I went onto my local server and there was lines across the screen. Then my computer shut down. On the console on my other computer it said something about a PB Client (Me) malfunction or something like that, I forget. Now, I can’t access my computer without using Safe Mode and on Safe Mode I can’t play ET or do anything good. What could have caused this and how could I fix my computer? When I start my computer, a black screen with 4 options comes up. These options are start Safe Mode, another Safe Mode thing, start Windows Normally and start Windows with the best working files that you had before. I used all of those options and only the Safe Mode ones work. The other ones just loads and when you go to the screen to the accouts (I have Windows XP) it is just a black screen that just keeps blinking forever. When Windows starts up, it has this blue thing that says Windows or something like that and there is weird dots around it. Is my computer completely dead because of a stupid PunkBuster problem? Or is there a way of fixing this. I think was a graphics card problem, I’m only 25% sure. I have a GE Force 2.56 and it worked perfectly with ET before. I got the most recent drivers for it. It is a 32 MB Card. This information is only useful if the graphics card is the problem. If it is not, please let me know, as I will never be able to play ET again or have a decent computer until I get a new computer, whcih will be in a few years. I’m using my crappy computer to post this topic and it does not work with ET, I got the drivers for my Matrox Millenium 2 AGP and doesn’t work. All I want is for my other computer to function. I really need your help.
Something happened to my computer while playing ET.
while it’s in safe mode, run virus and adware/spyware scans, good chance that will sort you out
Could you verify the fan on your GeForce 256 is spinning? and is it going fast enough?
Eventually the card will get old and the fan will expend it’s usefull life. A flashlight might help you look…
I’ve have seen three GeForce 256 die because of fan failure. Now the cards are just pretty paperweights. (One was mine, 2 belonged to friends)
How far past the safe mode menu do you get?
If you get into safe mode, right click “My Computer” and on the drop down menu select “Properties”
You will get a new Dialouge box select the “hardware tab” then the " Device Manager" button. This will display your System Hardware components.
About 3 or 4 down on the list is “Display Adapters”, click the “+” next to this to expand the menu.
You will now see all the installed display adapters (gfx cards) on your PC. Select them by right clicking them and then on the drop down press “uninstall”
Do this for all the adapters (usually only one is listed tho’)
Then reboot your PC. As your PC reboots it will re-install the gfx driver thus repairing the possibly corrupted one.
It maybe that your driver was corrupted and as windows boots normally it attempts to load the driver but cannot and subsequently hangs.
When booting in safe mode only a limited selection of drivers are loaded. The gfx driver is not loaded in safe mode and this may explain why you are able to boot in safe mode but not normally.
Even if this makes no improvement to your current problem it will not harm your PC in any way.
Lets us know how you get on.
are you sure it would redetect my one and only gfx card , cuz if it duznt i dont know how much this computer would be worth if i completely lose it. i’ll ask my dad and seewhat he thinks.
I have come to a conclusion, I am 80% sure this would work. I have observed that I can very easily go into safe mode and none of these problems are there, except for the lines going vertical on my screen. The screen doesn’t freeze, go black for 1 second and come back, or anything stupid. It runs normally. Why you may ask? In safe mode, the graphics card isn’t there and when you check that in the Display inside Control Panel under Adapter, it would say that there is no Adapter type (No graphics card) and everything under Adapter Information is <unavailable>. It is completely different when not in safe mode. There is an Adapter type (GE Force 256) and everything in the Adapter Information is <available>. I now know the problem. As many of you have already figured out before me, or after reading this post, the problem is the graphics card. I’m going to take it out and put it back in again. If that doesn’t work, my final resort would be to uninstall it and reboot, which I am 80% sure would fix my problem. I would like to thank all of you and since you’re all very smart with computers you can add me to your MSN Messenger. Mine is homer_simpson500@hotmail.com. Have a good day.
just download the driver beforehand. If it fails to properly re-detect, you can then install it manually.
already downloaded the most recent driver from nVidia’s website (i need it to play et, solves the opengl problem).
Not to discourage you, but when my card started displaying weird stuff in the game (flashing colors, lines, and repeating random patterns across the screen), the card was fried and had to buy a new one (6800 GT, yeah!).
i cant even get into the game, and in the device manage, there is nothing wrong, so maybe it overheated inside the computer or the fan broke or sumthing like that. a bit different than urs, a different gfc card, diff company. i’ll post here the results, maybe u r right.
Well, if what you need is an excuse to update to the latest and greatest, then what the heck, right?
for a graphics card that old the most recent drivers aren’t always the best (fps wise at least)
its been a while since I had an nvidia card as I’m an ati man now, but when I did have a Ti4600 I used driver versions 43 or 46 (the current ones were 53 something at the time) but earlier versions gave much better fps
I see this sort of thing day in and day out with my job.
If the it is not a hardware fault with the card itself, then I am 99.9% sure that uninstalling it and letting windows find it again will help.
However I notice that you say there are Black vertical Lines in Safe Mode, which could could indicate that the card is on it’s last legs.
As B’Boy007 says make sure that your driver is one suited to the card.
Good luck m8, I hope it doesn’t turn into the more expensive option.
i took out my graphix card and smelt the fan on it. it smelt burnt, and this means its life is over, i throw it in the garbage, and welcome a new graphix card? or can i fix it.
Remember those three cards I told you about, I did try to pute a 586 fan on them, which is a lot bigger, faster, COOLER. I even re-installed the Heat Sink with Artic Silver 5.
But it was too late for them, the core had already fried because of overheating.
The weird thing is the cards always presented partial damage, and not full damage. They all emit simple video (like Bios text). Some of them better, others worse. 2d mode gets even worse. And only 1 managed 3d (but with garbled lines across the screen).