How to Troubleshoot a Video Card

By eHow Computers Editor

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You may experience problems with your video display for various reasons such as improper display settings or inappropriate card installation. In the following steps, you will discover how to troubleshoot common video card problems.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

  • Computer
Step1
Ensure that you have the correct drivers installed in the computer. Start by installing the appropriate chipset driver. You can identify which chipset you have by looking at the motherboard's manual. Follow this by installing the appropriate video driver. Typically, you should install the video driver for the video card brand you have. Make sure your drivers are updated regularly to prevent display problems. For gamers and software users, make sure that the software or game itself is updated.
Step2
Set the appropriate BIOS settings for your computer. Generally, you press the "DEL" button as soon as your computer boots to access the BIOS menu. You also can look at the screen during booting for information on how to access the menu. Once there, you can change the BIOS settings appropriately. To do that, make sure you consult your motherboard's manual, which will have information on what each setting means and how to set it.
Step3
Determine whether the problem lies with the video card or some other component of the display system. Check your monitor’s brightness and contrast settings, power cable and data cable. Make sure your computer is not locked by rebooting it twice. If nothing seems amiss, check your video card.
Step4
Turn off the power and unfasten the plug from the power source.
Step5
Remove the CPU cover and determine the type of video card you have. Either it could be integrated on to your motherboard or it could be fixed in the adapter slot.
Step6
Make sure that the jumpers of the motherboard's integrated video card remain in place. If jumpers are missing or loose, the card may move and malfunction.
Step7
Check if the video card is properly seated in the adapter slot. Unless it is, the card won’t work.
Step8
Check if your monitor and video card are compatible with each other. It is important that the maximum resolution of the video card and the monitor match.
Step9
Contact your vendor or any hardware technician if none of the above troubleshooting steps work.

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eHow Article: How to Troubleshoot a Video Card

eHow Computers Editor

eHow Computers Editor

Category: Computers

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