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Video corruption, but only in BIOS

M

mavalpha

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jan 3, 2005
Messages
10,448
My Athlon64 rig is coming together slowly but surely, but I started running into problems with my recently acquired BFG FX5900. To see what the problem is, check out these shots (sorry about the quality, best camera I've got).
Lines2VGA.JPG

Lines3VGA.JPG

The weird part is, the lines are literally only there for the very first BIOS screen- everything afterwards, like RAID BIOS screens, MemTest, and even the blue AwardBIOS screen, is 100% normal. I trust the person who sold me the card, and he says he didn't have the problem with his MSI NF2 board. However, both of my systems do it; one is a Gigabyte K8NS socket754, and the other is a DFI LanParty NFII Ultra B. I've returned them both to stock settings with no changes, and made sure they're both running the latest BIOS. My 6800 doesn't show the same lines, which rules out my motherboard, power supply AND monitor, and the fact that it happens on two motherboards on different chipsets, and with different RAM, suggests that it isn't a motherboard conflict either. I haven't hooked up a hard drive yet, but I'll run Knoppix or install Windows later today- I don't expect any screen corruption, though.
One observation of mine was that the lines in both computers match up (use the Energy Star logo as a reference point, or the (c) before Copyright), which makes me think the card may just be out of sync- like when you disable vsync and get tearing. Is it a possibility?

He is offering to take care of the RMA, but he's been so helpful through the whole process that I don't want to bother him anymore. Can you guys suggest anything else to fix it? I'm going to try flashing it to the latest BFG BIOS, though I am not optimistic about that. Since it just seems to be that one screen, would you be comfortable just ignoring it and pretending it's not there?

I should add that the only things plugged in are RAM, a VGA monitor (as in not DVI), a USB Logitech keyboard, and my DVD burner. Nothing else, no PCI cards, nothing else on USB.
 
some video cards display their type and model at startup (as a part of POSTing) even before you see the screen with the energy star logo; you may try to download a video BIOS utility (there are a few) and disable the video card startup screen... or you can always sue your friend :) I love America!
 
That wouldn't fix anything, besides which (a) flashing a user-modified BIOS is 100% GUARANTEED to void any warranties that are left, even eliminating the last-resort option of his RMAing it, and
(b) I don't think the card displays anything as it is, the corrupted BIOS screen is the first image on the monitor. My 6800 does put stuff on the screen, which means that the monitor does have time to receive the pic.
Last but not least, I already said I have faith in the guy- he's offered to RMA it for me if nothing else fixes it, so I have nothing but the highest regard for him. Why would I even think to sue?

Any other suggestion, AKA a bump?
 
mavalpha said:
The weird part is, the lines are literally only there for the very first BIOS screen- everything afterwards, like RAID BIOS screens, MemTest, and even the blue AwardBIOS screen, is 100% normal.
Click to expand...
Just when posting.
 
In mainboard cmos, try disabling video bios cache and shadows and see if it makes a difference.

0ldmX
 
Doubt it, but I'll try- I think they're disabled by default. Check back tomorrow, I'm calling it a night.
 
System BIOS and Video BIOS caching were both already disabled, didn't see the option for shadowing (probably missed it), but most likely also disabled.
 
All newest BIOSes have been flashed (or reflashed), same problems. I disabled Fast Writes and AGP8x on the DFI, same thing. On a whim, I reenabled the big LanParty logo and found something interesting. The lines are still there, but they're yellow instead of white. Also, there are twice as many of them. I don't know if you can see it in the pic, but the leftmost line is unpaired. Its match is actually there, but inverted- that is, the "L" has a column of missing pixels through it, instead of a smeared yellow vertical line.
Lines4VGA.JPG


Give up and RMA? Or any other ideas?
 
Have you tried a different monitor? I wouldn't really worry unless it affects something past POST.
 
Don't have another monitor, unfortunately. My LCD's been dropping pixels, and f*cking Best Buy won't fix it- even WITH my PSP (is it any wonder I quit?)! As I said, though, my 6800 works fine, my PCI Matrox works fine, and a newly acquired GeForce4Ti works fine. I don't think it's the monitor.
 
Well, it's definitely the card then, we know that much. The boot screen and POST screen obviously use a low resolution low color for the display, so that part of the video cards gpu/memory must be corrupt some how. Turn your Windows to 16bit color and see if you have problems.
 
True, I forgot about that. Once I install it, I'll run it in 16-bit, and then I'll also try VGA mode. That'll be later tonight.
 
Installed Windows...
Lines5VGA.JPG

That's as far as it gets. After that, it goes into that monitor-loop that says either "Refresh rate too high," or "Unsupported resolution." During setup, the screen that asks you if it's okay to optimize the screen is the last one that works.
Lines6VGA.JPG


Card's bad. :( Oh, joy.
 
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