• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Strange PC issues need help.

OmegaDL50

OmegaDL50

n00b
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
48
A friend of mine recently moved from the UK to Brazil and since setting up his computer he's been having some weird video issues.

He moved about a month ago, which at the time I helped him build his new computer. The parts are not even 3 months old. Everything is very new.

I originally suspected that it was a power issue because of different power regulation standards from moving from the UK to Brazil, but his power supply supports 100v to 240v so I've ruled that possibility out.

He says he gets visual during low resolution video like environments like when installing Windows or browsing the UEFI Bios.

He gets full visual when installing Windows 7 or 8, it's just when in the actual Windows desktop environment the video cuts out and goes black. I've considered the possibility of his GPU is overheating due to him living in a hotter climate now, but that would think that would effect video regardless and not just in the Windows desktop.

I've considered it being a power issue, however that generally would effect the entire system due to a bad PSU, but since everything loads and the problem is narrowed down to just the video acting odd during Windows, I'm thinking it could very well be a GPU issue.

Nothing is overclocked, no voltages have been adjusted, Everything is stock. Temperatures are about 30c

Hardware is as follows.

CPU - AMD FX 8320
MOBO - gigabyte ga-990fxa-ud3 (no integrated video option, so a GPU must be used)
GPU - Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X
RAM - G.Skill Sniper DDR3 8GB (2x4GB)
PSU - OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W (modular)

Here is a chat log of me trying to narrow down the possible problems, Something about bios corruption, but the bios defaulted to restored back. It has built-in fault tolerance apparently.

OmegaDL50: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1349426 - please read this. I need to fulfill these questions to help you. These guys are very detailed. But the more information I can provide the better help I can get.
OmegaDL50: Also, I recommend bookmarking that page, the information there is amazing for troubleshooting and you can fix a lot of problems
Mikey: bios is saying its corrupted once more
Mikey: i'd like you to mention it
OmegaDL50: Ah yes that's a very important one...the bios corruption
Mikey: yup
Mikey: ok windows is booting
Mikey: windows logo
Mikey: "starting windows"
Mikey: as soon as the OS boot, no video feed
OmegaDL50: No video?
Mikey: my monitor cycles through the inputs from hdmi to analog
Mikey: i'v tried turning the monitor on and off
Mikey: and unplugging the hdmi and back in
Mikey: and alternative feeds such as my hdmi TV (using the same port as the ps3 which i know works for netflix and gaming)
Mikey: now I shall hope to find a restore point and run any tests that you recommend
Mikey: i'll read this link you gave whilst I wait
OmegaDL50: You don't mind I copy and paste this chat dialog for further help, do you?
Mikey: absolutely
Mikey: when I boot in safe mode everything works as you would expect
OmegaDL50: Video works fine?
OmegaDL50: in safemode?
Mikey: yes
Mikey: showing windows help and support as usual
Mikey: resolution is currently set at: 1080p
Mikey: shall I revert to a previous restore point?
OmegaDL50: Yeah it has to be something windows related. Have you tried a different driver? Or used a different video source? Like DVI or Display Port instead HDMI? I just want to make sure the video issue isn't related to a faulty HDMI port
Mikey: let me look at something
Mikey: my monitors only other input is the old vga which this gpu does not have

He has HDMI video and can use his computer normally at a low resolution, but once Windows does an automatic update to install a driver, or he installs the ATI Catalyst, his video blacks out again.

It seems only when the actual GPU driver is installed is he having display issues. So I am not even sure if it's driver corruption or a conflict that is preventing him getting a proper display with the drivers installed.

I should note none of these issues ever existed when he lived in England. It has only since he moved to Brazil has these problems cropped up. The worst case scenario I can think of is the GPU got damaged during the move but if that was the case it wouldn't work period instead of just intermittently when a driver was installed.

I'm trying to help him the best I can but this is just getting frustrating doing long distance tech support. If I was actually present, I do various troubleshooting steps (removing hardware one by one, to the base level to narrow down if it's a faulty device, I'd love to try a secondary display with DVI to see if it's an HDMI issue as well.

I'm exausting almost every resource I can think of without doing actual on-site tech support.

Can anyone think of suggestions for me to try to see if I can get the bottom of this issue.
 
Just a stab in the dark here.

Did he damage the PCI-e slot during the move?

Additionally that's a shitty PSU. (Pretty sure it's the same design as the 700W version that failed HardOCP's benchmark.)
 
He tried two different PCIe Slots.

There is a 3rd PCIe slot he could try however it's too close to the PSU to fit properly
 
Definitely a GPU or PSU issue. As you've deduced its only an issue when the driver loads and that is very telling. As a former GTX260/280 owner I can tell you its not unheard of to have a faulty card work in safe mode but soon as you expect anything more than the "Windows lowest common denominator functionality" (what we call Safe Mode) it will crash.

I would do some basic testing to validate the rest of the system. Memtest, Prime95, OCCT and the like will help you get a bearing on the issue. If you can stress the CPU and RAM without incident then you will at least know those parts are good. Also what is the reading on his 12V rail? Does he have a multimeter to check it against the reported number?

Oh and whats the comment about BIOS saying it is corrupted???
 
Well if he tried a different PCI-e slot then I'm going to go with a bad GPU. Anyway he can test a different GPU?
 
It seems certain its a GPU issue.The PSU is a low grade one, so its possible that when a proper driver is installed the power needed to run the card is too much for it, BUT that is unlikely given your notes. I would test another cheap gpu in its place.
 
Yeah it's definitely not the PSU, both Hardware Secrets and a discussion on the JonnyGuru forums gave it a passing grade, despite the high standards of HardOCP's review rating.

Used a DVI to VGA adaptor and tested the DVI video option instead of HDMI. Video came in perfectly fine.

I'm going to say the theory of it being a bad HDMI port was indeed correct. Going to be a hassle RMA'ing this thing. Since he bought it when back in the UK, and the shipping charges might be a bit exorbitant now he's in Brazil.

Man, what a wash. This is really messed up. I'd totally hate for my HD7950 to get banged up when moving too (this is my assumption, not that it actually happened, but I mean considering the HDMI did work and now it doesn't, I can only make such an educated guess on what could have possibly happened)

Oh, well. I guess it's time for me to ask if he has the receipts, original box, etc for the GPU because it looks like he'll need to send this thing back to Sapphire to get a replacement.

Thanks for the help, everyone, I'm sure my friend will will appreciate it and learn of the sad news that the HDMI port on the GPU is indeed bunk.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top