Solved: Graphics card/Motherboard problems

[JonathanD]

Hello, just recently I encountered a strange problem with my computer.

I'm not too certain if it's a graphics card or motherboard problem.. The thing is, I boot up my computer and there are random dots placed around the screen (Before POST), where the ASUS logo is (I run a P5K mobo). Upon booting into Windows XP Professional SP2, however, the dots disappear. I'm quite sure it's a hardware problem, because I tried reformatting the drive already (+Total reinstall of windows) and the problem does not go away.

Another thing is the lettering/wording of the system. The letters are mixed up and are somehow reversed by alphabet. What I mean is, the messages after POST are jumbled up by reversing random letters.

Example of a message the system would normally display:

Press any key to continue

Example of a message the system now dispalys:

Prerr any jey to bnnthnud

As you can see, the r's and s's in the first keyword "Press" are reversed because R comes one letter before S in the latin/english alphabet. The k and j are reversed as well, following the same symptoms.

This problem doesn't apply to every word and as of now I have no idea how it decides to use whatever letter it uses, and why some parts of a word don't apply.

Another thing to note is that during a windows xp reinstall, after reformat, the text in the Windows setup utility also behaves like this, where the letters are mixed one case back. The words are still comprehendible, similar to how, when you switch around only a few letters of a word, you can still understand the meaning.

For these reasons, I have suspected the motherboard to be faulty, because windows reinstalls do nothing, but then again when I entered the BIOS, the words appeared in correct order. Nothing was wrong with the bios, so I'm not sure if it's the mobo, but rather the gfx card.

I have not tested this motherboard with another graphics card, because the only one compatible with p5k is the one with the potential problem right now. I have yet to borrow from a friend, but I thought I'd try these forums first.

Now, once I get into windows, everything is fine...
minus the graphics card driver.

I can't get the graphics card drivers to install, or it won't respond properly. I installed the drivers straight from the CD/DVD that came with the system (EVGA Graphics), and those worked in the past before. Now, they install properly and everything, but after a prompt to restart the computer, and after restarting, the drivers won't pick up the card, or vice versa.

It displays a "This device cannot start. (Code 10)" in Device Manager (devmgmt.msc). I have tried NVIDIA's site about Code 10's and they note the problem is because of the IRQ, but I checked it by 'viewing as type' in Device Manager, and it shows up there as '(PCI) 16 NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT'. So no problems there. It seems to acknowledge the card, but the thing won't run. I have tried a full reformat even after that, and downloaded NVIDIA's latest driver for the 8 Series (Ion universal driver), but still it did not work.

I've taken out the graphics card and checked for any physical problems, and nothing has been fried (At least to the naked eye). I have never overclocked my system, and I'm sure my PSU is enough to take the hardware.

So now I'm left to wonder if it's a hardware problem or not, if yes, can it be fixed without replacing, and if not to that, do I need to replace the hardware.

I have internet capabilities, and everything is working fine besides the graphics card and weird bootup screen.

Hardware/Software specs:

-ASUS P5K
-EVGA GeForce 8500GT 256MB PCI-E
-Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (Conroe, LGA775, 1333FSB)
-6GB Kingston DDR2 667 (PC 5400, 4 Sticks)
-160mb SATA II HDD
-18X DVD+/-RW IDE Drive
-450W PSU
-Windows XP Professional SP2
-BIOS Version 1201

I can provide a system information system log in the form of .nfo too, if that is relevant.

Thanks.

 

[runawaytrain5]

jonathan if u have installed a new video card or any new hardware you might want to try taking it out and seeing if u get the same results. if u dont ge tthe same results it seems like the hardware is having copatibility issues. does ur computer have an onboard video? if it does try using it first see if you still get the same results and also if you are using a different video than your onboard video look ito your bios to make sure onboard video is turned off or set to use pci or agp water ever you are using.... i hope this helps

 

[JonathanD]

Hello, I have not installed a new card or any new hardware recently. The thing just malfunctioned suddenly. I haven't tried replacing with another video card as of yet, and my mobo doesn't have onboard graphics. I'll keep you updated as I progress.

Thanks.

 

[Rich-M]

You need to flash the bios as somehow it has become corrupted. You should be able to do that in Windows off the Asus motherboard cd.

 

[JonathanD]

Hey, I already upgraded the bios to a newer version via a Windows application (Asus Utility) and that had not solved the problem.

However, I recently obtained a friend's NVIDIA EVGA e-9500GT card and i switched it with my current EVGA 8500GT and it seemed to clear the problem up. There were no problems with the wording or dots that appeared on bios logo screen. I think it was a part of the graphics card connector that was broken. I could still use basic VGA on my computer, as there is no onboard graphics on mobo, and the monitor is hooked up to the broken card, I assumed that the 'special' part of the graphics card was broken, but still able to run basic video.

I'm going to buy a new card soon, thanks for your help guys.