So my monitor is showing red lines across my screen

Mr Pink · **Posted:** July 23rd, 2010, 4:40 pm

Couple of days I simply boot up my computer and am now plagued with this problem. My monitor simply shows red lines across the screen and I am not able to run any of the games on my PC getting "don't have enough video memory" error message. At first I figued that I needed to update my video card's driver. Installed the driver. Computer works like a charm and the problem is fixed for couple of hours then bam back tot he point it was before.

I really don't understand what the problem is and whether or not it's my monitor or video card. Will I have to buy a new monitor or can the problem be easily fixed? Please help.

Thanks in advance guys.

Adbot · **Posted:** July 23rd, 2010, 4:40 pm

Pfkninenines · Global Moderator 12/4/08

[image]? No image that I can see...

Sounds like a failing monitor or graphics card, but new drivers fixing the issue is odd. If you're getting errors of not having enough video memory, it could be a failing card, but if it comes back with new drivers, again, that's just odd.

Alex_SE · **Posted:** July 23rd, 2010, 5:37 pm

Sounds like your graphics card dying. What graphics card do you have?

To be sure, try it with another monitor before buying a new one.
If you install the drivers yet again, does it fix the problem for a few moments?

dafin0 · **Posted:** July 23rd, 2010, 9:20 pm

Mr Pink wrote:

Couple of days I simply boot up my computer and am now plagued with this problem. My monitor simply shows red lines across the screen and I am not able to run any of the games on my PC getting "don't have enough video memory" error message. At first I figued that I needed to update my video card's driver. Installed the driver. Computer works like a charm and the problem is fixed for couple of hours then bam back to the point it was before.

I really don't understand what the problem is and whether or not it's my monitor or video card. Will I have to buy a new monitor or can the problem be easily fixed? Please help.

Thanks in advance guys.

Lucky for you, the problem occured on a desktop monitor. Mine occured on my laptop screen. So im gonna have to replace my screen (or keep on connecting it up to my flat panel). And also, when my lines appeared, it didn't come up with that video error mesage.

Cheers, dafin0 :lol:

Aquw VettelS 776 · **Posted:** July 24th, 2010, 3:56 am

Firstly try a different monitor. If, as I suspect, the problem is with the GPU/drivers, you should have the same problem. Secondly, you need to know whether or not installing new drivers ACTUALLY solved the problem (albeit temporarily) and it wasn't just a coincidence. So for the next few times the lines reappear, install the drivers again. If this works consistently, it points to a software issue rather than the a hardware problem with the GPU itself. If so, check to make sure there's nothing trying to automatically update the drivers for you. So turn off Windows update temporarily and make sure update software isn't being installed with the drivers. If this fails, and as a last resort, reinstalling Windows may help as the issue maybe related to DirectX, which can't be natively uninstalled.

And a question: when you say the lines come back after a couple of hours, is the computer/monitor on at this point? Or do the lines appear after you've restarted the PC?

Mr Pink · **Posted:** July 24th, 2010, 8:51 am

Pfkninenines wrote:

[image]? No image that I can see...

Sounds like a failing monitor or graphics card, but new drivers fixing the issue is odd. If you're getting errors of not having enough video memory, it could be a failing card, but if it comes back with new drivers, again, that's just odd.

I uploaded the image first realizing that it won't show the red lines if I post online as a screenshot considering that only my monitor shows them >.<

Aquw VettelS 776 wrote:

Firstly try a different monitor. If, as I suspect, the problem is with the GPU/drivers, you should have the same problem. Secondly, you need to know whether or not installing new drivers ACTUALLY solved the problem (albeit temporarily) and it wasn't just a coincidence. So for the next few times the lines reappear, install the drivers again. If this works consistently, it points to a software issue rather than the a hardware problem with the GPU itself. If so, check to make sure there's nothing trying to automatically update the drivers for you. So turn off Windows update temporarily and make sure update software isn't being installed with the drivers. If this fails, and as a last resort, reinstalling Windows may help as the issue maybe related to DirectX, which can't be natively uninstalled.

