Hi, not sure if this is the right forum and have searched and can't find an answer my problem is this, I have a packard Bell PC running windows XP with media center. 2 days ago while playing a game i had downloaded, my screen froze and when i tried to turn my monitor on all i got was a blank screen so i tried a new monitor only to find that my computer after i removed the game would keep re-starting to boot screen and then would take me to options including safe mode and start normally. every now and again it lets me start in safe mode and other times it just restarts again. when i install a fresh OS (Has tried 3 other OS install disk's including the one that came with my PC *2 windows XP and on Vista*) it does not install correctly 80% of the time and even when it does my computer will then restart to boot over and over again. what could be my problem as sometimes it does let me start in safe mode and i can see that it has been installed sometimes. any ideas? UPDATE* I have got vista to work on it somehow and now it loads to a desktop and i get a word bubble in the croner saying (Display Driver stopped responding and has recovered Display Driver R300 stopped responding and has successfully recovered) It will do this a few times without restarting my computer, yet everything seem's to reset on screen. but now my computer restarts after i get to the desktop and get the message a few times and i every now and again will also get a (Signal Over Range) message on my monitor, leading me to restart to get the picture back on it.
The warranty has just ended. it's picked it's time though because i have had the computer for 3years and 2months and my warranty was for 3yrs =/ one more thing though, my computer stops restarting and will load up normally if i disable/uninstall the graphics driver *think it does it with the card too* i managed to install an update to the driver early hours this morning and even though everything looks like it has a shimmer to it, it seems to work ok. so would this be ok if i just get a new graphics card for it? and would this cause the problem of restarting and none of my OS installation disk's working right? or is that another problem? and may this be connected to my screen not working? (screen does not work on other PC's either)
It could, but don't get a high powered graphics card or it may destroy your PSU, there won't be a very powerful one in there.
Well i know that the one inside it now is a ATI Radeon x300, the store i am trying to buy one off over the net is telling me i need the same one. but i can give a guess and say thats not right. Would it be a good idea to try it by taking out my graphics card from my other computer and replacing it in the problem computer and seeing if that does the trick? or could this do my other graphics card in? (Does not understand graphics cards all that well)
That depends on what your other card is. If your existing card is PCI Express 16x (it probably is) and the other card is, then it's worth trying, providing it isn't a high powered version. If it isn't though, it won't fit. Your best option is probably to buy a new card like an 8400GS.
I will do, thanks for all the help and i will probly pick one up on monday. your probly right about it being the graphics card though because the moment i uninstall the drivers or card it stops restarting. ty for your help it's much appreciated.
