restore starting with the installation CD, even safe mode may work.

Wow, this is getting ridiculous. The OP clearly states that the video post has corrupted characters showing on screen. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WINDOWS. Not a driver issue, not a problem that system restore will fix. He has a hardware issue.

Read this part again:

"Firstly, when it boots up, it shows my Nvidia Graphics card details, like made n copyright.. but now the dates have been replaced by arrows and other symbols in place of digits.."

This is his video bios, and it is showing corruption.

Since you've slammed every post made can you aleast help with a suggestion to fix the problem

 

[ayandelhi]

can anyone tell me what cud have been the problem with my graphics card???

 

[whs]

can anyone tell me what cud have been the problem with my graphics card???

MacGyvr knows

 

[MacGyvr]

Well, you don't fix a bad graphics card, you replace it (unless it's still in warranty). The only suggestion I saw here that might help is to try reseating the card (take it out of the computer and put it back in). If that doesn't do anything, you're going to need a new one.

They go bad, just like any other hardware component. It could have overheated or any number of other problems. Does it have fan(s) on it? Are the fans moving when the computer is on? If not, then heat would be the culprit.

 

[ayandelhi]

it has got a fan... it used to run on 70c 4 months ago.. then i cleaned it thoroughly... since then its max temp was 45c.. it has got a fan(useless)... i did the reseating stuff.. 3 times... but no new result... so.. i need to get a new one.. can u suggest me a cheap replacement... which will be equally good but cheap...

 

[Rhammstein]

What type of power supply do you have? And can you fit a double wide card if need be?

I agree this is very likely a bad Gpu, however, it is slightly risky, buying a new card, only to have the problem persist. Although, I've had this happen once, and read about it plenty, and every single time something like this has happened, to my knowledge, it has been a bad Gpu (Video card) Actually it did happen a second time with a card I gave a family member.

This is a great card for the price, it would be at least 50% faster, and it would be pretty hard to find a better price. I highly recommend this, for $99:

Newegg.com - VisionTek 900268 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Although, you can replace your card with the same model for I think $84, but for just a few dollars more, you'll have DX10.1, and better performance, especially at high resolutions.

If you prefer Nvidia, here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495&cm_re=GTS_250-_-14-127-495-_-Product

 

[MacGyvr]

Since the fan doesn't work, I think that clearly tells us what happened. Even though the temperature is not showing high consistently, it only takes a good spike to fry the GPU.

 

[ayandelhi]

tell me!!! if my GPU is not working, then how can it display anything??? i insert my win 7 dvd, it displays everything.. window is displayed and it looks like wat it shud look... but when i boot my installed win 7, it fails!!! y???? if my gpu has failed, how can it display anything at all...

 

[Dwarf]

From what I've read, it would appear that the graphics card BIOS has become corrupt, either by incorrect flashing (I don't recommend flashing the BIOS on a graphics card) or by overheating. The BIOS also controls the GPU fan in some cards.

Does your motherboard have on-board graphics? If so, remove the card and try using that instead. Alternatively, do you have access to a known good working card (with the correct interface) that you can temporarily try?

The PSU suggestion is valid. What rating is it, and have you connected the auxiliary power connector(s) to the graphics card if required?

At the end of the day, a replacement card will probably be the best solution. Good luck, and let us know how you get on.