And a question: when you say the lines come back after a couple of hours, is the computer/monitor on at this point? Or do the lines appear after you've restarted the PC?

Well after trying to re-install the drivers other multiple amount of times it didn't work at all. I figured it's not the drivers anymore. Two days ago once again lines magically stopped appearing on the computer itself and I was able to run games once again. Upon playing Vice City for around 30 minutes the computer froze and I was forced to restart it. Once it boot up it had the lines again and since that day the problem stayed. First time I installed the drivers the problem re-occurred after restating the PC.

Also to anybody else who is wondering my graphic's card is Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT.

Adbot · **Posted:** July 24th, 2010, 8:51 am

Pfkninenines · Global Moderator 12/4/08

Yeah, at this point I'd say your graphics card is on it's way out.

You could try to run a Stability Test to see if you can see issues... But more than likely it's the graphics card.

Aquw VettelS 776 · **Posted:** July 24th, 2010, 6:11 pm

Mr Pink wrote:

Well after trying to re-install the drivers other multiple amount of times it didn't work at all. I figured it's not the drivers anymore. Two days ago once again lines magically stopped appearing on the computer itself and I was able to run games once again. Upon playing Vice City for around 30 minutes the computer froze and I was forced to restart it. Once it boot up it had the lines again and since that day the problem stayed. First time I installed the drivers the problem re-occurred after restating the PC.

Also to anybody else who is wondering my graphic's card is Nvidia Geforce 9800 GT.

Okay, if it's not graphics drivers, it could still be one of three things: monitor, GPU or DirectX. Frankly I'd be surprised if it's the monitor, but you still need to know for sure before trying anything else so see if another monitor makes any difference. As a stab in the dark, also try swapping the cable connecting the monitor to the PC- it may sound daft, but my monitor started playing up a couple of months ago and I discovered it was entirely down to a dodgy cable.

If it turns out the monitor's fine, your next port of call should be DirectX, which can be a right pain in the backside. Go to microsoft.com/directx and download and install the latest version of DirectX. Even if you already think you have an up-to-date version, make sure you do this. Needless to say, make sure you have the latest graphics drivers from the manufacturer's website (not the version on the CD). If you have any problems doing this, which being DirectX, I wouldn't be surprised, post back ASAP.

Also another question, do the red lines often appear once the PC's been running a while, or is just random? Obviously a simple reboot doesn't allow the PC to cool down a lot, so leave the computer off for a few hours (ideally overnight) and see if the lines appear when you turn it back on. If they're there soon after booting up, overheating may not be an issue, or at least, there's probably something else as well. If this is the case, drivers and DirectX should solve the problem, and if not, reinstalling Windows is your only other option. If the lines tend to appear when the PC's been running a while, this points to a possible overheating issue.

Mr Pink · **Posted:** July 24th, 2010, 8:36 pm

Pfkninenines wrote:

Yeah, at this point I'd say your graphics card is on it's way out.

You could try to run a Stability Test to see if you can see issues... But more than likely it's the graphics card.

When I ran it it pops this error message:

Aquw VettelS 776 wrote:

Okay, if it's not graphics drivers, it could still be one of three things: monitor, GPU or DirectX. Frankly I'd be surprised if it's the monitor, but you still need to know for sure before trying anything else so see if another monitor makes any difference. As a stab in the dark, also try swapping the cable connecting the monitor to the PC- it may sound daft, but my monitor started playing up a couple of months ago and I discovered it was entirely down to a dodgy cable.

If it turns out the monitor's fine, your next port of call should be DirectX, which can be a right pain in the backside. Go to microsoft.com/directx and download and install the latest version of DirectX. Even if you already think you have an up-to-date version, make sure you do this. Needless to say, make sure you have the latest graphics drivers from the manufacturer's website (not the version on the CD). If you have any problems doing this, which being DirectX, I wouldn't be surprised, post back ASAP.

