Please Help

I am experiencing a very weird issue that defies any explanation that I can muster. Here is a brief description of my issue (any additional details will be provided upon request): ——————————— System Description ——————————— I have a Soyo KT400 Platinum motherboard, 1 GB of PC2700 RAM, AMD AthlonXP 2200+, Visiontek GeForce 4 128MB graphics Card, Samsung SyncMaster 213T 21.3" Monitor [plugged in digitally via DVI], 2 X 250 GB Western Digital HDs connected via a Promise SATA300 TX4 [non-RAID]PCI adapter (used strictly for data storage), 2 X 80GB Western Digital HDs set up for RAID 0 connected via the integrated High Point RAID adapter that is part of the Soyo motherboard. ATI HD Wonder TV Tuner used for allowing me to watch TV on my PC. ——————————— Problem Description ——————————— My PC has functioned normally for over a year. However, recently when I turn on my PC the BIOS and IRQ information that usually pops up briefly never appears and the monitor will alternate between "digital" and "analog" a few times then the LED on the monitor will begin to blink as if the monitor is not connected. Upon hitting the reset button the computer will reset and boot normally resuming normal operation. On a very infrequent occasion during normal operation with Windows XP Professional running the monitor will suddenly go blank and begin alternating between "digital" and "analog" a few times then the LED on the monitor will begin to blink as if the monitor is not connected. When that occurs normal operation is resumed upon resetting the computer. This problem seems to have worsened over time. Today I literally had to reset the computer 15 - 20 times consecutively in order to get my computer to boot into Windows. Also, the frequency of the screen suddenly going blank while Windows is running has increased. Thanks in advance for any information that anyone can provide that helps me isolate this issue and hopefully remedy it. Again, I will be monitoring this thread and will quickly provide additional information upon request.

i vote for either the video card or more likely the power supply going bad.

i vote for either the video card or more likely the power supply going bad.

Do your really think so. When building my system I chose a quality power supply, VAN-520A, see the link for a description. If I had a choice I would rather it be the video card because I had Visiontek and I think I would replace it with an ATI instead of NVidia, but how can I figure out which one is the culprit?

Do you have another Vid Card, or can you borrow one. Uninstall the drivers for your current card before installing drivers for the new/test card. You can infer the obvious difficulties in "ruling-out" various combinations in diagnosing this problem. e.g. If the New/Test card does work, but draws less power than the previous card, then it could still be the PSU. Do you have, or can you obtain a substitute PSU. Most store front computer stores will allow you to return a purchased PSU within a set period of time. again, substituting any one hardware object does not assure that you will be able to rule-out all combinations. But it sure is a possible course of action. In the meantime, I imagine that you've looked into Device Manager for any yellow or red warnings? If not, take a look. If yellow or red warnings are found, "uninstall" or "remove" the drivers for that device, reboot, and allow Windows to "find new hardware", and "install software for new hardware". repeat the procedure, one device at a time, with reboot after each, until all yellow or red warnings no longer appear. Best Regards

dough, Thanks for you insight into this problem. Everything with the Device Manager is OK. There are no issues with that. However, I'm interested in hearing more about the PSU / Video Card. Could you clarify the "draws less power" thing. I thought that video cards must comport to the voltage requirements of the AGP slot of the motherboard, which obviously leaves open a variability in current draws and thus power consumption in the P=IV equation. So are you saying that even though a graphics card meets the voltage requirements that they may vary in amperage? Is there any way to rule out the PSU without actually replacing it? If I could narrow the problem to the graphics card then I would have no problem buying a new one. Which leads to my next question. I currently have an Nvidia GeForce4 Ti 4600 which was expensive when I bought it (like over $250 I think). Realizing that the price of technology rapidly decreases over time, I imaging that I could get a better graphics card for much less today; are graphics cards all about RAM or are there other things that should be taken into consideration? If so, like what? Which is the way to go ATI or Nvidia?

A power supply tester like the one on this site is an option to testing it .
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=PS…ng&cm_ite=total

Have you tried you monitor on another computer .

I apologize if someone has already mentioned this, but first thing you need to do is make sure the video card is seated properly, and that all cords are securely fasten'd. Your power supply plays a MAJOR roll. Use to be, you could just go down to radio shack and grab what ever was on the shelf. About the biggest desicion you had to make was rather you wanted a switching power supply.. or not. Thats not the case anymore. Specially… in your case. AMD's need some power for sure. Your video card WILL draw mas power as well… You reffered to the clock settings.. You can set the clock/core/multiplier to run specifically with each device on alot of boards.. And if your overclocking, then again, power is a major issue. If you raise the voltage to the CPU say +.05 then your more app to have a much more stable running system. Keep in mind however that over clocking can and will shorten the life of your hardware. Even though your video card has its own pipeline, its own CPU and ram, it still has to have to power. Using graphic-intensive applications.. or playing games.. anything rich with media will make that card work and you dont want to run out of power.. (I realize I prolly went a bit overboard there preaching about power but it IS a very important part of your system. It is one part that I personally spend the extra money to get name brand High-end power supplies..I seen someones signature the other day in a thread that said .."Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!"… thats a very absurd way to look at it, because if you dont have watts..your hardware will not last very long)

hi dallen,

Is there any way to rule out the PSU without actually replacing it

you should be able to buy a 10.00 dollar ATX power supply tester at a electronics store like comp usa or best buy etc. unless you have a agp card laying around you could swap out first.

