Disappearing OS?

[dadzilla]

Hello to all:
I have an intermittent problem that I thought was with my video card. Now I wonder if it could be the OS. Every now and then - about 8 days since the last time - I get a random quit. The computer is running, but the monitor goes black and acts as though there was no computer there. There are several threads about this being a 9800GTX problem - but could it be Vista just flaking out?

I wonder.

[Babrbarossa]

Does thw picture just disappear without the computer freezing up or restarting? If so, I'd definitely say a video problem. Check your cable first, of course, but it's likely the last driver update as other threads have discussed- some people had luck by turning off aero in vista, but I'd say that if the problem is not already fixed by driver, then it will be soon. See the thread below too.

BLACK SCREEN FIX - NVIDIA Forums

[Oversized Rooster]

There is nothing wrong Vista. Why are people so quick to always pin stuff on Vista? It's a superior OS to XP and the only hardware issues people have been having are running low-end hardware and expecting it to run smoothly.

[bojangles]

Originally Posted by Oversized Rooster

There is nothing wrong Vista. Why are people so quick to always pin stuff on Vista? It's a superior OS to XP and the only hardware issues people have been having are running low-end hardware and expecting it to run smoothly.

He's not smashing on Vista. He's wondering if the OS is causing this unfortunate problem. Vista is great, however it doesn't suit me. I'm sure dadzilla likes Vista as well. Let's not start another XP vs. Vista fight again.

Now, back to the problem. I had the same thing happen with my 8800GT last Winter. Turned out to be the card. I would try a different driver set or get some more airflow near your card. Also, try disabling some of the power saving settings in Vista.

Hope this helps.

[dadzilla]

Yes, I do like Vista and consider it to be better than XP actually. Furthermore, I wouldn't say my e6850, 4 gigs of ram, and GTX9800+ are low end - not top of the line certainly, but not trash either.
I just added the latest driver for the 9800gtx+ last night, but same problem today. Yuck. I think I might have to RMA this card. Plenty of airflow with two 120 fans in the case and a spot cool aimed right at it. Isn't the cable because I just switched monitors and cables. Now to see how XFX does on RMA I guess.

[bojangles]

Originally Posted by dadzilla

Yes, I do like Vista and consider it to be better than XP actually. Furthermore, I wouldn't say my e6850, 4 gigs of ram, and GTX9800+ are low end - not top of the line certainly, but not trash either.
I just added the latest driver for the 9800gtx+ last night, but same problem today. Yuck. I think I might have to RMA this card. Plenty of airflow with two 120 fans in the case and a spot cool aimed right at it. Isn't the cable because I just switched monitors and cables. Now to see how XFX does on RMA I guess.

What about dusting off the card? Maybe dust is causing it to go into a safety mode.

[dadzilla]

Yes, I did try with some canned air - I've never tried to remove the case on one of these, so I just shot the air into the fan and then into the exhaust. Didn't seem to do much tho. I should maybe try that again before I give up. The frustrating part is that I love the card except for this one thing and it only happens maybe once every couple of days. But still....it is a defect and quite annoying.

[bojangles]

I agree. It happened to me, but I dealt with it until I bought a new card and sold the old one. For some reason he never got the problem. Maybe it was because I cleaned it off really well before shipping it.