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lotterybraker

mississippi
United States
Member #34,477
March 3, 2006
6,070 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 11:33 am

I have a serious problem with my HP...I have 4 colored columns in my monitor..they change shades sometimes blue..sometimes pinkish purple..sometimes green..I can shake my TOWER back and forth a little hard and they will change color on my monitor but will not disappear..its not my monitor..I went and rented a monitor and plugged it up to my tower and turned the computer on and still had 4 vertical colored columns..does anyone know what might be causing that..maybe a fuse or something..something simple that I could buy and replace myself..is it hard to replace a driver..all though I have no idea what that is what it does..hahaha..oh yeah..I csn click on the open window and make it small..then put the mouse on the window and move the window around and those 4 vertical columns will wipe out the window like and etchasketch kinda..then I can click on refresh and the window will come back but the colored verticall columns will not leave..

"Attention all Mathematicians: Check your degree at the door because when it comes to whole numbers you are the Amateur"
diamondpalace

United States
Member #60,282
April 12, 2008
3,857 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 11:48 am

Have you try reinstalling the graphic card driver? Try that, and restart, if you are seeing the same thing it could be you need a new graphic card.
lotterybraker

mississippi
United States
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March 3, 2006
6,070 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 12:07 pm

how do you do that..do you need a disc or something..or can you go on the internet somewhere and do that?

"Attention all Mathematicians: Check your degree at the door because when it comes to whole numbers you are the Amateur"
mej023

Greencastle, Indiana
United States
Member #74,736
May 19, 2009
102 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 12:57 pm

How old is it? Sounds like one of three possibilities.

Your graphic card needs to be firmly in it's slot.

The video cable plugged into the graphics card needs to be firmly connected.

Your graphic card is failing.
phileight

United States
Member #41,845
June 23, 2006
713 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 1:01 pm

Quote: Originally posted by lotterybraker on Jun 5, 2009
I have a serious problem with my HP...I have 4 colored columns in my monitor..they change shades sometimes blue..sometimes pinkish purple..sometimes green..I can shake my TOWER back and forth a little hard and they will change color on my monitor but will not disappear..its not my monitor..I went and rented a monitor and plugged it up to my tower and turned the computer on and still had 4 vertical colored columns..does anyone know what might be causing that..maybe a fuse or something..something simple that I could buy and replace myself..is it hard to replace a driver..all though I have no idea what that is what it does..hahaha..oh yeah..I csn click on the open window and make it small..then put the mouse on the window and move the window around and those 4 vertical columns will wipe out the window like and etchasketch kinda..then I can click on refresh and the window will come back but the colored verticall columns will not leave..

FIRST SHAKING THE TOWER WON'T FIX YOUR PROBLEM BUT IT MAY CREATE MORE PROBLEMS.

you did not specify the operating system. I'll assume XP. to update the driver goto control panel,select system,hardware,device manager,display adapter,then double click will bring up menu . I would try troubleshoot option before you try to update adapter.

If you did not load any new software, then most likely is bad video display adapter. that is probably built onto the mother board.

if you have an empty slot you can replace with a generic display adapter <$50.00 disable on board adapter in BIOS.

if you have loaded any new software it could simply be a software conflict. try restoring your computer to an earlier date.

p8
lotterybraker

mississippi
United States
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March 3, 2006
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Jun 5, 2009, 1:02 pm

it is about 5 years old...

"Attention all Mathematicians: Check your degree at the door because when it comes to whole numbers you are the Amateur"
phileight

United States
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June 23, 2006
713 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 1:09 pm

Quote: Originally posted by lotterybraker on Jun 5, 2009
it is about 5 years old...

It could be vista but probably xp. if you want to be sure goto start,programs accessories,system tools,system info,, lots of generally useless info unless you need it. it will show you what operating system you have.

If you wath the display during boot up it will also tell you this info

p8
RJOh

100

mid-Ohio
United States
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March 24, 2001
20,272 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 1:18 pm

You go to HP website and get updated drivers and some trouble shooting suggestions for your HP model.

