Computer Mavens, Pls Help!

beanqueen

Cathlete
hi,

sorry to bother you all with such an 'off fitness topic' here at cathe's forums..but i wanted to post somewhere i felt i could trust people...and for people who know their stuff! ;)

my computer screen will go COMPLETELY WHITE. NOTHING. then once in a while it'll go back to normal..and i can use my computer like normal..and then...out of the blue again...IT GOES ALL WHITE. (prior to 'whiting out'..it has streaks of rainbow colors then..all white. it's very unpredictable and inconsistent. is this a video card problem? if so, are video cards hard and/or costly to replace?

thank you so much!
 
Check your video cable connection to your computer to make sure it's plugged in properly. If that isn't the issue, and your video card is not on your motherboard, then open the computer, and try to reseat the video card. Reseating is when you remove and put back the video card (just to make sure you have a good connection). Make sure your computer is turned off though, before you open it. :eek:

If that doesn't fix it, try taking your computer to a local computer store (e.g., CompUSA or Best Buy) who will verify your card needs replacing and install one for free or relatively cheap.

Trying to describe how to replace a video card is difficult to explain over a forum. If you'd like to try it, my DH (who is feeding me all this - heck, I don't know nuttin) says he can talk to you about it and maybe walk you through it by phone. He's sho shmart.

Cool?
 
Did you recently change something? Is this a new monitor? If yes, this could be a driver problem and can be corrected by a download from the video card manufacturer or from your PC vendor. Having the wrong driver for your video card can cause all kinds of strange problems.

Here's something else you can try (I'm assuming you have a Windows PC):

1. With your mouse on the Desktop right click, choose properties.
2. In the Display Properties dialog choose settings
3. Click on drop down list where color palette exist, choose a lower resolution.
4. Click "Apply", you may be asked to restart computer if so restart.

If this doesn't fix your problem, try calling the support line of your computer manufacturer for help.

Jo
 
ooooooh....waaaaay cool!!!! THANK YOU!:)

i know "ABSOLUTELY nuttin" :p so i'm gonna tell my dh about this info..and see if he can figure this out! woohoo!

YEP...THIS IS DEFINITELY AN 'EDUCATED CROWD'! :7

THANK YOU!
 
A new video card should not be too expensive. It doesn't sound like anybody in the house is a "pushed to the bleeding edge power user" or gamer.

There's a mail order company called tigerdirect that will sell you older technology pc parts for cheap.

I don't know what version of Windows you're running. But if and ONLY IF you have all of the original cds, disks etc... you could go to device manager and "remove" your video card and then reboot your computer to let Windows find it again. You will be prompted to load all of the drivers again.

You could also go to the manufacturers for the video card and the monitor websites and download any new drivers they may have. Sometimes "refreshing" the driver is all it takes.

Dave
 

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