Graphics card problem

[Steveybaby21]

Hi,

I am having some trouble with my comp at the moment.

The monitor seems to be going into standby mode randomly, and it wont switch back on unless i shut off the computer. The computer remains on which is odd.

This morning I was playing GTA Vice City and for 50 mins it was fine. Then the monitor just goes into standby mode!

I think it is possibly the graphics card because I have had problems playing other games as well. I tried to play simcity 4 rush hour with the hardware running the graphics. It would shut off the monitor as mentioned above. Switched it to play in software mode and it plays fine. I was on the internet last night, didnt do a thing and it went off!

Have recently update to XP service pack 2. Yesterday I also updated drivers for the graphics, audio, usb and motherboard. Thats when this problem started as far as I can tell.

Any help would be appreciated.

AMD 3400 processor.
1024 RAM
ATI Radeon 9800 256MB graphics card.
Windows XP (upgraded to sp2)

[Raptor]

Is your video card seated properly? Did you install the drivers properly? If your mainboard has an onboard video card, did you disable that first?

Did you check to see if any cables require replacing?

Test your monitor on another PC if possible.

Have you checked your system temperatures? Does this occur whenever you stress your system or only when playing games?

[Steveybaby21]

I would hope that everything has been physically installed okay as the computer is only a month old as are the cables and monitor.

Problem has occured whilst on the internet not really doing much other times have happened during games.

Not too sure what u mean by onboard video?

[Raptor]

If you did not install the videocard yourself, you should not worry about an onboard videocard. If there was one, the person who built the computer most likely disabeled it.

On-board

Did your problem occur when you connected to the Internet?

Scan for viruses, trojans and spyware and download the latest Microsoft updates for your Operating System.

[Steveybaby21]

Yeah checked for viruses and spyware which are updated for the latest definitions.

It was worse yesterday, as I was going on the internet and was lasting about 5 mins before the screen was shutting off, but now as we are speaking I have been online for 3 or 4 hrs and its fine. But when I switched it on this morning I played GTA and it lasted 50 mins.

[Raptor]

Are you saying that it happens even when you're not playing games?

I suggest you check to see if all your fans are working properly and if any of them require to be cleaned.

Monitor your system temperatures as well to see if your system is running too hot.

Computer Cleaning Information

Is there a way to tell how hot my CPU is running?

[Ally B]

Check your power saving options and ensure that your monitor isn't assigned to go into stand by mode
ensure you have the latest graphics card drivers and patches
also check if your montitor is properly connected