7900GT/GTS Display Problems

[Shadyguy904]

Just recently, my graphics card had started displaying colored dots randomly on the screen. It also happens during bootup... I swapped my drive with a known working 8800, and no issues. I know its not a driver issue as this also happens during bootup. Also, from a cold boot the dots appear immediately, so I dont believe its a heat issue.

Is the card toast? Or is there any possible fix. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[mivanx77]

Ok, put the good video card in, so you can properly update everything, your Windows, chipset, bios, audio, etc...

Then using driver cleaner, uninstall the video card drivers, then enter safe mode to driver clean it. Then, restart normally and install the latest drivers. See if that works.

Btw, can you post your full system specs, so we can further help you.

[Shadyguy904]

My system is as follows:

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
7900 GT XFX Graphics Card
2 GB OCZ Platinum Ram
AMD AM2 3800 X2 Dual Core @ 2Ghz
1TB Western Digital Sata HD
OCZ PowerStream Power Supply (NVIDIA SLI-Ready)

Running fresh installation of Windows XP Professional w/ SP@ and all updates.

Hope this helps...

[srpeters18]

If its doing it in the BIOS then its not a driver issue. Sounds like its artifacting. Did it work previously in the same system and just start doing it? Or did it do it from the get-go? If its just started I would say its probably time to RMA the card.

[Shadyguy904]

The card ran with no problems for the last year. Just recently did the artifacting start. I am unsure if it is still covered under warranty.

[srpeters18]

I think you have to register the card within 30 days of purchase, as long as you did that you should have (as long as you're in US/Canada) the double lifetime warranty. Outside US, it could be anywhere from 1 to 3 years. Try to PM xfxtechsupport on this forum and see what they say.

[Miker]

If you are in North America the warranty is good forever. If it randomly stopped working you need to RMA it. What Watts is the PSU?

[werty316]

If you didn't experience these dots with an 8800GT swapped in place then its not a power supply issue, your 7900GT needs to be replaced.