Monitor shows three narrow images

[cjdnzl]

I had occasion to run a PTE show on my wife's computer, an Asus P4P-800 deluxe board, Prescott P4 CPU at 3.00 GHz, 512 MB memory, and an ATI A9250 graphics card. The CRT monitor is set at 1024x768 and 85 Hz refresh.

I know the 9250 is a low-end card, but there is little animation in the show, and it appears to run normally, except that each image appears on the screen in triplicate, each one squashed to 1/3rd of the screen width, but normal height.

I downloaded and installed the latest drivers I could find, but the triple images persist.

Has anybody struck this before, before I junk the card and go buy an Nvidia?

Colin

[Igor]

Colin,

Please try also re-install DirectX from Microsoft's website.

But because I never heard about similar problem with ATI, I think the most likely it's a fault of this video card.

[Conflow]

Colin,

Be very careful here ~ we regularily come across similar situations in our Workshops and

its by no means uncommon. It could be a PC fault in the VGA system,it could be your wife's

Graphics Card, and it could actually be her Monitor or its Set-up.

The best way of tackling this is by 'substitution' ~ get your Monitor and try it on

your wifes' PC ~ if that works, you have eliminated her PC and its Graphics Card. All O.K.

Go back to the her Monitor and reduce its re-fresh rate to 72~75 fps ~ if that don't work

then I'm afraid her Monitor is goosed.

Finally, assuming your Monitor working with her PC gives the same 'fault' - It could be that

the System VGA is using an 'incorrect set' of VGA Drivers for her Graphic Card, now thats quite

common. We had a recent example of this here on the Forum with a Samsung Monitor last month.

I'm pleased to say we fixed it.

Firstly, try the above in the sequence given - do not alter the sequence.

Brian.Conflow.

[cjdnzl]

Thanks to Igor and Brian for comments and suggestions about this little problem.

Following Brian's advice, I tried a different (LCD) monitor but the problem still existed - but that let out my wife's monitor from suspicion.

So I tried Igor's advice and logged on to Windows update, and it offered me Directx 9 which I installed, and thereby fixed the problem.

Although a low-end card, the 9250 worked reasonably well, a small amount of jerkiness with scrolling page turns, but otherwise acceptable.

My wife is pleased, and I'm pleased (I don't have to buy her a new graphics card ) That's not being 'tight', it's just that she seldom plays AVs, and she is happy with the level of performance from the 9250.

Colin.

[Conflow]

Colin,

Thats good news ~ it always amazes me how people tend to blame the 'Hardware' when in fact

it could be an obselete Firmware problem such as the PC VGA System, nothing to do with the

Graphics Card at all. With respects to Microsoft, over the years their versions of Direct-X have

kept PC Housekeeping up to date ~ thank god !

Brian.