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Bizarre Screen Problem - "columns" of interference

  • 28-12-2009 11:51pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 289 ✭✭


    Have had a Thinkpad T400 since March, running Vista 32-bit. In the last few months, after it has been hibernating for a while, when I turn it back on the weirdest thing has been happening to the screen:

    It's like the screen is made up of 7 vertical columns of the same size, about 2 inches wide, 4 of which are working just fine, showing whatever is on the screen. The other 3 "columns" are full of interference, like stacks of 2-inch wavy vertical lines. Generally, the columns don't swap or anything, but within the column of interference is all flickery, like tiny horizontal lines of rainbow colours stacked on top of each other, so you can still use the computer with some difficulty.

    If I minimise a window and move it around the screen, it sometimes "wipes" the problem away, cutting out the intereference in any column the window cuts across. But sometimes that doesn't work.

    Restarting the computer usually fixes it for a while.
    I downloaded a programme to monitor the cpu temperatures and there doesn't seem to be a problem there.

    Any ideas? Where would I even start to check if it is a graphics card, hardware or software problem? it only happens every few weeks, but is worrying.


Comments

  • Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,106 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    I've had a similar sort of issue on a Dell laptop at work - turned out to be a dead Nvidia GPU. (More about the woes affecting recentish Nvidia cards here). The nature of the Nvidia issue is such that the more load you put on the graphics card the more likely it is to occur, so you could test whether running graphics-intensive programs triggers the problem.

    I would suggest checking what graphics adapter your machine has and work from there. Run some hardware diagnostics if you have one in your original installation media. Use memtest86+ to check your RAM. Check for driver updates for your graphics adapter.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Check memory as Fysh said but it very much does sound like a dying GPU. Gpu's have the highest failure rate of any component after the HD, shocking.


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