Fix PC Troubles  2

Say no to video worries

Display blank or monitor LED is blinking

Reason Monitor cable might be loose, or video card may be defective

Solution

• Make sure the monitor and the PC are switched on. Check if the brightness and contrast settings for the monitor are correct

• See that the cable connecting the monitor to the video card inside the PC is properly connected

• If both the monitor and the PC are switched on and you hear three short beeps from the PC speaker then your video card might be loose from inside or may be defective. Switch off the PC and the monitor, open the cover of your PC, pull out the video card and reseat it back into the slot. You can identify the video card as one from which the monitor cable runs and has a 15-pin connector at the outside

• Check the display card on another working machine. If it doesn’t work there, it could be defective

• Plug the monitor onto another working machine. If it doesn’t work there, your monitor could be defective

Display scrambled, fuzzy or fast moving patterns

Reason Monitor and video card refresh rate settings may be incompatible

Solution

• If this happens just after Windows loads, the refresh rate (the rate at which your computer redraws the picture on the screen) of your monitor is set incorrectly. To set it right, press F8 when you see "Starting Windows..." message, and select Safe Mode.

• After Windows is loaded in Safe Mode, right-click on Desktop and select Properties. Click Settings tab and click on Advanced button at the bottom. Click on Adapter tab and change the Refresh rate setting at the bottom. Try the Adapter Default or other options supported by your monitor

• If you hear a "whine" sound from the monitor while the display is like the above, immediately change the refresh rate or switch off the monitor. Else it can cause severe damage to the monitor

• If you can’t load up Windows, and the problem starts as soon as you switch on the PC and the monitor, then the video card and the monitor could be incompatible or faulty. Try another monitor. If you still get fuzzy display your video card may be faulty. Switching to a different monitor or a video card should help

Display shows bad colors, patterns and black boxes

Reason Outdated version of DirectX, or Windows may be incompatible with video card

Solution

• Install the latest video drivers. To learn how to do it see box on updating video drivers

• If it happens while you’re playing a game, you may not be using the latest version of DirectX—required by most games, or you may not have sufficient amount of video memory

• If all else fails, you might be having a compatibility problem with either Windows or your video card. The video card or the video memory might also be defective. Contact your dealer or vendor for a replacement

Display shows random characters or patterns

Reason Your machine may be infected by a virus or may have faulty video card memory

Solution

• Do a thorough virus scan of your machine

• If you don’t detect any viruses, then the video card memory could be defective. Replace the video card

Black screen, when starting a game

Reason Minimum system requirements not met

Solution:

• Make sure you have the minimum system requirements to play the game. Most new games require 3D cards, fast CPUs and 32 MB RAM

• Shut down all other Windows applications including virus scanners and screen savers

• Change your video display to the basic 640 x 480 resolution with 256 colors and try again (see Change your video resolution tip)

• Change your video acceleration settings in Windows (Right click on My Computer icon on the Desktop, select Properties and click Performance tab. Click on Graphics, and move the Slider Bar one notch to left. Click OK). Now try playing the game. Repeat and try the process again till you get the slider to the left most position, and if it still doesn’t work try the next tip

• Install latest video drivers and if the game is using DirectX, update that too

• If nothing works, try the manual or the game designer’s Website. Some of them offer very good support (one more reason to buy non-pirated games)

"Change your video resolution..." while starting a game

Reason You may not be using the right resolution for playing the game

Solution

• Right-click on Windows desktop

• Click on Settings. At the left of the Settings window is a Color Palette option. Set this to the requirements of your game

• Change the Screen Resolution on the right side of the setting window. Press Apply, followed by OK. Windows will change the resolution, and prompt if the new resolution is okay. If it is, press OK

• If after choosing a setting, the display appears garbled, or is not properly supported by either the monitor or the video card, leave the display like that for 15 seconds. Windows will automatically reset to previous settings

Graphics or frame rate too slow, display choppy or Video CD skipping frames

Reason System requirements may not have been met or many applications may be running in the background