Also another question, do the red lines often appear once the PC's been running a while, or is just random? Obviously a simple reboot doesn't allow the PC to cool down a lot, so leave the computer off for a few hours (ideally overnight) and see if the lines appear when you turn it back on. If they're there soon after booting up, overheating may not be an issue, or at least, there's probably something else as well. If this is the case, drivers and DirectX should solve the problem, and if not, reinstalling Windows is your only other option. If the lines tend to appear when the PC's been running a while, this points to a possible overheating issue.

I have an HDTV which has a PC monitor output so I tried plugging my PC to it. No luck either. Despite the changed monitor the forsaken lines still plagued me. So the monitor is out of the equation.

I downloaded the new DirectX (multiple times) along with updating my driver once again still no luck. The lines remained.

I do not have an extra cable unfortunately, but I'll try to get my hands on one soon. The lines appeared randomly the first time and they have been ever since from the point where I am booting up my PC to the point where I am turning off. Once again the chances that it is an overheating issues are unlikely.

My guess is that I'll be forced to get a new video card or re-installing Windows. How does re-installing Windows help solve the problem?

Mike · **Posted:** July 24th, 2010, 9:07 pm

Maybe you should take the graphics card out of your computer and physically inspect it to see if you can spot anything on it that looks burnt, or any capacitors that are leaking. Sometimes something on the board could be burnt out but not cause a complete failure.

It is also possible that it could just be your monitor cable as VettelS suggested. I had a laptop where the connector to the LCD screen came a little loose and it would cause a variety of different coloured (red, blue, cyan, magenta, green) vertical lines to appear on the screen. Your cable could be worn out and not making a complete connection unless you have it positioned in a certain way if you know what I mean.

Aquw VettelS 776 · **Posted:** July 25th, 2010, 2:02 am

Mr Pink wrote:

I have an HDTV which has a PC monitor output so I tried plugging my PC to it. No luck either. Despite the changed monitor the forsaken lines still plagued me. So the monitor is out of the equation.

I downloaded the new DirectX (multiple times) along with updating my driver once again still no luck. The lines remained.

I do not have an extra cable unfortunately, but I'll try to get my hands on one soon. The lines appeared randomly the first time and they have been ever since from the point where I am booting up my PC to the point where I am turning off. Once again the chances that it is an overheating issues are unlikely.

My guess is that I'll be forced to get a new video card or re-installing Windows. How does re-installing Windows help solve the problem?

Whilst it's a definite possibility that the GPU is failing, the fact that it's random kind of makes this difficult to believe. So you should exhaust all possible software-based solutions first. Why reinstall Windows? It's a long shot, but if there is a software problem this is get rid of it.

Mr Pink · **Posted:** July 26th, 2010, 10:25 am

Mike wrote:

Maybe you should take the graphics card out of your computer and physically inspect it to see if you can spot anything on it that looks burnt, or any capacitors that are leaking. Sometimes something on the board could be burnt out but not cause a complete failure.

It is also possible that it could just be your monitor cable as VettelS suggested. I had a laptop where the connector to the LCD screen came a little loose and it would cause a variety of different coloured (red, blue, cyan, magenta, green) vertical lines to appear on the screen. Your cable could be worn out and not making a complete connection unless you have it positioned in a certain way if you know what I mean.

I will try to get a new cable as soon as possible, but another hting that is quite bothering me is that my taslbar is not transparent when the red lines show up. Meaning that of it being transparent grayish color it turns simply to blue? I don't think it's that relevant, but surely weird.

I did inspect my graphic's card and surely it looked alright to me, besides a bit of dust which I cleaned up the card looked fine.

Aquw VettelS 776 wrote:

Whilst it's a definite possibility that the GPU is failing, the fact that it's random kind of makes this difficult to believe. So you should exhaust all possible software-based solutions first. Why reinstall Windows? It's a long shot, but if there is a software problem this is get rid of it.

The problem with re-installing Windows is that I don't the original install CD I had so it will defiantly be a huge hustle for me, but looks like I don't have a much choice.

Thanks for all the fast and helpful replies guys I will purchase a new cable and re-install Windows and tell you if it helped the problem or not.

Pfkninenines · Global Moderator 12/4/08

If you've got a Linux CD/iso lying around, try booting to that. Could isolate it being a windows issue, in which case it'd save you a ton of time reinstalling.

