Computer problems, WTF??

TheBloodEternity · 08-07-2008, 11:29 AM

The other day, my computer started acting up. At first I just noticed text kind of had holes in it, then pixels on the screen started changing colors, then the whole screen, then a square of dark pixels came up around the pointer, then, though the pointer was still moving around, none of the windows or anything were responding. I turned it off, and when I turned it back on, either vertical bars came up over "Dell" then the usual Windows loading screen didn't come up, or I got a black screen with a cursor and vertical bars, then dollars signs and colored squares. I called Dell tech and the guy didn't know what was wrong so it was sent in to a center where it was repaired and sent back just today. But a couple of minutes ago I got colored pixels again but this time they went away. I really want to know wtf is going on with my computer because the warranty runs out soon and then I'm kinda going to be on my own.

Wingweaver_The_Vampire · 08-07-2008, 11:39 AM

it is haunted!! or possessed! Go to an exorcer (or whatever we call them)! lol jking... yes that sounds weird. maybe the colored pixels are from the screen though... try chaging the screen, if it still has problems, the center should re-repair it till it is completely fixed or the warranty would be useless...

TheBloodEternity · 08-07-2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wingweaver_The_Vampire

it is haunted!! or possessed! Go to an exorcer (or whatever we call them)! lol jking... yes that sounds weird. maybe the colored pixels are from the screen though... try chaging the screen, if it still has problems, the center should re-repair it till it is completely fixed or the warranty would be useless...

Its not the screen, I tried using another monitor.

Minyaliel · 08-07-2008, 01:23 PM

Wingweaver, it's called an exorcist. Anyway, TBE, it might be a virus. My solution would be to install Linux (PCLinuxOS would be a good one if you're not familiar with *nix'es*), but that's just me.

Wednesday Friday Addams · 08-07-2008, 02:02 PM

Or it could be your graphics card causing artifacts.

Jaye Jang · 08-07-2008, 02:29 PM

TBE, there is a website called TrendMicro. Log on and have them run a scan for you. It will be a one-time scan and it will show you whether you hava a virus (or worse, a worm or a trojan horse). They will also let you know if you have had a spybot come in on adware. (Those nasty little pop-ups). They will scan and clean your hard drive ONE time only, for free. After that you have to pay for the services. If you can do it at all, get McAfee VirusScan or some other program, and do a DAILY scan/clean up. Also, if you know how, pop the shell on your hard drive and CLEAN it out. You'd be amazed at the dust and dust balls that get in and affect your equipment. If you can't, take it to a computer shop and have it cleaned. In the meantime, good luck.

LaBelleDameSansMerci · 08-07-2008, 02:36 PM

The fact that the coloured pixels show up first around the cursor implies that it's not a monitor problem. Do you or a friend have a spare graphics card floating around? That would be one way to test and see if it's the graphics card.

[LinuxShill]
Linux is a good idea because few enough people use it that no one bothers making viruses for it. You can get a decent replacement for most Windows programs on it, like FireFox for web or Open Office for word processing and spreadsheets. Ubuntu and Debian (and many other Linux distros) now have repositories that allow you to browse available programs and install them with one click. I'm a fan of Ubuntu and variations personally, though I've never tried PCLinuxOS so I guess I can't make a fair comparison. Best of all, of course, is that you can get a legitimate copy of most distros for free, and most of the programs for them are free. The people who make the programs are doing it because they want to, so I think they do a better job of it. Also, if you know programming, you can write/modify software for it and help with Linux development since the source code is available for most things.
KDE 4.1 is spectacular if you're at all into eye candy. I've got a screenshot of KDE 4.1 up in the screenshot thread.
[/LinuxShill]

kikrox · 08-07-2008, 10:33 PM

trade it in for a book ?

viscus · 08-07-2008, 10:54 PM

^^ Arent you clever?

TBE, this doesn't sound like a software problem. Is it a laptop with an Nvidia GeForce 8400 or 8600 graphics chip? What you've described sounds like the GPU is going sideways, and it's been reported that large numbers of those series' GPU's have been failing due to a design flaw. If this be the case, you should try to get Dell to replace your computer with one that doesn't have the affected GPU while it's still under warranty.

I've got an 8400 in my laptop, and I'm shaking in my boots hoping if and when it dies it'll still be under warranty.

TheBloodEternity · 08-12-2008, 10:40 AM

I have an Inspiron 5160 and I'm pretty sure that's what I have. Yeah that was exactly what I was thinking the minute I saw the artifacts (knew what they were just not the name for them.) At first they replaced something else, then I called and yelled at them and told them to fix it right. I just got it back today and they have replaced the graphics card, its been on for quite a while now and no problems. I guess its lucky it went out now, my warranty is up in two months.