Curse

Ajora · May 17, 2006, 07:56 PM // 19:56

http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gw0047ub.jpg

Guild Wars has run perfectly for a year now. I go to reroll a PvP character and this happened on my screen. Restarted my computer, cleaned out my case, made sure nothing was overheating. So, any ideas?

nova-exarch · May 17, 2006, 08:43 PM // 20:43

It looks like a rendering issue which points to the video card and mayyyybe possibly the textures stored on your computer.

Here's the things that I would check next...

Software stuff:
- Does this happen in other games?

- Turn off all other programs that you may normally have running (not likely the problem but who knows).

- Have you installed the latest drivers for your video card and Direct X?

- If you have cable... Try deleting and reloading the game. If you're on dial-up this may be a last resort thing given the time to redownload everythign.

Hardware stuff:
- Did you try re-seating your video card? It's possible a bump jarred it loose.

- If you live in a humid area maybe even clean the contacts (electrical contact cleaner is the best, but a plain old pencil eraser will do in a pinch).

We had a satelite system when I was statione in Turkey that would give strange graphical outputs like your SS until we cleaned the contacts and reseated the card (had to do it semi-annually).

- Do you have another system that you could swap out video cards with? That could help nail down the problem.

--

That's all I can think of right off hand that doesn't involve rushing out and getting a new video card (and I know plenty of people that WOULD do that rather than try and troubleshoot)

Ajora · May 17, 2006, 10:11 PM // 22:11

Yeah, it's happening with other games.

Reinstalled the drivers, made sure the card wasn't loose. Tried cleaning things up.

So

nova-exarch · May 17, 2006, 11:27 PM // 23:27

Here I go with the questions again...

Does it mess up when playing DVD's or other video?

Did you run the Direct X tests (run "dxdiag" from the command prompt)?

Quote:

Reinstalled the drivers, made sure the card wasn't loose. Tried cleaning things up.

Does "drivers" include the latest version of DX?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.mspx

(Reminds me... I need to update all my stuff too...

)

Since it happens in other games I'd be inclined to rull out that your Guild Wars textures got messed up.

Yaaaayyyy, no long downloads...
Boooooooo, it's likely a hardware issue.

--

Did you try taking the graphics card out and cleaning off the contacts where it plugs in? (taking all precaution to handle it carefully of course)

Just pull out the card and run a standard pink pencil eraser over the contacts. Rub about as hard as if you are trying to get dark letters off a page of paper. Brush the eraser dust off and reseat it in the slot.

Sometimes there is a thin flim of corosion that you can't even see it (that's how it was with the satellite system I mentioned before) but it is enough to mess with the signal. Heck, sometimes just pulling the card out of the slot and putting it back in is enough to scrub the contacts and give it better contact.

--

I'm thinking you could also try swapping out video cards with a different computer to see if it's the current card that is at fault. Short of going out and buying a new video card, it's the next thing to try.

Luckily GW is new/good enough code that it's tolerant of many older/less expensive/non-ultra-high-performance cards. Even if you have to get a new one you should be able to do so without going broke in the process.

--

Hope we can nail it down... nothing worse than computer issues taking away yer fun time.

Ajora · May 18, 2006, 12:00 AM // 00:00

Yes. It's happening with DvD's and other videos.

Yeah, ran Dxdiag. Didn't find anything.

And I did try cleaning the contacts, no luck.

mr_stealth · May 18, 2006, 01:43 AM // 01:43

That screen shot looks like artifacting caused by an overheating graphics card. First thing I would do after seeing that is check the card temperature (if the card/drivers report that), and make sure the card's fan is working and clean out the heatsink on it. It could be failed fan, or that the card has been running too hot over a long period of time.

If the fan has recently broken, get a replacement for it ASAP. It may be soon enough to prevent any permanent damage. There are several good aftermarket heatsink/fans available if you can't get a waranty replacement. You should also keep the PC off till you replace it. Even without a game running, it will still be overheating and doing damage to the card.

If the fan is spinning, replacing it could still help. It may be running slower than it should, or the rest of the fans in your case aren't able to supply enough cool air. There is a good chance that its too late and the damage is alreay done, but replacing the fan is a lot cheaper than jumping right to buying a new card.

I hope I'm wrong, thats about what it looks like when the card overheats. I've seen it first hand on a friend's PC. The card was old and starting to go, and we just pushed it the rest of the way overclocking it.

nova-exarch · May 18, 2006, 02:51 AM // 02:51

I was kind of hopeful that someone would recognize the trouble from your screenshot. Hopefully the heating issue is reversible!

Do the artifacts show up as soon as you start the machine (as in even after it has had a chance to cool down completely) or are they there from the start?

If they are there all the time then the damage is likely already done.

If your case has room for them, extra fans might be a good idea because if it was heat that messed up the card then it will likely just happen again if you get a new card.

Just curious... how old is the system and it's video card and what are the specs?

I mean I'm sure you've already thought about is it still under warranty but you may also want to check the manufacturer for any sort of recalls. They get bad batches of cards from time to time. Maybe it was just faulty hardware.

Again, sorry for your woes.