If you just have a thumbdrive / don't want to bother burning a CD, check out my instructions over at the Informer.

Aquw VettelS 776 · **Posted:** July 27th, 2010, 8:29 am

Mr Pink wrote:

Mike wrote:

Maybe you should take the graphics card out of your computer and physically inspect it to see if you can spot anything on it that looks burnt, or any capacitors that are leaking. Sometimes something on the board could be burnt out but not cause a complete failure.

It is also possible that it could just be your monitor cable as VettelS suggested. I had a laptop where the connector to the LCD screen came a little loose and it would cause a variety of different coloured (red, blue, cyan, magenta, green) vertical lines to appear on the screen. Your cable could be worn out and not making a complete connection unless you have it positioned in a certain way if you know what I mean.

I will try to get a new cable as soon as possible, but another hting that is quite bothering me is that my taslbar is not transparent when the red lines show up. Meaning that of it being transparent grayish color it turns simply to blue? I don't think it's that relevant, but surely weird.

I did inspect my graphic's card and surely it looked alright to me, besides a bit of dust which I cleaned up the card looked fine.

Aquw VettelS 776 wrote:

Whilst it's a definite possibility that the GPU is failing, the fact that it's random kind of makes this difficult to believe. So you should exhaust all possible software-based solutions first. Why reinstall Windows? It's a long shot, but if there is a software problem this is get rid of it.

The problem with re-installing Windows is that I don't the original install CD I had so it will defiantly be a huge hustle for me, but looks like I don't have a much choice.

Thanks for all the fast and helpful replies guys I will purchase a new cable and re-install Windows and tell you if it helped the problem or not.

After what you just said, especially about the taskbar issue, I would put money on this being a software issue. The loss of transparency means that Aero is no longer working, which often happens when display drivers crash. Since you've already tried reinstalling them, as I said before, your last bet is to do the same for Windows. If you don't have the CD, contact Microsoft and reference your Product ID, which is found my right clicking (My) Computer and then going to Properties.

Also, are you on Vista or 7?

Mr Pink · **Posted:** July 27th, 2010, 5:19 pm

Aquw VettelS 776 wrote:

Mr Pink wrote:

Mike wrote:

Maybe you should take the graphics card out of your computer and physically inspect it to see if you can spot anything on it that looks burnt, or any capacitors that are leaking. Sometimes something on the board could be burnt out but not cause a complete failure.

It is also possible that it could just be your monitor cable as VettelS suggested. I had a laptop where the connector to the LCD screen came a little loose and it would cause a variety of different coloured (red, blue, cyan, magenta, green) vertical lines to appear on the screen. Your cable could be worn out and not making a complete connection unless you have it positioned in a certain way if you know what I mean.

I will try to get a new cable as soon as possible, but another hting that is quite bothering me is that my taslbar is not transparent when the red lines show up. Meaning that of it being transparent grayish color it turns simply to blue? I don't think it's that relevant, but surely weird.

I did inspect my graphic's card and surely it looked alright to me, besides a bit of dust which I cleaned up the card looked fine.

Aquw VettelS 776 wrote:

Whilst it's a definite possibility that the GPU is failing, the fact that it's random kind of makes this difficult to believe. So you should exhaust all possible software-based solutions first. Why reinstall Windows? It's a long shot, but if there is a software problem this is get rid of it.

The problem with re-installing Windows is that I don't the original install CD I had so it will defiantly be a huge hustle for me, but looks like I don't have a much choice.

Thanks for all the fast and helpful replies guys I will purchase a new cable and re-install Windows and tell you if it helped the problem or not.

After what you just said, especially about the taskbar issue, I would put money on this being a software issue. The loss of transparency means that Aero is no longer working, which often happens when display drivers crash. Since you've already tried reinstalling them, as I said before, your last bet is to do the same for Windows. If you don't have the CD, contact Microsoft and reference your Product ID, which is found my right clicking (My) Computer and then going to Properties.

Also, are you on Vista or 7?

Windows 7