Trueman needs Help with Old Desktop

Brothers & sisters, Please I need a hand with this old desktop and I trust more in you than those service technicians.

The PC : HP pavillion a6419fh, NVIDIA GForce 8800 GT. 32 bits OS. Windows Vista.

The Problem : First it was crashing, with a frozen-rainy screen. So I think it might be a graphic problem, but not sure. Now it got worse, today the pc only runs in safe mode.

What I Tried : Manual updated driver for the Nvidia card. Run Norton 360. Restored back a few days.

I really need your help, Gods bless you all.

Pull the Nvidia card out and use the on board video and see if it will run in normal mode. Blow out the dust while you are in there.

reply to post by Trueman


If it's not your graphics card it's more than likely your power supply. 90% of the computer problems I've fixed are from a capacitor in the power supply causing voltage irregularities, which in turn will cause your comp to crash. That 8800 GT has a max power draw of 105 watts, so it could be the power supply isn't cutting it anymore, especially if it's only like a 400w power supply. There is an outside chance your hard drive is starting to go, so if you have anything important you need to back up on that computer DO IT NOW if you're able to in safe mode.

Hope this helps, if you run into a dead end and can't figure out whats wrong PM me and I'll try to "walk" you through some other steps you can take.

It runs in safe mode, thats a pretty good chance its not hardware related.
Have you backed up all your data? / documents / music etc?
Why not throw in an XP cd and redo the PC ? wipe it start again?
Have you made sure all your fans are spinning, IE cpu? it could be heat, but then again id expect it to crash in safe mode too!

Go to the website of the PC and download all the newest and latest drivers, go into safe mode and uninstall EVERYTHING You dont need to run the PC.

install all the drivers ( particular attention to the chipset ) then try again

short of that re do windows.

or send the PC to me ill do it for $50!

reply to post by Trueman


Electronic rain and sudden shut down without blue screen are usually caused by overheating of the graphics card. So possibly a bad fan or buildup of dust. But as you say things are running ok in safe mode it could also be something else.

So first tings first ..It's certainly a good idea to get a can of compressed air and remove the graphics card from your machine while it is switched off and cold and give the card a good blast to clean it off. In fact do the whole inside of the computer if its dirty, including the power supply. DONT vacuum it as it can cause static buildup on the board and destroy it

If that does not fix the problem then you should try the drivers route FIRST before anything else.

Reason why:
If it is running ok in safe mode then it is a good bet that its a graphics card drivers problem Because when you are running in safe mode it loads up a default graphics card driver instead of the one you have installed at the moment. So the thinking here is if it runs ok with different drivers. Its most likely a drivers problem.

So now the first thing you want to try is to remove the graphics card drivers from your system all together. I used to use a program called Driver Cleaner to do this. Im not sure if it is still around. But the general idea is to remove the drivers from your system completely so that windows can not not reuse them next time you boot up.

When you have removed the graphics card drivers DO NOT restart right away even if it says you have to. Go to your start menu > control panel and choose Device Manager. Then navigate to your Display device. Highlight your graphics card ,Right click it and choose uninstall.

Then you can restart your system in normal mode. Windows will reinstall your graphics card and load up some Microsoft version of your drivers as a temporary solution as the system starts. You may have to adjust your screen resolution at this point.

Now you want to try installing some official drivers for your card. First start with the most recent drivers. If that causes errors again then repeat the process of removing your drivers and then next time try an older version of the official drivers.

If you are still having problems then report back and we will try something else.

Good luck on your mission we are here to help

I just want to thank you all, all the advices sound good to me. I already started to apply them. I knew ATSer wil come to the rescue.

Originally posted by Trueman
I just want to thank you all, all the advices sound good to me. I already started to apply them. I knew ATSer wil come to the rescue.

Please let us know which things you did and if they worked..it will help other people who may have the same problems in the future

- I opened up and checked all fans (3) running, but the graphic card was kind of hot when I touched.

- The video card accepts 2 monitors, so I unplugged and plugged using the other side. The pc started in normal mode but when I tried to expand a youtube video, I had the same frozen-rainy screen.

- I changed the power supply to 500w time ago.

- Driver is updated.

Thanks again

reply to post by Trueman


Even the best cards can get a little hot to the touch.

So just to check you get nor problems with video when you are running in safe mode?

reply to post by PhoenixOD


Well, right now is working in the normal mode, since I took the actions described in my last post. But still have some restrictions.

I also got this report from windows :

Description
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.2.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Files that help describe the problem
WD-20120911-0926.dmp
sysdata.xml
Version.txt

View a temporary copy of these files
Warning: If a virus or other security threat caused the problem, opening a copy of the files could harm your computer.

Extra information about the problem
BCCode: 117
BCP1: 8956F008
BCP2: 9314FACE
BCP3: 00000000
BCP4: 00000000
OS Version: 6_0_6002
Service Pack: 2_0
Product: 768_1

My only problem now are those crashes with the frozen-rainy screen. That only happens when I expand a youtube video to full screen or when try to run my game (Sins of a Solar Empire), very demanding for the graphic card I guess.

reply to post by Trueman


Just as i suspected BCCode: 117 & BCCode: 116 are most likely video card drivers.

Did you go through the procedure i posted above of stripping out your old video card drivers and replacing them?

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
reply to post by Trueman

 

Just as i suspected BCCode: 117 & BCCode: 116 are most likely video card drivers.