Solution

• Check the system requirements for the game or the software. If you have 32 MB or lower RAM, upgrade it to 64 or 128 MB

• Shut down all other Windows applications that you might be using at the time, including virus scanners and screen savers

• If the game, software or the video you’re trying to play is on CD, inspect the CD for scratches or smudges. Scratched and smudged CDs can’t be read properly. Clean the CD-ROM drive using a CD-ROM lens cleaner CD

• Optimize the CD-ROM drive access in Windows. Click Start, point to Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click the System icon, select the Performance tab, then click on File system and select the CD-ROM tab

• If your computer has more than 16 MB of memory, then the slider bar should be all the way towards the right. Change the Optimize Access Pattern setting to match the speed of the CD-ROM Drive. In case of a 4X or faster speed, it should be set at Quad Speed or higher

• As in other tips, if nothing works update your video card drivers

Windows Desktop resolution can’t be changed

Reason The video drivers may not be correct for the video card

Solution

• Install the correct drivers from your driver CD or download from the manufacturer’s Website or install a Windows provided driver

• Right-click on My Computer icon on the desktop and select Properties

• Click on Device Manager tab and double-click on Display Adapter. If the description reads "Standard VGA", you need to install the correct video drivers for your display card

• Alternatively, install Windows provided drivers. Right-click Desktop, select Properties. On the Settings tab, click Advanced, and then click Change on the Adapter tab. Click Next-Display a list of all the drivers in a specific location-Next. Click Show All Devices, and then click the manufacturer of your card, followed by the model. Click OK-Next-Next and Next again. Now click Finish. Insert the Windows installation CD, when prompted

Slow graphics after an install of DirectX or DirectX 8.0

Reason DirectX and video card driver may be incompatible

Solution

• Check your video card manufacturer’s Website for an updated driver that works with DirectX 8 or the version you’re trying to use

• If the game you’re trying to run doesn’t require the newer version, then you could downgrade to an older DirectX version, by uninstalling the newer one

After installing DirectX and rebooting, graphics get all messed up

Reason: DirectX version incompatible with video card or drivers

Solution

• Launch Windows in Safe Mode (see earlier tip "Display is scrambled" ). Uninstall DirectX software

• If you’ve been trying DirectX 3 or earlier, try installing DirectX 5 or higher

• If it still doesn’t work, you’ll need to install updated video drivers

No sound from PC or speakers

Reason The sound card may not be installed properly or the cable may be loose

Solution

• Double-click on the speaker icon on the Taskbar on your desktop and make sure the volume isn’t muted or set too low

• Make sure the cables from the sound card to the speakers are connected properly, and in case of powered speakers, they are switched on and the volume is on an audible setting

• Check if the sound card is properly installed, or isn’t disabled because of conflict with some other device. Click Start, point to Settings, and select Control Panel. Double-click the System icon. Click on the Device Manager tab. Click on + (plus) sign next to Sound, Video and Game controllers. You should see your sound card in the list. If there is a "!" sign next to your sound card, some other device is conflicting with the settings used by the sound card

• To resolve the device conflict, select the sound card in the list from the above process, and click Properties-Resource tab. In the Conflicting Device list, you’d now see the devices that conflict. Click the Automatic Settings checkbox, restart and try again. If it’s still not working, repeat the above but this time disable Automatic Settings, click Change Setting and experiment with various settings. Once you select a setting that doesn’t show any conflicts in the Conflicting Devices list, press OK and Restart. You can also try changing the settings of other conflicting devices in the Device Manager list instead of the sound card

• If it still doesn’t work or if the sound card is not listed in the above list, then it’s not installed properly (see tip "Sound card not detected automatically")

No sound on Audio CD

Reason Audio CD cable may not be connected to the sound card or the Audio CD driver may not be installed

Solution

• Check if the CD-ROM drive is working properly. Insert a CD containing some software (try a C@H CD). Make sure, you can view the files via the Windows Explorer

