# lines on my monitor...



## yodaddi (Jan 19, 2004)

i figured if i just purchased another monitor these vertical lines will go away. also, i updated my ATI Radeon drivers and that too isn't working that much. what could cause this all of a sudden? 

i run an antivirus (BitDefender) and spyware (Spyware Doctor) in the background. so i'm assuming it can't me anything malicious. could it be my graphics card? this Dell PC is about 3-4 yrs old. 

Could it also be that it may need another Ram chip. currently i'm running 512mb Ram along w/ two hard drives (200GB and 300 Gb) for storage. i had defrag my drives not too long ago so i might do that, hopefully that can make a difference

if you have any ideas please let me know. thx.


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

Describe the lines, also what type of monitor (CRT or LCD)?

Unfortunately the forum prohibits us from mind reading, so we have to rely on complete descriptions or posting of a screen capture image.

If you post a screenshot and we get to see them, then its the graphics card or video memory. If we do not see them in a screen capture, then it's your monitor.


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## yodaddi (Jan 19, 2004)

kiwiguy said:


> Describe the lines, also what type of monitor (CRT or LCD)?
> 
> Unfortunately the forum prohibits us from mind reading, so we have to rely on complete descriptions or posting of a screen capture image.
> 
> If you post a screenshot and we get to see them, then its the graphics card or video memory. If we do not see them in a screen capture, then it's your monitor.


here's a pic i took of it the other day. hope it helps to understand what i'm going thru.










plus, after i installed the updated drivers and i log onto the internet (via Firefox/ IE7) i'm not able to scroll up or down quickly. it studders going up or down. i appreciat your help.


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

A camera picture is not a screen capture.

Pressing PrtScn and pasting the image into any image editor, saving as a .jpg image and uploading to this site would allow us to see if its in the card or the monitor as explained.

But it looks more like a video card problem to me from the camera view, it's just that without the screen capture (which takes the image direct from the video card only) we cannot be sure..


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## yodaddi (Jan 19, 2004)

kiwiguy said:


> A camera picture is not a screen capture.
> 
> Pressing PrtScn and pasting the image into any image editor, saving as a .jpg image and uploading to this site would allow us to see if its in the card or the monitor as explained.
> 
> But it looks more like a video card problem to me from the camera view, it's just that without the screen capture (which takes the image direct from the video card only) we cannot be sure..


ok, i hope i uploaded the pic from my pc correctly. hope this helps. thx


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## sturge (Nov 8, 2006)

That's an overheated or burned video card. I've seen it many times. I'd first check to ensure the fan on the card is spinning freely while the system is off, then turn it on to ensure is also spins while powered. Check that there is no dirt/dust clogging the fins of the heatsink. If all this checks out, you need a new video card.


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## yodaddi (Jan 19, 2004)

thx guys, i sorta fixed it. i just air-dusted the dust off around the fan real good and now it's looking clear. BUT, ever since i installed the newest ATI catalyst control program, i'm unable to scroll up/down smoothly when i'm on the internet. it goes slow. any ideas? i'm going to start a new topic on this. thx again.


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## bonk (Sep 8, 2005)

Try rolling back the Ati driver in Device Manager and see how it works....the newest drivers are not always the best ones.


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## yodaddi (Jan 19, 2004)

bonk said:


> Try rolling back the Ati driver in Device Manager and see how it works....the newest drivers are not always the best ones.


is it safe to do this?


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## bonk (Sep 8, 2005)

You had a driver installed and you went to a site and got the latest one and installed it...correct?

So when you use rollback it just reverts back to the driver before you updated it


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## yodaddi (Jan 19, 2004)

yes i did. ok, thx.


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## bonk (Sep 8, 2005)

Try that and see what difference it makes ....let us know the outcome.


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