Did you go through the procedure i posted above of stripping out your old video card drivers and replacing them?

Not yet, but I manually updated the card dirver but didn't help, so I will do that now, wish me luck.

Originally posted by Trueman

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
reply to post by Trueman

 

Just as i suspected BCCode: 117 & BCCode: 116 are most likely video card drivers.

Did you go through the procedure i posted above of stripping out your old video card drivers and replacing them?

Not yet, but I manually updated the card dirver but didn't help, so I will do that now, wish me luck.

edit on 12-9-2012 by Trueman because: (no reason given)

Yes , sometimes when you install new drivers not all of the old files are over written and these might be what is causing the problem. So it is the next step in diagnosing the problem.

Im having a look now for a good program that will strip out all your old drivers. Ill get back to you in a few.

I think some of the programs i used to use to do this are somewhat dated now so you might want to do the removal process manually.

Here is a good guide on how to completely remove the drivers.



before you reboot remember to uninstall your card as i have explained in the post above.

Then if when you reboot windows has not reinstalled some older version of nvidia drivers ,try the newest drivers first and if that does not work repeat the process and try an older set of drivers.

I just did it twice. First time it didn't work and the problem persisted, but I didn't restart the pc and maybe that was wrong. So I tried again, when the new driver was updating, it came up a message for a Java update too so I did that one too (Does it has something to do too?). Then I restarted the pc and run a youtobe video in HD top resolution....IT WORKED !!!!!!

Wow !... I don't know how to thank you brother, you are definitely skilled in this matter and I'm in debt with you

Now I got to update my game (Sins of Solar Empire), and try to run that too. That will be the final test. I'll be right back to tell you how that went.

CONFIRMED. Problem had been solved. The game runs in the highest resolution available without crashes.

Wow, this is why ATS is #1, we help each other when need. Thanks again Phoenix !

No problems, glad we could work though and find the problem.

Happy gaming

Originally posted by Trueman
Brothers & sisters, Please I need a hand with this old desktop and I trust more in you than those service technicians.

The PC : HP pavillion a6419fh, NVIDIA GForce 8800 GT. 32 bits OS. Windows Vista.

The Problem : First it was crashing, with a frozen-rainy screen. So I think it might be a graphic problem, but not sure. Now it got worse, today the pc only runs in safe mode.

What I Tried : Manual updated driver for the Nvidia card. Run Norton 360. Restored back a few days.

I really need your help, Gods bless you all.

Hello there friend, glad to help. I have had a lot of experience with HP machines just like your Pavillion, they generally run good for a long time, and have great hardware in thiem, unlike some. I can see two problems in yours. One is Norton, trouble from the start and a problem for anyone, and the other is a thing called “Windows Rot.” This is the name given to the phenomenon that every install of Windows degrades over time, gradually getting slower and slower, using more and more RAM, until the computer running it needs to be reformatted and have Windows reinstalled. This phenomenon has existed since Windows 3.1 and is alive and well today more than ever in Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (although 7 hasn’t been out quite long enough to see some of the worse cases of rot). The machine also gets very dirty inside the case, and it is a good idea to clean out the accumulated dust once a year, twice a year if you smoke.

I use Ultimate Boot CD.

Download the iso image and burn as an image, not a file. Start the computer on the CD.

Instructions
1. Place a bootable CD into your optical drive, then close the tray.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Hit either the "F1" or "F10" keys to be taken to the BIOS setup screen when the first Hewlett Packard screen appears.
4. Use your right or left arrow keys on your computer keyboard to scroll to "Advanced."
5. Use the up or Down arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll to "Boot Order," then hit "Enter."
6. Go to "Boot Order" options, and select the first boot device, then press "Enter."
7. Select "CD-ROM" as the desired device to boot from first, then press "Enter."
8. Press the "F10" key on your keyboard to save the settings changes and to leave the BIOS setup screen. Your HP Pavilion will restart itself, booting from the CD this time.

source
Scroll down to "HDD," that is your hard drive. You need to look and see, but your machine should have a Western Digital HDD, a very good HD in my opinion. Scroll down the HDD program to "Diagnostics," and find your hard drive, and run the tool. Use the tool to erase the drive, or, alternately, there are other wiping tools if you feel like using one of them. The important this is this: Never stop the erasure by force during it's operation, or you could damage the drive.

When the operation is completed, restart the machine and configure the Bios again to start on the hard drive first, DC second, and start with your operating system CD/DVD in the tray. Follow the prompts and install your system. As soon as you have installed, update the system and configure power settings and such. I always install, on every customer's Windows machine, the following software:

Avira Free Antivirus

Comodo Firewall

CCleaner

This would also be a good opportunity to try one of the many Linux operating systems which are getting more popular these days.

Memory sticks are getting cheaper, as are power supplies and larger hard drives, so a full upgrade would set your machine on a fast track, if you are so inclined. Good luck to you.

reply to post by autowrench


Wow Auto, thanks a lot for all those instructions and they make sense to me. I think I will do that ASAP. Amazing all we learn here in ATS.

reply to post by autowrench


Don't you think that's a little overkill advising a complete reformat and re-installation of an operating system along with hardware upgrades and maybe a complete change of operating system just to solve a defective graphics card driver?

Reformat and re-instalation should always be the last resort. Its far more beneficial in the long run if people learn how to maintain their own computers correctly.