Computer Monitor flashes erratically

[Trace]

My computer set-up is a biostar motherboard with an AMD 3600+ Athlon 64 X2, 2 GB of Corsair RAM, and an EVGA 8400GTS. My screen goes black, or flashes every once and awhile. I tried troubleshooting this myself and believe it is the motherboard. I switched out video cards and it still flashed (with drivers installed). I also used the integrated video and that didn't flash. It is a PCI-e x16 and I believe that it is a faulty port. Any other ideas are appreciated. If you need more information, PM or post here.

Thanks,
Trace

[Spawn-Inc]

well i thought my first card was messed up, which it was, but the second card i got did the same thing. i later found out it was the monitor, its a old CRT. it flashes only when its been off for a while for about 1 minute.

the fact that two pcie cards it flashed but with on board it didn't makes it sound like your right. but just to be sure try the monitor out on another pc, if you haven't already.

other than that i'm not sure how such a thing could be fixed. sorry i can't be of more help but its all that comes to mind ATM.


does the biostar board have more than 1 PCIe slot? if so try either card in that and see what happens.

[Trace]

I did test the monitor. I put it onto my brother's computer; no problems.

It only has 1 PCI-E slot so I can not test that.

Thanks for the ideas

[Xperiment]

What PSU are you using? Sounds to me like its either on its way out or just struggling to cope with your system.

[HackSore]

When using the PCI-E card, have you disabled the onboard video in the bios?
Because using a video card with onboard video still enabled can sometimes cause problems.

[Trace]

It's a 450Watt Diablotek PSU New. I'll check, but I believe the onboard video is disabled. I am at my school right now so I'll check when I get home.

Thanks

[Luke122]

You say that the problem does not appear when using the monitor on another computer. Did you use the same cables on the other computer?

My first suspicion is a faulty connection.. I would start with that.

[Trace]

I troubleshooted everything I could think of. I used the same cables and DVI connection. I first checked all connections.

[Luke122]

I troubleshooted everything I could think of. I used the same cables and DVI connection. I first checked all connections.

Excellent! :) The most obvious solutions are sometimes overlooked, which is why I suggested that first. :)

Perhaps the power management is causing the video to be disabled? Check the settings on that also. :)

Does the flashing seem to happen at certain intervals, or is it random? Can it be duplicated at will? (ie: can you make it flash if you want?)

The power supply issue is certainly a possibility, as is a problem with the slot that the card is in. I would say the power supply issue is more probable though, so I would troubleshoot that first. Maybe try to disconnect any unnecessary items to test that. (Case fans, lights, secondary optical drives, etc)

Can you get your hands on another card to test? If the problem continues, it's the slot.. if not, it's the card.

There is also a possibility of driver trouble, or if this only happens in games, that the card is not capable of some effect that the game is trying. Maybe try turning down the graphic detail in the game and see if it stops.

[Trace]

I tested another card in the slot, same issue. It happens at random and I can not make it flash. It seems to happen more when I'm playing Fable though. When I get home I will try getting rid of all extraneous power and see if that helps. If I remember correctly, it did not flash with the on boards being used, so I do not believe it is a power-saving setting. I'll update you guys when I try some more things when I get off the bus tonight.

Thanks for all the help.


UPDATE: All appears well. I went into the BIOS and changed some settings in there. I'm not completely sure which one did the trick but, again, thanks for all the suggestions. I'll let you know if it acts up again.

UPDATE2: It just flashed again. Starting troubleshooting again.

Look forward to a troubleshooting guide!

[xRyokenx]

Try out another monitor... and I'd also check the mobo for random crap that might be on it messing stuff up. Also check the temps on the video card... weird crap like that is usually caused by heat from what I've seen.

Wish I could think of more but 2:34am isn't agreeing with me at the moment...

[Trace]

The temp is only 58*C. The same thing happened with another video card I put in so I tend to think that it is the slot on my motherboard

[Luke122]

Have you tried resetting the BIOS to factory defaults?

[Trace]

Yes, I have. It didn't seem to help.

[Luke122]

Bios update maybe? The powersupply could still be the issue.. did you try disconnecting a few devices to test?

[Trace]

Yep, it didn't help. Mind you that there is no extra power plug on the MoBo or Video Card.

[NightrainSrt4]

You may not have a cable plugged in to your graphics card, but that doesn't mean it isn't drawing a lot of power. The reason cards need the cable is because they draw more than a pci-e can put out, which is upwards of 75watts.

Your onboard doesn't draw anywhere near that amount, but a card will. My original thoughts were the power supply. If you could find a high powered psu around I would try that. Borrow a buddies or something. The fact that it doesn't do it while onboard is enabled could be because its not drawing as much power as the independent graphics card.

If he doesn't have a lot of fans or lights in his case, disabling the couple that are there isn't going to help much, as its not going to lower the load down substantially. If he had like 6 or 8 fans and some CCFL's or something then Id say sure.

Im thinking its a psu issue, and I would definitely try to get my hands on another one. The monitor flashing thing is bothersome though to me... does the pc lock up, or reboot, or just shutdown...any of those things? BSOD? Not sure if it was mentioned, but is your monitor lcd or crt?

hmmm...

[billygoat333]

This happened with me when i was playing call of duty 2 on my onboard graphics. It would flash really bad and such, just had to turn down the settings. I've also seen some strange things when the resolution is set higher than the monitor is capable of handling. double screens and flashing, etc. maybe lower resolution? what res you trying to use?

[Trace]

1680X1050 on a LCD HP w2007. I can't try another PSU until around Christmas when my brother gets his new 500watt PSU.

No BSOD, lock-ups or reboots. only to 60MM and an 80MM fans. Only the 80MM has LEDs in it.