as for graphics cards, ive used both nvidia and ati, some people swear by one or the other. i also buy cards that are several years old. the one in this computer is a radeon 7000 (64MB). its obvious iam not a gamer. it serves its purpose fine.
heres a link that might help:

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/bguide/0,guid,21,page,1,00.asp

Crow,
I want to reitterate the following, my system has the 520 watt power supply seen by clicking the following link: VAN-520A.

Yes sir, I did see that. I was trying to shed a little light on:

However, I'm interested in hearing more about the PSU / Video Card. Could you clarify the "draws less power" thing. I thought that video cards must comport to the voltage requirements of the AGP slot of the motherboard, which obviously leaves open a variability in current draws and thus power consumption in the P=IV equation. So are you saying that even though a graphics card meets the voltage requirements that they may vary in amperage?

Everything "runs" at a set voltage true. However, its the required voltage to operate the hardware. Not the minimum, or maximum… make sense?

Yes sir, I did see that. I was trying to shed a little light on:

Everything "runs" at a set voltage true. However, its the required voltage to operate the hardware. Not the minimum, or maximum… make sense?

Kind of…Are you suggesting that everything in the computer will operate at its 'set voltage' and any variations is power will show up in current fluctuations (i.e. if the current falls below a certain tolerance then the hardware may stop functioning)?

(i.e. if the current falls below a certain tolerance then the hardware may stop functioning)?

Yes (Not "may" either… it will most certainly)

Are you suggesting that everything in the computer will operate at its 'set voltage' and any variations is power will show up in current fluctuations

I am not exactly sure if I understand that question but… think of it like this.

Lets say your preference for a media player is Winamp…Ok great. So your wanting to listen to some tunes and while your loading your play list, you discover Winamp's visualizations (those are plug-ins, sorta like a screensaver that moves to the beat of whatever your listening to). Ok right there.. your play list loads and if you choose to fire up a vis..that's a heavy.. heavy.. load your putting on your system.

The load falls to the power supply ultimately. Yes, the CPU, the GPU and your ram process and cache each command/instruction. But they cant each do allllllllll that stuff without power.

Anyhow, we've strayed WAY off the topic of discussion. Did you check to make sure your all the cords are plugged in correctly and securely..? (check the ends of the monitor cord.. make sure theres not a pin bent over) … and check and make sure [with the power off] that the video card is seated securely.

Anyhow, we've strayed WAY off the topic of discussion. Did you check to make sure your all the cords are plugged in correctly and securely..? (check the ends of the monitor cord.. make sure theres not a pin bent over) … and check and make sure [with the power off] that the video card is seated securely.

Crow, I appreciate your continued support on this issue. There are no bent pins. I am going to take my computer apart tomorrow, thoroughly clean the inside and verify all connections. I will post the results soon, so please don't give up on me.

Ironically, when the problem was at its worst I attempted to boot into safe mode and the problem prevented this from happening. However, I am currently using my sytem and it has ran flawlessly since yesterday. I think I have found a way to force the occurance, which is a significant step towards resolving the issue. When I attempted to print using my printer, the problem occurred, so I restarted the system (and it started perfectly) immediately I attempted to print and it occurred again.

Hi Dallen, Nice to see all your follow-through on this topic. Too often, people take the advice and never post back about progress. So Thanks! Your printer…. Tell us more. Brand/type (inkjet v. All-in-one /connection Parallel or USB? And where is the power cord plugged in? Not into the back of your machine, I hope? Doug

Hi Dallen,

Nice to see all your follow-through on this topic.
Too often, people take the advice and never post back about progress.
So Thanks!

Your printer…. Tell us more.
Brand/type (inkjet v. All-in-one /connection Parallel or USB?
And where is the power cord plugged in? Not into the back of your machine, I hope?
Doug

Doug,
I always try to follow up because what good is it to help people in these forums if the person isn't going to take the time to thank you, or even let you know if your advice helped.

At any rate my printer is an Epson Stylus Photo R220 connected via a Linksys Print Server (WPS54G v.1.0)which connects to a linksys Router.(BEFW11s4 v.4.0).