display driver stopped working normally

[sonovia]

Alright so here's the deal, got a used/refurbished by a wannabe geek as an early christmas gift.  All well and good until i run out and buy guild wars for it only to find it isn't the greatest machine to be playing games on.  The game WILL run on the computer (although slow and choppy) but everytime I visit a merchant, a collector, or even open my inventory it will go crazy.  It will either freeze,shut down and restart completely or a box will pop up with some numbers and say that the display driver stopped working normally and then my desktop will have this weird look until the computer is restarted.  It is SOOOO frustrating. I seriously restart the compter a dozen times a day trying to play that game.
I don't even know where to begin with this problem so help pointing me in an direction would be very appreciated.
I know almost nothing about the computer except that it says compaq evo on the front. Like I said it was used.  

[GX1_Man]

Why don't you download and run Everest Home so we will all know what equipment is involved. Make a report and post it here.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

See below.

[sonovia]

Got it downloaded but not sure what all is needed

[sonovia]

 Computer:
      Operating System                                  Microsoft Windows XP Professional
      OS Service Pack                                   Service Pack 2
      DirectX                                           4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
      Computer Name                                     HOME-V9475QXLGM
      User Name                                         Sonya

    Motherboard:
      CPU Type                                          Intel Celeron, 2000 MHz (20 x 100)
      Motherboard Name                                  Compaq Evo D510 SFF
      Motherboard Chipset                               Intel Brookdale-G i845G
      System Memory                                     247 MB  (PC2100 DDR SDRAM)
      BIOS Type                                         Compaq (12/30/02)
      Communication Port                                Communications Port (COM1)
      Communication Port                                Communications Port (COM2)
      Communication Port                                ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

    Display:
      Video Adapter                                     Intel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller  (64 MB)
      3D Accelerator                                    Intel Extreme Graphics

    Multimedia:
      Audio Adapter                                     Intel 82801DB ICH4 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-1]

    Storage:
      IDE Controller                                    Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
      Floppy Drive                                      Floppy disk drive
      Disk Drive                                        Maxtor 6E040L0  (40 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
      Optical Drive                                     LITE-ON DVDRW LH-16W1P
      SMART Hard Disks Status                           OK

    Partitions:
      C: (NTFS)                                         38154 MB (31582 MB free)

    Input:
      Keyboard                                          Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
      Mouse                                             HID-compliant mouse
      Mouse                                             PS/2 Compatible Mouse

    Network:
      Network Adapter                                   Intel(R) PRO/100 VM Network Connection  (68.191.114.85)
      Modem                                             HSP56 Micromodem

    Peripherals:
      Printer                                           HP Deskjet D2300 series
      USB1 Controller                                   Intel 82801DB ICH4 - USB Controller [A-1]
      USB1 Controller                                   Intel 82801DB ICH4 - USB Controller [A-1]
      USB2 Controller                                   Intel 82801DB ICH4 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-1]
      USB Device                                        USB Human Interface Device
      USB Device                                        USB Printing Support

[patio]

Celeron.
Onboard graphics.
256MG RAM.

Not a gaming screamer.
However if you were to throw in another 256 RAM chip and a vid card your gaming experience would probably improve...

[sonovia]

All I have to do is ADD the ram and the video card?I don't have to change the whole motherboard b/c the graphics controller is ON it? :-?

[Calum]

No, you don't need to change the whole motherboard.
However, your motherboard will determine the type of RAM and vid card that you can use.

[sonovia]

Well that is good news, but how will I (complete computer retard) know what my motherboard will allow?

[Calum]

For memory/RAM, go to http://www.crucial.com and use their memory adviser tool.
A quick Google search reveals that your PC has an AGP slot for graphics, which limits your video card expansion capabilities somewhat.
What's your budget to upgrade?
PS You may need a new PSU if you buy a graphics card.

[sonovia]

Ok i checked out that site and for my computer's model it says that it doesn't support dual-channel memory, is that a big deal? And what is a PSU?

[sonovia]

Also, they talk about ECC and non ECC on that website.  What is that?

[Calum]

A PSU is a power supply.
ECC is used in server machines, you don't need to worry about it.
If it doesn't support dual channel RAM, don't worry about it.
Dual channel is faster, but there's no way to enable it - if you want it, you need a new motherboard.
You probably won't notice the difference between dual channel and single channel, so don't worry about it.

[sonovia]

I kinda figured I would need a new motherboard, but how do I go about shopping for one.  I am assuming I would need something very specific, so how can I tell what will be compatable?

[Calum]

I don't think it's worth buying a new motherboard, because you'd need to buy a new processor, new RAM, and I think you may have to re-activate Windows too.
If you really want a new motherboard then say so, it would be good but might end up co$ting quite a bit with the new components.
Personally, I think you'd be better off just getting more RAM and an AGP graphics card and keeping your present motherboard, but that's just my opinion.

[GX1_Man]

Plus it is a Compaq SFF and you may not be able to find a motherboard to fit it correctly.