Is this a Hardware or Software problem ?

[ayushman9]

I am facing a problem which i am not able to distinguish whether it will come under hardware or software or both.I am using vista ultimate 32 bit

A few days ago i had posted my problem in Hardware forum in which Graphic corruption {{ In the form of random graphics/dis colorization/red squares/dotted lines boundary ) t use to occur in my screen randomly and screen used to freeze at that very moment .When and where this problem gonna come i cannot predict . The corruption began to manifest right from BIOS Screen (where it did not hang ) ,till loading of windows where it automatically get resolved or not depending upon probability.After discussion with a local technician .i thought that as the problem was evident right from BIOS so My video Ram or any circuit in the graphics card might have got corrupted.

But then i also noticed fairly recently that whenever this problem occurs and i hard reset the computer ,windows loading fails and the message "A recent Hardware or software change has ............. " .I always choose "Last Known good configuration " and most of the time it starts but if it not it automatically reset and comes to the startup again .

But Whenever this problem occurs i had never applied any kind of update or install/uninstall software before the screen occurs then why does it says so.

Also I had installed Norton 360 3.0 trial . Whenever this problem occurs and i choose "Last Known Good con fig...." ,after windows loading (if it loads by grace of god ) ,Norton fails to start saying "some unknown problem failed to start Norton please contact support base" I uninstalled Norton 360 and installed Norton Internet security but this problem began to occur then every alternate day. Also Norton fails to update saying" PC need to be restarted " or "Some updates were not installed successfully ,Restart the PC . and as i restart Graphics corruption occurs.

Also for the first time after booting ,Scan disk (vista scandisk,having black background) ran (this had not happened ever in last 1 year ) and it discovered some bad sectors which it corrected but after restarting it again came to the "A recent hardware or software........".

So i am literally confused ,what should i do ,should i change my GPU or reinstall windows and choose any other other anti virus or change my HD . This is because the problem is occurring right from first BIOS Screen where gpu info is shown ,but windows fails to load . If GPU is failing why is windows failing to load ,it should just hang when screen
corruption get out of control .If it is a HD problem then why corruption is occurring when HD had not even be detected (Before BIOS ). I ran some free HD health software (mine is SATA ) which checked the smart status and they reported HD to be healthy .

I need to add that i have also changed about 7 to 8 power cable in last 6 months because my home earthing is not right for PC's and also i do not use UPS ,because any UPS does not last even 6 month with me (last one was a APC) .So i just use the power cable directly and hence regular hard shutdown occurs due to power failure in our locality.

Please Help ? What should i Do?

 

[pimpom]

From your description, it sounds like a hardware problem, probably with your gfx card. Those error messages from Windows and Norton may be side effects of the crashes caused by the gfx card.

That it does not crash in POST and BIOS but crashes in Windows is probably due to the fact that the gfx card has to do much more complex tasks under Windows than the simple displays in POST and BIOS.

Here's what I suggest:

Disconnect your hard disk and start the computer. If the display corruption is still present, you can rule out a software problem.

Now remove the gfx card and use the onboard display. Is the display still corrupted in POST and BIOS? If it is, clear the BIOS and try again.

If the display is still corrupted, remove all your RAM sticks and reinsert only one. Then try again, still using only the onboard gfx.

Let us know the results.

P.S.: Do these things step by step. Otherwise it will be difficult to evaluate the results.

 

[ayushman9]

Disconnect your hard disk and start the computer. If the display corruption is still present, you can rule out a software problem.

I removed the Hard Disk and booted ,GRAPHIC Corruption started again from BIOS reached till "no boot media present ,insert a boot media"

so Hard disk Problem ruled out

Now remove the gfx card and use the onboard display. Is the display still corrupted in POST and BIOS? If it is, clear the BIOS and try again.

I could not use the onboard display as i do not have a simple display cord (one with the blue sockets . I was using DVI and my monitor was also DVI compatible so ileft the test for future

If the display is still corrupted, remove all your RAM sticks and reinsert only one. Then try again, still using only the onboard gfx.

Removed hte ram sticks ne by one ( i had 1gb + 2 Gb ) ,in both cases corruption occured

Which made me think that my GPU has definately gone mad . I gave the GPU today to a hardware technician who said that he will sent it to kolkata and he will contact after 20 days

so for 20 days no computer

 

[pimpom]

Another way of finding out before you left the card with someone else would have been to fit it in a friend's computer.

 

[ayushman9]

Another way of finding out before you left the card with someone else would have been to fit it in a friend's computer.

definatly i should have but there are 2 constraints first 99% of my friends own a laptop ( P.S -They all think PC to be old grandpa <Atleast respect the elders> ) and secondly i had lost my DVD-D-sub convertor and there monitors are not dvi compatible so no luck but i am still blank why would norton get corrupted on account of gfx card

 

[pimpom]

Don't let your friends get you down. Anyone who thinks that only the current fad or his personal choice is cool has a very limited outlook in life.

Laptops are fine if you want or need mobility. Otherwise, a desktop beats a laptop in the same price class hands down, and is so much more comfortable to use.

I'll bet your friends like only trance and hip hop, and think that rock, country, jazz, blues and classical are obsolete.

Re Norton: It's not that the gfx card spoiled the Norton installation directly. Norton is a real busybody, always meddling with everything, doing something in the background and trying to take control of everything. So, when your computer crashed, Norton was probably reading or writing something and got corrupted.