* you don't need to buy every combination, just the winning ones *
lotterybraker

mississippi
United States
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March 3, 2006
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Jun 5, 2009, 1:38 pm

I have windows xp...I also went to hp.com d/l ed something they had there...hahaha..not sure what it was but I still have colored vertical columns in my monitor....I took the side panel off my tower just looking around while it was running...shook a few things with my fingers while it was on..the colored columns starting changing colors and was blinking off and on..mostly on..but never left..looks like I am just going to have to shut it down and put it in the shop..I cant hardly even see my screen because of those columns in the way..Thanks for all the advice everyone...

"Attention all Mathematicians: Check your degree at the door because when it comes to whole numbers you are the Amateur"
user044

Upstate New York
United States
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December 23, 2006
152 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 1:40 pm

Make sure your monitor and tower both have enough room to "breathe".( No clutter around them and nothing atop them).

Also make sure that the fan on the back of the tower(internal) is clear and that the vent holes in the tower box itself are not clogged with dust particles pet hair etc and make sure there is a decent amount of space between the tower and the wall so it can pull enough air to cool the inside. Also if you have never cleaned the inside of the tower might give that a shot.

Make doubly sure you dont have any audio speakers(especially the big ones) close to the monitor as this will adversley affect the colors on your monitor-had this happen once and had a nice little rainbow of pink blues and purples on both sides.

Otherwise Id have to agree with the others in that maybe you need to reinstall your drivers for the video card/chipset.

Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.
Raven62

25

New Jersey
United States
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June 28, 2005
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Jun 5, 2009, 2:33 pm

1) Have you made any Changes? (ie: Installed any software, Gone to known bad websites)

2) Check your Fans to see that they are running and NOT clogged with dust. (The Machine may be over heating)

A mind once stretched by a new idea never returns to its original dimensions!

Catch-22: A dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.

Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges: When the republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous.

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JAP69

South Carolina
United States
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November 4, 2001
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Jun 5, 2009, 2:49 pm

A double barreled 12 gauge loaded with buckshot will take care of the problem.

Numbers are where you find them.
maddi2

Almost Heaven, WV
United States
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November 5, 2008
163 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 3:04 pm

Run diagnostics on it! Had same problem about a month ago with my laptop, and it ended up being the VPU!

If you are a gamer, can get to hot and melt card! Have you opened up the cover and check for dust etc...as above!

"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most"
SmoothJuice

United States
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August 17, 2007
313 Posts
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Jun 5, 2009, 3:17 pm

Since you said it wasn't the monitor.

Buy a can of air.

Take the tower off.

Disconnect the graphics card

Spray air so the dust will fly out.

Make sure you get all of the holes and crevices

makes sure the port and card is clean

re-install.

If it doesn't work: re-install drivers

If that doesn't work, your graphics card and/or computer is dying.
Kaptainess

United States
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July 26, 2008
1,427 Posts
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Jun 6, 2009, 12:30 am

Shaking the tower while on will do damage to your hard drive. The hard drive is like a record (like the old 78 RPM's) and there is a needle that goes about reading the info from the disk enclosed in your hard drive - but much faster. When you shake it, the needle is going so fast and it could do damage.

Shaking anything that is not working won't do the trick.

Also you are touching things inside the computer? Not a good idea. Static electricity builds up and you can shock your computer to death. Yes, ever touch something and get a shock? Well, just imagine doing that to your computer! Never touch anything inside your computer without discharging yourself, and being grounded.

What would you know what to touch anyway? Maybe that part was supposed to be that way?

I would never buy an HP computer, ever, okay, if someone gave me one, I would sell it. Sorry HP owners, I'm only being truthful.

Have you downloaded anything lately?

Made changes of any kind to your computer?

Have you tried to use 'RESTORE'?

Do you do a back up regularly?

Is there anyone else that uses the computer? Did they make changes?

Are all the pins in the cable there? I had trouble years ago because one pin was missing. It was my first computer, and I didn't really know what was going on.

Did you spill any liquid on the tower?

Loads of things can go wrong with the computer, and insurance is the best way to go.

Hope you get it fixed!

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I have a computer QUESTION..ANY HELP please!!Prev TopicNext Topic

I have a computer QUESTION..ANY HELP please!!Prev Topic Next Topic