[for those who just want to know the question, scroll down until I tell you otherwise]
[begin background story]
For those who keep up with who’s on and off the message board, I’ve been off for a while.
Why?
After months of in-general weird behavior from my computer, I had to give up and take it in for repair. As of right now, I’m composing this message on “Ol’ Bessie” a seven year old machine with a 486/50 chip (that’s right the processor is a 486, the chip speed is 50!) and 8MB RAM. But at least it’s NOT in the shop.
The estimated cost is around $300 so I expected at least $450 to change hands by the end of this. But I’m still suspicious.
Here’s why?
When I first took it in, the only problems they found were a bad processor cooling fan and a broken CD-ROM drive. I knew of all that. My CD-ROM drive haded to be closed. It would typically take ten slams to it to close and not re-open. And the fan made a noise that sounded like mice mowing lawns. Total $115. But they needed the driver disks since Win95 needed reinstallation. So I gave him my Sound and Video CDs and a copy of my modem driver (on floppy). However, the next day, they say that my video-card needed replacement. Apparantly either the driver doesn’t like the card anymore, or the underachiving fanfinally killed the card on their watch. (They couldn’t have broke it, could they?)
[end background story]
[begin question – STOP scrolling]
What are the signs of a bad video card? I assumed a memory chip problem because the computer would manage to crash during my reinstallation of Win95 (ever after reformatting the HD). Any info appreciated.
Freeze ups, visual glitches, if the video card is dead the computer probably won’t even boot or at least nothing will appear on the screen. 300 to 450 bucks to fix it?Screw them. Hell, you could buy a used 486 at a computer show for $100 or less or you could buy a lower end Celeron or regular Pentium system for $450.
Oh sorry. I thought the computer being fixed was a 486. Still, a decent video card should only run you $100. Are they putting a new card in or are they “fixing” the old one? If they’re putting a new one in, what kind is it?
Well my friend, if you are getting video output, your video card works. And I find it highly suspicious that Win95 doesn’t like your video card, as it will usually work with a Generic driver until you can find the right one. Go to your video card manufacturer’s website and download a new version of the driver for your card. Oh and the fan only protects the CPU, and to be honest, I usually just rip the fan out of 486s cause those babies never seem to die and the fans are always broken.
The most common sign is that you get no video output. Possibly one of your memory chips got fried, but that tends to destroy the whole bloody card.
Ironically, that puts me back at step one.
My initial suspicion was that it was the memory chips were dying. Removing one (and then the other) didn’t solve the problem. (So both could possibly be bad.) There was nothing visually wrong with the video at all. They didn’t say the video was bad until after they installed the driver. Before that, nothing.
Here is the grand list of PC symphoms I had. Fan makes irrating sound. CD-ROM drive tray wouldn’t close. PC would give me the “blue screen of death.” It also would also give me the “white box of the false choice” (Click Ignore and get the “blue screen of death”; click close and get the “blue screen of death”), the “black screen of death”, the DOS “Windows is out of memory” box; the standard system freeze, and the ever-popular spontanious reboot! In my attempts to reinstall, I’d get even more spectacular failures. In addition to the freezes and Win 3.1 style errors, I’d get the program stopped by errant MS-DOS characters. All that points to errant memory chip, but I’m not the doctor, so to speak.
Anyway, I’m going to call them and ask how they came to the conclusion they did. I know I’m gitting a better video card at wholesale price, but I’m nobody’s fool.
I’m not a tecno-noodle, but for what it’s worth I’ve found out the hard way that:
Once the CPU cooling fan goes, it can (read: DOES) tend to fry your whole system, requiring either a total gutting and rebuild, or a filing under G for Garbage.
You can’t reinstall Windows 95 if you’re running Internet Explorer 4. Terminal illness sets in immediately. Win98 is okay.
These points probably aren’t worth a damn to you, but they were hard-won, expensive lessons and I feel strangely vidicated for having shared them.
I’m finished having kids. The next diaper I want in my life is to be my own!
I was afraid of that when I started hearing the fan die. My interim solution was to run the PC with the cover off.
And this is why Microsoft is a great company…
I’m happy for 'ya man. Technology…ain’t it grand.
Well, I’m slated to get the thing back Monday. But if any tech heads can still give me an over-the-board opinion. I’ll be happy to hear them