• Double-click the speaker icon on Windows taskbar and check if the sound volume for Audio CD isn’t muted or set too low

• Connect headphones or speakers directly to the jack on the front panel of the CD-ROM drive and adjust the volume. If you can hear the music through this method, then the CD audio cable connecting the CD-ROM drive to the sound card could be loose, missing or faulty. Switch off, open the cover of your PC and check the cable. If it’s loose, a simple push should do the trick. In case it’s missing or damaged, contact your dealer for a replacement

• Check if the MCI driver—required to playback audio CD’s is installed and enabled. Click Start, point to Settings and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Multimedia icon and click Advanced tab. In the Multimedia devices list, click the + (plus) sign next to Media Control devices. If there’s a CD Audio device listed, click on it and select Properties. Make sure "Use this Media Control Device" is checked

• If the CD Audio device doesn’t appear in the above list, then it’s not installed and you’ll have to install it. For this, click Start, point to Settings and click Control Panel. Double-click the Add New Hardware icon, Click No for "search for new hardware" question and press Next. In the Hardware Types list, click Sound, Video and Game controllers and then Next. Click Microsoft MCI in the manufacturers list, then click CD Audio device in the models list. Click Next followed by Finish

Audio CD sounds scratchy or skips

Reason The Audio CD may be scratched or damaged, or the CD-ROM drive lens may have dust clogged

Solution

• Eject the CD, and inspect it for scratches or smudges. A CD with scratches or smudges can’t be read properly

• Clean the CD-ROM drive with a CD-ROM lens cleaner, available from most music stores. If it still skips, the CD-ROM drive might require a service. Call your PC vendor

Sound effects distorted in a game

Reason Minimum system requirements are not met or DirectX version may be incorrect

Solution

• Make sure your PC meets the minimum system requirements for the game

• Shutdown all other Windows applications and see that no other application is using the sound card or interfering with the game, especially applications like "Talking clocks", screensavers and virus scanners

• If the application or game you’re running uses DirectX, install the version required for it. Alternatively, update the DirectX version with a current one

• The sound card could be conflicting with other devices (see tip "No sound from Speakers". Also, see tip "Click or static sounds are heard in Wave files")

Audio and video, not ‘in-sync’

Reason Minimum system requirements are not met or many applications may be running in background

Solution

• Make sure your PC meets the minimum system requirements for what you’re running

• In case of a Video CD, it’s recommended to have a minimum of 64 MB RAM

• Shut down all other Windows applications, especially screen savers or virus scanners

• If you’re playing a game, video or software from a CD, inspect the CD for scratches or smudges and also clean it

• If the application lets you specify the type of sound or video card being used, select what you have or something closer in case your sound or video card type isn’t listed

• If the game uses DirectX, make sure you are using the right version

• If all else fails, upgrade the video and sound card drivers

No sound while playing a particular game

Reason DirectX or sound card drivers for the game may be incorrect

Solution

• Check if the sound volume is set correctly (see tip "No sound from Speakers")

• Some games require you to specifically enable "Game sounds". Read the manual or the help file to know exactly how

• If your game uses DirectX, make sure you have installed the version that is bundled or is required for it

• Install latest sound card drivers (see box to learn how to do it). If that also fails, you could be having an incomplete copy of the game ("minus the required sound files") or it may be corrupt. Try to contact the game designer for an upgrade or a fix for your problem

Reason There may be electrical interference or the sound card may be conflicting with other devices

Solution

• Check if other Wave files are also producing these effects. If not, then the Wave file you are playing is damaged

• The sound card could be conflicting with other devices that are installed in your PC (see tip "No sound from PC or speakers")

• Switch off the PC and open its cover. Locate the sound card (you can recognize it by the microphone and a speaker jack on the outside of the card), pull it up after unscrewing and move it into another free slot. Close the PC, power up and let Windows load. If the Wave files play fine, then the problem could have been because of electrical interference from other nearby peripheral cards

• If you still have problems, see tip "PC hangs, reboots ...while playing a Wave file"

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