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chezza
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 293
Loc: Wiltshire
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Hi, has anyone encountered this problem before? Whenever this computer is started up I get hundreds of lines running all across the screen kind of like a giant bar code that leaves big sections of the screen unreadable. I have checked all the leads and they are all in securely and I have absolutely no idea how to fix the problem. The monitor is only 2 years old.
Any ideas would be gratefully received, thanks.
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"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." --- Robert Heinlein
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Mouse
Moderator
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 6472
Loc: Psst....over here
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We need to eliminate the cause of the problem, is it the graphics card or is it the monitor?
If you can, take the monitor to another PC and hook it up and then see if you can take another monitor to your PC and hook that up, this will tell you where the problem lies.
It could be an electrical problem, so make sure you switch everything off that's connected to the socket(s) for where you use your PC (printer, fax machine, overhead lights, everything) and see if that clears the image at all.
Perhaps trying the computer in a different part of the house and see if that makes a difference.
If you try other monitors on the PC, and they show the same lines, then it's safe to say that it's a video card issue, rather monitor.
If you try the monitor on other PC's and try the monitor in different locations and the lines still show, your monitor most likely has a power supply issue. I believe that this is repairable but, unless your monitor is very expensive, is really not worth the costs of repair.
Let us know how you get on.
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R.I.P. Jinxy 02/06/08
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chezza
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 293
Loc: Wiltshire
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Thanks Mouse, I won't be able to try out your suggestions until the weekend but I will give it a go asap and let you know what happens, thanks very much!
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"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." --- Robert Heinlein
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Mouse
Moderator
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 6472
Loc: Psst....over here
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No worries.
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R.I.P. Jinxy 02/06/08
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JoH
regular
Reg'd: Tue
Posts: 210
Loc: Devon, UK
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I had a similar issue with a Laptop a couple of years ago where there was a line about 2inchs wide running vertically down the screen. It was kind of like a coloured bar-code though (window picture underneath but completely jumbled up.)
This started intermittently but then it went permanent so after inspection found at the very top of the screen (on top of the plastic housing had started to melt (short circuit?). I then found that if i squeezed the top between my fingers it went away! So I bought a tiny G-clamp, fitted it top laptop and job done. Its not pretty but as it doesn't travel its not a problem.
Doubtful yours is the same problem but thought I'd mention it just in case. If it's only just started then keep an eye out for slight melting at either end of bar-code or just feel if there's any heat building up in that area.
Good Luck, Jo
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chezza
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 293
Loc: Wiltshire
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Hi again
I have been playing around with the cpu this weekend and have so far managed to eliminate interference from other electrical sources and I have tried the monitor on a different computer, it worked perfectly on that one so I don't think it's the actual monitor thats the problem - could it be the graphics card?
I wasn't able to try a different monitor on it though so not really sure what to try next.
Jo, I don't think there's a short circuit in there but I don't know much about this stuff really, I get 5 of the 2inch wide bars down the screen that change colour and in the background I get lots of little green dashes running horizontally all across the screen. If I move any open windows whatever is in them turns to vertical black and green lines that don't clear.
Thanks again in advance guys, if you have any more bright ideas I will gratefully give them all a go
Chezza 
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"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." --- Robert Heinlein
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greysts
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 17690
Loc: Colchester
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If the screen works OK on a different PC then clearly the fault lies within your PC. Have you tried updating your graphics card drivers?
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Do you know that we're all in line for succession to the throne? Really?
Well, if forty-eight million, two hundred thousand, seven hundred and one people died I'd be Queen.
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chezza
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 293
Loc: Wiltshire
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Hi greysts,
No I haven't tried updating any drivers yet, it is so hard to see anything on that computer at the moment that I'm nervous of clicking on the wrong thing by mistake and totally screwing it up. Am I right in thinking if I create a restore point first, I can go ahead and try updating the drivers and then if I do accidentally click on the wrong thing I can go back to the last restore point and start again?
Thanks
Chezza
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"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." --- Robert Heinlein
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greysts
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 17690
Loc: Colchester
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You don't need a restore point. If the driver doesn't work you can simply roll back to the previous one. Are you able to identify the make and model of the graphics card? Does it actually have a separate card or is it a graphics chip on the mother board?
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Do you know that we're all in line for succession to the throne? Really?
Well, if forty-eight million, two hundred thousand, seven hundred and one people died I'd be Queen.
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chezza
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 293
Loc: Wiltshire
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Hi again!
From what I have been able to discover so far I think the computer has an ATI graphics card in there but without actually opening up the box I'm not 100% sure as it's so hard to read anything on the screen when I look under properties. I'm going to have another go with it this weekend and see what I can do with it (apart from throwing it out the window!)
Thanks again for your help
Chezza
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"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." --- Robert Heinlein
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chezza
regular
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 293
Loc: Wiltshire
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Hi guys, thought you might like an update for future reference, the computer is all sorted now, apparently there was some software on there to watch tv on your PC that was not compatible with the graphics card (I believe it was an ATI Radeon card?!) I'm not sure what the software was called as it was my friend's computer and the problem was solved by accident but at least it's all sorted now. Thanks very much for all your help though it was really appreciated.
Chezza 
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"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." --- Robert Heinlein
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