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:
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.
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:
Example of a message the system now dispalys:Press any key to continue
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.Prerr any jey to bnnthnud
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.